Quadrafire MT. Vernon Issue

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schenkp

New Member
Jul 22, 2008
103
NorthEast
So I have been running my stove with little or no issues for almost four months straight now until now. I gave the stove its weekly deep cleaning no different than every other time. Then about an hour after I restarted the stove there is this deep vibrating noise that seems to come and go from the stove.

If you put your hand on it during this noise you can actual feel it vibrate. Any ideas as to what might be causing it?
 
First thought would be your convection blower! Does it seem to get worse as the stove heats up?

I found it to be my problem after I removed the left side of the stove and reached my hand inside in order to feel the vibration from the convection blower.

Easy enough to find out!
 
JoeS said:
First thought would be your convection blower! Does it seem to get worse as the stove heats up?

I found it to be my problem after I removed the left side of the stove and reached my hand inside in order to feel the vibration from the convection blower.

Easy enough to find out!

I don't think it gets worse as the stove heats up because upon start up you can sometimes hear it. How did you fix your issue?
 
I have the same stove this also happens to mine . My belief is the noise is coming from the catalytic converter usually if I turn the heat down to a lower setting the noise goes away. The cc burns of all the smoke thats why you donot see any smoke coming out of your chimney
 
Hi. My Mt Vernon AE makes the same fog horn like noise now and then also. It was much more prevalent in October, November and December than now.
It's always when the stove is running at or near full blast. My uncle's Mt Vernon AE is also doing the same. It's nothing we are worried about.
 
catalytic converter??? It doesn't have one, what are you talking about?

I would check the pit in the back for buildup. Take off the baffle and in the back on the bottom there is a pit where the exhaust goes down and out to the blower. This can get ash and carbon build up in it that restricts air flow. That noise is mostly from air flowing too fast through an area. Usually this happens when the flame gets really big. You will need a micro tool set for the vac to get in there or tape a rigged up hose on to the end.
 
jtp10181 said:
catalytic converter??? It doesn't have one, what are you talking about?

I would check the pit in the back for buildup. Take off the baffle and in the back on the bottom there is a pit where the exhaust goes down and out to the blower. This can get ash and carbon build up in it that restricts air flow. That noise is mostly from air flowing too fast through an area. Usually this happens when the flame gets really big. You will need a micro tool set for the vac to get in there or tape a rigged up hose on to the end.

Is there a way to open the stove up to get back there? I don't have a micro tool set or small enough vacuum to get in there. As far as i can tell there are to openings about 1/2 inch wide and 6 inches long.
 
There is only one way in there, through the opening in the back behind the baffle.
 
jtp10181 said:
There is only one way in there, through the opening in the back behind the baffle.

OK that sucks, what else could you suggest to get in there. I would imaging that it would need to be cleaned at some point right?
 
My Mount Vernon AE was installed about a month ago. It was "fairly" quiet the first week. I went to vacuum it out, and unlatched the baffle to see how difficult it was to get to the heat exchanger. Anyway, after pulling it apart, I put it back together and secured the baffle with the latches. The last two weeks I've been experience the fog horn when the stove starts up (even after lowering the flame height). Today, when I went to do my first cleaning of the heat exchanger, I noticed that when I latched the baffle it was a little off center. I reset the baffle making sure there was equal spacing on both sides, and the result seems to be a much quieter stove now.

So maybe the fog horn effect is created by not centering the baffle after cleaning ....
 
I originally thought my fog horn or blowing over the bottle was due to a misaligned baffle. I never could get it to go away. I was in the stove shop this week and my dealer said it sounds like a problem with the ashpan. So I pulled it out and bent the rollers back to pull the cast front into the gasket more. I also noticed that the handle area of the pan wasn't sealed and possibly could have air flowing through it. So I pulled the two screws holding the cast front to the pan and siliconed around the opening. Since then i haven't heard the noise once. Might not be the fix but its worth a try if it makes the gremlins go away!
 
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