1 year old Quadrafire 5100i will not draw a good flame.

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afblue

Feeling the Heat
Sep 1, 2009
278
Buffalo, NY
Ok so here are the details and I havent found any help from the owners manual or service parts manual.

I have a Quadrafire 5100i fire place, was installed last year. Burned all last year and even with marginal wood I would have to choke down the air to keep the top from going over 600F. The chimney was cleaned professionall mid season last year and I just cleaned it the last week with a sooteater, from above and below. The SS liner is clean!! The issue I am having now is with dry wood, heck even if I toss chunks of 2x4 inside the fire place, unless I keep the start up air on, I cant get these higher/desired temps like I used to.

It seems like there is a air control blockage. The flame is really low and the top of the insert will only get to 300 deg. The book doesnt talk anything about it, I took off the lower front grill and I can for the life of me see how the intake air operates or if there is some type of obstruction? Is there a way to clean the intake air vent? The manual doesnt show how the intake or start up air is constructed so I cant see where to look to see if anything is blocked?
 
I'm new to this forum but have had my 5100i now going on 3rd year. I have not taken temp readings to get a before and after or from year to year. I did one year expierence a problem with the cap. After the liner was cleaned the top cap was not. This caused the quad to not get a good draw and smoke would build up in the unit and not want to expel itself up out of the liner through the cap. Often smoke would come back into the room when I opened the door for loading. After I figured out what the problem was I cleaned the cap good enough to eat off of. I'm not sure if this is your case,, maybe not. Possibly check the baffle board and that fire retardant insulation to see if they are in the right place? I doubt this would cause the fire not to draw right but you never know. I think you are on the right track though with trying to find a way to clean the "in" ports. Maybe the linkage for the two rods have somehow worked loose?
 
I would check the insulation blanket again, that thing is a pain in the "beep" to get it nice and flush and not bunch up, blocking draft. When you open the door are you getting smoke coming out?

600F with marginal wood means you used to have one hell of a good draft then. Mine cruises around 550F, blower on of course, for nice long burns
 
JFK said:
I would check the insulation blanket again, that thing is a pain in the "beep" to get it nice and flush and not bunch up, blocking draft. When you open the door are you getting smoke coming out?

600F with marginal wood means you used to have one hell of a good draft then. Mine cruises around 550F, blower on of course, for nice long burns

I agree it must be the kaowool blanket on top. They really are a PITA even when you have done it before. I usually take out the top front two bricks then get the blanket right in the rear and install the bricks back. You may have the newer stove with the ceramic baffle so this may not work this way. Check the manual or online to find out how the top baffle and blanket needs to be fitted and that is more than likely where your issue is. my stove cruises between 550 and 650 with the fan on depending on the wood, size and moisture content as well as air setting.
 
~*~vvv~*~ said:
how does the fire act with the door cracked?

The fire roars like a blow torch!!! when the door is cracked....

Well now everyone talking about the ceramic board and insulation, I wish I didnt just light a fire. I thought I had it all back in correctly, but I should look to see if its blocking the flue. The fire doesnt smoke its just doesnt want to draw well on the primary air.
 
If it roars like a blow torch with the door cracked, and it's not smoking like crazy into the room, then it sounds like an intake problem and not a drafting problem.
 
So I solved the mystery. I think it was the combination of a few things. The ceramic baffle was not sitting down directly on the 2ndry tubes which wouldnt let the heat build as well as it could. I took a shop vac and stuck it on the inside of the primary intake and let it suck away. not sure if it cleaned anything out but thats the best I think its going to get, since behind the grille its clean. And lastly I think the first few pieces of wood were wet.

Cruising along just fine now. thanks for the help guys.
 
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