Quadrafire Mt Vernon (non-AE) auger will not turn

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.
C

CdoubleZ

Member
Mar 29, 2011
41
Central, MA
Hi there. I have a Mt Vernon (2005?) non AE quadrafire that was working perfectly for 2-3 months (bought used) and all of a sudden the auger will not feed.

Everything else on the stove appears to be working perfectly. The therm is calling for heat (red light in rear is on), the firepot will fire when I throw pellets in the pot manually, all of the blowers work, etc.

For some reason the auger just will not Advance. So far I have:

Verified the fuse is good
Verified the unit starts up normally and will fire
Removed the entire auger and vacuumed out the auger "chamber"
Verified the auger motor operates perfectly when I removed it and manually applied 115V with a temp power chord.
Verified the motor has a resitance of 20 OHMS across it from red and black.
Checked the vacuum tube and cleaned out for blockage
Removed the square cleanout inside the stove on the right side (near the blower?) and vacuumed out a small pile of ash that was in there.
Checked out the computer board for lights... Blinks blue a few times at power up, then no lights come (red or blue) on after that.

I am struggling for ideas here. I read somewhere to check the snap discs? I was curious if anyone could help describe how to check these and maybe if they can be ohm'd out, etc? What exactly are these? Temp sensitive switches?

Your help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks
 
try jumping out the vaccum switch and see if it runs.
what color is thge control box and are there any light on in it or on it?
 
how do I jump out the vacuum switch? is it just two wires that I can hotwire together?

the control box is clear. there is definitely a red LED light in there and a blue LED light visible through the control box. when i first turn on the unit the red LED flashes for a split second, then the blue light comes on. the blue LED light will flash 4-5 times, then no lights appear...
 
yes put a jumper wire between the to leads and if the auger starts to turn get a new vaccum switch if not it is most likely your control board
 
awesome ill try that.

i read somewhere else about a resettable snap disc... maybe the #2 one? does anyone know where that snapdisc is located? also... are these jumpable?
 
CdoubleZ said:
awesome ill try that.

i read somewhere else about a resettable snap disc... maybe the #2 one? does anyone know where that snapdisc is located? also... are these jumpable?
Click to expand...

If its anything like mine (CB 1200), which I found out that the Castile and Santa Fe are a little different in the aspect of a "sealed ash pan". But almost all the parts are "about the same". The Non AE is prob different too. But the relation of parts may be the same.

If so then the snap disc would be located near or on the auger. Mine is located on the right side of the auger (when facing stove). Believe it to be Snap Disc #3. Numbers 1 & 2 are on the right side of my Heat exchanger plenum. Because this is a Non AE stove, its much less complicated. Some people get the AE's to work well. I have also read a lot of horror stories. So good luck, hope you get it fixed. Should be on or near the auger.
 
yes jump them the same way as the vaccum
 
16. Snap Disc #1 (Convection Blower) 125°F
Snap disc #1 is located on the right side of the appliance on
the top of the heat exchanger box. There are 2 purple wires
connected to it. This snap disc turns the convection blower
on and off as needed. Power is always present at snap disc
#1.
17. Snap Disc #2 (Thermostat Override) 175°F
Snap disc #2 is also located on the right side of the appliance
next to snap disc #1 and has a red reset button. There are 2
orange wires connected to it. This snap disc will turn off the
feed system, which will turn off the appliance if an overfire
condition should occur or if the convection blower should fail
to operate.
18. Snap Disc #3 (Back Burn Protector) 250°F
Snap disc #3 is mounted on the back of the auger tube in the
center of the appliance and has a red reset button. To access
it remove the right side panel. If the fire tries to burn back
into the feed system or push exhaust up the feed tube, this
snap disc will shut the entire system off. This disc must be
manually reset.
19. Vacuum Switch
The vacuum switch is located on the lower left side of the
appliance behind left side panel. This switch turns the
feed system on when vacuum is present in the firebox. The
vacuum switch is a safety device to shut off the feed motor if
the exhaust or the heat exchanger system is dirty or plugged
or if the firebox door is open.
 
I have the same age Mount Vernon.

The Mount Vernon has no gasket at the top of the glass door. This lets air in to keep the glass clean. It also lowers the vacuum! Close the gap at the top of the door with a steel ruler, straight saw blade or something similar. This will increase the vacuum and may get the stove going.

How good is the door gasket? I had to replace mine two years ago.
 
I just put the auger back in and reset the #2 snap disc.

That's all it was. Tiny little reset button on the disk. Auger turns.

Thanks for your help everyone.
 
This thread was cross posted on two sites... here is my response from the other site

That disc does not trip for no reason, the stove overheated. You need to fully clean the stove and exhaust path. If the disc trips again after that you need a pro to come look at it.

I also thought to mention to make sure you remove all the baffles and clean behind them. The OE Mt Vernon stove it is a huge PITA to do this, but needed. There is an alan bolt you need to remove to get the right side panel off. You also are supposed to use the tool that comes with the stove to remove the right side panel. Very easy with this tool, not very easy without it.
 
I use the leaf blower trick and never have had a build up of ash behind baffles. I do not even take them out now for I know there is no buildup. TRY it!!!!
I use the leaf blower every time I clean the stove. :coolsmile:
 
jtp10181 said:
This thread was cross posted on two sites... here is my response from the other site

That disc does not trip for no reason, the stove overheated. You need to fully clean the stove and exhaust path. If the disc trips again after that you need a pro to come look at it.

I also thought to mention to make sure you remove all the baffles and clean behind them. The OE Mt Vernon stove it is a huge PITA to do this, but needed. There is an alan bolt you need to remove to get the right side panel off. You also are supposed to use the tool that comes with the stove to remove the right side panel. Very easy with this tool, not very easy without it.
Click to expand...

My Quad is a non AE. I wasn't aware of any tools when I took mine apart. It came apart easily with the exception of the top baffel. It is fairly heavy and I wasnt prepared for it to fall the way it did so keep in mind it will drop like a rock right onto your thermal coupler.
 
where exactly are these baffles? my shop vac does allow for me to push the air as well... I can try this later. Any chance you can describe quickly how to do this?

I have already vacuumed out the entire fire box (I typically do this regularly every 1-2 weeks) and opened the small cleanout door on the right side near the blower (4 screws) and vacummed this out. I was also going to pop out the cleanout on my chimney pipe and empty that as well.

Any other suggestions for general cleaning?
 
Turbo-Quad - there could be different versions of the stove, the only ones i have worked on I had to FIGHT to get those baffles out, and then it was a bigger fight to get them in again. Especially the top and right side.

where exactly are these baffles?
Click to expand...

I guess we know why the stove overheated now....

The baffles are all the plates lining the inside of the firebox...
C'mon people... at least pretend like you read the manual.

http://tinyurl.com/3szmcw9

Read section 10

This manual shows where you can remove a screw at the top center and drop down JUST the top baffle. If that is possible on all the old OE stove I have never discovered this. A trick to try on my next one (if there is a next one). The way I have always done it is to remove the right side baffle, then the top and rear (not sure what order).

Time to go for now... get to drive to Green Bay today, uhg. Not for pleasure.
 
The earliest versions of the non-ae Mt Vernon had to have the right side baffle plate removed first. There should be 2 allen head screws to remove, one in the right side panel and two in the rear panel. Once the screws are remove you will have to use the hook tool that came with the stove or something to get in the little notch halfway up the right side baffle panel. Once that is done remove the back plate, then the top baffle should drop down and you will be able to remove that. There is really no reason to remove the left side plate. I like to use a piece of wire bent into a u shaped hook to clean between the heat exchanger tubes and on top of them. Be sure to get all the junk that gets packed behing the scraper rod plate. I would also remove the convection blower and clean that.
Later versions have a allen head bolt at the middle of the top baffle plate near the front of the stove and that will come out. The top plate on the later models has to come out 1st. After that all the other baffle plates come out the same as the older models.
 
jtp10181 said:
Turbo-Quad - there could be different versions of the stove, the only ones i have worked on I had to FIGHT to get those baffles out, and then it was a bigger fight to get them in again. Especially the top and right side.

where exactly are these baffles?
Click to expand...

I guess we know why the stove overheated now....

The baffles are all the plates lining the inside of the firebox...
C'mon people... at least pretend like you read the manual.


Remember people, we are here to help eachother, not criticize.
Click to expand...
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

B
2007 Mt. Vernon AE
Replies
1
Views
257
The Pellet Mill - Pellet and Multifuel Stoves
kastein
K
Y
Auger removal on a Mt Vernon O.E. (2003)
Replies
0
Views
72
The Pellet Mill - Pellet and Multifuel Stoves
YANKEEBOB
Y
K
Is there an upgrade to the control board for 2006 Mt Vernon AE
Replies
1
Views
954
The Pellet Mill - Pellet and Multifuel Stoves
KipL
KipL
I
QuadraFire Castile Auger No Power
Replies
12
Views
537
The Pellet Mill - Pellet and Multifuel Stoves
IanS
I
L
QuadraFire Mount Vernon-NonAE gets too hot
Replies
6
Views
222
The Pellet Mill - Pellet and Multifuel Stoves
lax1guy1
L
Top Bottom
Back