Help...pellets won’t feed in quadrafire 1200i

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GenghisJon

Member
Nov 9, 2009
74
Middletown, CT
...and I think I know why.

I thought the hopper was empty at the end of the year but it turns out there were still pellets at the bottom.

I stuck my hand in there and noticed its all packed in sawdust.

I tried my best to get as much out as I can but it seems I'm going to need to take some things apart.

Anyone else have this happen to them?

I'm probably going to need to call someone out.

Any help would be great?

PS

I'm pretty sure that's the only issue as I put in pellets manually and it started up fine.

Thanks
 
Yea I pulled out the plug so as the auger would not move and put my hand down and pulled out as much sawdust as possible I then tried vacumming as much as I could ,it worked
 
Thanks for your reply.

Yes, I was doing the same with the vaccuum, ect. Maybe I need to keep going.

I also heard this happens if the chimney isn't swept, and I got that later this month.
 
Because Quadrafire uses a Hollow Spring as an auger, it is necessary to vacuum your hopper everu so often. Fines build up and get packed at the bottom. This also slows your feed rate. Because the fines are taking up space that pellet could replace.

Other stoves use a solid Screw and Cylinder type auger. They can handle fines much easier.

Use a small screwdriver and break it all up. Also use a small mirror and look up the pellet chute from inside the stove. Sometimes a "Bridge" can be made and will stop pellets from feeding.

The only other thing it could be is the vacuum switch is not being activated because your hose that goes from the vacuum switch, to the auger shoot , is clogged. If you open the left side doors you will see a little round "Vacuum Switch" connected to the back wall of the stove. Disconnect the hose from the switch and blow into it (blow from the vacuum hose end, making the air travel to the auger shoot) . If you have that many fines, your tube is prob plugged up too. This will prevent the auger from turning. If the stove does not have vacuum, it will not start.
 
GenghisJon said:
...and I think I know why.

I thought the hopper was empty at the end of the year but it turns out there were still pellets at the bottom.

I stuck my hand in there and noticed its all packed in sawdust.

I tried my best to get as much out as I can but it seems I'm going to need to take some things apart.

Anyone else have this happen to them?

I'm probably going to need to call someone out.

Any help would be great?

PS

I'm pretty sure that's the only issue as I put in pellets manually and it started up fine.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Pull the unit out and there is an access plate you can remove to get the vac int here. It's on the top back left.
 
If your pellets were in there all summer in the humidity, there's a good chance that they have become swollen and possible locked down your auger. You may have to pull your auger out, if all of the above fails.
 
DexterDay said:
Because Quadrafire uses a Hollow Spring as an auger, it is necessary to vacuum your hopper everu so often. Fines build up and get packed at the bottom. This also slows your feed rate. Because the fines are taking up space that pellet could replace.

Other stoves use a solid Screw and Cylinder type auger. They can handle fines much easier.

Use a small screwdriver and break it all up. Also use a small mirror and look up the pellet chute from inside the stove. Sometimes a "Bridge" can be made and will stop pellets from feeding.

The only other thing it could be is the vacuum switch is not being activated because your hose that goes from the vacuum switch, to the auger shoot , is clogged. If you open the left side doors you will see a little round "Vacuum Switch" connected to the back wall of the stove. Disconnect the hose from the switch and blow into it (blow from the vacuum hose end, making the air travel to the auger shoot) . If you have that many fines, your tube is prob plugged up too. This will prevent the auger from turning. If the stove does not have vacuum, it will not start.
Click to expand...

Nailed it. Fines will build up in a Quad hopper because the screw auger only moves pellets, not fines. After a while, you will get a thick layer of fines in there that will prevent pellets from feeding. This is one of the things I disliked about my old 1200. Two things you can do to minimize the problem are to filter out the fines before loading them into the hopper....there are a gazillion devices, methods, techniques etc etc etc on this. Next is to regularly empty out and vacuum the hopper.
 
I use a pellet fines sucker. Consisting of a shop vac and some PVC tubing. Not much to it. But it works well. Quad has a terrible auger design. IMO
 
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