How do I know if my Santa Fe is burning at most efficient?

[tjnamtiw]

Would I get the SF again? Probably not. I also dont like that it has a high setting but you are not supposed to use it much.

Who in the world told you THAT??? You can run it on high all the time as long as you PROPERLY adjust the feed rate as the manual says so that your average flame height is about 6" high. Someone doesn't know what they are talking about and, if it was the dealer, you need to find another dealer!

 

[jtakeman]

Would I get the SF again? Probably not. I also dont like that it has a high setting but you are not supposed to use it much.

Who in the world told you THAT??? You can run it on high all the time as long as you PROPERLY adjust the feed rate as the manual says so that your average flame height is about 6" high. Someone doesn't know what they are talking about and, if it was the dealer, you need to find another dealer!

My little quad spent its whole life on high. Never had an issue with it either. It would go out on high limit if I tried to add to much with the fuel gate, But thats operator error. It would state that in the manual if it was a know issue. Some stoves do say it(breckwell for one) in the manual, But I never saw it in a quad manual.

People definetly don't read there manuals much. :down:

A word of cuation would be if its living on high, Most likely the stove is a bit under sized for the area your trying to heat.

 

[Foos]

Well, I've mean reading all these replies to my original post and really appreciate the insight. Here's what I've come up with.
We've always considered blown in insulation. The only trick to that is we've seen the inside of our walls during some renovations and they are not up to spec by any means. You never know what distance you'll have between any two studs, and you also never know where a horizontal support might be lurking between studs. It'd be hit and miss as to how well the insulation was settling in. We'll probably end up doing it "someday" and will need to drill holes high and low at each point to make sure we're getting good fill.
About the stove...It's clean. From the outside vent to the floor of the ash pan. What I've decided after some experimenting and observation is that the feed rate just doesn't work for us. We're using Somerset pellets which are fairly short in length. So even with the feed rate rod bottomed out we're still feeding too many pellets into the burn pot. The pot can't burn them fast enough and we gradually fill up to the combustion holes with clinker. Once that happens the flame reaches the baffle plate in height and gets really lazy. That's the reason we don't burn on high. It puts out more heat, but also fills up the pot with clinker at a faster rate. Before you know it we've got a 12 inch tall lazy flame filling the firebox. I think my next options are a couple mods. Making a cut so that the feed rate rod can be adjusted even lower. And also to get the blower mod so that it will blow high fan while burning at low feed rate. I haven't found that mod yet but I'll do some searching on these forums. I think we'll eventually get it right. More frequent cleaning of the burn pot (twice a day now) is helping keep the floor of the pot clear of clinker build-up. As long as the combustion holes don't cover up with pellets it burns pretty good.
Thanks for the tips and observations. Much appreciated.

 

[tjnamtiw]

Several of us have found the same problem with the Sante fe feed rate with short pellets. B-Mod elongated the slot for the adjustment rod to lower the rate. Also, he modified his blower so that it always ran on high. His is an older model and he was able to find an in-line plug that has 110 volts on it and he put a Y between the plugs and ran the extra leg to the snap disc #1 that turns on the convection blower. On my insert, the only available 110 volt line goes to the snap disc #3 and then right back into the base for the control box. I plan on putting the Y at the snap disc 'input' and running the spare wire back to #1. I just want to make sure the gauge of the wire running to #3 is sufficient to carry the current of the fan before I do it. Right now the only current, I believe, in that line is control current.
In two years, however, I've never had any build up of pellets in my burn pot so that seems very unusual to me. Even if I don't clean my pot for days, it doesn't happen. I wonder if your combustion blower is working correctly. Perhaps it is slowing down or its path is restricted. Have you ever pulled it out to inspect it? You need a new gasket if you do.

 

[Foos]

In two years, however, I've never had any build up of pellets in my burn pot so that seems very unusual to me. Even if I don't clean my pot for days, it doesn't happen. I wonder if your combustion blower is working correctly. Perhaps it is slowing down or its path is restricted. Have you ever pulled it out to inspect it? You need a new gasket if you do.

I did the feed rod modification today but I really don't see how that small of an area will make any noticable difference. I also did a thorough cleaning. Used the chimney sweep brush and rod in the exhaust venting, then leaf blowered it to get all the dust out. I bought a bag of Marth brand pellets at our local Farm and Fleet supply store. I've been running those tonight and the flame seems much better/ lower. The Somersets are just too small and short and they tend to over-feed my stove until a clinker forms in the burn pot. The Marth pellets are at least twice as long as the Somersets. It's been burning fine tonight with the Marth. I'm surprised. I had read page after page of good reviews for the Somersets and fortunately our Menard's carries them. I also read a lot of negative reviews for the Marth brown bags but I bought one bag just to test. Pellet choice seemes to make a big difference. I suppose what works for one stove may not work as well for a different stove.

 

[tjnamtiw]

That's why these stoves, any of them, are not 'set it and forget it' appliances. You have to be aware of changes in the pellet burn performance and adjust accordingly.

 

[tjnamtiw]

Yesterday I finally got around to making the small modification that B-Mod has been talking about in several posts. That is, he rewired the stove (Sante Fe) so that there was always 110 volts going to the #1 snap disk, which controls the convection blower. One complaint I have with the stoves is that on low (especially) and medium feed rates, the blower is just too darn slow and a lot of heat isn't getting transfered to the tubing. Now, with the convection blower on high, I am blowing a lot of air strongly out no matter what the feed rate is. I am able to heat the same room on medium that I was on high. Another side effect is that on medium the combustion blower slows down and gives the combustion air more time to transfer heat to the tubing rather than blowing it out the exhaust. With the air moving faster inside the tubes (with my installed spring mod), I am, I believe, sucking more heat out of the tubes and creating a larger delta T across the tube/combustion air interface and more heat transfer.
All of this will have to be measured when I get a chance.

For those like Foos, who are having problems cutting back on the feed rate, this presents a solution. Since I'm on medium, my feed rate is reduced to a more reasonable level. For Foos, this might bring his feed rate down to where he has a 'normal' flame height and no build up of pellets.

Since on my Castile insert and the Sante Fe the only 110 volt feed wire that is fused is the one going to snap disk #3, this is where I had to get my power. The gauge of the wire going to the snap disc and the wire originally feeding snap disk #1 is the same. I found the FEED side of the wire going to snap #3 and made up a harness that would plug into that feed wire after disconnecting it from the snap disk. The other end is a Y that connects back to snap disk #3 and to the FEED side of snap disk #1. The wire I removed from snap disk #1 is tapped off and left to hang in the stove. By tapping the power BEFORE the snap disk #3, I am not altering the function of or bypassing its very important function of shutting down the stove in the event of a drop chute fire.