Looking For Info Quadrafire 4100-I

  • 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.

Burd

Feeling the Heat
Feb 29, 2008
438
Bell bell Pa.
Well I finally got my neighbor to start burning. Doring the summer he had a mason come install a chimney on the side of the house. He bought the 4100 and had no idea how to install it. He had some freinds over to install a 6" single wall liner that wouldn't pass the fire box. I went to visit him the other weekend to see how things were going.( Not good). So I talked him out of the single wall pipe and convinced him to use a flex liner. Long story short the stove is now hooked up with out much damage to the back of his new fire place.
So heres the deal
Chimney is 17'( tall when I put the cap on it felt like a good draft)
We did are first fire on the stove on Sunday.. It didnt go well. The stove seems to be starving for air.
So on Monday at work I went to hearth.com like I do every other day to see what the boys are talking about.( great stuff ) and to see if I couldn't find some info on my own.

I checked the blanket
I toke off the outside intake plate for more air ( does this stove have to have outside Air?)
Refired the stove and it seemed to be working fine for 20min then it started to starve for air. open door and it lit right off. shut the door and same thing. It allso seem that the right side woun't burn its just charing and wont burn like the left side. I'm stumped
When lighting the stove I pulled the ACC control and lifted the burn control to the high setting
Guys Im at a loss any Ideas why its starving for air?
Before you even think about saying it. The wood I started the fire with came from my house and yes its seasoned.
 
The stove seems to be starving for air.
.

Classic QF4100i behavior.
I won't be much help here, but we do keep the door slightly open when reloading/starting for maybe 15 mins. Others do this too. The startup air control is warned to stay open only 10 minutes I think, but we need to use it longer. Once the stove is rolling, we can cut the air down to almost closed and it will cruise along for a few hours.

The cold exterior chimney is no help either.

I notice you didn't mention leaving the door open. (Enough to let in air, but almost closed to keep in smoke). This is a must with a 4100i unless you have a very tall chimney.
Edit: I see now that you did mention the door.

Somewhere around here is a member who overcame the air problem by removing that OAK plate you mentioned, but IIRC his method never made sense. It was one of those trial and error things that worked so don't change it.

Not a lot of help, but lemme know how it works out. We've been running the 4100 since 2007 I think.
 
I no its kinda warm out and it effects the draft. Were just trying to get the chill out. And find out how this stoves works
I'm glad that I my self didn't buy this stove. It donn't make sense that you have to leave the door open to get the fire going.

For the price of this stoves it shouldn't be this hard to figure out..
I have a liner in my chimney and have no problems.
 
^^^ I will not disagree here, but I should point out that we are generally happy with our 4100. It fits our situation and, after a learning period, it can be burned fairly well.

For those readers of the future who reach this thread; the lesson I would like to leave is that the QF is a real nice insert, but if you have to cut corners that may reduce chimney draft, (such as using a smaller liner, or going without insulation), it could be a problem.
 
No one has stated that we went with a smaller liner nor does the owners manual say any thing about installing a insulated one.
I'm not trying to put this stove down in anyway. And what your telling me is that for the amount of money my friend spent on this stove to heat his home you have to leave the door open to get itit up to temp?
There has to be a safer way.
 
you have to leave the door open to get itit up to temp?
Maybe someone else with better luck will reply, but that's the way it has been for me and a few others; more or less.

I bring up the insulation because there are those who wish someone had told them BEFORE they installed the liner. We don't wanna let them down.
 
What do you do to insure you have at least a little draft before you light? What do you you light with? Start-up can be tricky until you figure out what works.

I use a propane torch in the box until I can feel the stovepipe get a little warm. I realize that you have an insert and that you cannot touch the pipe but maybe if you left the torch in there for a few minutes it would get a decent draft started.

17 feet is not too short so look for leaks using a stick of insense. A small leak have a very negative effect.

MnDave
 
we can get the stove up to temp by opening the door but when you close it the flames start to die down. Expescially the right side the glass will blackin up.. The left side the flames dance around just fine.

Any ideas why?
 
My uneven burn is opposite...the ( right) side with the door latch burns better at first. I assumed this was because it may be a bit looser and therefore more air. After the box gets hot it evens out. Otherwise, I don't know why either. But, the glass doesn't blacken....it's just not that bad.

Re: Dave's comments...my chim height is bare minimum, exterior. There are days when the downdraft is so bad it can blow out a lighter flame. I tried the torch and other methods to reverse the draft, but the best has been an old hair dryer we modified for the purpose. Works like magic. There are other threads about that. Of course, if the stove is warm, the draft is OK.
But it sounds like the stove in question is heated, drafting, and burning. Just not pulling much air through the proper channels.

Tell your neighbor not to get discouraged yet. I was a little unhappy at first too, but after making a few adjustments things work OK. This is my first EPA stove and I didn't know quite what to expect.
 
I know this thread is a year old, but i've been searching for answers for my 4100. Instead i'll respond to this. The ONLY time i have to leave the door open is when using wood that is not properly seasoned. Properly seasoned wood, started with a firestarter lights right up and stays lit.
 
It was fairly warm in the northeast on Sunday. That would definitely reduce the draft.
Huh?? With the 46 mph gusts coupled to the cold, we had wind chill of -9.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.