MT VERNON AE problems

[tk421]

my dealer said run it on manual and set it slightly lower as far as heat output goes. If your reaching the wanted room temp stove shuts down and then reignites. This on and off seems to lead to ignitor burn out.

 

[rona]

The new software is supposed to help prolong the lifetime of the igniter but there is no long term solution.
There is quite a range of price for the igniters. Ask what the dealers suggested markeup is and the dealeras cost.
Quad has done a good job fixing most of the problems but the igniter is still a puzzle. You compare the lifetime to a igniter in a Harman and there is no comparrison.
In fairness there is two different systems. The Harman, Bixby and I am sure others use a air pump forcing air into the igniter tube.
I don't remember if there is a air pump on the AE but the igniter is totally different. more like a heating element in a hotwater heater

 

[BIGISLANDHIKERS]

The main reason the Mt Vernon burns out so many igniters is because it shuts down and restarts multiple times per day. The auto clean was a nice idea but it has issued in a whole bunch of other problems like hanging clinkers and burned out igniters.


BIH

 

[Todd67]

I am currently in the middle of my 3rd heating season with a Quadra-fire Mt Vernon AE pellet stove and am wondering if anyone has any advice on what to do about a pellet stove that burns out ignitors way too often. My first season, the ignitor failed 3 times. Last year, at least 3 times and this year it just failed for the 3rd time and there is still lots of winter left up here. I cant even get through a ton of pellets without a failure. I clean the stove 2 or 3 times a week. I have the updated firepot, a new wall control, a new baffle.

I could tolerate the hassle of these failure until my warranty expired recently but, given the problems I have experienced with this stove, I dont really feel comfortable going through another heating season without warranty protection unless someone has some ideas on what could be going on with this stove that would cause these ignitors to fail so frequently. The dealer has, in general, been good to work with and seems willing to go to bat with Quadrafire on my behalf so we will see where that goes but I am wondering if anyone else has had ideas about what could be going on and how to fix??

We bought our Mt Vernon back in 2006 and we have the same problems year after year. April of this year was the straw that broke the camel's back, when we had a fire in the pellet hopper due to shorted out wires on the back of the unit. We will scrap it this fall and go to a wood stove. We would have to repair something on the Mt Vernon at least twice a year, and that includes every September when it wouldn't fire up. We should have bought stock in the igniters that we kept replacing, along with the circuit boards. Customer service from Quadra fire was really bad, so rather than take our chances on another hopper fire with our Mt Vernon, we will scrap it. It's not worth selling for parts because it's just too dangerous to trust in someone else's house.

 

[smwilliamson]

I deal with this a lot. In most situations I find that people who go through a lot of igniters usually h ave a smaller house or the thermostat too close to the stove. The stove starts, heats up and shuts down, again again and again and again and again all day long. I have also seen in one instance where the power supply which controls the igniter off and on is not depowering an the igniter is ON all the time. I can put the same igniter in a Sante Fe and it will last for years....AE sucks!

 

[smoke show]

AE sucks!

Escpecially 06 models. Some folks say venting configuration affects ignitor life.

 

[Todd67]

My wife and I love the pellet stove concept. They burn real hot and real clean. But this is our 3rd pellet stove and we just haven't found a reliable pellet stove yet. It's not like we're buying the cheap ones to save a dime, either. It seems that the fewer parts, bells, whistles and buttons on the stove, the more reliable they are. Our first pellet stove lasted one winter before the cast aluminum auger snapped in two. The replacement auger assembly didn't line up with the stove holes, even though the new steel auger came directly from the stove manufacturer. Our 2nd pellet stove had a blower problem and smoked up the house so bad that the fire department had to come and air out the house for 4 hours with their fans. We figured the 3rd time would be a charm with our AE but it's been a big disappointment as well. My wife is somewhat disabled and I am away from home a lot, so lifting a 40 lb bag of pellets was easier for her and my young son at the time. Now that we have our own land out in the country, and my new job this fall will have me home every day, burning free wood from our own land is the best option for us during our long, cold northern NY winters. Thanks for the feedback and insight. As we get older a pellet stove might find it's way back into our home if there's nothing better on the market by then.

 

[smwilliamson]

My wife and I love the pellet stove concept. They burn real hot and real clean. But this is our 3rd pellet stove and we just haven't found a reliable pellet stove yet. It's not like we're buying the cheap ones to save a dime, either. It seems that the fewer parts, bells, whistles and buttons on the stove, the more reliable they are. Our first pellet stove lasted one winter before the cast aluminum auger snapped in two. The replacement auger assembly didn't line up with the stove holes, even though the new steel auger came directly from the stove manufacturer. Our 2nd pellet stove had a blower problem and smoked up the house so bad that the fire department had to come and air out the house for 4 hours with their fans. We figured the 3rd time would be a charm with our AE but it's been a big disappointment as well. My wife is somewhat disabled and I am away from home a lot, so lifting a 40 lb bag of pellets was easier for her and my young son at the time. Now that we have our own land out in the country, and my new job this fall will have me home every day, burning free wood from our own land is the best option for us during our long, cold northern NY winters. Thanks for the feedback and insight. As we get older a pellet stove might find it's way back into our home if there's nothing better on the market by then.

Let's see how good I am. Reading this post, I'm going to attempt to call out what kind of stoves you previously had....

Your first stove was an Englander PDVE-25. It was made between 2005 and 2006 and installed in 2007ish. Your second stove would not have been an Englander. I think it was a Hudson River. Am I right?

 

[Todd67]

First one was an Englander, not sure of the model number, but it was the most reliable pellet stove we had. That's why we went through the trouble of replacing the auger. Might have installed it in 2005. I would consider buying another one if they use steel augers.

The 2nd one, I believe it was an Avalon Astoria. Might have installed it in 2006. We didn't have it long before we had problems with it, maybe a month or 2.

What's your professional opinion of the 3 stoves I have owned?

 

[smwilliamson]

In my preferred order...Englander, Astoria, Quad...darn I thought the second one was going to he Hudson River...wouldn't have thought Travis...

Englander makes a very good product. In 2005 they had some alloys that made their way into the foundry, your auger may have broke in two or even melted completely. Problem being, your problem happened at a time when they were changing the feed augers to incorporate a seal under the pivot bearing. Stove with this foundry issue were covered under warranty. They new steel auger they sent you may have been too short to accommodate the seals they sent you and when it was put back together, I bet you couldn't line up the set collar for the auger motor or you just were not adjusting the auger right within the tub. I run into this same exact issue 3 or 4 times a year with stoves from that foundry issue back in 2005.

Hmmm. the Avalon, also a great machine, has some issues with burn back, more so the samller version which is the Newport or Pioneer (Lopi). I'm partial to Englander because of their support and the cost effectiveness of them. Travis is very difficult to deal with all around for me but I like their stuff.

I loves quads...jsut not the AE. They sell a lot of them but I do not think anyone knows how they work...including me...and I know a lot. If I don't mind me saying

 

[smwilliamson]

I would consider buying another one if they use steel augers.

They do. The one you had wasn't right. It had aluminum in it and shouldn't have.

 

[Don2222]

First one was an Englander, not sure of the model number, but it was the most reliable pellet stove we had. That's why we went through the trouble of replacing the auger. Might have installed it in 2005. I would consider buying another one if they use steel augers.

The 2nd one, I believe it was an Avalon Astoria. Might have installed it in 2006. We didn't have it long before we had problems with it, maybe a month or 2.

What's your professional opinion of the 3 stoves I have owned?

I would really like to know what problem you had with the Astoria? I have a 2009 model Avalon Astoria for 3 years. So far the only real problem I had was at the beginning of last season, one of the safety switches had a connection open up. The auger would not turn. So I just pulled the wire off, cleaned the terminal and put it back on! No problems since! I am thinking of upgrading the auger brass bushing to nylon for longer Auger Motor life, but both of these issues can happen on any stove!

 

[AbetterChimneynm]

I am not sure i did not read all the posts so far, but we had a string of these going bad before we stopped being a quad dealer. The answer from tech was to change the fire pot out which i did (at the tune of alot of money out of pocket from customers) this did not help a few months later Was told that it was the voltage of the ignitor that had a problem and to change out to a lower volt ignitor.......Tech said the problem was in the stoves control board because it is a multi fuel stove the ignitor stays on much longer even after the fire has started.......We never did get a stright answer but the lower volt ignitors seem to help some

 

[smoke show]

I am not sure i did not read all the posts so far, but we had a string of these going bad before we stopped being a quad dealer. The answer from tech was to change the fire pot out which i did (at the tune of alot of money out of pocket from customers) this did not help a few months later Was told that it was the voltage of the ignitor that had a problem and to change out to a lower volt ignitor.......Tech said the problem was in the stoves control board because it is a multi fuel stove the ignitor stays on much longer even after the fire has started.......We never did get a stright answer but the lower volt ignitors seem to help some

I think you mean lower wattage.

 

[AbetterChimneynm]

Yes yes sorry just got off a long day put 15 hours in cleaning stoves and driving lol little tired atm

 

[Don2222]

Yes yes sorry just got off a long day put 15 hours in cleaning stoves and driving lol little tired atm

Just curious. How many stoves did you clean?
Thanks

 

[AbetterChimneynm]

Today 12 with four hours of drive time

 

[AbetterChimneynm]

Two man crew if you are interested!

 

[Don2222]

Today 12 with four hours of drive time

Wow, that is pretty good! I did not realize there are so many! Do you do this every day?

 

[Todd67]

In my preferred order...Englander, Astoria, Quad...darn I thought the second one was going to he Hudson River...wouldn't have thought Travis...

Englander makes a very good product. In 2005 they had some alloys that made their way into the foundry, your auger may have broke in two or even melted completely. Problem being, your problem happened at a time when they were changing the feed augers to incorporate a seal under the pivot bearing. Stove with this foundry issue were covered under warranty. They new steel auger they sent you may have been too short to accommodate the seals they sent you and when it was put back together, I bet you couldn't line up the set collar for the auger motor or you just were not adjusting the auger right within the tub. I run into this same exact issue 3 or 4 times a year with stoves from that foundry issue back in 2005.

Hmmm. the Avalon, also a great machine, has some issues with burn back, more so the samller version which is the Newport or Pioneer (Lopi). I'm partial to Englander because of their support and the cost effectiveness of them. Travis is very difficult to deal with all around for me but I like their stuff.

I loves quads...jsut not the AE. They sell a lot of them but I do not think anyone knows how they work...including me...and I know a lot. If I don't mind me saying

I liked the simplicity of the Englander, no thermostat, just heat level buttons bumbered 1-5. After the replacement auger wouldn't fit, we were able to get a full refund, so I agree that the Englander customer service was very user friendly! We found out a year or two later that they went to a steel auger.

It was the fall of 2006 when we went with the Avalon. We loved the stove but the shop we bought it from refused to come out to the house to see why it was filling our house with smoke. It started out as a small problem that would clear itself up. And then one night the smoke in the house was too thick and set off our house alarm, which also dialed 911. The fire captain found out that the stove installer refused to come out and replace or repair the stove several times and it turned into a heated battle between the fire dept and the store owner, who claims it was a faulty exhaust fan. I understand there are lemons in every good company. It seemed like a great stove but the store refused to honor the warranty (North Country Hearth and Homes). According to the fire captain, they had other problems and complaints with that business before us.

Then we bought the AE from Sundance Leisure, and their customer service is out of this world! Their repeated attempts to fix our AE is the reason we held onto it for so long. They stood behind their product and installation year after year, even after the warranty expired. But the last 2 or 3 years worth of repairs came out of my pocket, with little to no help from Quad. I'm tired of fighting with the AE, so we are going to use simple wood stoves that have NO electronics on them.

 

[smoke show]

problem solved.

 

[Don2222]

I liked the simplicity of the Englander, no thermostat, just heat level buttons bumbered 1-5. After the replacement auger wouldn't fit, we were able to get a full refund, so I agree that the Englander customer service was very user friendly! We found out a year or two later that they went to a steel auger.

It was the fall of 2006 when we went with the Avalon. We loved the stove but the shop we bought it from refused to come out to the house to see why it was filling our house with smoke. It started out as a small problem that would clear itself up. And then one night the smoke in the house was too thick and set off our house alarm, which also dialed 911. The fire captain found out that the stove installer refused to come out and replace or repair the stove several times and it turned into a heated battle between the fire dept and the store owner, who claims it was a faulty exhaust fan. I understand there are lemons in every good company. It seemed like a great stove but the store refused to honor the warranty (North Country Hearth and Homes). According to the fire captain, they had other problems and complaints with that business before us.

Then we bought the AE from Sundance Leisure, and their customer service is out of this world! Their repeated attempts to fix our AE is the reason we held onto it for so long. They stood behind their product and installation year after year, even after the warranty expired. But the last 2 or 3 years worth of repairs came out of my pocket, with little to no help from Quad. I'm tired of fighting with the AE, so we are going to use simple wood stoves that have NO electronics on them.

Sorry to hear that about your Avalon Astoria. I have had very good luck with mine. I think you would really like that new model englander EP-25. It puts out 22k BTU. Not sure if that would be large enough.

I was always leary of the AE because of ALL the electronics! More than any other stove I have seen!
I had year 2000 Quad Classic Bay CB1200. That was the best stove I have seen that can work well on a T-Stat!
I also had an Enviro Meridian. The prettiest charcoal color stove that cranks out alot of heat! It was 7 years old with NOTHING wrong with it!
I like to tinker with these stoves a bit and find out how they work. LOL

I also came across an Englander 25-PDV that puts out alot of heat. But it was never right from the factory so when I got it both auger motors were shot!
So I found the knit line on the cast iron auger had to be ground down on the top auger with my bench grinder. Then it turned without a snag. So I put 2 motors in for $120 and it was good as new! LOL

My friends made a video of me and the Englander 25-pdv LOL
see

 

[AbetterChimneynm]

We do cleanings every day all summer long.

 

[Todd67]

Sorry to hear that about your Avalon Astoria. I have had very good luck with mine. I think you would really like that new model englander EP-25. It puts out 22k BTU. Not sure if that would be large enough.

I was always leary of the AE because of ALL the electronics! More than any other stove I have seen!
I had year 2000 Quad Classic Bay CB1200. That was the best stove I have seen that can work well on a T-Stat!
I also had an Enviro Meridian. The prettiest charcoal color stove that cranks out alot of heat! It was 7 years old with NOTHING wrong with it!
I like to tinker with these stoves a bit and find out how they work. LOL

I also came across an Englander 25-PDV that puts out alot of heat. But it was never right from the factory so when I got it both auger motors were shot!
So I found the knit line on the cast iron auger had to be ground down on the top auger with my bench grinder. Then it turned without a snag. So I put 2 motors in for $120 and it was good as new! LOL

My friends made a video of me and the Englander 25-pdv LOL
see

Don, after looking at that Englander video, mine might have had a similar pad for heat range and blower speed. That was too many years and too many pellet stoves ago. Thanks for the info.
Todd