Pellet Roar

[Czech]

First off, great, great board, excellent bunch of knowlegable people! Keep up the great work. Long time lurker, first time poster, I even have grown to like Frank (Just kidding Frank, I love ya buddy). I installed a free standing Quad Castile a few weeks back, been running 24/7 since on pellet/corn mix. It's installed with the new Selkirk pellet vent (cold/exhaust all-in-1), 4 ft up and 2 ft out. Problem is that the stove roars or resonates (low pitched rumble) on start up from cold when set on med or high, it does this off and on for the first few minutes only until hot. I've tried to locate where it is coming from with no luck, it does not stop if I shift the stove or put weight on it. I'm assuming it from the combustion fan, but was hoping for advice from the experts. Otherwise the stove has performed well within expectations and is our primary heat source now here in MN. Thanks everyone for all the great info, this board is a class act.

B

 

[Runs With Scissors]

Hi there gotz.

My stove (quadrafire 5100I) does this also, although only after the logs catch well and I happen to leave the secondary air open. Kind of makes a rumbling sound similar to a train passing in the distance over frozen ground, Err..... if you know what that sounds like that is...... :-S

It seems (in my case) to be caused by excessive draft (from the intense burn) and the inability of the dampers to supply a constant amount of cumbustion air at this level of burn.

I kind of like it as it tells me when I'm about to start overfiring my stove.
.
In your case I would suspect something similar is happening.

Hope this is helpful

 

[Jerry]

My Quad does the same thing. It's a Santa Fe model which is the exact same as the Castille with a different case. It concerned me too, the first couple time it did it. But, I noticed that it only occurs on startup, so I figured it must have something to do with the unburned pellets' position in relationship to the air holes in the burn pot. Also, I noticed that when the stove is clean, it doesn't do that. So, when I hear that "roar", I clean it.
The "Roar" only last for several seconds until the pellets burn away from the air holes so it must be something like a whistle effect.
I don't think it's something to be overly concerned about.

Off topic and as a side note: When I first got the stove I was getting some carbon build up on the floor plate of the burn pot, making it hard to open. I noticed that it had some roughness to it from the machining. So, I took it off and sanded it smooth and polished it. That really helped, and now, nothing sticks to it.
After a few years of not having a stove it's nice to be warm again. We Love our Quad!

 

[warminwisco]

Hey quad guys, Have you experimented with 100 percent corn as the manuf suggest can be done. Mixes, 50/50 60/40 etc. How hard is it to get the sugars and clinker out of the burn pot. I think if you do run corn it is important to clean out the dust, bees wing, etc.? How much black ash does the the corn generate or does it just turn it into white soft ash? Thank you

 

[drizler]

Hey to locate your rattle why not take the Dr./ Mechanic approach. Take a stethoscope, they are dirt cheap and handy or a long extension from your breaker bar or socket set. Stuff your ear on it and start listening around. You will locate the source quickly enough and maby then you can figure out a way to do something about it. Of course the usual discalaimers apply, watch the electricity, rotating parts, motors bla bla bla.

 

[Czech]

Yes, I've fed it 100% corn, it does burn ok. Problem is it seems to burn more dirty as mentioned elsewhere, but it does burn hot. I typically burn a 50/50, no nuisence shutdowns at that mixture and ignites dependably, some shut downs at 70/30 or higher and will not auto ignite up this high. I putzed with tracking down the roar this past weekend, seems to be coming from the combustion fan. Wondering if it's due to the differing pressures and temps of intake/exit air upon start up? As far as the clinker goes with corn, it looks like a wad of salt and pepper grains stuck together, I can break it apart with my finger (when cold!!). I clean the stove once a day, the clinker easily scapes from the burn pot into the ash pan, I empty the ash pan every few days buring 24/7. Note that it does take some fine tuning of the feed rate when changing fuel, too fast and the pot fills up, doesn't combust completely and then shuts down. I don't pre-clean the corn and/or pellets, at least not yet as I haven't had problems. I did mess around with a extention tube from an old vacuum, drilled some holes in it along the length, plugged the end, hooked it to the vacuum and then stirred my bins of mix with it. Seemed to work ok. I work in hospital, going for a walk around now looking for you know what. Thanks for the replies, I'll keep you posted. Still haven't run the NG furnace yet, although quite a mellow Jan here in MN. OT, funny after waiting 4 months for the stove how all the local dealers now have excess, I think many people cancelled orders early on. Wish it were the same for pellets, still haven't seen many here, local big box had 2 tons, no discount, $4.79 a bag. Glad I bought early.

B

 

[wahsega]

We have a Quad Mt. Vernon and I had some rattle/rumble. The other day I suck my head in to see inside the firepot (stove turned off!) :wow: and noticed some very small vent holes in the bottom. They were 4 in the rear and 3 in front plus opening for the ignitor. They are about an 1/8th" from the botom. I noticed the holes were plugged. I finally took a drywall screw to get in there and clean them out. It definitely runs quieter now. You might want to check on that.

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

I am dealing with a "roar" at the moment myself, this time, quad is sending out a new, redisgned fan blade for the combustion blower. You might check with your local quad dealer about this issue. Its new to me, but quad tech is placing some blame on the fan blade design.

 

[Czech]

Thanks guys. The stove is still doing this, but not as often or prolonged. Quad said to check and make sure all the fire pot holes are drilled (wahs, they are all open, thanks for the tip), they think there's too much vacuum for whatever reason. They also suggested drilling another hole in the middle of the ski slope part of the pot, but me thinks this would fall on the dealer to do and not me being that it's under warrenty. Dealer is good, but reluctant to come out for no charge due to the fact I installed myself. We're still working on it. Wondering if it's getting quieter due to use, although I clean it daily. Mountain, does your roar happen all the time or just at cold startup? Mines more of a resonance when starting cold, goes away if I crack an ash cleanout or once the stove heats up, gets much worse if I crack open the ash door (done safely of course, not running this way!). Going thru a few pellets and corn now that it's cooler here in MN, need to track down the local farm kids next weekend I guess.

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

Its not my stove, i sell quads and its a customers stove that was having major vibration and whistling in the firebox, turns out the new fan blade fixed it. I didnt do the repairs myself, my technition did. Customer is happy.

 

[Czech]

Mountain,

Was it only at startup? What type of Quad? I've heard others with similar problems, maybe I'm finally getting somewhere with your help.

 

[smirnov3]

About that roar - you mentioned that it seems to be loudest near the fan.

One theory I have from your descriptions:

It could be that the fan is the culprit, that as it spins up to speed, it 'chatters' (ie the fan blade wobbles on its bearing, whacking into it's supports). Once it reaches full speed, the motion of the blade will keep it aligned well on the bearing, so the noise goes away.

To verify my hypothoses, you can try turning on the fan by itself - do you get the same noise? If you can, try applying lower power to the fan & ramping it up slowly to full (ie you acclerate the fan slower). see if that produces less noise.

As to what to do about: make sure that the fan is properly attached ( no loose screws) - in case the fan case itself is chattering.

Or buy a replacement fan.

 

[Czech]

Thanks Anton,

It's hard to describe other than it's more of a resonance/low pitch vibration, you can almost feel it more than hear it. It cycles noise wise, but not predictably, meaning it may go LOUDDDDD....loud...LLLOOOOUUUD...louund....LOOOOOUUUUUUUD..loud. It starts maybe 2-3 minutes into a cold start when the fire gets going good, then mellows out after it's up to heat and running steady maybe 5 minutes in. Only on High and Med, not on low. I do think it's definately combustion related, some including the rep said it's probably due to high vacuum at start up drawing a lot of air into the fire box. Not looking forward to drilling another hole in the pot as the rep indicated to try, but who knows. I'll check the fan mounting hardware, haven't got back there yet. Thanks again,

B

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

this problem was during operation of a castile insert, as far as i know it was happening all the time. I will check to make shure. This is the first time i have seen quad take this complaint seriously. The customer i had had to wedge washers between the burn plates and tape the side to the lid to not make it rattle. Im off on mondays and tuesdays, so i will get you a update tommorrow.
And i would not drill my own firepot. Is this unit under warrenty? if so why isnt the dealer drilling holes? or at least the rep? I have NEVER heard of that fix before. I would think the engineers at quad would have those holes figured out.

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

i talked to my technition, quad stated that there was a new fan blade design, they sent us a whole new motor. The technition couldnt tell the difference between the old fan blade and the new fan blade. He installed the entire motor. It stoped the buzzing and rattling. I personaly think the old motor was out of balance. The unit made the noise during the entire time it was operating.

 

[Czech]

Thanks MSG,

I'm starting to think that I may need to let this thread die, the noise is getting better. Drives me nuts when things fix themselves! I'm wondering if it was because everything was new and clean and the airflow was unimpeded and just cruising thru the stove created too much vacuum. Now that it's been used 24/7 for a month, maybe things including the vent are dirty enough to slow airflow down a bit? Does that sound possible? I suppose the true test of that theory will be when I clean the vent. I'll keep the board posted if I find anything concrete, thanks everyone for your help.

B

 

[rondo]

I installed my Castile about three weeks ago.

The stove roared one time during the first week of operation but has not done so since.

The roar was loud enough to scare my wife who insisted I turn it off before we all blew up.

Great suggestions out there. Hope I don't have to try any of them out.

 

[Sueb427]

We just had a Castille installed this weekend. We have a roar or rumble akin to a car going by with a stereo blasting. A deep pitch rumbling. We didn't know if this is normal for the stove, if it might be the pellets, or what. So many things to get used to. But love th stove.

 

[CenterTree]

We just had a Castille installed this weekend. We have a roar or rumble akin to a car going by with a stereo blasting. A deep pitch rumbling. We didn't know if this is normal for the stove, if it might be the pellets, or what. So many things to get used to. But love th stove.

Try lowering your feed rate a bit at a time if the noise is on start up.( it may be getting to many pellets to burn with the air supply). Also it is VERY IMPORTANT to keep the burn pot clear of clinkers! Too many pellets with too little air may be causing the ROAR. Mine roars so loud it scares the heck out of my family,,but after I remove the clinker that is blocking those 4 air holes in the bottom of the pot , then the noise will subside. You may hear a "whistling" sound also, this could be from those drill holes being clogged with ash or metal burrs from the factory... I scraped mine out with a .38 caliber pistol brush. Good luck.