Quad Castille Issue

  • 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.

IHATEPROPANE

Minister of Fire
Feb 24, 2011
1,387
NoPellettons, MA
My friend bought a quad Castille insert...got about 4 tons through it lg,la Cretes,vermonts. At the end of the season it would not run on high. Finally got the tech out today and he said the reason was fines built up in the Auger causing it to turn slower, which would cause the fan to not go on high. To me this sounds like shenanigans but know for sure you folks would be able to verify or debunk this as being the cause.
 
The Castile is sensitive to fines and can cause not enough fuel to be delivered to keep a fire going, this situation can be more problematic if the fuel gate was not properly set.

What was the stove actually doing when it was run on high?

The explanation given by the tech however isn't correct.
 
The Castile is sensitive to fines and can cause not enough fuel to be delivered to keep a fire going, this situation can be more problematic if the fuel gate was not properly set.

What was the stove actually doing when it was run on high?

The explanation given by the tech however isn't correct.
The fuel gate was set wide open. The convection fan would not switch from med to high...low and med worked fine...high fan was same speed as med.
 
As an owner of a quad, I know the spring auger doesn't pull the fines out like the screw type augers. So they tend to pickup less fuel as the fines level grows. Easy fix is to empty the hopper and vacuum the fines that build in that area.

I thought the high speed was controller driven(voltage level)? Unless the high speed is driven with a snap disc, I can't see how the stove would know it wasn't putting out enough heat for the high speed.
 
As an owner of a quad, I know the spring auger doesn't pull the fines out like the screw type augers. So they tend to pickup less fuel as the fines level grows. Easy fix is to empty the hopper and vacuum the fines that build in that area.

I thought the high speed was controller driven(voltage level)? Unless the high speed is driven with a snap disc, I can't see how the stove would know it wasn't putting out enough heat for the high speed.

That is correct the stove has no way to not ramp up to the switch setting other than a bad switch or a messed up controller.

ETA: Thus the tech's explination is incorrect.
 
As an owner of a quad, I know the spring auger doesn't pull the fines out like the screw type augers. So they tend to pickup less fuel as the fines level grows. Easy fix is to empty the hopper and vacuum the fines that build in that area.

I thought the high speed was controller driven(voltage level)? Unless the high speed is driven with a snap disc, I can't see how the stove would know it wasn't putting out enough heat for the high speed.


This is exactly what my thinking is. The tech said the fines slowed the Auger speed therefore the the fan would not go on high because it new the Auger wasn't turning fast enough.

To me it sounds like the tech didnt want to say the quad had a faulty anything therefore preserving the quad reputation, and this was his excuse.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.