Sorry, but it's a Quadra-Fire Castile stove. Can't edit the title... Bought a very little used Quadra-Fire Castile NG stove for my little 1400sq ft house. When it's working, it will heat the entire house, barely. During negative temps in the middle of winter, it will struggle.
However, I bought it for $300 two years ago. Last winter, it started getting harder to start. Had to flick the rocker switch "on" switch back and forth a few times to get it to light, then it started shutting off after just a couple of hours.
I talked to my local HVAC guy and he said to just take the logs out and clean off the thermopile with sandpaper or a wire brush.
I had to do that every month last season.
This season, that's not working. Took it apart and cleaned the thermopile with a wire brush and it made no difference.
So, I assume I need a new thermopile. No big deal, I hope. I think they're around $70. No idea how hard the install is going to be, though.
But, here's the thing; the stove is very basic and has no thermostat or blower. I have to manually turn it on and off. During the winter when it's close to zero outside, I have to leave it on 24/7 to maintain 65 degrees in the house.
I was hoping to add a thermostat and blower, but I was told that would cost several hundred dollars.
So I'm considering replacing the unit with a new more robust unit with greater BTU output and a built-in fan and thermostat. That's going to be a good bit of money.
So, first thing is should I replace the thermopile to get the stove at least working more reliably for the immediate future?
Second, is adding a thermostat and blower really that expensive and difficult?
However, I bought it for $300 two years ago. Last winter, it started getting harder to start. Had to flick the rocker switch "on" switch back and forth a few times to get it to light, then it started shutting off after just a couple of hours.
I talked to my local HVAC guy and he said to just take the logs out and clean off the thermopile with sandpaper or a wire brush.
I had to do that every month last season.
This season, that's not working. Took it apart and cleaned the thermopile with a wire brush and it made no difference.
So, I assume I need a new thermopile. No big deal, I hope. I think they're around $70. No idea how hard the install is going to be, though.
But, here's the thing; the stove is very basic and has no thermostat or blower. I have to manually turn it on and off. During the winter when it's close to zero outside, I have to leave it on 24/7 to maintain 65 degrees in the house.
I was hoping to add a thermostat and blower, but I was told that would cost several hundred dollars.
So I'm considering replacing the unit with a new more robust unit with greater BTU output and a built-in fan and thermostat. That's going to be a good bit of money.
So, first thing is should I replace the thermopile to get the stove at least working more reliably for the immediate future?
Second, is adding a thermostat and blower really that expensive and difficult?
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