Quadra-fire Castile Problems

[tjnamtiw]

I have cleaned everything on the exhaust path. There is no holes on the pot floor/trap door. there is only 4 small holes on the bottom of the pot its self and those are clean. The control box is clear. And the control is set on 4.

I have the feed rate all the way down and on high the flame is at least 6" above the top of the fire pot. The flue is 4" stainless steel liner. the chimney is about 15' and does not have an outside air kit. I also have a CB 1200 insert in the basement that is running great.

There are EIGHT small holes in the bottom of the firepot, not four. Four are at the base of the sloped bottom and four more in the front of the pot just above the swinging dump valve.

 

[QuadCT]

I do make sure that all the hole in the fire pot are cleaned out when I clean the stove and yes there are four on the sloped side and the others that are on the other side.

After running the stove again last night it does seam that the combustion motor is speeding up and slowing down at times. On these stove are the motors variable speed depending on the temperature or the thermocouple, or is there an issue with the motor or control board.

Thank you for the help this has be frustrating trying to figure the problem out.

 

[kappel15]

The fans only run on 3 settings, no variables

 

[QuadCT]

The fans only run on 3 settings, no variables

Would you say that if it is varying speed is that a motor issue or control board?

 

[kappel15]

Could be either or just bad wire connections. Got a electric motor shop you can take it to, to have tested? Or know someone with a stove you can test your box in?

 

[QuadCT]

I think I am going to take the box out of the CB 1200 and change the setting on it and try it in the castile. I just hope that I dont have 2 messed up stoves after this.

 

[kappel15]

Just make dam sure you unplug both stoves before installing or removing those boxes. Should have no issues otherwise. kap

 

[peirhead]

How big a space are you working in (and how airtight) ,,,it is sounding to me like the stove is getting starved for air....try opening a window in a nearby room to make sure there is sufficient air available...you might be a good candidate for an OAK kit!!

 

[QuadCT]

Well I have figured something out. Behind the the back tiles I removed the rope gasket from the far left and far right. I stove has been running a lot better.

 

[kappel15]

Not following you. Can you explain better, or show pics? kap

 

[hooter04]

I think I know what gasket you are talking about,I haven't torn mine apart that far yet ,but I do remember seeing something like that in the upper right&left top corners.I thought maybe that was like fire blanket behind the tiles.

 

[QuadCT]

The Rope gaskets where along the sides, right behind the back tiles.

 

[Former Farmer]

Is your baffle installed correctly? Mine is installed all the way to the right side of the stove. I don't know as if it would make any difference or not with your air flow problems.

 

[tjnamtiw]

I learned in another thread that somewhere along the way the Chinese changed the position of the baffle plate from far right, where mine is too, to the center.

I have no rope gasket where you are showing but who knows what's right or not with the design changing/evolving? Do your baffles actually lock into place? They look like they are just sitting there resting against the gaskets.

 

[QuadCT]

The baffle is all the way to the right. The bricks are set into a notched channel on sides, it seamed the rope was there to just make the bricks sit tight into the channels. I have been running the stove for a full day so far and the burn pot is not filling up with ash and a very hot clean flame.

 

[tjnamtiw]

Unless someone else can chime in and say they have rope at those locations, I'm inclined to say that the former owners were modifying the stove for some reason. There should be a loop of rope around the drop chute but not the sides.

Those two brick pieces in your photo definitely don't look like they are all the way back in position, which would allow air to bypass the heat exchanger.

 

[kappel15]

I don't get what they would do anyway. All heat is suppose to go up left and across heat exchanger tubes

 

[DMKNLD]

Unless someone else can chime in and say they have rope at those locations, I'm inclined to say that the former owners were modifying the stove for some reason. There should be a loop of rope around the drop chute but not the sides.

Those two brick pieces in your photo definitely don't look like they are all the way back in position, which would allow air to bypass the heat exchanger.

TJ et al: My vintage Free-standing has rope gaskets as well where QuadCT's picture shows - they run along both stove edges behind the right and left plates and extend part way up the first sloped part above the heat exchanger baffle, if that makes sense.

And I have no gasket rope around the drop chute, as the Insert manual shows in Fig 37.4. http://hearthnhome.com/downloads/installManuals/250_7251.pdf . Go figure !! It looks like it is either a model year difference and / or an Insert vs Free - standing maybe ?

That same 37.4 figure also shows the tabs that the plates inset into, which is how mine set in, and you're right, it looks in Quad CT's pic like his right and left side plate edges are not set in the tabs.

 

[tjnamtiw]

Live and learn. There seems to be no rhyme or reason for year to year changes. It makes it tough to troubleshoot someone else's stove!

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

There was a vendor mod to the inserts that involved gasketing and hopper fires IIRC there was a thread on here about the fires and such.

 

[Former Farmer]

There should be a loop of rope around the drop chute but not the sides.

Mine are exactly as described by tjnamtiw.

 

[kappel15]

Live and learn. There seems to be no rhyme or reason for year to year changes. It makes it tough to troubleshoot someone else's stove!

Amen