quadrafire 800

[Yakimafrank]

Hi all, new to posting on forums.
I have a Quadrafire 800 built in 1994. I bought it used a few years ago and with the replacement of the snapdiscs and the vacuum switch tubing has worked flawlessly.
A few nights ago it started making a loud clicking sound. I checked everything, found that it was coming from the control box. I pulled the control box took the cover off then put it back in. I could see right away that it was one of the relays making all the noise. Assuming that it was the relay, I looked up the part number and was able to order all four, same manufacturer and part number. I was able to get them in and I still have the loud clicking sound. But now I noticed that my feed auger and the igniter are not shutting off. (im not sure if this was the case before I replaced the relays or not) I know they shut off prior to having problems.
This is how it operates. The exhaust fan never shuts off unless it is unplugged. When you turn up the thermostat, Call light comes on, igniter and auger both come on. Some time after the fire starts the green light comes on, shortly after that the red light comes on solid a few minutes later it starts clicking faster and faster until it is almost a buzz. Any thoughts people?

 

[Lake Girl]

Hoping kappel15 sees this as he has serviced many quadrafire stoves. If he doesn't show up, try a PM.

 

[DMKNLD]

Hey Yakimafrank,

Happy Holidays and welcome to this forum ! My 1st generation Quad Castile isn't quite as vintage as yours, but I take it that this is the original control box on your Nova 800 ? If you know someone who has a similar 800, 1000 or 1100i model stove you could put your control box into their stove (UNPLUGGED), to see if it recreates your auger feed and igniter issues, but that will likely be a tough find with a retired stove model like yours. Or a Quad dealer can usually test your control box if you have one near you.

Here is a link to a prior post last year from another Nova 800 owner who had the exact same clicking issue with his control box, along with some component failure-to-turn-off glitches as well. He ended up replacing his control box, which fixed his problems. https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/quadrafire-800-bad-control-box.139068/

If it's got 20+ years on the original box, that's a testament to the durability and longevity of the early Quad pellet stoves ! kap will no doubt sign on and offer any other thoughts on possible troubleshooting, but it sounds like your control box is on the way out. My local Quad dealer tinkers with control box repairs, and I know there are folks on-line who do that kind of electrical work on circuit board TRIACS. Maybe the thing to do is spring for a new box and then get someone to repair yours to have as a spare ? Don't count on getting 20 years out of a new replacement box, unfortunately !

The box for those vintage models are a pricey Quad part for $ure ! The cheapest I found was on Amazon through Clearview Fireplace and Patio for $289.99 + $5.24 shipping, with others I saw on-line going for as much as $394. Ouch ! http://www.amazon.com/Quadrafire-Pellet-Stove-Control-812-0261/dp/B005GQ7LE6

Post back on how things play out for you. Regards, DK

 

[Yakimafrank]

Thanks Lake Girl and DMKNLD,
I have my Stove up and running tonight. In addition to the $26 I spent for the new relays it only cost me $1.49 plus tax. I believe it was the capacitor the whole time. So far everything is back to normal. I may have to replace the potentiometers on the board, I'm pretty sure they not functioning right.
As a side note I found the board is cheapest from the original manufacturer, Pantrol in Spokane WA. I called it was 289 with shipping. They make many others too, not just for quads

 

[Yakimafrank]

Thanks Lake Girl and DMKNLD,
I have my Stove up and running tonight. In addition to the $26 I spent for the new relays it only cost me $1.49 plus tax. I believe it was the capacitor the whole time. So far everything is back to normal. I may have to replace the potentiometers on the board, I'm pretty sure they not functioning right.
As a side note I found the board is cheapest from the original manufacturer, Pantrol in Spokane WA. I called it was 289 with shipping. They make many others too, not just for quads

Hi all, I pulled my board after not being able to get the exhaust fan to run long enough on initial start up. I was only able to get about 6 minutes and that just wasnt enough for a cold start. I checked both Potentiometers. They are 502r meaning they are rated at 5000 ohms of resistance max. I was only getting about half of that on eit What was happening is the exhaust was fan was stopping before the thermocouple could tell the board that the fire was burning, causing a shut down.

Hey Yakimafrank,

Happy Holidays and welcome to this forum ! My 1st generation Quad Castile isn't quite as vintage as yours, but I take it that this is the original control box on your Nova 800 ? If you know someone who has a similar 800, 1000 or 1100i model stove you could put your control box into their stove (UNPLUGGED), to see if it recreates your auger feed and igniter issues, but that will likely be a tough find with a retired stove model like yours. Or a Quad dealer can usually test your control box if you have one near you.

Here is a link to a prior post last year from another Nova 800 owner who had the exact same clicking issue with his control box, along with some component failure-to-turn-off glitches as well. He ended up replacing his control box, which fixed his problems. https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/quadrafire-800-bad-control-box.139068/

If it's got 20+ years on the original box, that's a testament to the durability and longevity of the early Quad pellet stoves ! kap will no doubt sign on and offer any other thoughts on possible troubleshooting, but it sounds like your control box is on the way out. My local Quad dealer tinkers with control box repairs, and I know there are folks on-line who do that kind of electrical work on circuit board TRIACS. Maybe the thing to do is spring for a new box and then get someone to repair yours to have as a spare ? Don't count on getting 20 years out of a new replacement box, unfortunately !

The box for those vintage models are a pricey Quad part for $ure ! The cheapest I found was on Amazon through Clearview Fireplace and Patio for $289.99 + $5.24 shipping, with others I saw on-line going for as much as $394. Ouch ! http://www.amazon.com/Quadrafire-Pellet-Stove-Control-812-0261/dp/B005GQ7LE6

Post back on how things play out for you. Regards, DK

Im not sure if it is the original board or not, I think it may be because the tag is so old. I think everything except the auger motor is original (it looks alot newer). I got the stove cheap because there were 2 small cracks on the welds on the heat exchanger, Im a welder so that was an easy fix. The vacuum switch was bypassed, I fixed that and replaced snap disc #1 & 2. Since then it has run almost flawlessly. Although with my research Ive come to believe that the trim-pots have been going bad for awhile, ie: not running long enough to start the fire, sometimes the igniter would quit too soon to start the fire.

 

[DMKNLD]

Glad to hear you're up and running again, Yf - warm is good ! Troubleshooting and repairing control box capacitors and TRIAC issues is certainly above my pellet pay grade ! Good on you that you've got the knowledge to fix that kind of stuff.

If your OEM ceramic fire pot has survived all the years that's quite a feat also. Mine started to develop hairline cracks in the bottom of it where the heat is most concentrated, so I replaced it with the updated EZ clean cast pot, which Quad redesigned to improve the igniter placement and the air hole design to improve the air flow. Much easier to keep clean as well.

I remember one guy who posted on here a couple years back who had a 1000 model I believe, who had the bottom of his ceramic fire pot completely break off and fall into the ash drawer - so keep an eye on yours ! That's when it certainly wouldn't be good to have the stove running with the vacuum switch bypassed !

The upgraded Quad control boxes seem to have fixed the igniter and feed issues that typically caused the frequent nuisance shut downs and failed start issues. I was having those regularly with my OEM grey control box, but with the new clear box I have not had a problem with that since. Burning good quality softwood pellets has certainly helped too, instead of the 'dirt in a bag' pellets I mistakenly bought 4 tons of before trial burning a few bags. Live and learn, brother !

Happy New Year to you and yours, DK

 

[Lake Girl]

Yakimafrank, are you planning on springing for the new control board or trying to repair triacs and pots? Or both? I tend to agree with DMKNLD that a new control and repair of the old would have you sitting with a back-up so you have reliable heat.

Keep us posted on how you make out... Best for the New Year!

 

[Yakimafrank]

Glad to hear you're up and running again, Yf - warm is good ! Troubleshooting and repairing control box capacitors and TRIAC issues is certainly above my pellet pay grade ! Good on you that you've got the knowledge to fix that kind of stuff.

If your OEM ceramic fire pot has survived all the years that's quite a feat also. Mine started to develop hairline cracks in the bottom of it where the heat is most concentrated, so I replaced it with the updated EZ clean cast pot, which Quad redesigned to improve the igniter placement and the air hole design to improve the air flow. Much easier to keep clean as well.

I remember one guy who posted on here a couple years back who had a 1000 model I believe, who had the bottom of his ceramic fire pot completely break out and fall into the ash drawer - so keep an eye on yours ! That's when it certainly wouldn't be good to have the vacuum switch bypassed !

The upgraded Quad control boxes seem to have fixed the igniter and feed issues that typically caused the frequent nuisance shut downs and failed start issues. I was having those regularly with my OEM grey control box, but with the new clear box I have not had a problem with that since. Burning good quality softwood pellets has certainly helped too, instead of the 'dirt in a bag' pellets I mistakenly bought 4 tons of before trial burning a few bags. Live and learn, brother !

Happy New Year to you and yours, DK

Lol, Yes I forgot, the firepot has most certainly been replaced. It is a cast one for sure so I assume it was replaced at some point. Thanks for the compliment, but it was more a matter of research and luck. One thing I read on another forum- a pcb repair forum was to first check capacitors, then all other moving parts. The capacitor showed no outward damage but upon further inspection was only hanging on by one connector.

Yakimafrank, are you planning on springing for the new control board or trying to repair triacs and pots? Or both? I tend to agree with DMKNLD that a new control and repair of the old would have you sitting with a back-up so you have reliable heat.

Keep us posted on how you make out... Best for the New Year!

I've got the stove up and running, I ordered new trim pots this morning. I believe the triac to be fine. But will know more after I get the pots in the board. To be honest I'm not likely to order a new board considering how reliable this one has been. Lol... After all, when I get the pots in I will have replaced all wear and moving parts with equal or higher quality replacements. Lol after investing all this time into it I've become quite fond of this one.
Happy New Year!