Quadrafire Castile Insert gasket

[Nicholas440]

I have been meaning to clean out the vent pipe on my Castile Insert, and I notice this will involve unclipping 2 clips that hold the pipe onto the back of the unit.

Im wondering however if there is a gasket on that rectangular pipe that is on there or not. I see on my diagram in the manual it shows the Vent Pipe Adapter, and has a gasket listed with that part, but Im not sure , since I have not removed that pipe off the back of the combustion blower. My draft is very good, and I have only run 2 1/2 tons of premium pellets up that new vent that was installed last year. When I clean my unit I look at the blades of the combustion blower and there is very little ash on them, I vacuum that off usually once a month from inside the combustion blower fan, its' accessable from inside the firebox when I break the insert down.

The dealer who installed the new vent told me he didnt think it needed cleaned out this year if the draft was fine. I see people here saying they clean the vent out after every ton, that seems like a lot of ash in the pipe to me. My old vent pipe was only 7 foot long , up into the chimney, and when they removed it last year to put in a 15 foot new pipe, and banged it on the ground there was about 2 tablespoons of ash that fell out, and that was with 4 tons of burning or one whole season for me. The dealer said it was surprisingly clean. Im burning the same brand of pellets this year. Very little ash at all even in my firebox.


Anyone who has a Castile Insert have some info on removing that adapter pipe for cleaning ? Will I need a gasket to replace one or not ? Also will I need to pull the insert out a little or can I just remove the side panel on the right side and reach in to unhook it ?


Thanks,

 

[Fish On]

funny thing i just cleaned mine and was thinking the same. you really dont need to take that off unless the gasket looks crappy. i was able to loosen my vent pipe and then just sealed it again.

its a pita cleaning an insert thats for sure i was able to slide it out very easy. i installed it so i kind of knew how to do it myself.

true about a good pellet you get what you pay for

 

[Nicholas440]

Thanks Fish, Im assuming you just slid your insert out and pulled off the vent pipe where it hooks onto the adapter pipe in the back? That sounds like a good way to do it. I asked the installer when they put the insert in how you clean it and he just said unhook those 2 clips, and tap on the vent and vacuum up what falls out, or run a brush into the vent. But he was not really specific about it or didnt say pull the vent pipe off and then just re seal it with silicone.

 

[Fish On]

that would have been the easy way but mine has two screws with the gasket and i would bet that gasket is not cheap to buy.

it took me a while to do mine only because i did not want to scape my floors and tile. i have about 22 feet of pipe and that lent eater really kicks butt.

good luck

 

[Former Farmer]

I unhook the 2 clips and lift the adapter off of the stove while pulling the stove out. I access the clips through the right panel. My insert is raised up and I made a dolly that I slide the insert onto and take it outside to clean. For cleaning the vent pipe, I take a garbage bag and poke a hole through it so I can get the shaft for the cleaning brush through it. Tape the bag to the bottom of the pipe and brush away. Most of the mess from cleaning is either contained in the garbage bag or performed outside. Getting my vent pipe to line back up during the reinstall is a pain in the butt. After 3 cleanings, I have only replaced the gasket once. That was because I was not careful when reinstalling the stove and had accidently tore the gasket.

 

[jtp10181]

The gasket is a red silicone gasket with some sort of a mesh in it. Very heavy duty. I have never had to replace one.

I avoid taking those clips off at all costs... very much a PITA to get it all back together.

 

[Nicholas440]

Thanks for the replys, I imagine I will have to slide it out a bit so I can get in there and unhook the vent and get a brush kit, and try that garbage bag idea, sounds like a good way to keep a lot of the ash dust down to a minimum. I suppose I'll find out just how much ash is in the pipe, I dont think there is a lot up in there, these Country Boy White Lightnings pallets seem to burn reallly clean with almost no ash but thanks again for the responses.