Quadrafire Contour pellet stove buz at 20? CSS?

[Don2222]

Hello

This old wood pellet stove! I did the auger service and cleaned and buffed the auger abouut a week ago which helped alot.

The stove runs fine except when it is below freezing in the morning in the shed/workshop it will not start!
The thermocouple and ignitor work fine. If I do a jump start a fire the bugger up manually, the auger starts turning fine.

Listen to this video when turning the stove on at 20 Deg F. It has the original feed motor and gray control box vintage year 2k. Maybe CSS = cold start syndrome?



What will fix this?

 

[Don2222]

Hey Guys

The shed was at 20 Degrees, So I started a fire in the Quad Manually and kept had feeding until the convection blower started and the shed warmed up to 34 Degs. At this temp the auger started to run and the stove is running fine now.

Any Comments? Should I get a new Control Box?

 

[Bioburner]

Wouldn't a cheap electric heater on a timer set to blow on the stove before you start be a lot cheaper? Ive had couple differant stoves that hate out of normal operating range temps. The newer Hestia will time out the startup cycle if room temp is below freezing.

 

[Don2222]

Wouldn't a cheap electric heater on a timer set to blow on the stove before you start be a lot cheaper? Ive had couple differant stoves that hate out of normal operating range temps. The newer Hestia will time out the startup cycle if room temp is below freezing.

Thanks for the Info! Good idea. I would like to fix it, if at all possible. Since the auger motor would not turn, maybe a new motor would help but not convinced it would start at those temps. :-(
An electric heater may take time to warm the stove up though.

 

[Bioburner]

Maybe a magnetic contact heater. Heats up quick and not a big electic draw. We here in northern MN have a lot of ways to get things warmed up.

 

[RockyMtnHigh]

I think your control box is fine. The auger motor just may not like getting that cold as these stoves are kind of meant to be inside a warmer structure. It may be worth pulling out the motor and putting direct power to it when it's that cold to see if it runs. You could try replacing it if you get the same results but you may just have the same problem, just with a new motor. Too bad they don't make block heaters for pellet stoves lol.

Maybe put a little work lamp in there set up on a timer to turn on and warm things up a little for like 2 hours before you head out to the shop? I've done that to keep things warm under the hood of a car before on real cold nights for easier starting in the morning.

 

[Don2222]

I think your control box is fine. The auger motor just may not like getting that cold as these stoves are kind of meant to be inside a warmer structure. It may be worth pulling out the motor and putting direct power to it when it's that cold to see if it runs. You could try replacing it if you get the same results but you may just have the same problem, just with a new motor. Too bad they don't make block heaters for pellet stoves lol.

Maybe put a little work lamp in there set up on a timer to turn on and warm things up a little for like 2 hours before you head out to the shop? I've done that to keep things warm under the hood of a car before on real cold nights for easier starting in the morning.

X2 I agree, I talked to a Harman/Quad dealer today. The Tech said even Harmans have trouble with the thermostat/room probe in below freezing weather so Quads may have trouble also. In this case the Feed Motor was buzzing so it seems obvious that the FEED motor is the culprit.

Here is a very similar motor
http://www.tradekd.com/product/1769069/synchronous_motor_49TYZ_.html
Operating Temp
-10.0 Deg C to 60 Deg C or
14.0 Deg F to 140 Deg F

So even if the shed is 20 Deg F, the Quadrafire Contour Feed motor should turn?
Maybe a defective or very old motor?

Here are all the specs on the feed motor. Is there anyway I can find out the Tempperature Operating Specs for sure? Maybe a different motor would work in low temps? ?

The HHT Quadrafire OEM part comes with the auger mounting bracket and Molex plug. But no big deal!

Here are the Quad Motor Specs
Box
Part # 812-4421
Desc: FEED MTR CONT/CAST/121/12
Order Nbr: 197155
Production Date
Order Type
Disposition UM

Motor Tag
49TYZ -120B1 Synchronous Motor NO. 0917
Part No. 7000-500
AC120V 60Hz
50 (60) ma 6W 2.4 RPM
Z P CLASS: B cRUus E228950

Have you seen any of these? How can we find out the operating temperature specs?

See pics below
Click too Enlarge:

 

[SwineFlue]

Don, have you measured the voltage while the auger is doing this? It may not be getting 110 volts.

You could also use a heat gun or hair dryer to warm up one component before you cold-start the stove until you find the culprit.

 

[Don2222]

Don, have you measured the voltage while the auger is doing this? It may not be getting 110 volts.

You could also use a heat gun or hair dryer to warm up one component before you cold-start the stove until you find the culprit.

Did not measure the voltage but it sounds like it is getting some voltage. I guess measuring the voltage would give us a better indicator where the problem lies.
That should be the next step in this puzzle.
Did you see the similar motor I just found. It works at 14.0 Deg F so if 110v is going to the current motor, then the motor is bad! Have to wait now till it gets colder again! LOL

I heat gun/hair dryer is a good idea too!