Question For Santa Fe Owners

[gerryger]

As a fairly new Santa Fe owner I was hoping to get some feedback from current owners mainly pertaining to flame height. I just watched some you tube videos of some pellet stoves and the flame on them is consistently 4 to 6 inches above the firepot. First, I mainly burn Hammers. I have always felt that the flame height is not high enough on my stove. The flame really fluctuates a lot. A lot of times the flame is below the the top of the firepot. I have the heat setting on high. However I do not have the feed rate fully opened (my dealer told me that I would use a lot of pellets if i kept it fully open....factory settings should be fine). I just feel that the flame should be consistently above the fire pot. Anybody else experiencing this. I have tried other pellets and I get the same results.

 

[DexterDay]

You must open the feed rate to get more fuel.... Regardless of what your dealer says. If you want a bigger flame, you need more fuel. Period..

Oh, BTW..... Welcome. I posted on your last thread about paint. I need to get in the habit of looking at Post Counts.

 

[smalltown]

Welcome Gerry!

gerry I've got the Castile which is a cousin to the Santa FE.

Take a look in your manual my Castile indicates adjusting the flame of height to 6" above the burn pot when operated on high. Adjusted by moving the slider to increse or decrease the amount of pellets feeding.

You will notoice that the flame height will cycle up and down that's normal especially noticable on low.
Rarely will I burn on low or high.

PS I do think you will need to get anywhere near full open

 

[tjnamtiw]

You will find that you will need to adjust the feed rate when you change brands, lots, or even within the same lot as pellet quality and density naturally change. It is NOT a set and forget kind of thing. When running on high, your flame should be 4" in height but, like you said, it varies up and down. It's a pretty subjective guess as to the average height. Just after a good drop of pellets, it may jump up all the way to the top angled plate but then calm down. If you are consistently below the burn pot, then your feed isn't high enough. You want that 4" height on high, so you can use medium and low. Your feed rate gate should normally not be fully open, but again it depends on the pellets. I find that the longer the pellet, the wider the opening has to be. Your flame should be blue if you look down into the pot and quite active with yellow flames shooting up.

One important thing that some new owners don't know is that, besides those big holes around the pot, there are 8 small holes that need to be cleaned out each time you do a normal cleaning (every couple of days). 4 are at the bottom of the angle and 4 are at the bottom on the front side of the pot. Use a small gun bore brush of about .32 caliber. I bend a small brush handle to reach them. Takes about a minute to clean them but makes a huge difference in burn quality. Also pull out your ash pan and make sure the bottom swing plate at the bottom of the burn pot is not sagging down. That will also cause a lazy flame. Opposite the pivot, the gap between the plate and the burn pot should be less than the thickness of a dime. This is one area where the quality control in China really sucked. The swing plate should be held by a shoulder bolt of exactly the correct height to allow the nut to be tightened and still leave the swing plate correctly adjusted. Mine sure isn't.

We are here if you have questions about maintenance or cleaning. If you have logs in your fireplace, get rid of them. It makes cleaning 10 times as hard. I have two sets for sale if anyone is interested.

Yes, welcome aboard.

 

[Vinelife]

Yeah, open the feed rate up. Better to be too high than below pot...

 

[smalltown]

tjnamtiw good catch on my mistake of stating 6" and not 4". I can't remember the last time my memory failed me :red:

gerry I would add that I think it's not just a simple open the feed plate and let her rip.

If people remember my first experiences with my Castile I had my "Ed Sullivan" (a really big fire) big start up fires that was a little unnerving to say the least.
I found that slowly increasing the feed rate door and letting it run that way for at least 15 minutes allows the pellets to work through the stove worked best for me.

 

[tjnamtiw]

tjnamtiw good catch on my mistake of stating 6" and not 4". I can't remember the last time my memory failed me :red:

I had to look at my manual to be sure. I know I've said 6" several times in the past. We both know it's really a judgement call at best as the flame goes up and down. Memory???? What memory???

 

[St_Earl]

tjnamtiw-

is it safe to say the the .32 caliber gun brush would work for most all brands and models of pellet stoves?
there is a gun shop right down the road here.
we aren't getting our stove for a couple of weeks yet. but i am already getting things together. have the trip-lite and ash vacuum so far.

 

[tjnamtiw]

tjnamtiw-

is it safe to say the the .32 caliber gun brush would work for most all brands and models of pellet stoves?
there is a gun shop right down the road here.
we aren't getting our stove for a couple of weeks yet. but i am already getting things together. have the trip-lite and ash vacuum so far.

I have no idea. What kind of stove are you getting? Perhaps someone with that brand can advise. Put your stove brand and any other info into your signature to help everyone know about you. Go up to the top where it says 'Your control panel' and then on the next page, on the left is where you edit your signature. OK?

 

[jtakeman]

is it safe to say the the .32 caliber gun brush would work for most all brands and models of pellet stoves?
there is a gun shop right down the road here.
we aren't getting our stove for a couple of weeks yet. but i am already getting things together. have the trip-lite and ash vacuum so far.

Every stove uses a different hole size and total count in the burnpot and they can also vary the size of holes as well. You'll have to use measure the hole size and get a brush thats slightly larger.

 

[St_Earl]

thanks, guys.
i'm waiting till we actually have our stove before i put it in my sig.
but we are stopping in at the dealer on our way up to close on the house this coming monday.
i'll get a measurement then.
definitely looking forward to having everything up and running.

 

[sante fe]

Your going to have to get that feed rate dialed in. Like they said above pellet size makes a difference, and different pellet manufactures quality will also effect it as well.The sante Fe doesn't like long pellets. It a good stove you will learn there are a few tricks to it.good luck

 

[Countryboymo]

If the pellets I am running are long and hardwood I have had to open the slide all the way open to keep a fairly consistent 4" flame. I also had the burn pot floor plate with excess gap and had to tighten it up. The screws on the door hinge stripped out in the sheetmetal and the hinge itself got sloppy and allowed the door to sag. I had to drill the holes out a touch and replace them with machine screws and backer nuts. I also put locktite red high strength hoping it burns into the threads. I can't say I have really had any issues with my Castile other than some minor tweaking/adjusting.

My only real beef is I have a porcelain unit and I never for the life of me have got it set to where everything aligns perfectly like it should. The design on this part of the stove is the worst by far.

 

[CdoubleZ]

While we're on the sante fe topic, anyone have any idea what the touchup paint is for this stove? I have one and have quite a bit to touch up on the outside.

I thought I had seen a touchup kit from Quadrafire somewhere... looking to touch my stove up before I set it up for the winter.

Thanks.

 

[kilbury]

While we're on the sante fe topic, anyone have any idea what the touchup paint is for this stove? I have one and have quite a bit to touch up on the outside.

I thought I had seen a touchup kit from Quadrafire somewhere... looking to touch my stove up before I set it up for the winter.

Thanks.

I believe they have switched over to thermolux brand paint and it should be metallic black. Older years of that model use to use Stove Bright paint

 

[CdoubleZ]

like-a-dis?

http://www.efireplacestore.com/cpf-43205.html

 

[kilbury]

Yup, should be available at most hearth stores and hardware stores for around 12-14 bucks.

 

[Vinelife]

Some peeps keep there feed rate all the way closed ... I dont get it.. sometimes in order to get a recommended flame you need to open it a bit....

 

[sante fe]

What speed do you guys normally run your stove at ?

. I'm almost always at medium.

 

[Vinelife]

I keep mine on high, i'm trying to heat my whole house...

 

[sante fe]

put your ear plugs in on high

 

[DexterDay]

My CB 1200 is a little bigger. But I have found if you run the unit continously. That you can run on a lower setting. On a thermostat my 1st yrar, I kept the stove on Medium. After that, its been thermo in the shoulders and 24/7 on low. I still use low on the thermo. Takes longer to heat the place up. But it gives a good soak temp to the room. Once the temps hit around 0*, then I step it up to Medium for an hr or so before bed. This year, I plan on not touching Med with the addition of the woodstove in the basement. My low is prob your Med in terms of feed rate (lbs per hr)..

 

[Vinelife]

Mine is not loud on high, doesn't bother me at all....I enjoy the nice heat it puts out.

 

[Nicholas440]

I have a Quad Castile insert but adjusting the flame is the same its all matter of using the feed rate rod in or out. I have a DVD video that came with my Castile, and it shows the proper flame height.

They start with the feed rod all the way in, then set the stove on HIGH, and wait 10 minutes. If the flame is not 6 inches approximately above the rim of the burn pot they pull the feed rod out about 1/4 inch and repeat that until the flame is about 6 inches over the rim.

I did that with mine, and when I run it on LOW which I do most of the time, my flame barely rises over the rim of the pot, but for me thats plenty as all I need is my living room to be comfortable. In the coldest winter months I run it on MED and my flame is about 4 inches over the pot which is good and gives me a good amount of heat.

The higher your flame the more pellets you will use, and there is no real factory setting as its called. The factory sets the fuel rod to a set position and leaves it there. Your pellets will be different, and your installer should have test fired it and adjusted the feed rod for the optimum flame. You dont want that flame roaring against your top baffle plate, and at that height you'll get a lot of soot, and carbon all over the interior of your firebox.

Start with the rod closed, set it on HIGH, and move the feed rod out in small increments and watch the flame rise.


Good luck,

 

[tjnamtiw]

I have a Quad Castile insert but adjusting the flame is the same its all matter of using the feed rate rod in or out. I have a DVD video that came with my Castile, and it shows the proper flame height.

They start with the feed rod all the way in, then set the stove on HIGH, and wait 10 minutes. If the flame is not 6 inches approximately above the rim of the burn pot they pull the feed rod out about 1/4 inch and repeat that until the flame is about 6 inches over the rim.

I did that with mine, and when I run it on LOW which I do most of the time, my flame barely rises over the rim of the pot, but for me thats plenty as all I need is my living room to be comfortable. In the coldest winter months I run it on MED and my flame is about 4 inches over the pot which is good and gives me a good amount of heat.

The higher your flame the more pellets you will use, and there is no real factory setting as its called. The factory sets the fuel rod to a set position and leaves it there. Your pellets will be different, and your installer should have test fired it and adjusted the feed rod for the optimum flame. You dont want that flame roaring against your top baffle plate, and at that height you'll get a lot of soot, and carbon all over the interior of your firebox.

Start with the rod closed, set it on HIGH, and move the feed rod out in small increments and watch the flame rise.


Good luck,

Good explanation!