Thermostat?

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.
Hello, I am new here. Used to get good info over at iburncorn, but it is not responding. Then I found this site.

O.K., it is getting into burning season. My Quadrafire Mt Vernon (pre-AE) will run through a cycle and come up to the temp set on the thermostat. Then it has been sitting there with the call light on when the thermostat calls for heat again. I had been hitting the reset button and it would take off. However, this morning I walked over to the thermostat and turned it down and then back up. The stove took right off and lit.
I didn't even suspect the thermostat because the call light came on just like it is supposed to when the thermostat calls for heat. Is it possible that the thermostat isn't sending back enough voltage or something to actually start the cycle on the stove????
 
I had the same problem with my Sante Fe last fall. This problem surfaces on here quite often. For me, it was that I didn't have the feed gate open far enough for the new pellets, which were longer so I didn't get a good enough initial burn to start feeding. Also, my first problem was that the batteries in the thermostat didn't have enough juice to pull in the relay to tell the stove to start up again.
 
Check the feed adjuster first make sure it is not all the way down....That is what it sounds like to me, It all depends on how much pellets the stove is getting. I would say i make at lest 30 house calls a year for this same type of problem and it is the feed rod. As long as the red call light is coming on the the thermostat has done its job.....If you can get the stove going by pushing the reset button and it stays going then that would mean the thermo couple is doing its job..... hope this helps
 
Check the feed adjuster first make sure it is not all the way down....That is what it sounds like to me, It all depends on how much pellets the stove is getting. I would say i make at lest 30 house calls a year for this same type of problem and it is the feed rod. As long as the red call light is coming on the the thermostat has done its job.....If you can get the stove going by pushing the reset button and it stays going then that would mean the thermo couple is doing its job..... hope this helps

Thanks! That was my thinking about if the call light comes on the thermostat has to be working. I will open up my feed chute a bit more and see how she acts.
I do need to replace the door gasket. I have the new one setting there. Will that make it act funny?
 
If the door gasket is bad it could stop it from feeding but it would have to be pretty bad to trip the vac switch on a quad (Alot of our customers have some pretty ratty gaskets and those ol quad's keep on a going) My money is on the feed plate it is prolley all the way down
 
If the vacuum switch was bad, it would never feed the initial batch of pellets either. Most likely the feed gate. Open it all the way. Be bold and then turn it back down as needed to get 4-6" flame height on HIGH.

When it mis-fires, are there any unburned pellets in the burn pot? Is the burn pot opening in front of the igniter clear?
 
It was brought to my attention last season, that the Non AE also starts on the setting that you have it on (if its on Low, the stove starts in Low). Where the Castiooe, Santa Fe, and Classic Bay all start in High regardless of what heat setting the user has it on. Once the thermocouple senses fire, it drops down to selected setting.

The forum member fought tooth and nail. He said that a Non AE on a lower setting , is very hard to start when cold. Said its a common problem (low air flow for ignitor if on Low).

I would check the feed gate also. But that tid-bit above is what I was schooled in last year ;)

I dont like to run on High (or Med for that matter) so I wouldn't have the patience to babysit a stove for its ignition. At least thats what I got out of the thread last year. Every cold start had to be on High or Quad. Once the stove was started, then turn to desired selection and the stove will maintain its heat and should start fine the rest of the day? Wish I could remember the thread.

Anyways. Open gate and let'er rip! :cool:
 
Thanks everyone! I opened the gate up a bit yesterday when I got home. It seemed to do the trick. Stove was warm this morning and no call light. Overhead blower in my ceiling was running, so that all means that my basement is maintaining it's set temp.
I run my stove on the high setting. It seems to me like it runs less on "High" when using a thermostat. The room temp reaches it's setting quicker.

How difficult is changing the door gasket on one of these? It is one of those "Tadpole" gaskets. I have the part laying behind the stove.
 
The gasket is pretty simple to relace takes about ten min if you have done a few should not be over 30 if it is the first time, glad your stove is working :)
 
O.K., Thought that the stove was all set after opening the feed gate. I did replace the gasket on the door too. However, this stove is starting to drive me bonkers.
It will run fine for a few cycles, then all of a sudden you notice that the call light is on and the stove is cold. Hit the RESET button and she takes right off and lights.
This morning I ended up hitting RESET twice before I had flame.

The ignitor was glowing nice and red when I was first trying to figure this out. Haven't checked it since opening the feed gate and it acted like it was all set.

Any ideas???????
 
This is a quad they are also noted for having auger turn direction issues. There is a start capacitor in the feed system when this puppy isn't there or has crapped out the motor doesn't alway turn in the correct direction resulting in piddle poor feeding leading to missed ignitions.

We have had cases on here where the motor doesn't always turn, turns only in reverse, and alternates direction. This is not good for pellet feeding at all.

Visit a quad dealer and get a replacement.
 
This is a quad they are also noted for having auger turn direction issues. There is a start capacitor in the feed system when this puppy isn't there or has crapped out the motor doesn't alway turn in the correct direction resulting in piddle poor feeding leading to missed ignitions.

We have had cases on here where the motor doesn't always turn, turns only in reverse, and alternates direction. This is not good for pellet feeding at all.

Visit a quad dealer and get a replacement.

Thanks! The dealer is close by. Is it possible to go with a bigger cap that would hold up better?
 
You have to use the same size one.

You understand I'm assuming that your TC is touching the ceramic guard and is into the burn pot a bit.
 
I haven't replaced the starter cap yet. Don't think that is the problem because there are unburned pellets in the pot.
Is there such a thing as a "Weak" ignitor? When I look at it, it is glowing red, but why is my stove misfiring?
Last year I had to replace the thermocoupler and it's cover.
Then I had to replace the circuit board in the spring. Not so sure my stove has been itself since then. It was spring, so didn't run the stove much after replacing the controller.
Last evening we were smelling smoke. When I went downstairs and hit the RESET button, the fan started and there were still hot embers in the pot because they immediately started smoldering/sparking as the new pellets hit. Stove took right off.
I installed a programable thermostat Saturday, and used it to trick the stove this morning by programming 79 degrees at 0500, 68 at 0510 and then 79 at 0520. (Thermostat can be programmed for 4 different settings within a day, but at 10 minute increments.)
When I woke up this morning it was running. Don't know how it will work through the day though. It seems to be hit and miss. It will run for several cycles and then all of a sudden misfire.
HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MAYDAY, MAYDAY!!!!!!!
 
Have you adjusted your feed gate for the pellets you are burning?

This is done on high heat the instructions are in the manual and are all of the holes clean in the burn pot and the thermocouple tip against ceramic cover.

ETA: Yes an igniter can loose a section of it is of that type. Ignition requires the proper amount of air (burn pot holes need to be clean, the burn pot gasket needs to be good, the air intake needs to be free of obstruction, and the combustion blower needs to be at the proper speed, and the venting and stove reasonably clean) and fuel (auger needs to be running as planned and fuel gate needs to be set correctly).

YAETA: When you plug your stove in how many times does the blue light on the controller flash?

The same controller with different settings is used in a number of quads it may be set incorrectly.

Bookmark this https://www.hearth.com/talk/bookmarks/?post_id=759274 and read the postings
 
Have you adjusted your feed gate for the pellets you are burning?

This is done on high heat the instructions are in the manual and are all of the holes clean in the burn pot and the thermocouple tip against ceramic cover.

ETA: Yes an igniter can loose a section of it is of that type. Ignition requires the proper amount of air (burn pot holes need to be clean, the burn pot gasket needs to be good, the air intake needs to be free of obstruction, and the combustion blower needs to be at the proper speed, and the venting and stove reasonably clean) and fuel (auger needs to be running as planned and fuel gate needs to be set correctly).

YAETA: When you plug your stove in how many times does the blue light on the controller flash?

The same controller with different settings is used in a number of quads it may be set incorrectly.

Bookmark this https://www.hearth.com/talk/bookmarks/?post_id=759274 and read the postings

Yes, I have adjusted the feed gate. I even dug out 2 bags of the old pellets that I burned in case it was something weird with the pellets.
The controller is set where the local dealer told me to set it.
I replaced the firepot gasket last spring.
The holes are cleaned.
The thermocoupler tip is against the ceramic cover.
Checked vent pipe this weekend-clean.
When I first plug it in, the blue light flashes a few times at an even interval. Not sure how many times though. I am not seeing any other lights either.
Maybe I need to take out the combustion blower and clean it? I have never done that, but it was replaced a couple years ago when still under warranty. It died prematurely.
 
Well you can count the number of blue light flashes in a group and consult that post I pointed out. If the flash count doesn't correspond to your stove model then you need to change the controller setting.

If you have burned more than a ton since last cleaning the combustion fan it is due for a cleaning and that is likely to help with your ignition times.

There is also a known cold start issue with quads using older controllers, they were starting out with too low of a combustion fan speed and not pulling enough air past the igniter to heat the pellets up past their ignition temperature. Quad corrected that issue with their newer controllers.
 
Thanks.
Sounds like I definately need to clean out my convection blower. I talked to the guy who sold it to me yesterday and he said the same thing.
Where do I find the serial # on this stove? He said some models use a paper gasket for the convection blower and that if mine was one of these that I would want one on hand before starting the disassemble. I couldn't find a data plate on it last night.
Since yesterday morning it has ran without a glitch. I did close the feed gate a bit more last night, and all of the softwood pellets are out of it's belly for sure, dumped my 3rd bag of MWP hardwood pellets in it this morning. I sure hope it isn't a pellet issue, I have 6 tons of the Isabella softwood pellets in my pellet room.
 
There is also a known cold start issue with quads using older controllers, they were starting out with too low of a combustion fan speed and not pulling enough air past the igniter to heat the pellets up past their ignition temperature. Quad corrected that issue with their newer controllers.

How do I tell if I ended up with one of these older controllers? Is there a date on the board or something?
 
I haven't replaced the starter cap yet. Don't think that is the problem because there are unburned pellets in the pot.
Is there such a thing as a "Weak" ignitor? When I look at it, it is glowing red, but why is my stove misfiring?
Last year I had to replace the thermocoupler and it's cover.
Then I had to replace the circuit board in the spring. Not so sure my stove has been itself since then. It was spring, so didn't run the stove much after replacing the controller.
Last evening we were smelling smoke. When I went downstairs and hit the RESET button, the fan started and there were still hot embers in the pot because they immediately started smoldering/sparking as the new pellets hit. Stove took right off.
I installed a programable thermostat Saturday, and used it to trick the stove this morning by programming 79 degrees at 0500, 68 at 0510 and then 79 at 0520. (Thermostat can be programmed for 4 different settings within a day, but at 10 minute increments.)
When I woke up this morning it was running. Don't know how it will work through the day though. It seems to be hit and miss. It will run for several cycles and then all of a sudden misfire.
HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MAYDAY, MAYDAY!!!!!!!

You need to use a T-Stat with a swing setting on that stove. We recommend the Lux LTS1500u from Lowes and setup the swing to 8 which gives a 2 Deg F swing. That will prevent the stove from short cycling.

The new control boxes that cure the CSS cold start syndrome have the clear plastic covers and were put in stoves starting in late 2005 and 2006. Check the control box and see the MFG date either inside the hopper lid or on the back of the stove. You can also get the serial # and call quadrafire for the date. They will do the lookup and find the MFG date for you.
 
You need to use a T-Stat with a swing setting on that stove. We recommend the Lux LTS1500u from Lowes and setup the swing to 8 which gives a 2 Deg F swing. That will prevent the stove from short cycling.

The new control boxes that cure the CSS cold start syndrome have the clear plastic covers and were put in stoves starting in late 2005 and 2006. Check the control box and see the MFG date either inside the hopper lid or on the back of the stove. You can also get the serial # and call quadrafire for the date. They will do the lookup and find the MFG date for you.

Thanks! I just replaced the controller last spring. It is in a clear case.
What is short cycling? The stove was acting up while I still had the quad thermostat hooked up to it. How do I tell if the new Thermostat has a swing setting? I know it had a switch on the back of the card for oil/gas or something else(boiler maybe?)
 
Thanks! I just replaced the controller last spring. It is in a clear case.
What is short cycling? The stove was acting up while I still had the quad thermostat hooked up to it. How do I tell if the new Thermostat has a swing setting? I know it had a switch on the back of the card for oil/gas or something else(boiler maybe?)

The instructions that come with the t-stat will talk about everything the stat has for settings.
 
You need to use a T-Stat with a swing setting on that stove. We recommend the Lux LTS1500u from Lowes and setup the swing to 8 which gives a 2 Deg F swing. That will prevent the stove from short cycling.

The new control boxes that cure the CSS cold start syndrome have the clear plastic covers and were put in stoves starting in late 2005 and 2006. Check the control box and see the MFG date either inside the hopper lid or on the back of the stove. You can also get the serial # and call quadrafire for the date. They will do the lookup and find the MFG date for you.

Swing setting? is this the same as "Span time"???
On my new stat, there is a span setting. the default is 2, which means that the system will cycle on or off when the temp is within 1 degree of the set temp.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.