Quadrafire CB 1200 Fire

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Joel Craft

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Jul 2, 2012
36
Nome, Alaska
I just got my pellets in and started my stove up for the first time. I was wondering if it is normal for it to look like their is a bunch of fire flies inside while it is burning? Just checking to see if that is normal for burning wood pellets. And when it dumps pellets into the pot it cuts the fire down is that normal as well? Thanks Jay
 
Yes and yes...
 
Yes but can you post a pic? We like to see pics. :)
 

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Here is a pic of the fire the flame is down due to pellets dropping in. Was just wondering if those embers flying all over is normal for this stove. Or do I need to adjust something to cut it down.


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Hello

Thanks for the pic. It is normal to have some sparks flying, but if you have partially unburned pellets landing in the ash pan (Called the Popcorn Effect) then you need to cut down on the intake air with a damper. If there is no damper built into the stove, then you can add a damper onto the air intake on the back of the stove.

What heat setting do you have it on?
 
Looks like it's doing what it is supposed to. That is all just fly ash leaving the burn pot as new pellets drop in to it.
 
Looks fine to me too, some pellets spark more than others. The fire looks a little on the low side if the stove is on high. What setting is this?
 
Those are just the fines burning and getting blown out of the pot. It means you have good draft and all your holes are open in the burn pot. When you DON'T see them, then it's time to start checking for clogged holes (8 little ones) or restricted exhaust.
 
Right, looks fines to me, lol.
 
I had it on high setting to adjust the flame and it looked like it was about 6 inches high when I adjusted the feed rate. Then I turned it to low heat setting and let it run for 15 min. to see what it looked like. half the time it had flame 4-6 inches and other half it had flame barely above the fire pot. What are your thoughts on that should it have more consistant flame than that?
 
Sounds pretty normal.
 
so I don't have to worry about one of those going up into the place where pellets fall out and catching my house on fire? Thanks for all your advice. Jay
 
so I don't have to worry about one of those going up into the place where pellets fall out and catching my house on fire? Thanks for all your advice. Jay
The firebox is negative pressure with only one exit. ;)
 
Normal, they are called fireflies, and the ones that burn a while after landing are called cigarettes.
 
I had it on high setting to adjust the flame and it looked like it was about 6 inches high when I adjusted the feed rate. Then I turned it to low heat setting and let it run for 15 min. to see what it looked like. half the time it had flame 4-6 inches and other half it had flame barely above the fire pot. What are your thoughts on that should it have more consistant flame than that?

I got you beat lol, yes it's normal.

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I had it on high setting to adjust the flame and it looked like it was about 6 inches high when I adjusted the feed rate. Then I turned it to low heat setting and let it run for 15 min. to see what it looked like. half the time it had flame 4-6 inches and other half it had flame barely above the fire pot. What are your thoughts on that should it have more consistant flame than that?
That's pretty normal with the fire going up and down as each load is dropped. Sounds like you did a good job of getting it adjusted on HIGH. Someone actually read the instructions!!!!
 
That's pretty normal with the fire going up and down as each load is dropped. Sounds like you did a good job of getting it adjusted on HIGH. Someone actually read the instructions!!!!

Yep... Sounds like the manual was read :)

Yes and Yes as to the fluctuations in flame height and also sparks.. Its a Quad. Nothing Burns like a Quad ;)

Its a model of stove that gets slightly more air than other stoves to eject the ash from the pot. Helping to keep it good and clean with very little interjecting.

Looks good... And slls has one of the best "Sparks" shots I have seen.... The only time I can get a BIG Show like that, is right at shutdown. Pellets dropping gives a nice show. But when its just stops dropping pellets and you give the clean out handle a little jiggle (dont open it! Just jiggle it :)) The last of the embers get thrown into the air stream :) Love it.

Quads have an Awesome Fire Show! But lack some features that other stoves have (High/Low, More heat settings, Air trim and or Damper).

Don2222- Because Quads have a wide open OAK system, even if you added a damper, it will do next to nothing. It will pull air from MANY other areas. I have tried to seal mine as best as I can. But it takes a lot. The whole bottom of the stove is an intake..... The intake hole goes into the bottom pad. Then there is a slot/channel that goes up the middle of the stove, to a slot in the back of the ignitor area, then through the burn pot holes... Many leaks, holes, and gaps along the way....
 
I have a Castille Quadrafire Pellet stove.

Mine was doing this and I discovered it was not normal. I kept reading it was fine; and totally normal but that just didn't seem right, embers (fireflies) were bouncing around in the stove, severely blackening the glass in just a few hours, the pot never filled up, and the stove would fill with ash in a day. This was not normal.

Everything I read said that this was an airflow issue. But I had a tough time tracking it down because my stove has no airflow controls.

To fix the issue that mine had I replaced the all of the seals, including the ash door. My big solution was to adjust the pull rod so that there was no visible gap/opening. Before I fixed it I could look down into an empty fire pot and see into the ash tray. Correcting this made a HUGE difference, the stove burns just as it is described.

Now the glass get black in a reasonable time, the flame is the exact height as described in the manual.

The first picture below is exactly what my stove was doing, AND was described as totally normal, the second photo is my actual stove after I replaced the seals and adjusted the pull rod.

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The first image was actually on shut down. The pot gets cleared after every run cycle.
 
Mine pretty much looked like that at all times.

Too much air then, surprising with all the holes in the 1200. Window air bleed, other holes too much to mention.
 
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