Help with Mt Vernon AE Insert

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I think I have the flame height set correctly now. I was able to speak to nearby tech and he said he thinks my fuel is garbage. I use Cleanfire Pacific Blend, which I learned yesterday is not great. I bought some Heats yesterday and saw some difference, but the stove still doesnt crank. The guy was thinking the fuel isnt triggering the droptube thermacouple. I did see some rust around it and sanded it again. Should I replace it? Could it be a defective part? On high, with the Heats, my house got to 68. Still not cranking. Maybe this is what the stove does and I just wont heat my space with it. Any thoughts? Thanks for your help thus far as well.
 
What is the square footage you are trying to heat? Didn't you say you had high ceilings? It is -26 here with -49 wind chills. I fired up the AE last nite. Today it can't get past 69, and it is running on high. Corn doesn't produce the btu's pellets does, but close. As long as drop tube thermocouple is producing millivolts, it is good. Just make sure that area is clean of rust or corrosion where it attaches to drop tube. kap
 
Not sure of sqft. Whole house is 3650 so maybe 1800 downstairs. Attached is the room I’m trying to heat. Living at 67 in 17 degree temps. -26 is really cold. Coldest I’ve seen in mass is -12.

Tell me if it looks realistic the heat this area with the stove
 

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You shouldn't have any problem. Is there an upstairs that the heat can follow the stairway, so the heat doesn't stay down there? Run the stove on high. In the middle of where the heat comes out, put your fingers there. If you can't hold em there for a couple seconds, it is producing the heat it should be. Just did it with mine. kap
 
My basement has styrafoam on the brick walls for insulation. It was -26 with a windchill of -49 yesterday. I couldn't get basement above 69 degrees. I don't know what is up either. Stove is running fine. Gonna warm up tomorrow, so can see how it does then. May switch to a mix as pellets burn hotter then corn. kap
 
I can hold my fingers there no problem. This is what I don’t get. Everydays they can’t stand in front of their Quad. I have no problem touching it in most spots. I do have an upstairs. I have a lot of open area but heat doesn’t reach it anyways. Maybe I’ll put a blanket over the door and see if that does it. I have a solid 2 ft between the ceiling and top of door. Pic is of foyer that is kinda cold
 

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There is the problem then as I can't keep my fingers there for more then a couple seconds as it is hot! Post a pic of your flame on high, so we can see what it is like. kap
 
This is on high with +1 flame. Had on MH O last night and it couldn’t keep room at 60 degrees. Heat kicked in. The pictures are the different ranges that the flame will go within any given amount of time usually after being fed and then burning off
 

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This is on high with +1 flame. Had on MH O last night and it couldn’t keep room at 60 degrees. Heat kicked in. The pictures are the different ranges that the flame will go within any given amount of time usually after being fed and then burning off

The blower is working well. Giving strong air through the vent. One thing Im still yet to do it detach liner from the machine and examine it. Im worried I wont get it back on. It is only 4 weeks old but it could have something in it.
 
I would go up to +2 and see how flame does. It should be above diamond tip on manual high. Good air coming out is good, but if there is no heat, it don't help much. Like I said before, I can't keep my fingers in front of air vents for more then a second, it is so hot. Have you tried a bag of a different brand of pellet, to make sure it isn't the pellets you are burning? Can't remember what you are burning, but if hardwood, are you on hardwood fuel setting, or utility? Try both. kap
 
Im buring Clean Pacific, which Im told are garbage. I did buy some Heats and noticed a difference but nothing over the top. Could it be the combustion blower? Not moving air enough? The firepot it hot. the glass is hot. I bought a new baffle that I can put in tonight, but I dont think that is it. I have no issue replacing parts. Ill have to drop 200 on a repair man to come diagnose. i mine as well buy a new blower with it and do it myself. Same cost.
 
What makes you think it is a blower? If you have a good active flame, it isn't the comb. blower, and if you can stand 5 feet away and feel the conv blower from the stove, it isn't that. Crack in baffle isn't it either. Did you try increasing the flame height to where it is above the diamond most of the time? Something else to try is putting it on high elevation. Only do it when stove is not running tho., kap
 
Not a quad guy,that is why we have kap.Your flame at highest looks too active to me,not enough pellets.Saw a Harman the flame would go up and down,put out heat,but not good heat,had a crack in the vacuum switch hose,I suppose a poorly made vac. switch could do the same thing.I hope you keep the door to upstairs closed,never gonna heat the whole house.I question the installation,chimney sealed properly?Ash cleanout sealed properly?Just some thoughts.
 
Not a quad guy,that is why we have kap.Your flame at highest looks too active to me,not enough pellets.Saw a Harman the flame would go up and down,put out heat,but not good heat,had a crack in the vacuum switch hose,I suppose a poorly made vac. switch could do the same thing.I hope you keep the door to upstairs closed,never gonna heat the whole house.I question the installation,chimney sealed properly?Ash cleanout sealed properly?Just some thoughts.

Why do you question the chimney install? I did clean out the vac tube, but ti didnt have anything in it. It seemed intact. I dont need it to heat the whole house, just the downstairs 2 rooms would suffice at this point. It is really inconsistent. Last weekend I had it on medium and it was working fine. Kept room at 68-69, and contributed to heating the upstairs. Last night, had it on High with a flame height of +3 and it couldnt keep the room at 64. It is hard to get someone out to look at it because the dealers get very injured when you dont buy from them, so they dont want your money. Wish I just bough the Harmon at this point.
 
What makes you think it is a blower? If you have a good active flame, it isn't the comb. blower, and if you can stand 5 feet away and feel the conv blower from the stove, it isn't that. Crack in baffle isn't it either. Did you try increasing the flame height to where it is above the diamond most of the time? Something else to try is putting it on high elevation. Only do it when stove is not running tho., kap

Just guess it is the blower, but I have no point of reference. Simply that it isnt producing a lot of heat. I have the stove on High +5 at one point last night. It was warmer for sure. Still not blasting heat. I had it on High +3 last night and it couldnt keep the room at 64. I dont completely understand why nightime is so tough for this considering it has been as cold in the day as it has been at night. I had tried high elevation a while back and it didnt do anything. I did put it on Sunflower Seed fuel last night and that worked. Burns a ton os pellets, but it puts out heat. I think that is what is odd about this stove is how inconsistent it is in its results. Same settings yield different results.
 
I just had my HVAC here for an unrelated issue and he said there is something wrong with my stove. Now I dont feel so crazy. He has an Englander that he said is hotter. He said he cleans Quads and said for the settings I have it on, it should be too hot in here to even watch TV.

Could it be something on the control board? As well, one of the metal clips that hold the baffle plate on is bent and isnt firm against the baffle. The other one is and you need a screwdriver to take it out. Could that be an issue?
 
I agree with him. With just those two rooms, it should be able to cook you right out of them. The baffle is to just keep the main heat off the heat transfer plate with all the fins on it. And to keep a lot of heat from just going out the exhaust. I can't believe it would cause that much heat loss as it is still fairly closed. kap
 
I took the liner off and didn’t notice anything remarkable. I did push up on some connections that seemed loose. I’m at a loss as why better heat isn’t being pushed out. The air is strong but heat is weak. Here are some pics. A vacuum switch wouldn’t do this right? Am I missing a valve somewhere or a gasket. Could it be the control board?
 

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With conv fan pushing good air,(fins did look a bit dirty) but no heat, only thing is fire. Either not enough, or bad fuel, and that you are on the right fuel table. Vac switch would shut auger off if there was an issue. You said you tried different flame heights, so can't be that. As long as flame is tall and active, it is getting right amount of fuel. One thing I would like you to check is when stove is running, check and see that auger is continuously running the same direction, not reversing now and then. And do you have the temp differential set at 1 or .5?
 
Temp diff is 1.5. I have the temperature set for 75 so never reaches it anyways. How do I know if the auger is changing directions? Hi Tess a video of the stove on medium with a +3 flame. As you can see I can comfortably stand in front of it
 

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With conv fan pushing good air,(fins did look a bit dirty) but no heat, only thing is fire. Either not enough, or bad fuel, and that you are on the right fuel table. Vac switch would shut auger off if there was an issue. You said you tried different flame heights, so can't be that. As long as flame is tall and active, it is getting right amount of fuel. One thing I would like you to check is when stove is running, check and see that auger is continuously running the same direction, not reversing now and then. And do you have the temp differential set at 1 or .5?

I forgot to mention this but the flame seems to pull to one side. Consistently. It was making me think that possibly something is clogged or something isn’t flowing correctly
 

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Fuel tends to fill on the left on these. Flame looks nice and bright. Go to high with a +3 and send a vid of that. Flame should be above the diamond. Like to hear the fan that way too.
kap
 
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Here is high +5. I thought that’s what you asked for. I just read the post where I say +3. I can send that too
 

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Here is high +3
 

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Are both the vids on the post high +3 on the same setting? If they are, please send a vid of high +5. kap