How to diagnose and fix rattling sound

AramS · Dec 15, 2018

Hi all,

Noob here. This is my second winter in my house, which came with a Quadra Fire Castille fireplace insert pellet stove. It ran perfectly through the last cold season. When I ran it for the first time since spring, though, it started making a rattling noise (for lack of a better description). I've run it probably a half dozen times, and the noise is consistently going on. I convinced myself that it happens when the pellets are fed, so I guess the auger.

Video with sound here.

https://www.aramschiffmanphotography.com/Pellet-stove/Pellet-stove/

Again, the noise does not occur when the fans initially kick on, and only seems to happen during pellet dispense. Not the first dispense, though, which maybe is odd.

I've been searching online but not getting any direction. I'm a noob, and aside from replacing a fire pot I have not had to work on them. I don't know where to start. Any suggestions about what to check first?

Thanks all,
Aram

kappel15 · Dec 15, 2018

If the stove is new enough, does it have a hopper door switch, that shuts off auger when hopper door is open? If not, unplug one wire on vac switch(being careful not to ground it out on stove as this will toast your control box), and this will shut auger off. Easy way to tell if that is what is making the noise. When you first start up stove, only things running are the exhaust fan and the auger motor. Video is too short and quiet to hear any noise. kap

AramS · Dec 16, 2018

kappel15 said:
If the stove is new enough, does it have a hopper door switch, that shuts off auger when hopper door is open? If not, unplug one wire on vac switch(being careful not to ground it out on stove as this will toast your control box), and this will shut auger off. Easy way to tell if that is what is making the noise. When you first start up stove, only things running are the exhaust fan and the auger motor. Video is too short and quiet to hear any noise. kap

Thanks for the reply. I asked the previous homeowner how old it is. He's not sure (bought it used and installed it, but doesn't even remember when). I do not seeing any switches where the hopper door slides, so maybe this model does not have one. Any other thoughts?

Again, thank you for your kind assistance.

Best,
Aram

kappel15 · Dec 16, 2018

Start stove, remembering you only have 60 seconds of initial feed time. Locate vacuum switch and pull one wire off. This will stop power to the auger. If noise quits when you pull the wire, you know it is the auger motor making the noise. kap

shannona · Dec 17, 2018

We had a sound that started off similar to yours but eventually got louder. We eventually had someone come out to service our 6 year old Quadrafire and the motor had to be replaced. It wasn't an expensive fix. HTH

Deezl Smoke · Dec 17, 2018

I cant quite make out the sound for sure, but it almost sounds like a harmonic. Depending if you are east of cascades or west, you may have pellet fines built up and compressed in the bottom of the auger trough, causing the auger to rub against them and when doing so, a very high pitch vibration occurs. Kinda like a dry squeegee on a window. ? I could also be a bearing noise, but I dont know how the auger is supported on that brand and model. My experience is limited to only the castle serenity. But a dry bearing or bushing can also cause a harmonic like that.

AramS · Dec 17, 2018

kappel15 said:
Start stove, remembering you only have 60 seconds of initial feed time. Locate vacuum switch and pull one wire off. This will stop power to the auger. If noise quits when you pull the wire, you know it is the auger motor making the noise. kap

Thank you! I will have to figure out where that switch is -- hopefully it is accessible -- and try it.

Best,
Aram

kappel15 · Dec 17, 2018

It is located on the inside back of the stove on right side. Should find it in your owners manual. kap

AramS · Dec 17, 2018

shannona said:
We had a sound that started off similar to yours but eventually got louder. We eventually had someone come out to service our 6 year old Quadrafire and the motor had to be replaced. It wasn't an expensive fix. HTH

Thank you. I'll keep that in mind. I might be best off going to my local QF guy.

AramS · Dec 17, 2018

Deezl Smoke said:
I cant quite make out the sound for sure, but it almost sounds like a harmonic. Depending if you are east of cascades or west, you may have pellet fines built up and compressed in the bottom of the auger trough, causing the auger to rub against them and when doing so, a very high pitch vibration occurs. Kinda like a dry squeegee on a window. ? I could also be a bearing noise, but I dont know how the auger is supported on that brand and model. My experience is limited to only the castle serenity. But a dry bearing or bushing can also cause a harmonic like that.

Thank you. My first thought was also bearings. I hope not -- I'm not excited about figuring out how to remove the insert from the fireplace, and then disassembling it! But yeah, good thought about pellet fines. I'm new to pellet stoves, so pardon me if I missed an obvious FAQ about this -- how does one clean them out? Would a shop vac be useful (remove the pellets, then hopefully the fines?) Thanks,
Aram

Deezl Smoke · Dec 17, 2018

AramS said:
Thank you. My first thought was also bearings. I hope not -- I'm not excited about figuring out how to remove the insert from the fireplace, and then disassembling it! But yeah, good thought about pellet fines. I'm new to pellet stoves, so pardon me if I missed an obvious FAQ about this -- how does one clean them out? Would a shop vac be useful (remove the pellets, then hopefully the fines?) Thanks,
Aram

If an owners manual did not come with the house for that insert, find one online and download it. Most manuals, at least the ones I have seen and many that post here have mentioned, have a cleaning procedure. A shop vac does in fact work, and many use one to clean their stoves. But here is the disclaimer A standard shop vac typically uses a paper filter element which is combustible. If your stove has even the smallest of embers left when cleaning, it may ignite the paper filter. Also it is important to empty the vacuum can prior to cleaning a stove as any material in the can from prior jobs may also be combustible. Hence the usual promoting the use of an actual ash vacuum made for cleaning a stove. It usually has a metal can and a non combustible filter. So.....

The main thing is to not be intimidated by the stove. Most are a very simple mechanism once you get the methods of operation down. Basically it's just two fans and an auger. One fan pushes air throughout the house, the other fan controls the air flow through the fire. The auger feeds the fire at a rate determined by your controller settings. Other than that it's just metal parts that need to be cleaned and vacuumed at regular intervals.

AramS · Dec 18, 2018

Deezl Smoke said:
If an owners manual did not come with the house for that insert, find one online and download it. Most manuals, at least the ones I have seen and many that post here have mentioned, have a cleaning procedure. A shop vac does in fact work, and many use one to clean their stoves. But here is the disclaimer A standard shop vac typically uses a paper filter element which is combustible. If your stove has even the smallest of embers left when cleaning, it may ignite the paper filter. Also it is important to empty the vacuum can prior to cleaning a stove as any material in the can from prior jobs may also be combustible. Hence the usual promoting the use of an actual ash vacuum made for cleaning a stove. It usually has a metal can and a non combustible filter. So.....

The main thing is to not be intimidated by the stove. Most are a very simple mechanism once you get the methods of operation down. Basically it's just two fans and an auger. One fan pushes air throughout the house, the other fan controls the air flow through the fire. The auger feeds the fire at a rate determined by your controller settings. Other than that it's just metal parts that need to be cleaned and vacuumed at regular intervals.

Great info, thanks. And I'm sure it is straightforward to work on. It's just kind of a nuisance, though, one more thing to deal with... not gonna complain, but you know what I mean. What I'm mainly not sure about, and I did download the installation manual, is how hard it will be to pull the insert out of the fireplace -- if it comes to that. I'll have to read through the installation manual a few times. Meanwhile, I will clean it and see if that helps at all.

Again, much thanks for your help.

Best,
Aram

Deezl Smoke · Dec 18, 2018

AramS said:
Great info, thanks. And I'm sure it is straightforward to work on. It's just kind of a nuisance, though, one more thing to deal with... not gonna complain, but you know what I mean. What I'm mainly not sure about, and I did download the installation manual, is how hard it will be to pull the insert out of the fireplace -- if it comes to that. I'll have to read through the installation manual a few times. Meanwhile, I will clean it and see if that helps at all.

Again, much thanks for your help.

Best,
Aram

If you can share a couple pictures of it, we might be able give some hints or tips should it come to removal. Usually is seems like inserts have a decorative front panel that can be removed to access the chimney piping etc. Once the piping and power cord are un hooked, it should not be too difficult to remove. At least that was how it was on the one I helped install.

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How to diagnose and fix rattling sound

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