2006 quadrafire mt. vernon t-stat /operation question

[matman115]

hello everyone! new PA guy here. my wife and i just bought a used pellet stove, a 2006 mt vernon to be more specific. i had a few questions about the operation of the unit and the thermostat.
-to start, the unit fire and burns wells. produces good heat. the thermostat the owner provided was not working, the stove would not react to the thermostat settings, so the connection was temporarily jumped to make sure it worked, and it did. so i installed the unit in our living room, and ordered a skytech 1001-tha wireless thermostat. i just installed it last evening. did the learn process. everything went very easy. unit starts with the remote, etc etc. so heres the issue: i set the thermostat to "thermo" mode or "room" on the remote. i set the temp to 75 degrees. unit kicks on and does its things. once temp is reached it will cycle down and eventually shut off. the remote is pre set at a 2* swing. so at 73 the stove DOES kick on and run and burn accordingly. it will then shut off. at this point the stove never refires. never even makes an attempt to fire, no pellets drop, no fans, no nothing. the red light on the back of the stove comes on as if the thermostat is calling for heat, but the unit will do nothing until i either push "reset" on the stove or cycle the thermostat off and on with the remote.

so basically i can 1 proper heat cycle and than the unit just does nothing....any tips, tricks, anything would help. this is my first pellet stove. we are using it as a supplement to our oil furnace. i am a diesel mechanics by day, so any multimeter test i may need to do, i am comfortable with. thank you guys in advance and look forward to learning more and more about using this stove!

Matt

 

[kappel15]

Sometimes the remote can't be too far from the stove, or they don't work. kap

 

[matman115]

Sometimes the remote can't be too far from the stove, or they don't work. kap

i have ruled out the remote as the culprit. when i jump the thermostat wires and run the stove manually, it will run for a little over an our, no problem. than the blower will shut down, and the fire will fizzle out. it will complete its shutdown procedure. and not restart. also, to rule out the remote, i keep the remote on the wall, approx 6ft in direct view of the remote box. i have checked all snap switches, all are fine. ohm all 3 when the problem happens and all read correct. my only thought is that my thermocouple is missing its ceramic cover. maybe its sensing excessive flame or heat and shutting the stove down over time??? what are your thoughts??

-NEW MAJOR PROBLEM-
so we had the stove running last night just before bed to get the house good and warm for the night (i can usually get a solid 1-1.5 hrs of run out of it before the shut down problem happens). well last night all was well, my wife and i are sitting on the couch, fire burning strong, and out of no where the entire stove and all components just shut off. done. no lights, no sound, no nothing. the remaining pellets in the pot naturally burned off and it was done. hmmm..so i checked the twist out glass fuse in back of the stove with a multimeter, it was good. checked power at the wall, no power. seems as though the outlet it was plugged into just bit the dust. plugged the stove into the outlet below it, and the circuit bored GREEN light came on, and the BLUE light blinked 4 times. the red call light on the back of the stove comes on, but no blowers, no fans, no auger, nothing happens at all now. i checked the obvious, i pushed the reset on snap switch 3 as a precaution, checked the other 2 and they were good. i checked the fuse again-good. i let the stove sit overnight thinking it needed to cool since it did not complete a proper shut down procedure. same symptoms this morning. i unplugged the t-stat box and manually jumped the wires on the stove side and tried to turn on the stove, same thing, green light solid, blue light blinking 4 times, no reaction from the stove other than the red call for heat light.

-could the circuit board have burned up when the outlet crapped out? i did not have a surge protector on it(BUT I DO NOW!).
-if the circuit board is suspect, how can i test and prove this? im not into throwing parts at things willy nilly. i like to reason why and prove it before buying parts. especially $358 dollar parts.
-i intend on getting a ceramic cover for my thermo couple and probably a new thermocouple since its been exposed to open flame for who knows how long.
-are there any other fuses i should be looking for on this thing?? i have downloaded multiple quad service and troubleshooting manuals, and none seem to be exactly for this model. i know this is a 2005/2006 model year mt vernon pellet stove, but i cannot seem to find a sticker or info tag anywhere on this thing.

 

[kappel15]

The thermocouple cover is a must have. The only way to make sure it is your control box, is to have someone with similar stove, put it in theirs and see if it works or not. Some of the folks on here have offered before to test someones box. Some dealers if they have the right equipment, can test it also. kap

 

[kappel15]

This stove is obsolete, they quit making it in 2006. I have a owners manual for this stove I could send you and you could make a copy of it, and return it to me. kap

 

[matman115]

This stove is obsolete, they quit making it in 2006. I have a owners manual for this stove I could send you and you could make a copy of it, and return it to me. kap

that would be awsesome!! i felt as though i got a could buy on the stove, and it is in excellent condition. being that the stove is just supplemental and our first time using a burning stove, i had a very hard time justifying $3k-$4k investment. i just pulled the circuit board and checked the internal fuse, it is good. i also ohmed the solder points of the relay, but had no continuity across any of them, which i thought was odd(usually 85-86 always has continuity across the coil). i did notice that 2 small solder points on the back of the board appear brown and "crispy". i attached pictures of the control board and the brown crispy solder joints(you can see the multimeter lead and screwdriver pointing at them).

 

[matman115]

I am going to order the ceramic cover for the TC. being that the stove DID operate at least for a decent amount of time, should i just try installing the ceramic cover on the existing TC? or do you think that the TC could be damaged also from the open flame? either way the i need to order the ceramic cover because the new TC does not include the cover. my gut tells me to try just cover first, see how it does.

 

[kappel15]

you can do a continuity test on thermocouple, and do a visual on end, but if it was used without the cover for a while----

 

[kappel15]

I just googled Mt Vernon owners manual, and the second post down had it. you could copy it off of there. kap

 

[matman115]

I just googled Mt Vernon owners manual, and the second post down had it. you could copy it off of there. kap

I've already downloaded that. Didn't seem to be exactly what I have...

 

[kappel15]

Explain please

 

[matman115]

The manual date is 2017. Also the trim setting it talks about is not what mine looks like. Mine goes from 1-7 i believe. The circuit board appears different as well. And I don't see anything on my stove that designates it as E2. I'm not trying to say the manual isn't correct, at first glance I thought it was different so I didn't take it to heart. Just used it as a guide. I don't see anything about a blue light blink sequence or anything either.

-anyway, are there any other basic diagnostic steps I can do to surely condemn the board? I've turned it on, the red call light comes on, the blue led flashes 4 times, no power at auger motor, no fans of any kind running. I check and have 120v at snap switch 3 to both terminals. I check the other 2/switches and neither have power, one has continuity across the terminals and the other doesnt. When I pulled the open one off and heated it, it popped and had continuity. I also jumped them as a test to be sure. No changes. So I think I've ruled out all the switches and fuses. Are there any other sensor or anything I should be looking at?

 

[kappel15]

You are sounding more like you have a Castile, and not a Mt Vernon. The Mt. Vernon control box only has 3 settings, and has a yellow label. The Castile and other Quad stoves have 7 settings in their control box. Can you verify what stove you have? The E2 wasn't made yet in 2006. And the blue flashing 4 times, is the setting for a Castile. The Mt.Vernon has a 4 speed control box, and others have a three speed box. kap

 

[slvrblkk]

This wasn't the stove for sale in Laceyville was it?

 

[matman115]

My control knob has 4 settings, low med high and quad. The air trim knob that is part of the circuit board has 7 settings.
-this was for sale just outside of Lewistown. I'll upload pictures as soon as I can get to my computer

 

[matman115]

pictures of unit...

 

[kappel15]

Cheapest way to check control box is to test it in another Mt. Vernon, or find a dealer that has the equipment to test it. kap

 

[slvrblkk]

Great looking stove! One thing I noticed is the control board is older than the stove. Did they say they replaced it at some point?

 

[matman115]

Great looking stove! One thing I noticed is the control board is older than the stove. Did they say they replaced it at some point?

they did not say, that caught my attention as well. only thing i could justify was that the controllers and possibly the stove was actually built before the model year. Happens in the auto industry, a part may be made months prior to the model year of the vehicle. unless it was swapped out for an older control board. im by far no expert, but maybe the stoves were the same from say 2003-2006?? or what ever the "generation" may be. if i provide my local quad dealer with my unit serial number, would they be able to confirm that this part number controller is correct?

-i understand the only way to test this would be if someone has a similar stove or if the local dealer can test it.
-are there any other components that could potentially cause this unit to do absolutely nothing once plugged in except a green led and a blue blink?(reminder: only thing that happens when plugged in is green led, 4 blue blink, and red call light. no noises, no fans, nothing. )
-ive checked the number 3 snap disc which i think is the only component that will absolutely shut the unit off like this. it has continuity through it, and when the unit is plugged in, i have 120v to both terminals, meaning power is flowing through it.
-the other 2 snap discs checked out with a meter as well.

if i can find out that this circuit board is the correct part number for this unit, i will order one this week. along with a TC ceramic cover for starters, and hopefully it will fire up, and than i can troubleshoot the actual initial problem. thanks for all the input so far everyone.

 

[kappel15]

The 4 speed control box is the only box that works in the Mt. Vernon. And they can be old. My 2006 Sante Fe has the original control box in it. The #1 snap disc runs the convection fan only, and has power to it all the time. #2 snap disc shuts power off to auger motor if overheat is detected. #3 shuts power off to whole stove. kap

 

[slvrblkk]

This may or may not help you:

 

[matman115]

that chart does help, at least it helps me understand the general concept a little better.
-so i got the new control board and thermocouple ceramic cover. installed both. Unit now turns on again and goes through the processes and ignites, etc etc. back to my ORIGINAL problem now:

- unit will turn on, exhaust fan turns on. feeds pellets for about 60 sec. fire will ignite and seem quite strong for a short time, than the fire will get very faint, barely staying lit, pellets will not be feeding at this time. convection fan kicks on, even though fire is lazy, unit may drop a couple pellets here or there(i can hear them falling in). all the while, the flame is still very small and lazy. eventually the unit will stop feeding pellets, and begin its shut down process and turn off (unit is NOT in thermo mode, just straight run, with 4 position knob on "high").

-i removed rubber tube from vac switch and blew it out
-i tried adjusting the auger arm, it is now max out to feed more pellets
-i tried tinkering with the 0-7 air trim knob, didnt seem to make much difference.

its trickling pellets in slowly but the flame is so lazy and small, its barely getting to the edge of the pot and barely to the TC.

 

[Ssyko]

When you installed the TC cover make sure the wires are touching the end of the cover. Did you run the stove much with no cover on the TC?

 

[matman115]

Yes I verified the sensor end was contacting the inside end of the cover. As for how long the TC ran uncovered, prior to me buying it who knows. I may have ran it a total of 15-20 hours over 5 days or so. Controller isn't throwing an amber led so I didn't jump to that conclusion yet. Would the TC cause a low flame? Its next on the list of things to replace. Sort of the last component. All the others have checked out with a multimeter. I suppose I can connect to the TC and watch the voltage. I'm not ruling out that this stove needs a good cleaning either. I plan to schedule that with a local company asap. It was this low of a flame when we first got it. That's what's odd

 

[slvrblkk]

When you look at the order of operation sheet, do you get the green and red light in the control box from the thermocouple?

Do you have excessive fines in the bottom of the hopper?

Double check that the auger set screws are tight to the motor shaft.

Make sure the auger (spring) isn't broken