Brand new Quad Mt. Vernon-AE start up/shutdown/repeat cycle issues

[Pitchshifter50]

Hello All,

Had a brand new Mt. Vernon AE insert installed last night. everything fired up fine, and started working great. the tech's left, and I changed the recommended settings on the stove (Altitude, fuel type) and then the unit went into shutdown/autoclean mode. It restarted and ran through the normal cycle, Startup /SS-Low/SS Med, and after SS med, it went right back into Shutdown/ Autoclean mode and it will not break this cycle. It seems like it is not feeding enough pellets to go into high / heat mode? I called the distributor, they called Quad, and said that it could be a bad thermocouple. This stove is literally 2 hours of runtime old...is this possible? has anyone had to deal with this, or have any suggestions?

 

[BigJohnfromCT]

Hello back atcha and welcome to the forum. I've been an AE owner for about 6 years. Given the fact that it goes from soft start low to soft start medium would seem to tell me that the thermocouple is OK. I think a bad thermocouple or not enough pellets would give you a "Min Fire pot Temp" message. I wish I could tell you more. All I can add is that you should stay on to of the dealer/installer. There is a poster on here that is a Quad tech. His handle is Kap. He will probably be able to give you some very good advice. Good luck.

P.S. Please keep us posted on your results and solution.

 

[Pitchshifter50]

Thank you very much for your response Big John, I mistakenly omitted from my previous post that I am getting a "min firepot temp" error (slightly frazzled over the situation), with plenty of pellets in the hopper before the unit goes into the shutdown. The suggestion I received was essentially that of "jiggle the handle", meaning they want me to remove the ceramic cover and gently pull the thermocouple a little more over the firepot.

 

[kappel15]

Sorry to hear of your problem. Or I should say, the dealers problem. He should be right back out there taking care of that, not you. And in their defense, there can be bad parts, that are new. And it could be as simple as adjusting the firepot thermocouple. Seems like they did what they was suppose to by making sure it went thru a cycle, before they left. I would be nice and tell them, they need to come out and fix this, so you can enjoy your new product. And you may want to put it back to the settings they had it on, to make sure it isn't from you changing tables, etc. where it isn't getting enough fuel. And I wouldn't recommend changing altitude setting, while stove is running. Can put a lot of stress on exhaust fan. While waiting for them to come check it out, read the manual thru. Will get you familiar with your new stove. kap

 

[hooter04]

I know my dealer will test fire at their shop before delivery.I had one of my 2 stoves(I have 2 MT vernons) that had a bad thermocouple right out of the box so it isnt' uncommon that this could happen.

 

[Pitchshifter50]

Thank you for the response Kappel, it is much appreciated, Thankfully, I am somewhat handy and technically savvy, so I agree they should have adjusted the thermocouple, but I have no issues with it. I was starting to be concerned I got a lemon, but after that minor adjustment and resetting the settings, she purred like a kitten all night, and kicked on this AM as per the set program. I am still getting used to how the AE operates; I started to worry a bit that it went into shut down mode when the ambient room setting was reached, but after reviewing the manual, this is normal operation. after seeing how it heated my house, I am very happy with the purchase.

 

[Pitchshifter50]

I know my dealer will test fire at their shop before delivery.I had one of my 2 stoves(I have 2 MT vernons) that had a bad thermocouple right out of the box so it isnt' uncommon that this could happen.

Ah, I see! Good to know it's a simple fix. The dealer will be coming out to replace the thermocouple on Monday just to be safe.

 

[kappel15]

Glad to see things are working for you. There is a learning curve with this stove, so the more you read the manual, the better prepared you will be. Stay warm, kap

 

[Pitchshifter50]

Glad to see things are working for you. There is a learning curve with this stove, so the more you read the manual, the better prepared you will be. Stay warm, kap

So, I'm really starting to think I got a lemon...this morning I woke up and the stove was not running as er the program. Checked the display nd it said auger jam. cleaned out the downtube to clear any pellets...there were many, and it started up. each time it cycles through the startup process, starts roaring like a dragon, then all of a sudden out of nowhere, another auger jam. it has happened 6 times today, just like that. I'm getting increasingly frustrated. The installer said to remove the bafflle plate, as it could have gotten moved, or unseated during shipping. I tried, it to no avail... does anyone have any advice? Please and thank you.

 

[kappel15]

You said there were a lot of pellets in the drop chute? Have you tried changing the flame height? Which is also the feed rate, so you are not feeding as much? With the roaring sound you are talking about, says it is getting too much fuel. kap

 

[kappel15]

And I don't understand him wanting to remove the baffle plate. That has to stay in there. You sure he just didn't mean to make sure it is centered on the firepot? Aside from checking for any blockage in auger tube, I would give the dealer a heads up before he shows on Monday, to also bring a new auger assy. kap

 

[kappel15]

You say you are handy. I can't believe the optical sensor could be dirty enough yet, but you can try cleaning it. Also pull auger assy. out to make sure there is nothing at top of auger jamming things. this requires you emptying the hopper of fuel. But if it was me, I would wait for the dealer to come fix it, as it is his problem. kap

 

[Pitchshifter50]

Thank you again for the suggestions and assistance. Initially when I was having the "Min firepot temp" issue, the dealer asked me to turn the flame height up to 4. After your suggestion, it made sense that there could be a "traffic jam". I turned it down to 1 and unfortunately, 2 more auger jams.

Yes, the baffle plate suggestion was to ensure it was centered on the downspout. No issues there.

At this point I will more than likely leave it to them to attempt to fix the issue. I'll suggest they bring the auger assembly, just very cold and frustrated.

I appreciate the assistance very much.

 

[kappel15]

You can limp along till they show up. Can't believe they are making you wait to fix it, since it is a new stove. I can understand your frustration. kap

 

[Pitchshifter50]

So, the latest with my dealer, is that he is stating that Quadra fire is suggesting to change out the entire CPU/brain unit. I suggested that they also bring an auger assembly, but the factory does not seem to think it's an issue. They'll be here next week...trying to limp along in the meantime. Have my flame height set to -3 and I'm able to at least get about an hour to 90 minutes out of it before the auger jams, and I have to restart the whole thing.

 

[kappel15]

At least they are taking steps to fix you. If your dealer is smart, he will bring an auger assy. any way just to be safe. I would. lol Sorry you have to go thru this. One it is fixed, it is a great stove. I enjoy mine. And I would suggest to them, or you, that you put some high temp anti-seize grease on the pot bolts, to save headaches down the road when you have to pull em. Stay warm. kap

 

[Pitchshifter50]

So, I think I found the auger jam issue... This just fell into the Firepot after clearing yet another auger jam... Not sure where this is supposed to be mounted, but maybe the factory should consider using sheet metal screws to prevent this falling off during shipping instead of glue...

Kap, thank you, you've been most helpful with your suggestions I only hope this did not damage the auger.

 

[kappel15]

Must be something new as I don't have one on mine, but it is an original 06. Nice find. Why I suggested pulling auger assy. to see if something was binding at the top. I would mention to dealer that under the circumstances, a new auger assy. should be in order. Stay warm. kap

 

[PelletRat]

Hi all been a long time since I've posted here, stoves (MT. Vernon AE insert) been working fine so no real issues. So out of the blue last Wednesday I got the "Auger Jammed" error on my thermostat. Powercycled the stove and it worked for a day, got the AJ message again several times after that. It seems to happen after the autoclean cycle. So I manually put pellets in the pot and got it going, some pellets would drop but the stove would only stay lit for 10 minutes and then get the AJ error. I removed as many pellets from the hopper as I could and lit the stove again manually several times. Finally the stove stayed lit till I couldn't feel anything in the bottom of the hopper shute. I figured I must have burned off any crap that was causing the issues. Put in a fresh bag of pellets and the stove ran good for hours. The stove went into autoclean and got the AJ error on startup.

So my question (KAP) and others with knowledge of AJ the error. After reading about the AJ error, It appears the auger works and it's probably the optical sensor. I can find where the optical sensor is located, people talk about it but I don't know where it's located to clean it.

Oil heat is on ....................any help is much appreciated.

TY

 

[kappel15]

There is a disc in front of the auger motor that has holes in it. On top of that disc straddling it, is the optical sensor. It senses the holes going around, so knows the auger is turning. Easy to pull the auger assy. kap

 

[PelletRat]

There is a disc in front of the auger motor that has holes in it. On top of that disc straddling it, is the optical sensor. It senses the holes going around, so knows the auger is turning. Easy to pull the auger assy. kap

So I removed the screw and pulled up the auger motor and all kinds of dust fell out. I couldn't pull the entire auger out because the wires only allowed me to move it out about 3-4 inches. Blew it out with some air and replaced it. Manually added pellets to the pot, it started up dropped pellets and ran till the temp (manual) reached it's set point. Set the stove back to automatic and waited for it to come on, got the AJ error and it never dropped a single pellet.

So I have a copy of the tech field manual and see the steps to test. Because this is a insert it's hard to see what wire(s) are restricting me from removing the auger.

Based on the AJ coming on startup only it appears it's not the auger because it works fine if I manually light the stove.

Kap with this symptom where manual lighting works and not lighting after shutdown, What do you think?

 

[kappel15]

The thinner wires on top of auger motor are for the optical sensor. Just past the white tabs that hold the wire harnesses is a connection for those wires you can take apart. The auger motor wires themselves have to be disconnected from the control board. Time to pull auger to see if anything is in there. kap

 

[kappel15]

And try cleaning the optical sensor when you have it out. kap

 

[PelletRat]

Kap what do you think about:

Manually filling the pot with pellets and lighting it with gel ..... works, auger works, stove works normally.
Once the stove shuts down for either autoclean or reaches the set temp the next time the stove goes into startup NO PELLETS DROP from the auger.

From the Field Manual

Items to check:


Check feed tube for obstructions: feed assy (#7034-004). Pellets drop when the stove is manually lit, so tube is good.

Check the auger spring set screw: Pellets drop when the stove is manually lit, so auger turns.

Check the Door & Hopper sensors (#7000-375): All appear normal. Again stove works when manually lit.

Check over heat snap disc (#230-1290): Stove works normally when manually lit.

Check the vacuum switch (#7000-166): Stove works normally when manually lit.

Replace the optical sensor (#7034-038): Need to check tonight if I can remove it.

Replace the feed motor (#7000-313):

Check the 10-pin harness for a loose pin or broken wire: (SRV7034-191)

 

[kappel15]

You should be able to reach the optical sensor just being out 3 or 4 inches. If you have the trouble shooting manual, you can see pic of it on page 12. And if you just fire up the stove, calling for heat, no pellets drop ? And manually firing it up if you need heat is no problem.kap