Castile Hopper Fire

[Frozen Ridge]

I am new to the board. Last night I had a hopper fire in my Quad Castile insert. Stove is 5 years old. Came home to a house filled with smoke and the smoke detector blaring. After the fire chief and I removed the stove to my frontr yard, I inpected the stove. appears the burn pot was full of ash and the pellets were not making there way to the burn pot and combusted in the chute. I cleaned the burn pot that morning. The stove was running high burn for about 10 hours when I returned home. The Fire chief stated that this was the first time he had experienced anything like this, and said he was going to do some investigating. Has anyone else experienced a hopper fire? Does anyone know what could have happened? After this experience I think I will return to HHO. Any thoughts would be appreciated....Thanks

 

[roadrat]

What are you using for pellets? it sounds like they are very low quality/high ash if they filled the burn pot in only 10 hours.


bill

 

[Frozen Ridge]

Natures Own Manufactured by Premier Pellet Corp, Montreal, Canada. Although bag also states made in USA Ash content less than 1% Fines less tha .05% Sodium less than 300ppm. Also states no bark. There's no mention if pellets are hard or soft wood.

 

[Czech]

I think you can search the forum under my posts, my folks had the same deal a couple years back, same stove. Quad replaced no charge, in fact they wanted the entire stove shipped back to investigate. Never heard why from Quad, like I said no charge for everything and no problems since. I have a free standing Castile, even if I tried to make it back burn up the chute (I have tried just for safety curiosity) I can't make it happen. Fuel DOES NOT MATTER (as long as you don't pour an accelerant in the hopper like gas)! This stove should not do this ever without shutting down before.

 

[Czech]

Here's the link from my previous post, not much useful there but sounds similar? https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/3664/

 

[Richardin52]

Here’s my take on what could have happened. You had your stove on high which means the stove is pumping pellets into the pot at it’s fastest rate. There is also an adjustment in the pellet bin that allows you to regulate how much flows into the auger.

If the stove is feeding pellets into the stove faster than it can burn them they will naturally build up in the pot. If this is allowed to happen and this stove gets too hot there is a safety switch that would shut the stove down but if the stove does not get too hot, or the safety switch does not work then what you describe could happen.

I do not know if you had burned the stove on the high setting for a long period of time before the other day but it would be a good idea to run any stove on a setting the first time when you are at home before leaving it running on a setting and not watching to make sure it is set up right.

Regardless it sounds like the stove was being fed pellets faster than it could burn them.

 

[kinsmanstoves]

Not very familiar with a Quadra-puke but check ur air intake and damper adjustments.

Eric

 

[Czech]

The weird thing when this happens is the fact that the chute is downhill into the pot, the auger is uphill into the chute. There is also the fact that fuel needs positive air flow to burn, and that under normal operation there should be a little positive air flow down the chute as the hopper on this stove is not sealed, meaning the pressure in the firebox out the exhaust should draw air not only into the fire pot but also any other draws, namely the feed chute. It is very hard to burn pellets without air flow, even smoldering pellets would have to burn back up the chute, then down through the auger, then up into the hopper. Considering the logistics of that route, I highly doubt that path could be followed without a supportive back flow of combustion air up the chute or something more flammable than just the normal fuel used in these stoves. Just some thoughts from a cluttered mind, been thinking about this since my folks had their problem. Kins, I would not give up my Quad until you pried it and my 7mm Weatherby from my cold dead hands, I love my stove about as much as my dog and that say's alot. That typed, I like my family more than either, but would give them all up if I had to choose between them and my boat! JK.....

 

[slls]

Not very familiar with a Quadra-puke but check ur air intake and damper adjustments.

Eric

Eric, are you having a bad day?

 

[MainePellethead]

Wow.....first I ever heard of a hopper fire in a Quad.

 

[kinsmanstoves]

Not very familiar with a Quadra-puke but check ur air intake and damper adjustments.

Eric

Eric, are you having a bad day?

Yes, Started with 18" of snow overnight at the house. Causing me to run in 4x4 all the way to my daughter's school and then to the store. Saw three trucks in the ditch and one was in the school zone. Numerous arguments on the phone with the wife cause she can not get her 4x2 Trailblazer out of the garage, even though she has no where to go.

I am waiting on happy hour and going to start by myself if I have to.

Thanks for asking
Eric

 

[jtp10181]

Usually a hopper fire would be caused by lack of maintenance. I had a customer recently who *almost* started his hopper on fire. Stove had not been properly cleaned and the fire-pot was full of ash. Luckily when the pellets started smouldering in the drop chute it tripped the snap switch up there and killed the power to the whole stove. I am surprised your stove did not do this? Actually it is possible it did, and that's why you got so much smoke in the house. When the power gets killed the combustion blower shuts off which would cause smoke backup.