Convection Blower in Quadrafire Mt. Vernon (2005, non AE) not coming on

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.

jajones480

New Member
Jan 3, 2015
1
Pittsburgh, PA
I have been the owner of a Quadrafire Mt. Vernon (non AE) since 2005. I am diligent about doing the routine maintenance and use high quality pellets. The only issue we have had with the stove was an electronic one. It was fixed by replacing the computer module. Recently, we noticed the exhaust fan was getting noisier and noisier. I called our local Quadrafire dealer, and long story short, they told me it wasn't their problem because I didn't buy the stove from them. This is what I did then:

1. I can be handy when I want to so I first downloaded the manual and did a complete and thorough cleaning, including the exhaust chute on the right side of the unit (if you are facing the stove).
2. I restarted the stove and it was still noisy so the issue wasn't one where it was just too dirty. The stove operated properly at this point. Unit starts up, exhaust fan comes on, pellets drop, fire starts, light turns red in the control module, convection blower starts.
3. I let the unit cool down and took both the exhaust and convection blowers out of the stove. I cleaned both with a shop vac. I did notice now that the impeller on the exhaust fan was really beat up, probably from larger chunks of ash hitting it and it was also rusty. I have one on order from a distributor. I straightened out the blades that were askew and I reinstalled both fans and started the unit up. At first, the exhaust fan was quiet but then got louder. Again, the stove operated properly.
4. I let the unit cool down again and removed both fans. Upon inspection of the exhaust fan impeller, I noticed that the blades were again askew and probably striking the housing. I guess after 9 years of operation (probably close to 16 tons of pellets) it's ready for a replacement. I righted them again and reinstalled both fans, thinking I would just wait until the impeller arrived to disassemble.
5. However, upon restarting the unit, the convection blower is now not coming on. The red light on the control box comes on indicating it is at temperature and should kick on but it's not. I jumpered out the snap disc that acts as a thermal switch and the fan still doesn't come on.
6. I let the unit cool down (again) and removed just the convection fan. It looked fine so I rigged up a switch connected to a wall socket with plugs that match the ones on the fan. When I apply power, the fan comes on.

So right now, I have a slightly unsafe setup where I can turn the stove on, wait for the red light on the control box to light, then I manually turn on the convection fan. The only downside to this is that we can't have the stove run overnight.

So my question is this... What did I break / do wrong that has caused the convection blower to not start? Thanks for any input you can give me!
 
The wires don't work on the snap disc,or when you jump them together, but work with a jumper cord to power. I would be checking the wire ends for being corroded or loose, or bad when on the snap disc. And if need be,you can jump those wires together, making sure they don't ground out on anything, till you new can figure it out. it will only blow house air till stove fires again. And just because the red light comes on in the control box, doesn't mean the fan will come on right away. The red light just means the firepot has reached 600* temp,but not necessarily mean the heat has gotten to the snap disc yet. My convection fan doesn't come on till after a bit, after the red light comes on. kap
 
Sure seems that way sometimes. lol
 
Status
Not open for further replies.