Day 3 Newbie Questions about Quadrafire Pellet Insert

[squeed]

I just got a Quad 1200i and I'm already liking it a lot, but I have a bunch of newbie questions that I'm hoping that you can help me with.

1. I'm getting ready to do my first cleaning and I'm concerned that I'll scratch the glass when I clean it. The install crew recommended
using the same type of paste that you would buy to clean a flat top electric stove. Should I use this stuff ? If so, what's the technique for
cleaning the glass do you wet it first ? Brush it off first ?

2. I have the same concern with scratching the inside of the stove with the mini scraper that they gave you. I don't really want to scratch
the heat exchanger covers or the edges of the burn pot, is that unavoidable ? How best to clean all of that stuff ?

3. I was going to spend the $200 to get a warm ash vac, but the install crew said, don't do it. Just go to the Depot and get a $50 shop
vac and get good micro filters, do you agree with this ?

4. I'm eating pellets like a mad man. It doesn't appear that a 40 lb bag lasts longer than 8 hours. I'm keeping the room at 70, is this to
be expected ? What do you do to make a 40 lb bag last for 24 hours ?

5. This isn't really a question about the insert, but related. The pellet insert is installed in a room where the central HVAC intake vent is, so
I've been putting my HVAC fan on so that it sucks the air out of the room with the insert and distributes it to the rest of the house. This is a
great setup, but I have to let the fan run 24/7 because there is no setting for the thermostat to trigger just the fan when you go blow a certian
temp, it has to trigger the furnace and the fan. The fan setting is either ON or Auto and Auto triggers the furnace. Is there a thermostat that
will trigger just the fan when the temp drops below a certian temperature ?

6. Does that high medium and low fan settings have anything to do with how fast your burn pellets, or is that strictly based on the temperature
that you set on the thermostat ?

7. I've noticed that the remote control thermostat has a place on the LCD display that shows FAN ON/OFF. But I don't see anywhere in the instructions
or online that says that you can control the High,Med, or Low other than manually from the rocker switch, does the remote have the ability to control
the fan speed ?

-S

 

[Shortstuff]

I just got a Quad 1200i and I'm already liking it a lot, but I have a bunch of newbie questions that I'm hoping that you can help me with.

1. I'm getting ready to do my first cleaning and I'm concerned that I'll scratch the glass when I clean it. The install crew recommended
using the same type of paste that you would buy to clean a flat top electric stove. Should I use this stuff ? If so, what's the technique for
cleaning the glass do you wet it first ? Brush it off first ?

2. I have the same concern with scratching the inside of the stove with the mini scraper that they gave you. I don't really want to scratch
the heat exchanger covers or the edges of the burn pot, is that unavoidable ? How best to clean all of that stuff ?

3. I was going to spend the $200 to get a warm ash vac, but the install crew said, don't do it. Just go to the Depot and get a $50 shop
vac and get good micro filters, do you agree with this ?

4. I'm eating pellets like a mad man. It doesn't appear that a 40 lb bag lasts longer than 8 hours. I'm keeping the room at 70, is this to
be expected ? What do you do to make a 40 lb bag last for 24 hours ?

5. This isn't really a question about the insert, but related. The pellet insert is installed in a room where the central HVAC intake vent is, so
I've been putting my HVAC fan on so that it sucks the air out of the room with the insert and distributes it to the rest of the house. This is a
great setup, but I have to let the fan run 24/7 because there is no setting for the thermostat to trigger just the fan when you go blow a certian
temp, it has to trigger the furnace and the fan. The fan setting is either ON or Auto and Auto triggers the furnace. Is there a thermostat that
will trigger just the fan when the temp drops below a certian temperature ?

6. Does that high medium and low fan settings have anything to do with how fast your burn pellets, or is that strictly based on the temperature
that you set on the thermostat ?

7. I've noticed that the remote control thermostat has a place on the LCD display that shows FAN ON/OFF. But I don't see anywhere in the instructions
or online that says that you can control the High,Med, or Low other than manually from the rocker switch, does the remote have the ability to control
the fan speed ?

-S

I don't have that particular stove, but here's my thoughts:

1. I lightly vacuum my door gasket taking care not to touch the glass first. Then I use a damp paper towel (wring it out) to wipe the glass clean by carefully lifting the gasket slightly so I can get underneath a little - this way I'm not pushing any of the dirt under the gaskets which will build up over time. I use a second damp paper towel the same way and then wipe it dry with a cheap microfibre cloth. My glass always looks like new. If for whatever reason you have a build up of dirt that may need a little harder rubbing, simply touch the damp paper towel in some of the ash inside your stove first and use that ash as a very mild abrasive to clean the glass. This ash will not harm the glass in any way. Remember that the glass is actually porcelain.

2. If you are concerned about scraping, then use a wire brush. You can get them in small tooth-brush size too.

3. If you can afford the $200+ ash vacuum (I have the Loveless Ash Vac) then get one. Yes, I also have a shop vac that I bought a drywall filter ($30.00) for and it would work well also, but even after waiting 1/2 hour or so for the stove to cool down, the ash is still quite warm and that is exactly what the Loveless Ash Vac is designed for - never hot ash. It's peace of mind knowing that jus in case the ash is a little too warm to vacuum, the right vac can handle it.

4. There are so many variables to determine why you may be burning a lot of pellets to include stove size, drafts, insulation in your house, use of an outside air kit, proper tinkering with your stove settings, type/brand of pellets, etc. I can't answer that one.

5. Not too sure about that one. If you do a search you may find that most people do not recommend the use of the HVAC fan system.

6. My Castile also has a high-medium-low switch and is directly related to how many pellets you'll burn. My stove runs on a set-back thermostat and runs on medium 24/7 even on below zero days.. So far so good for us.

7. I wouldn't think that the on/off fan switch on the remote control thermostat has any real control over the stoves fan speeds, but I may be wrong.

Happy Heating!

Steve