Flame height on Santa Fe

  • 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.

gerryger

Member
Feb 25, 2011
93
CT
I know I started this topic a couple of weeks ago. Since I just fired up my stove this weekend I wanted to post my results. I know many people suggested that I adjust my feed rate until the flames reach 4 inches which I did over the course of the day. Unfortunately on my Santa Fe I was only able to accomplish this height only when the feed rate was fully opened. In addition the 4 inch height is very intermittent. Very disappointed about the feed rate being fully opened as I have read many posts about their feed rate at the smallest setting. I am using Hamers Hot Ones and they are by far the shortest pellet I have ever used. I always feel that the burn pot doesn't have enough pellets in it. Any thoughts? Like I said the stove is relatively brand new.
 
I have a Sante Fe also... is your stove on High ?? Also how long are your pellets? Are some of them logs ?? Let me know....
 
A properly adjusted fire with the heat output control button
set on “HIGH†has a short active flame pattern that extends
out of the firepot approximately 4 inches (102mm). If the fire
has tall flames with black tails and seems somewhat lazy, the
feed rate will need to be reduced. If the fire is not 4 inches
(102mm) tall, increase the feed rate. A medium and low
setting will give a shorter flame. The flame will rise and fall
somewhat. This is normal
 
Hank Hill said:
I have a Sante Fe also... is your stove on High ?? Also how long are your pellets? Are some of them logs ?? Let me know....

Yes I did forget to mention I have the stove set on high 90% of the time. Hamers are very short about ranging from 3/8" to 5/8". None longer than that. No logs. Hank are you able to maintain a 4" flame height without the feed rate fully open.
 
There are different settings on the control board. What setting is yours in?
 

Attachments

  • page 1.jpg
    page 1.jpg
    98.8 KB · Views: 587
  • page 2.jpg
    page 2.jpg
    119.1 KB · Views: 624
I have mine half open or so... I measure the openess of it by the screw that allows it to slide up and down. All the way shut, the screw is at the top of the slider, all the way open it is at the bottom. So mine is in the middle. And yes mine goes between 4 inches and sometimes higher at times.
 
j-takeman said:
There are different settings on the control board. What setting is yours in?

It is set on #6 which is correct for the Santa Fe. The #7 setting is for a feed rate increase of 10% for use with low density fuel.
 
Hank Hill said:
I have mine half open or so... I measure the openess of it by the screw that allows it to slide up and down. All the way shut, the screw is at the top of the slider, all the way open it is at the bottom. So mine is in the middle. And yes mine goes between 4 inches and sometimes higher at times.

Hank do you see a lot of fluctuation. There are times when I get a 4in flame but it quickly falls below the top of the burn pot especially when pellets are dropping. It kinda extinguishes the height. I guess what I'm asking you is, are your 4 inch flames steady when you run your stove on high.
 
No, it can drop and sometimes it does go higher.
 
Same here. The flame height on both of mine constantly fluctuates, especially when pellets drop. It's perfectly normal to go from flame below fire pot height to almost reaching the angled plate above. What is NOT normal is to have the gate all the way open for short pellets. If I have extra long pellets, I have to open it up but for short ones, it is almost closed. Silly question but it has to be asked. Are you SURE you are in the fully open position? The adjustment rod would be all the way to the right.
 
tjnamtiw said:
Are you SURE you are in the fully open position? The adjustment rod would be all the way to the right.

Yes the adjustment rod was all the way to the right. However I have moved it to the half way point and I am maintaining a pretty good height. It fluctuates a lot like you said especially when the pellets drop. It was this fluctuation that was bothering me but I guess this is normal so I will leave the feed rate at this setting for now.
 
Great! Glad you're up and running. Fluctuations are a way of life. :)
 
When i first got my quad i was confused because as you open the feed rate, at some point it doesn't cover the hole at all and then you still have a quarter inch to go. So that part of it still doesn't make sense..
 
I noticed that also. I agree...makes no sense.
 
The answer to your comment about not making sense >>> MADE IN CHINA. Unfortunately I have TWO of them! I shouldn't really say unfortunately (especially at the start of the season! Knock on wood) because they are easy to operate and reliable. Not the best design or construction, but serviceable. My slides are the same way. Closed is NOT closed and open is way past open.
 
I had some major issues with fluctuation after buying mine used and after some investigation and cleaning and some tweaking mine is a whole world better. The little screws that come into the fire box for the door hinge were not tight and allowed the door to sag and not always close the same each time. I replaced the little self tappers with machine screws with nuts and washers. The gap at the trap door on the pot was gaping and I had some holes in the pot that were partially plugged which needed cleaned and adjusted. The stove only had one rope gasket in the left corner and nothing in the right corner which allows the combustion gases to go more toward the back plate rather than up around the heat tubes and down the back of the plate.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.