Flame height problem

[smg64ct]

I have a Quadrafire cb 1200 free standing unit. I can't seem to get the flame adjusted right. When I do get it right it only stays adjusted for about a week. It slowly creeps up on me and all of a sudden the flame is out of control. The manuel says 4-6" but this flame goes hire. I've been adjusting the rod daily and its starting to drive me nuts. This unit is only 5 yrs old. I'm ready to give up on it. Am I missing something? I keep the stove very clean. I just bought this house in September and the stove was here. Do I need to setup a service call? I'm afraid of leaving it alone and overfiring it. Thanks for your help.

P.S. I'm not new to pellet stoves had a Harmon & Quad in my old house.

 

[begreen]

Steve, just to get the variables out of the way - has this always been with one brand of pellets? Has the thumbsrew been tightened on the auger feed rate rod each time? Is the burn pot clean (including the holes)? Was the stove serviced this fall before startup?

 

[smg64ct]

Yes to all of the above. I'm using Ozark pellets which this is the first time I'm using this brand.

 

[begreen]

OK, when burning I would see some minor variations depending on the timing of the auger, amount of pellets in the hopper, etc. But never something that needed a new feed rate unless it was a change of product. It sounds like you keep getting an increasing amount of flame height no matter what you try, correct? That's pretty odd.

How are the pellets? Are they very consistent in length or quite random with large variances in size? One thing to check is that the burnpot cleanout plate is fully closing. When the stove was cleaned last were all passages vacuumed out according to the manual guidelines?

 

[smg64ct]

I cleaned the unit well. The pellets are mixed some are real long and some very short. Could the pellets be the problem?

Thanks for the replies.

 

[begreen]

Sounds like they may be the issue if the stove is in good working order. All of the pellets we burned (from several manufacturers) were pretty consistent in length. They were about 3/4 - 1" long. I'd try to pick up about 3 bags of another brand to see if they burn more consistently. A mix of really long pellets and short pellets can cause some bridging in the auger (low flame) followed by a mass of short pellets which could be the source of the high flames. What brands are available in your area?

Take a look at this chart to see which has pellets in the 3/4" range.

 

[smg64ct]

The chart is a big help. Thanks again.

 

[hearthtools]

As you get build up in the burn pot the flame will change.

 

[begreen]

The chart is a big help. Thanks again.

Ask around if you can get Lignetics from Idaho in your area. I had good luck with them.