Hello and thank you for looking I have an older Castile Quadra-Fire pellet stove insert that has been giving me problem. When I turn it on I have the solid orange/service light the stove seems to feed fine. Once warmed up the then once pellets drop and catch i get a solid green light in the the control box. Then when it get to temp ill get a solid red light under that. But the stove is only working on the medium setting. when I switch to high or low all the light will flash on and off then i have to let it cool down before it will work again. Then the convection fan is only working some of the time i would say less then 10% of the time. I tried cleaning took all the bricks out and blow of the motor and all other parts with air hose. Any help would greatly be appreciated to help trouble shoot
Newbie help needed Quadrafire Castile
- Thread starter Sleepyhollow77
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Lake Girl
Moderator
Welcome to the forum Sleepyhollow
Changed the title thread a bit so you catch the eyes of forum members with a Castile...
Edit: Have you checked your thermocouple to make sure it is seated in the ceramic well. Seems to be an item that can cause trouble based on other posts. Unplug before working on it!
A search of previous threads may help too ... search box upper right.
Changed the title thread a bit so you catch the eyes of forum members with a Castile...Edit: Have you checked your thermocouple to make sure it is seated in the ceramic well. Seems to be an item that can cause trouble based on other posts. Unplug before working on it!
A search of previous threads may help too ... search box upper right.
Lake Girl
Moderator
Pulled up the manual to take a look ... pre 2006 so not sure if the year is the same as yours. (broken link removed to http://hearthnhome.com/downloads/installManuals/250_7251.pdf)
pages 28 - 30 for troubleshooting.
Have you checked #1 snap disc and replaced?
pages 28 - 30 for troubleshooting.
Have you checked #1 snap disc and replaced?
Thank youWelcome to the forum Sleepyhollow
Edit: Have you checked your thermocouple to make sure it is seated in the ceramic well. Seems to be an item that can cause trouble based on other posts. Unplug before working on it!
A search of previous threads may help too ... search box upper right.
Ill try to replace snap disk 1 I checked snap disk and cleaned vacuum line wasnt sure if both issues would be a give away to a problem. That is the model I have thanks for the help
ok took Snap disk 1 out cleaned it off started the stove back up about 1 hour in fan kicked on and is staying on the longest it has
Hello Sleepy Hollow, sounds like you're making progress on your stove issue.
As Lake Girl noted, your #1 snap disc may still be the problem - it closes the circuit to the room air / convection fan when the firebox temperature reaches the set point of the disc. It shouldn't take an hour for the firebox to get up to temp enough to close the #1 snap disc and turn on the convection fan - more like 10 - 20 min is the norm, depending on what heat setting the stove is on. If you're comfortable doing some basic electrical troubleshooting, you can try bypassing the snap disc temporarily.
UNPLUG the stove as L G noted, then disconnect the two electrical wires that go to the #1 snap disc. Then jumper together the two female spade connectors on each of those wires. A pre-fabbed electrical jumper wire works best, but you can make one by trimming the insulation ends back on a short piece of small gauge wire - just enough to make a connection with the female spade connectors. A straightened paper clip will also work as a jumper wire in a pinch, but has more likelihood of becoming disconnected and shorting out on a piece of stove metal - which can blow your junction box fuse at best and your pricey control box at worst !
Wrapping the jumper wire to the female spade terminal connections with electrical tape will help prevent it from grounding out should you bump it by accident after you plug the stove back in to test it. When you're sure your jumper wire is firmly connected to the two spade terminals, then plug your stove back in and start it up - your convection fan should come on and stay on the whole time that the #1 snap disc is jumpered, at all the stove heat settings. If it does, then you know your #1 snap disc is the problem.
You're sure your 'squirrel cage' convection fan impeller fins are clear of dust bunnies, cat hair, dirt build-up, etc ? If the obstructed fan fins can't push enough room air through the heat exchanger tubes, then that can overheat the stove and shut down your #2 snap disc.
Try that stuff, then post back on what happened, OK ?
As Lake Girl noted, your #1 snap disc may still be the problem - it closes the circuit to the room air / convection fan when the firebox temperature reaches the set point of the disc. It shouldn't take an hour for the firebox to get up to temp enough to close the #1 snap disc and turn on the convection fan - more like 10 - 20 min is the norm, depending on what heat setting the stove is on. If you're comfortable doing some basic electrical troubleshooting, you can try bypassing the snap disc temporarily.
UNPLUG the stove as L G noted, then disconnect the two electrical wires that go to the #1 snap disc. Then jumper together the two female spade connectors on each of those wires. A pre-fabbed electrical jumper wire works best, but you can make one by trimming the insulation ends back on a short piece of small gauge wire - just enough to make a connection with the female spade connectors. A straightened paper clip will also work as a jumper wire in a pinch, but has more likelihood of becoming disconnected and shorting out on a piece of stove metal - which can blow your junction box fuse at best and your pricey control box at worst !
Wrapping the jumper wire to the female spade terminal connections with electrical tape will help prevent it from grounding out should you bump it by accident after you plug the stove back in to test it. When you're sure your jumper wire is firmly connected to the two spade terminals, then plug your stove back in and start it up - your convection fan should come on and stay on the whole time that the #1 snap disc is jumpered, at all the stove heat settings. If it does, then you know your #1 snap disc is the problem.
You're sure your 'squirrel cage' convection fan impeller fins are clear of dust bunnies, cat hair, dirt build-up, etc ? If the obstructed fan fins can't push enough room air through the heat exchanger tubes, then that can overheat the stove and shut down your #2 snap disc.
Try that stuff, then post back on what happened, OK ?
Last edited by a moderator:
Hello Sleepy Hollow, sounds like you're making progress on your stove issue.
As Lake Girl noted, your #1 snap disc may still be the cause - it closes the circuit to the room air / convection fan when the firebox temperature reaches the set point of the disc. It shouldn't take an hour for the firebox to get up to temp to turn on the convection fan - more like 10 - 20 min is the norm, depending on what heat setting the stove is on. If you're comfortable doing some basic electrical troubleshooting, you can try bypassing the snap disc temporarily.
UNPLUG the stove as L G noted, then disconnect the two electrical wires that go to the #1 snap disc. Then jumper together the two female spade connectors on each of those wires. A pre-fabbed electrical jumper wire works best, but you can make one by trimming the insulation ends back on a short piece of small gauge wire - just enough to make a connection with the female spade connectors. A straightened paper clip will also work as a jumper wire in a pinch, but has more likelihood of becoming disconnected and shorting out on a piece of stove metal - which can blow your junction box fuse at best and your pricey control box at worst !
Wrapping the jumper wire to the female spade terminal connections with electrical tape will help prevent it from grounding out should you bump it by accident after you plug the stove back in to test it. When you're sure your jumper wire is firmly connected to the two spade terminalsThen plug your stove back in and start it up - your convection fan should come on and stay on and stay on the whole time that the #1 snap disc is jumpered, at all the stove heat settings. If it does, then you know your #1 snap disc is the problem.
You're sure your 'squirrel cage' convection fan impeller fins are clear of dust bunnies, cat hair, dirt build-up, etc ? If the obstructed fan fins can't push enough room air through the heat exchanger tubes, then that can overheat the stove and shut down your #2 snap disc.
Try that stuff, then post back on what happened, OK ?[/qu
Thank you so i got 2 male spade connectors jumped the wires and hit the squirel cage with the air compressor powered the stove back up and the fan started right up lets see if the fan runs the whole time!
Thank you both for your time so far
Shweet, you're definitely making progress !!
If the convection fan started right up when you jumpered the wires to it, then your #1 snap disc is going bad. Run it on the high setting for an hour or so to make sure your stove keeps running and doesn't shut down, which could indicate a #2 snap disc going bad as well.
I had my OEM #1 disc go bad, followed not too long after by the #2 snap disc - they seem to have a finite number of open / close cycles built into them. My #3 snap disc is still the original though, after 14 years now !
If you don't normally run your stove on the high setting, you may have to adjust your pellet feed rate to get the correct 4 - 6" flame height above the fire pot. Your manual describes how to set the proper feed rate as well.
Hopefully this was a simple, and inexpensive fix ! The Quad #1 snap discs go for about $12 - 17 on-line plus shipping.
If the convection fan started right up when you jumpered the wires to it, then your #1 snap disc is going bad. Run it on the high setting for an hour or so to make sure your stove keeps running and doesn't shut down, which could indicate a #2 snap disc going bad as well.
I had my OEM #1 disc go bad, followed not too long after by the #2 snap disc - they seem to have a finite number of open / close cycles built into them. My #3 snap disc is still the original though, after 14 years now !
If you don't normally run your stove on the high setting, you may have to adjust your pellet feed rate to get the correct 4 - 6" flame height above the fire pot. Your manual describes how to set the proper feed rate as well.
Hopefully this was a simple, and inexpensive fix ! The Quad #1 snap discs go for about $12 - 17 on-line plus shipping.
Last edited by a moderator:
Lake Girl
Moderator
Thanks DMKNLD, had to hit the grocery store so did not want to start explaining on jumping the snap disc w/o being around for other questions.
Sleepyhollow, glad to hear you are making progress on diagnosing the stove problems. Just remember that the jumper is a temporary situation used to diagnose the problem; shouldn't leave it running that way as it is a safety feature. Likely wouldn't hurt to get the #2 as suggested too.
Compressed air is always a good thing to blow out the windings on the motors (convection & combustion) to get rid of any resident dust bunnies.
Let us know if you have full range on heat settings...
Sleepyhollow, glad to hear you are making progress on diagnosing the stove problems. Just remember that the jumper is a temporary situation used to diagnose the problem; shouldn't leave it running that way as it is a safety feature. Likely wouldn't hurt to get the #2 as suggested too.
Compressed air is always a good thing to blow out the windings on the motors (convection & combustion) to get rid of any resident dust bunnies.
Let us know if you have full range on heat settings...
Started stove up about 35 mins fan kicked on and its been on for 1 hour! Still cant adjust to high or low setting without lights starting to blink, then have to wait for it to cool down before i can restart
! Still cant adjust to high or low setting without lights starting to blink, then have to wait for it to cool down before i can restartHmmmm.... I still think you have to rule out a #2 snap disc issue. You can bypass the #2 snap disc the same way you did the #1 and see if that lets you run the stove on all the heat settings. Again UNPLUG before you do any jumpering !
Issues where the stove works on one heat setting but not the others, and with all the control box lights flashing before your stove goes into shut down mode, points toward possibly a control box related issue.
Hopefully kap, who is a Quad tech and the forum 'go to guy' on all things Quad related can chime in on this some time this weekend, but you can try a simple fix to rule out a poorly seated control box. Quads have a tendency with vibration and probably repeated heating / cooling cycles to have the electrical contacts between the control box and the circuit board degrade over time.
IMPORTANT: UNPLUG THE STOVE, to keep from frying your control box ! Several people on this forum have made that expensive mistake this season.
Then carefully remove the control box and re-seat it back in, which can sometimes be a quick fix for control box issues. The best way to rule out a control box problem is to take it to a Quad dealer and have them either test it or put it in to one of their floor demo stoves to see if it reproduces the problem. Or if you know someone in reasonably close proximity to you who has a Quad that you can swap your control box in to, as most use your same box.
Issues where the stove works on one heat setting but not the others, and with all the control box lights flashing before your stove goes into shut down mode, points toward possibly a control box related issue.
Hopefully kap, who is a Quad tech and the forum 'go to guy' on all things Quad related can chime in on this some time this weekend, but you can try a simple fix to rule out a poorly seated control box. Quads have a tendency with vibration and probably repeated heating / cooling cycles to have the electrical contacts between the control box and the circuit board degrade over time.
IMPORTANT: UNPLUG THE STOVE, to keep from frying your control box ! Several people on this forum have made that expensive mistake this season.
Then carefully remove the control box and re-seat it back in, which can sometimes be a quick fix for control box issues. The best way to rule out a control box problem is to take it to a Quad dealer and have them either test it or put it in to one of their floor demo stoves to see if it reproduces the problem. Or if you know someone in reasonably close proximity to you who has a Quad that you can swap your control box in to, as most use your same box.
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