Pellet Stove Newbie- need help!

[Kaseye13]

We have a new Quadrafire Classic Bay 1200. Just started running it this week, and for the past two days it just burns and burns and burns. I had it on Low and Low until yesterday when I switched it to medium and high blower to see if that would help. I cleaned out the ashes and the burn pot and started her up. But it still just keeps running. I don't even know if that is normal? The manual seems to indicate that it should cycle like a furnace does- reach desired temp and turn off. BUT, it never reaches the desired temp. We are heating a 2000 sqft ranch home, so well within the abilities of the stove. It has been in the 40s here, and we have a well insulated house- so it seems reasonable to expect it to get above 70 in the room it is burning in. (Open den area in the center of the home.) Within 24 hours we burned 40 lbs, keeping den at 70 and rest of the house about 62 maybe. Again, maybe that is normal and our expectations were just too high?

It doesn't seem to burn very hot to me. Though what do I know being new to this! But on medium, the flame rarely stretches above the top of the burn pot. (Should it go higher?) Burning soft Isabella pellets. It is a corner install with a straight 12" vent then has a 45 elbow through the thimble to outside.

I can't think of any more info to add. Thanks for any advice you can give me- even if you are only telling me it is all normal and I need to lower my expectations

 

[Lake Girl]

Not real familiar with your stove but feed rate setting might be low... if the flame barely reaches the top of the burn pot. My stove has a modulation mode where it is not actively heating but just has a low burn that will ramp up when more heat is called for but not sure if your stove does that. Thermostat hooked-up properly? Call light continuously on? Troubleshooting section of the manual page 26 tells you to turn off thermostat. Call light on or off then?

Have you tried different pellets to see if that may be it?

I'm sure others will chime in...

 

[DMKNLD]

Welcome to the Pellet Forum, Kaseye13. My smaller sized Quadrafire Castile heats about 1500 sq ft to the low to mid 70's, on medium setting in the dead of winter, in our drafty 1870's farmhouse, burning about the same 40 lbs that you are burning in a similar 24 hr period. My buddy heats his 2 story log cabin with a Quad CB to what seems like sauna temps at times - high 70's to 80 F or so in the middle of winter Maine temps. So I think your stove should be putting out a good bit more heat than it is.

It sounds like your pellet feed rate may need to be adjusted - inside your pellet hopper is a feed gate that needs to be adjusted for the length of the pellets you are burning - the longer the average length of the pellet the more open the feed gate needs to be. This is the only burn adjustment you can make on a Quad, as there is no airflow adjustment.

The feed gate adjustment is easiest to do when the hopper is almost empty of pellets, as there is a set screw at the bottom of the feed plate that you may need to loosen to get it to open more. You set the feed rate with the stove setting on high, where your flame should be very brisk, yellowish- white in color, and lap up somewhere between 4 - 6 inches above the burn pot. The flame height will normally fluctuate some as the pellet drop ebbs and flows, but on high it should crest well above what it sounds like your stove is doing. Make incremental feed gate adjustments, as it takes up to 10 mins or so for the auger to stabilize the amount of pellet drop, and thus the flame height, to stabilize out. Then you can adjust the stove setting to medium or low and it will have the correct air - to - fuel burn ratio. Start with that, and then we'll go from there as needed.

Did a local dealer install your stove for you? If so, they should have done a test burn for you after they did the install to make sure everything is running well, and your operation questions are answered. This forum has many knowledgeable and friendly folks who are more than happy to help you on your pellet stove ownership 'odyssey', but no message board forum should replace the dealer support and troubleshooting help that you paid good money for when you purchase a product from them. That said, pellet stove dealer support is notoriously 'all over the map'. But I would be on the phone or on-line with your dealer with your concerns.

My other suggestion is to live, breathe, eat, and REM sleep dream all the pellet stove research and info that you can for this early and steep learning curve period, especially before the deep of winter sets in. Read your manual cover to cover, at least twice, and pore over all the good on-line video support that Quad has put out. http://www.quadrafire.com/Owner-Resources/Use-and-Care-Videos/Classic-Bay-1200-Pellet-Stove.aspx . Use the search function on this forum in the upper right corner of the page to search 'Quadrafire' and 'Classic Bay', and you will find hours and hours of informative and informational reading about your stove.

Post back on any follow-up questions or comments. Good luck - and happy burning.

 

[DMKNLD]

Not real familiar with your stove but feed rate setting might be low... if the flame barely reaches the top of the burn pot. My stove has a modulation mode where it is not actively heating but just has a low burn that will ramp up when more heat is called for but not sure if your stove does that. Thermostat hooked-up properly? Call light continuously on? Troubleshooting section of the manual page 26 tells you to turn off thermostat. Call light on or off then?

Have you tried different pellets to see if that may be it?

I'm sure others will chime in...

You beat me to the post, Lake Girl ! Isabella pellets get mixed reviews, https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/isabella-pellets-from-michigan.83249/. My Quad will burn OK with most any pellet brand, but going from burning 'dirt in a bag' hardwood / softwood mix pellets my first burn season to now burning platinum quality100% softwoods has been a huge improvement in heat output for my stove..... 2nd only to learning from all the pellet wizards on this forum on how to keep it clean, how to do do simple heat output increasing mods, how to equalize the pellet stove heat throughout the house, when to get up and walk away for awhile from a troubleshooting frustration meltdown, etc.

 

[DMKNLD]

One other quick suggestion, (I promise !) Kaseye13. Include "Quadrafire Classic Bay" or "Quad CB" in your title thread when you post a topic question - that will help catch the eye of the many Quad folks who prowl this forum, and will often get you a quicker response from members familiar with your stove. As you can see, we are entering the peak period of pellet stove burning season, with lots of new folks signing on daily, and with over 50 new posts today alone. Cheers !

 

[Lake Girl]

You can go back and edit the title thread on this one if you want more input...