PLEASE HELP Quadra Fire auger stops when fan starts

[Burton 513]

I have a Quadra Fire 1200-I. As soon as the fan turns on(blowing heat into the room), the auger stops, and the flame goes out within a couple of minutes. This happens in this exact order, every time I start the stove. Once the fire goes out, the stove has to be restarted; then once the fan turns on, the auger stops again.

From the research I have done, it appears that it could be a number of things (snapdiscs, thermocouple, vacuum line, etc.). Before I start ordering snapdiscs, etc., I’m hoping someone may be able to point me in the right direction. I’d like to avoid purchasing a lot of unnecessary parts if possible. I tried the local repair shop, but they are booked 2 months out, and they charge $199 for a service call. Any help is greatly appreciated!!

 

[kappel15]

First thing I would try is to jump the #2 snap disc wires together, being careful not to ground them on stove. See if that stops the issue. kap

 

[Burton 513]

First thing I would try is to jump the #2 snap disc wires together, being careful not to ground them on stove. See if that stops the issue. kap

I will try this. Does it matter how I jump the wires? Will a paper clip work? I will update you once I have tried this. Thank you for the response.

 

[kappel15]

You can but you are way better off with a pc. of coated wire, with spade connectors on the ends. Don't have to worry about much then. I have a few of them for working on stoves. kap

 

[Burton 513]

You can but you are way better off with a pc. of coated wire, with spade connectors on the ends. Don't have to worry about much then. I have a few of them for working on stoves. kap

Ok, so I jumped the #2 snapdisc. The pellets kept feeding after the fan turned on. However, they stopped about 2 minutes after the fan turned on.

I did make some notes this time, that might help with troubleshooting.

I started the stove. The auger started and pellets began to fall into the burning pot. Within a short time, the flame started. The light inside the control box was still green. After several minutes, the control box light turned red (I believe it does this after it gets to a certain temp). 15 minutes after the light changed to red, the fan kicked on. 1-2 minutes after the fan kicked on, the auger chit off, and the flame was out within 1-2 minutes.

The light in the control box went back to green (after about 5-10 minutes) as the fan continued to run.

PLEASE NOTE - the flames were very large while initially waiting for the fan to turn on.

The fan turned off about five minutes after the control box light switched back to green (from red). The auger never started again.

I pressed the reset button, and the fan (the one that stays on the entire time the stove is operating, but doesn’t blow the heat into the room) changed pitch, and pellets began to drop again. The whole process repeated.

My take away:
-flames are very large
-it took a very long time for the fan to turn on and start heating the room. Around 15 minutes after the light in control box turned red.
-auger still stooped shortly after the fan turned on, even-though snap#2 was jumped.

Thoughts??? Again, I appreciate you taking the time to read all of this, helping me diagnose this.

 

[kappel15]

Is the entire exhaust path clean? This means thru stove. Taking heat deflector off and pulling back brick out, cleaning heat exchanger tubes and behind brick. Exhaust pipe all the way from stove to top? Nothing blocking top of exhaust? Let us know and we can go to next step, if nothing changes. kap

 

[kappel15]

And when you turn the tstat up, the red call light comes on. But from your post, you are saying the green light is on right away? Not coming on after fire starts and gets up to 200* ?

 

[Burton 513]

Is the entire exhaust path clean? This means thru stove. Taking heat deflector off and pulling back brick out, cleaning heat exchanger tubes and behind brick. Exhaust pipe all the way from stove to top? Nothing blocking top of exhaust? Let us know and we can go to next step, if nothing changes. kap

I will check this and give you an update sometime today. When you said “exhaust pipe all the way from stove to top”, are you referring to make sure sure the exhaust pipe is clear from the stove, all the way to the roof of the house (where it vents through the chimney)? I’d have to buy a very long brush, I suppose. The stove is about 25’-30’ from the top of the chimney, where it vents. Please let me know, and I will buy a brush and several extensions if need-be.

 

[kappel15]

If not by cleaning, you need to know that things are clear to top. That there is nothing plugging exhaust path. Pulling stove out a bit and checking exhaust at that end. And making sure there is not a birds nest or some such at top. And let me know on rest of that post, on lights. kap

 

[Burton 513]

And when you turn the tstat up, the red call light comes on. But from your post, you are saying the green light is on right away? Not coming on after fire starts and gets up to 200* ?

The green light is on right away, and stays on for some time, before turning red. Then it eventually turns back to green several minutes after the fire goes out. The thing that is odd to me, is that the red light is on for 15-20 minutes before the fan turns on (the one that blows the heat into the room).

 

[kappel15]

Fan coming on after red light is normal. But, green light on right away is wrong. It should not come on till has ran for 4 minutes, and pot has gotten to 200* to turn green light on, telling stove to start feeding again. Can you do a continuity test on the firepot thermocouple to see if it is any good? Next thing is do you know someone that has a quad stove you can test your control box in? It is more then likely one of these two things. The quad stove can be any except newer styles and the mt. Vernon. Any of the stoves that use a 3 speed control box. Or does that dealer have a stove he can test it in, or if he has a tester to check it? And remember to unplug stove before removing or installing a control box, or you run the risk of toasting it. kap

 

[Burton 513]

Fan coming on after red light is normal. But, green light on right away is wrong. It should not come on till has ran for 4 minutes, and pot has gotten to 200* to turn green light on, telling stove to start feeding again. Can you do a continuity test on the firepot thermocouple to see if it is any good? Next thing is do you know someone that has a quad stove you can test your control box in? It is more then likely one of these two things. The quad stove can be any except newer styles and the mt. Vernon. Any of the stoves that use a 3 speed control box. Or does that dealer have a stove he can test it in, or if he has a tester to check it? And remember to unplug stove before removing or installing a control box, or you run the risk of toasting it. kap

I’m not sure how to do the continuity test? I don’t think I have any tools for that. I will call the local shop and see if they can test the box, if I bring it in.

Lmk how to do the continuity test, and if it would be worth-while to buy the tools to do this test.

 

[Overfireinthehole]

If the green light is on when the stove is cold it’s either a bad thermocouple or bad board. Take the ceramic cover off your fire pit thermocouple and look for breaks in the wires. If your green light was on because the stove was still warm from you trying it then I’d say your thermocouple is good and your back to an airflow issue. Your flame looks a bit lazy in the picture but that could be the picture.

 

[Overfireinthehole]

Here’s the flame on my 1200 right now.

 

[kappel15]

You just need a multi meter to test for continuity. Relatively cheap. kap

 

[Burton 513]

Here’s the flame on my 1200 right now.

Yes, my flame is like 5X that size. I’m pretty certain it would qualify as a lazy flame. I read someplace that the setting in the control box should be set to “1”. I checked this, and it is set to setting 1. I’m going to check for the green light again now. Meanwhile, here is a video of the flames from last night.

 

[Burton 513]

Here’s the flame on my 1200 right now.

Not sure if that video will play. Here are a couple pics of my flame.

 

[Burton 513]

If the green light is on when the stove is cold it’s either a bad thermocouple or bad board. Take the ceramic cover off your fire pit thermocouple and look for breaks in the wires. If your green light was on because the stove was still warm from you trying it then I’d say your thermocouple is good and your back to an airflow issue. Your flame looks a bit lazy in the picture but that could be the picture.

So here are some pics of the thermocouple and the cover for it. I don’t see any tears, or splits in the wire. I should mention that the internal fan runs constant, as soon as I plug the stove in. Before I turn the stove on by using the remote, the fan is running, and the blue light inside the control box flashes one time, about every 10 seconds. It does this for approximately 1 minute, then the blue light stops flashing, but the internal fan continues to run.

When I turn the unit on with the remote, the pellets begin dropping into the burn pot, and there are no lights on inside the control module. The pellets continue to slowly drop into burn pot for approximately 1-2 minutes. When the pellets stop dropping, the heating element comes on to ignite the pellets. Shortly after, the fire lights. The green light comes on approximately 1 minute after fire starts. When the green light comes on, the pellets begin to drop again. The fire and flames are normal size (a 3-6 inches taller than burn pot). Within 5-10 minutes, the red light inside control box comes on. The pellets continue to drop while red light in control box is illuminated. The pellets don’t stop dropping (even-though the flame is now hitting the top of the inside of the stove) until the fan (the one that blows heat into the room) turns on. HOWEVER, This time, the pellets continued to drop for approximately 2 minutes after the fan came on. At this point, the pellets stop dropping, and the flame goes out. I have to wait until the green light comes back on in the control box, at which point I can hit the reset button, and the whole process repeats.

Lmk your thoughts/suggestions.

 

[Burton 513]

So here are some pics of the thermocouple and the cover for it. I don’t see any tears, or splits in the wire. I should mention that the internal fan runs constant, as soon as I plug the stove in. Before I turn the stove on by using the remote, the fan is running, and the blue light inside the control box flashes one time, about every 10 seconds. It does this for approximately 1 minute, then the blue light stops flashing, but the internal fan continues to run.

When I turn the unit on with the remote, the pellets begin dropping into the burn pot, and there are no lights on inside the control module. The pellets continue to slowly drop into burn pot for approximately 1-2 minutes. When the pellets stop dropping, the heating element comes on to ignite the pellets. Shortly after, the fire lights. The green light comes on approximately 1 minute after fire starts. When the green light comes on, the pellets begin to drop again. The fire and flames are normal size (a 3-6 inches taller than burn pot). Within 5-10 minutes, the red light inside control box comes on. The pellets continue to drop while red light in control box is illuminated. The pellets don’t stop dropping (even-though the flame is now hitting the top of the inside of the stove) until the fan (the one that blows heat into the room) turns on. HOWEVER, This time, the pellets continued to drop for approximately 2 minutes after the fan came on. At this point, the pellets stop dropping, and the flame goes out. I have to wait until the green light comes back on in the control box, at which point I can hit the reset button, and the whole process repeats.

Lmk your thoughts/suggestions.

Here are some pics of the tc and tc cover.

 

[Burton 513]

Also, once the flame goes out, everything cools down, and the green light in control box is illuminated, the fan (internal, not the one that blows the heat into the room) keeps running and won’t shut off. The only way I can shut it off is by unplugging the stove from the wall outlet. Am I missing something here?? This cannot be normal. Just wanted to mention this. Also, when I plug the stove back in, the fan begins to run immediately before I even turn the stove in. This is so frustrating. Lol. I appreciate all of your help, and I hope we can figure this out. The only thing I have not done, is pull the unit out to clean everything, clean the exhaust, and check continuity (not even exactly sure how to do this part, but I’m willing to buy the tool and give it a shot).

 

[kappel15]

The exhaust fan is suppose to come on when you plug the stove in. It is also suppose to run for 10 to 15 minutes after fire is out, to make sure the fire is out and all smoke is gone. TC looks good, but that doesn't mean anything if not tested. Just make sure when you install it, it is touching the inside end of the cover, and is sticking in pot at least 3/4 inch. And you really need to get a manual, and you will understand the functions of your stove alot better. kap

 

[Overfireinthehole]

Sounds like your overheating, or losing vacuum

 

[Ssyko]

How old is you stove? Are the door seal and ash pan seals good?

 

[Burton 513]

The exhaust fan is suppose to come on when you plug the stove in. It is also suppose to run for 10 to 15 minutes after fire is out, to make sure the fire is out and all smoke is gone. TC looks good, but that doesn't mean anything if not tested. Just make sure when you install it, it is touching the inside end of the cover, and is sticking in pot at least 3/4 inch. And you really need to get a manual, and you will understand the functions of your stove alot better. kap

I will see if I can download a manual. I did purchase a multi-meter. I’m not sure exactly how to check continuity (I’ve never used a multi-meter before) but I will educate myself and check continuity, like you mentioned in a previous response. Is there a certain number I’m looking for when checking this? Sorry if that’s a stupid question. Again, not familiar with a multi meter.

 

[kappel15]

Read the pamphlet that came with meter. It tells you how and what a continuity test is. kap