Quad CB1200 clogging with fines

[IDTag]

Hi, picked up a used Classic Bay 1200 for my shop and have already found it to be really picky about fines in the pellets. I'm wondering if there's something worn in the feed setup or if it's just the nature of the beast with that open spring type auger instead of a solid piece.

The stove eventually stops feeding, clean out whatever pellets are in the hopper and always find the bottom of the chute full of sawdust. Clean that out and it's back up and running.

One brand of pellets from our local farm supply store gets me 3 bags before I have to shut down and vacuum out the bottom of the chute. They ran out of that brand last week so picked up whatever they had on the floor, big mistake. Can get thorough 1 bag before cleaning so not buying that one again.

Anyway, if there's a possible issue with the stove I'll chase it. If it's just the way it is then maybe need to build a sifter. Appreciate any info or advice.

 

[Ssyko]

Welcome to the forums. I have a cb1200 and ive never had a fines issue, that doesn’t mean it cant happen. To test the theory i would suggest building a pellet cleaner to use with a shop vac and clean ea bag before loading into the stove.


I wouldtry some other brands and see if they are any better.

 

[ABusWrench]

Try pouring them in couple 5 gallon buckets. Static electricity will keep a lot of the fines in the buckets. Pouring slowly, you can separate quite a bit of fines.

 

[zrock]

Look at the size consistency of the pellets.. If the sizing is all over the place the longer ones could be blocking the shoot.. I had that issue with one brand last year..

 

[IDTag]

Tracked down one of the pellet stove repair guys at the Quad dealer. He said they've got a lot of complaints about the amount of fines in the pellets this year and not just one brand. He suggested shaking down the bag and don't dump it all in the hopper, dump the last few pounds in a bucket and sift those. Am still going to try pellets from a few different places and see if I can find something better.

The one brand is American Eagle, manufactured in Nampa, ID so right in our area. Other was Bear Mountain and those were terrible. Bought a couple bags of something different from the local Tractor Supply so will see how that goes. Only a couple local options, may have to look at shopping Boise if I can't find something here.