Quad modifications and pellet use

[DMKNLD]

As we finally seem to be closing out our brutal New England winter, it surprisingly looks like I will burn just about the same amount of pellets as I did last winter - just under 4 tons, despite a probably 20% increase in heating degree days this winter over last year.

From most of the forum postings from fellow northern New Englanders, it seems most folks burned around a ton or so more pellets this season than last year. I burned MWP 100% softwood pellets last winter, and burned Crabbe 100% softies this winter, both rated at the same 8600 BTU's, so it apparently wasn't a result of differing pellet heat output.

We kept the farm house the same room temps as in the past, if not just a bit warmer. I find that as I get older, every winter in Maine I seem to get less tolerant of extended cold spells. No insulation upgrades from last season, and we burned about the same amount of fire wood that heats the part of our farmhouse that the Quad heat doesn't get to, so really no change in supplemental heat affect from the wood stove.

I am more border-line OCD now about keeping the stove clean than in the past, (thanks to this fine forum !), so I'm sure that gave me some added stove efficiency. But what I most attribute the relative pellet savings this season was the Quad modifications that tj and B-mod have championed, as those are really the only variables that are different than in past burn seasons.

I'd love to hear from other Quad owners who have tweaked their stoves with convection fan re-wiring, adjustable temp #2 snap discs and air wash modifications to know if they have seen similar relative pellet savings?

 

[tjnamtiw]

That's a nice compliment, DMKNLD! I'm glad it obviously worked out for you! Thanks! Everything that we've done points to lower exhaust temps which translates to more heat into the room. And BMod's changes to keep the convection fan on longer to suck out every possible btu and keep the airflow and max for best turbulent flow extracts more heat.
Now the question is, what else can we do for next year?

 

[Phoenix Hatchling]

My usage was approx. 20 bags more than last year. I consider that minimal in comparison to the severe cold we had all winter long. I attribute that to the prolonged snow cover on the roof, and the ground surrounding the foundation. It acted as an insulator against the bitter cold outside. Now when the snow finally melted off the roof, the stove needed assistance from the boiler to keep up with the cooling load placed on it.

 

[Papelletman]

I am more border-line OCD now about keeping the stove clean than in the past, (thanks to this fine forum !), so I'm sure that gave me some added stove efficiency. But what I most attribute the relative pellet savings this season was the Quad modifications that tj and B-mod have championed, as those are really the only variables that are different than in past burn seasons.

I'd love to hear from other Quad owners who have tweaked their stoves with convection fan re-wiring, adjustable temp #2 snap discs and air wash modifications to know if they have seen similar relative pellet savings?

What exactly are these mods? Can you point me to them?

 

[DMKNLD]

I

What exactly are these mods? Can you point me to them?

A long multi-page thread link here, but worth every page. The first 6 or so pages deal with adding springs into the heat exchanger tubes to increase the BTU output, and pages 7 through 9 addresses replacing the OEM #1 snap disc w/ an adjustable temperature one so the convection blower stays on throughout a larger heat range and rewiring the blower speed to run on high throughout all the L/M/H stove settings. https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/quadrafire-castile-experiment.58216/

A good Quad CB 1200 specific mod thread here: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/my-quadrafire-1200-re-anaysis.75329/

Happy reading !

 

[DMKNLD]

That's a nice compliment, DMKNLD! I'm glad it obviously worked out for you! Thanks! Everything that we've done points to lower exhaust temps which translates to more heat into the room. And BMod's changes to keep the convection fan on longer to suck out every possible btu and keep the airflow and max for best turbulent flow extracts more heat.
Now the question is, what else can we do for next year?

Considering that I have the MRA (mechanical reasoning ability) of somewhere between zero and the null set, I couldn't have figured out how to do that stuff for my life ! One of the many great things about this forum is the ability to learn from folks who clearly think outside of the box on how to get the most out of alternative heating technology. Thanks for that !

It will be interesting to see how the Advanced Energy technology concepts will continue to evolve, where stove function and efficiency can connect with wireless and smart phone technology to improve functional stove operation and monitoring.

 

[Don2222]

Hello

Snap Disc 1 is what turns on the convedtion blower at 110 Degs.

The one in the pic below can be adjusted from 90 to 130 Degs F

So if you set this for 90 Deg or 100 Deg then the room blower will come on sooner to blow out the heat.

 

[tjnamtiw]

Hello

Snap Disc 1 is what turns on the convedtion blower at 110 Degs.

The one in the pic below can be adjusted from 90 to 130 Degs F

So if you set this for 90 Deg or 100 Deg then the room blower will come on sooner to blow out the heat.

And it will stay on longer at the end of a burn cycle to suck out more btu's. The air may FEEL cool but if you stick a thermometer in the air stream, you'll see it's still above room temp.