I have a quadra fire santa fe and the trap door on the fire pot is damn near impossible to open. What's the secret. Sometimes I can get it to open and alot of time I can't get it to open at all.
Quad Santa Fe firepot door
- Thread starter basilfaulty
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- Feb 27, 2007
- 145
basilfaulty said:
The trick for me is to scrape it and open it while its still a bit warm.
I use a dremel type tool on the door when it starts to get sticky...it doesn't take much.. use the flat end of one of the grinding bits and just go at it lightly till the door slides freely.
Mine gets carbon built up on it. I scrape it away with a screw driver. Takes about 5 seconds and then it's good to go.
As others have stated clean door to bare metal, I made a special scraper for it. If you let it build up, it will be a bear to clean.
I clean clean it every day. I usually let it cool and suck it out but now that it is really cold it doesn't turn off long enough to cool so I wanted to dump it out the bottom. I guess a gasket scraper or something is in order then.
According to Kap over on iburncorn.com, you can loosen the nut/bolt that the door hinges on a 'little' bit to make it easier to open and close. The gap at the side opposite the hinge should be no more than the thickness of a dime. I couldn't even pull my door even before I started using it! I took it apart, smeared Neverseez on the bushing and the door surface and then adjusted the gap as described. Works good now but you still have to clean it every day or it WILL be difficult to return to the closed position (for me). I wish the nut/bolt had the type of nut that was like a nylock to hold in any position. Of course, with the heat, a nylock wouldn't work.
Oh, I should also say it takes 11mm wrenches. I think that's close to 7/16"
Oh, I should also say it takes 11mm wrenches. I think that's close to 7/16"
Loosening the bolt is a quick fix, and I would only do that if the door is sticky even when fully cleaned. f the door is sagging it lets extra air in which makes startup more difficult. The proper fix it to clean the firepot floor more often. As soon as it starts to get a little sticky its time to scrape it out good. I use a big flat blade screwdriver because its always in my tool bag. Poor tool, never even gets to turn screws, its either a pry bar, chisel, or scraper. A drill with a wire wheel would prob work best but by the time I go dig all the crap out of my truck I could have just scraped it out with a screw driver. Oh and if its really nasty, you can take the whole floor off and clean it, but its a pain to get your hands under there and get the bolt back on after you clean it.
jtp10181 said:
As I said and as the OP hinted at, our doors were extremely tight even when new (mine) or clean (his). Limiting the gap as suggested by Kap limits the air during startup but at the bottom of the burn pot, an extra blast of air seems to be a good thing for my startups. No excessive smoking and a quick start each time. Rather than loosen the nut, a shim should and will be used when I get time. The construction of the door and its fit is typical Chinese engineering. Maybe I'll just make a slightly longer shoulder bushing on my lathe and do it right. When you tighten my bolt to a snug fit, you can't even move the door.
A nice sharp wood chisel with a twisting motion does the trick for me. When you first start to feel it getting hard to open,that's when I do it.The longer you wait the harder it gets.
GIPPER said:
I'll have to sacrifice one of my chisels for that to give it a try, but it will, as a woodworker, break my heart to use a tool like that. %-P That's like using calipers as a wrench.
tjnamtiw said:
I feel the same way with my tools. I found a old 3/4 inch chisel at a tag sale fore a buck. Thats what I am using to get the scale out of my pot. No way in heck would I use any of my good tools. I would go buy a cheapy at one of the bigbox's first.
I read someone else took it apart in the off season and polished the surface to a mirror finish. That made the carbon harder to stick to and easier to clean. Haven't tried that one yet...but I did loosen it a bit and that worked for now. The one thing that has worked 100% for me so far, is burning corn in a 50-50 mix. Since I started that, there has been very little to no buildup on the pot floor or the pot itself. The stove gets dirtier faster and I have more ash to deal with, but the cleanup is actually quicker than when I had to scrape the carbon.
When the trap door sticks it is usually a result of the owner not cleaning the pot often enough and correctly. I use a wood chizel and a flash light. Before I scrape with the chizel, I feel the entire inside of the burn pot with my fingers. That tells me where I need to pay the most attention to.
tjnamtiw said:
It should never be tightened all the way down, that would basically seal the door closed. The nut always has to be loosened a slight bit from tight for the door to open.
Yeah, or maybe not.
I was dumping mine 2 to 3 times a day, scraping during the cleaning and it was still getting build up until I added the corn. It didn't matter if I ran cheap pellets or premium pellets. There was less of a buildup if I ran it on high, but it would build up just the same. Now with the corn mixed in, there's a clinker to deal with, but nothing sticks to the bottom or sides anymore.
I was dumping mine 2 to 3 times a day, scraping during the cleaning and it was still getting build up until I added the corn. It didn't matter if I ran cheap pellets or premium pellets. There was less of a buildup if I ran it on high, but it would build up just the same. Now with the corn mixed in, there's a clinker to deal with, but nothing sticks to the bottom or sides anymore.
www_godzilla said:
You are right about the corn making a difference....I use a mix of about 10% corn and since I started the burn pot door gets much less carbon buildup and also the corn dust makes the pellets slide much easier in the hopper and the auger works much smoother...I love my corn!!
jtp10181 said:
Actually, if you take it apart, you'll find a shoulder bushing that, if the Chinese hadn't made it, would leave a slight bit of clearance when tightened down 'all the way'. Evidently their engineering is just about what you ccould expect. Since there is no lock washer and the nut is just a plain hex nut, there is nothing to keep it in position if it isn't tightened down all the way. Word of caution to those of us who have loosened it. Check that clearance once in a while when dumping the ashes.
This week I'm near a Harbor Freight so I will be the proud owner of a few FINE QUALITY chisles. Gotta try that.
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