Quad Santa Fe: What are the 4 holes in the burn pot for ?

[geek]

the holes are to the bottom of the burn pot, I wonder if they got clogged up causing my stove to not start even if the unit was calling for heat.

When I asked the dealer about the stove not coming up even the t-stat was calling for heat he said that was because of the feed and to open the feed more, but he never mentioned these little holes in the pot.

I noticed them last night when cleaning the unit.

 

[slls]

Are pellets dropping on start, should cover the slide plate. The rectanguler hole is the hot air feed to the pellets for ignition. Can be seen with a light and mirror. Is the igniter working ?

 

[geek]

they do.

when I found the stove off, it was cool and saw fresh pellets in the pot, so i think what happened is that the pot was dirty and the holes were plugged.

When this happened, however, I push the little button in the back and pellets started dropping and the stove started doing the startup cycle.

make sense?

..

 

[DannMarr]

I believe the holes are for the fresh air. If they are blocked, you will not have combustion and will wind up with a pot full of pellets.

 

[geek]

how frequently you guys clean these holes, there's another one up in the pot

 

[tjnamtiw]

If you are talking about the four small holes in the sloped bottom of the burn pot, they have NOTHING to do with the actual ignition. They are just additional holes to get a good draft of air flowing through the burning mass. The ignition holes (slot) mentioned in other posts can't be seen without a mirror because they are in the front of the pot very low. You can feel them when cleaning the pot. If THEY are clogged, you won't get ignition. Make sure you can see your igniter glowing by looking down and around the ash pan. I clean those 4 holes you mentioned with a .30 caliber gun bore brush and the bigger ones with a .38 caliber.

 

[ablejoy]

I clean those holes in my stove with a bore brush every couple of bags of pellets, Clean the pot every day only takes a few minutes and no problems so far. Vac the stove once a week about 30 mnutes work.

 

[tjnamtiw]

Same here. Sure beats burning wood (except for the price). Wish we had coal down here in Ga. ((

 

[geek]

I didn't know there was a hole that you need a mirror to see it, I just blindly scrape the pot.

stove shut off again (t-stat calling for heat) with fresh new pellets in the pot.

..

 

[tjnamtiw]

I didn't know there was a hole that you need a mirror to see it, I just blindly scrape the pot.

stove shut off again (t-stat calling for heat) with fresh new pellets in the pot.

..

Absolutely! It is the long hole/slot or series of holes right in front of the igniter. Feel for it on the front wall of the burn pot down low. IF THE IGNITER IS HOT, air is drawn through those holes and ignites the pellets. Make SURE the igniter is red hot. If not, bad connection or bad igniter. The igniter is plugged into two wires coming from the control board. You can pull them forward through the hole and check them if the igniter is not hot.

 

[geek]

so the ignition hole is ONE hole in front that you can't see unless you see the mirror?

 

[tjnamtiw]

I have a strange feeling you are stringing me along, Geek..... After the initial one minute of dumping the startup load of pellets, give the stove another 30 seconds and then pull out the ash drawer and see if the igniter is red. Is it?????

 

[geek]

i pushed the button to start the starup cycle, opened the bottom drawer ash pan and saw the wire glowing but no ignition after a couple minutes.....so while still in the startup cycle I moved the handle to dump the pellets and also scraped the pot a little, pushed the button again so pellets could drop again and this time it is making the ignition/fire.

 

[showdogs]

I have had a Santa Fe for a year now. It seems to me that when the pellets fall into the pot and the igniter is cherry red it will start to burn in 30 seconds. When the pellets fall and the igniter glows red and no fire it is always because the slotted front hole on the pot is blocked by a layer of clinkers or just hard ash. While I am posting here I want to put a plug in for Okanagan pellets. I have tried quite a few brands but these are worth the money.

 

[geek]

I'll check the manual, but do you know how many holes in total there are in the pot, front/back ?

 

[tjnamtiw]

Never counted them but the big ones go around in a spiral. The slot we are talking about is all the way down at the bottom close to the dump door. Stick your hand in there in feel for it (when it's cool)..... If you can't feel it, then it is REALLY clogged up

 

[smalltown]

I've got the Quad Castile and I imagine it is the same burn pot as the Santa Fe. I also find it very useful to use a small mirror when cleaning the fire pot. You can get a good look at the igniter opening to verify it's clean and also see 4 more small air holes two on either side of the igniter.

 

[fataugie]

I'll check the manual, but do you know how many holes in total there are in the pot, front/back ?

A butt-load?
I have one (Santa-Fe) but never counted...I think there's at least 10 or 11 in there

 

[welshcob]

I think maybe there's a difference between the insert and the freestanding versions of the Santa Fe. My freestanding stove has a row of holes around the front of the burn pot, and several holes on the slanted piece in the back. Yes, the holes need to be cleaned - Quadra Fire even includes a dumb little metal tool with a pointy end for the purpose. BUT there is also the possibility that the burnpot floor isn't closed all the way. My understanding is that if that's open then you don't get the vaccuum and the system shuts itself down.

 

[fataugie]

I've got 4 also in the slanted floor, two up high on the pot that are fairly large that are easily seen, two down low near the floor on each side, the slot where the igniter is and a few more up higher on the pot. This is from memory and what I can observe while a fire is burning.

 

[tjnamtiw]

I think maybe there's a difference between the insert and the freestanding versions of the Santa Fe. My freestanding stove has a row of holes around the front of the burn pot, and several holes on the slanted piece in the back. Yes, the holes need to be cleaned - Quadra Fire even includes a dumb little metal tool with a pointy end for the purpose. BUT there is also the possibility that the burnpot floor isn't closed all the way. My understanding is that if that's open then you don't get the vaccuum and the system shuts itself down.

Darn, I didn't get that dumb tool for the holes. I just got the wimpy scraper that is so flexible you could use it to flip peas at each other. Not that I would ever do anything like that...... My insert has similar holes but I would say the big ones are in a bit of a spiral from top to bottom plus the slot and the four little guys on the slant.

 

[tjnamtiw]

I've got the Quad Castile and I imagine it is the same burn pot as the Santa Fe. I also find it very useful to use a small mirror when cleaning the fire pot. You can get a good look at the igniter opening to verify it's clean and also see 4 more small air holes two on either side of the igniter.

Whoa, now you have ME curious! I didn't know those little guys were on either side of the slot!

 

[smalltown]

I found them by using a cheap telescoping inspection mirror. Maybe I am going over the edge, but one day I had the idea to use one of those small head lamps. It frees up my hands while cleaning the stove and my cleaning goes much faster. Cleaning this way both hands are free and using the mirror in one hand I slide a toothpick straight down the side of the fire pot until it's vertically in front of the small holes and then turn it horizontal and verify the hole is clear, otherwise it's difficult to locate the spot.
Wearing the headlamp I am able to put my fat head inside the Castile and take a look at the bottom of the fire pot to see if there is any buildup.