So I have myself a quadrafire Castile pellet stove. This year I am using the same pellets that I used last year, stove chow from Home Depot. However in just a matter of 12 hours or so my fire pot is nearly over flowing with ash. I used to be able to run the stove several days without having to clean it, now it's every day. With the little research I have done tells me that I have an airflow problem. If that is the case how do I even go about fixing this? I cleaned the exhaust pipe as best I can but what else can I do aside from having a technician work on my stove?
Quadra fire Castile airflow issue?
- Thread starter KeithH
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Lake Girl
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How old is the stove? When was the last time you cleaned the stove's internal exhaust pathways (pulling firebrick out, etc)? Have you pulled the exhaust fan and cleaned the blades and blower cavity (gasket required)? Vacuumed or blown out motors (to evict dust bunnies) for exhaust and convection blowers? Dollar bill test on door gaskets?
You might also check to ensure that the firepot bottom is closing completely and that there is no build-up of carbon on it that may be preventing it from closing completely...
Keep us posted...
Page 35 of the manual:
http://downloads.hearthnhome.com/installManuals/7021_130.pdf
You might also check to ensure that the firepot bottom is closing completely and that there is no build-up of carbon on it that may be preventing it from closing completely...
Keep us posted...
Page 35 of the manual:
http://downloads.hearthnhome.com/installManuals/7021_130.pdf
Hey Keith,
LG's suggestions, as always, are on the money. All Quads are designed to pull allot of air through the fire pot, so it is likely that the forced draft created by the combustion blower is either being obstructed on the positive pressure / air outflow side of the exhaust pathway, ie ash obstruction in the exhaust plenum or the venting beyond it. Or it is being obstructed on the negative pressure / air inflow side from the fire pot, through the firebox and heat exchanger baffle, to the combustion blower fan fins, that you can access easily behind the right side cast firebox brick once you've removed the heat exchanger baffle plate.
Deep cleaning all those areas as LG suggested, to include finishing with the 'leaf blower trick' if you have one, will assure any fly ash is clear of the entire exhaust pathway. Use the forum search to read about the LBT, or go to YouTube and search 'pellet stove leaf blower trick' for some impressive 'ash dragon' video footage.
The other cleaning related suggestion is to make sure all your fire pot air holes are clear of ash and carbon build-up, to include the small air holes on the sloped section of the pot, the larger air holes distributed around the fire pot, and the igniter slit, which can get obstructed with carbon as well, and reduce the airflow through the pot. Bounce a flashlight or headlamp beam off a small compact mirror held in the pot to best visualize the front side fire pot holes and the igniter slit you otherwise can't see.
I use 3mm and 5mm sized allen wrenches to clean the air holes out. Or you can use .22 and .25 caliber gun bore cleaning brushes, available at any gun shop or hunting supply store, to keep the air holes clear. A straightened out metal coat hanger with the hook bent into an 'L' shape works to clean out the igniter slit, which can also be used to scrape the built up ash above and around the heat exchanger tubes, above the cast heat exchanger baffle plate.
So try all the above deep cleaning related stuff, then post back on any burn quality improvements, OK? Regards, DK
LG's suggestions, as always, are on the money. All Quads are designed to pull allot of air through the fire pot, so it is likely that the forced draft created by the combustion blower is either being obstructed on the positive pressure / air outflow side of the exhaust pathway, ie ash obstruction in the exhaust plenum or the venting beyond it. Or it is being obstructed on the negative pressure / air inflow side from the fire pot, through the firebox and heat exchanger baffle, to the combustion blower fan fins, that you can access easily behind the right side cast firebox brick once you've removed the heat exchanger baffle plate.
Deep cleaning all those areas as LG suggested, to include finishing with the 'leaf blower trick' if you have one, will assure any fly ash is clear of the entire exhaust pathway. Use the forum search to read about the LBT, or go to YouTube and search 'pellet stove leaf blower trick' for some impressive 'ash dragon' video footage.
The other cleaning related suggestion is to make sure all your fire pot air holes are clear of ash and carbon build-up, to include the small air holes on the sloped section of the pot, the larger air holes distributed around the fire pot, and the igniter slit, which can get obstructed with carbon as well, and reduce the airflow through the pot. Bounce a flashlight or headlamp beam off a small compact mirror held in the pot to best visualize the front side fire pot holes and the igniter slit you otherwise can't see.
I use 3mm and 5mm sized allen wrenches to clean the air holes out. Or you can use .22 and .25 caliber gun bore cleaning brushes, available at any gun shop or hunting supply store, to keep the air holes clear. A straightened out metal coat hanger with the hook bent into an 'L' shape works to clean out the igniter slit, which can also be used to scrape the built up ash above and around the heat exchanger tubes, above the cast heat exchanger baffle plate.
So try all the above deep cleaning related stuff, then post back on any burn quality improvements, OK? Regards, DK
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And, there are also 4 small holes, two on each side of the igniter slit, as tj would often remind everyone of. And it is not unknown for different batches of the same pellet brand, be bad. You may also have to adjust your fuel adjusting rod per your owners manual. kap
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