Quadra Fire Castille won't start, igniter hot, no fan, no pellets dropping

[Shandaken Sam]

Hi, thank you for your help. My, 16 year old Castille pellet stove was working fine in the spring when I last used it. I cleaned the chimney and the stove over the summer. This morning I tried to start it and it wouldn't start up.

I igniter is hot, but the fan isn't running and it is not dropping pellets. I emptied the hopper, I pulled the auger and it wasn't clogged. The red light is on and a blue light, that I could only see with the side cover off, comes on when I first plug it in

But I have no fire. Can anyone help?

Thank you

 

[johneh]

No Fan no vacuum no pellets no fire
First check the fan

 

[Shandaken Sam]

I got the fan running yesterday. I started spinning it by hand and it got going. I've never cleaned inside that area, so I'm going to really clean it today. I still am not getting pellets to drop. If I put a handful in the firepot they do fire up.

 

[Former Farmer]

It sounds like you need to do a thorough cleaning of the complete unit. Also check the tube going to the vacuum switch to make sure it is not plugged.

 

[Shandaken Sam]

I solved it this morning. I did a very thorough cleaning inside the area with the combustion fan and really cleaned the fan so it is spinning like a top. I cleaned the two other fans in the box at the bottom but they weren't too bad since I have been cleaning them every few years. I had never cleaned the area with the combustion fan in 16 years. I checked the vacuum hose and it had a little soot inside but I don't think it was blocked.

Then I checked the clean-out for the chimney. Last year was the first time we have ever stayed here for the whole winter and I burned more than twice as many pellets as usual. When I cleaned the chimney I was amazed at how much junk filled the bottom of the pipe. I had cleaned it out but I left the horizontal section blocked with soot. Once I cleaned that out everything is working just fine.

With everything cleaned out way better than usual, it's burning and sounding much better than it has in years!

 

[johneh]

A clean stove is a happy stove
and now you know why we say it
Congrats on doing the maintenance yourself