Quadra-Fire CB1200i Control Box Adjustment

[Force58]

Hi everybody. I came across this site looking for help with my pellet stove, QuadraFire CB-1200i insert.

I had to have it repaired last week as the auger motor failed.

He told me to leave the fuel adjustment control rod all the way open, as in his words, "it doesn't matter whether its fully open or closed". I'm not sure about that. Per the manual, this adjusts how much fuel gets into the auger to be taken to the pot. I'd assume I'd be using fuel too fast with the control rod wide open. Any idea?

I noticed when he was finished and testing the stove, the flame in all 3 modes (low/medium/high) was very high and hitting the top of the inside of the stove, very lazy flames. He told me about an adjustment on the front of the clear control box on the right side of the stove. He used a flat head screwdriver and adjusted it to the right, saying this reduces the flame height. He fiddled with it for a few minutes and it looked normal after that.

Once he left I adjusted it to medium and the flame once again was way high. I tried to adjust the screw in the control box to no avail. It looked to me like this setting adjusted the air flow somehow as moving it to the right increased air flow and to the left, decreased it. Does anybody know how this setting works? I'd like to ensure I'm not wasting pellets, and right now, between the fuel adjustment control rod and the setting in the control box, I'm clueless.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

 

[kappel15]

There is a dial in the side of the control box. It has 0 thru 7 numbers for settings for different stoves. Yours should be on one. Easy way to test this is to unplug your stove. When you plug it back in, a blue light will flash in control box once every 10 seconds for 60 seconds. If it blinks twice it is on setting two. This is a 10% increase in fuel. And I would adjust your flame per your manual. You have to do it on high setting. Tall lazy flames are due to either a full firepot, or dirty exhaust path. Let us know how it goes. And remember, you should never mess with the control box, or take it out or install it, without the stove being unpugged. You run the risk of shorting it out. Let us know how it goes. kap

 

[lowcostheat]

Merry Christmas Kap, think I last saw your helpful posts when I Burn Corn was alive. If anyone needs Dellpoint or Ecoteck help we are willing to assist. Happy New year

 

[ARGlock]

Merry Christmas Kap !!

 

[kappel15]

Merry Christmas Kap, think I last saw your helpful posts when I Burn Corn was alive. If anyone needs Dellpoint or Ecoteck help we are willing to assist. Happy New year

Well long time no see. Nice to see ya on here. Merry Christmas to you and yours too! kap

 

[kappel15]

Merry Christmas Kap !!

Hey AR. Nice to see your moniker once again. Been too long. Merry Christmas to you and yours. kap

 

[ARGlock]

Thanks

 

[jzm2cc]

The CB1200 would be one of the last stoves I'd want to see over fire. The left side aluminum heat exchanger tubes can get quite warped if run with too much heat. Eventually the ash cleaning rod won't even move, been there.

 

[Force58]

There is a dial in the side of the control box. It has 0 thru 7 numbers for settings for different stoves. Yours should be on one. Easy way to test this is to unplug your stove. When you plug it back in, a blue light will flash in control box once every 10 seconds for 60 seconds. If it blinks twice it is on setting two. This is a 10% increase in fuel. And I would adjust your flame per your manual. You have to do it on high setting. Tall lazy flames are due to either a full firepot, or dirty exhaust path. Let us know how it goes. And remember, you should never mess with the control box, or take it out or install it, without the stove being unpugged. You run the risk of shorting it out. Let us know how it goes. kap

Hi there Kap, you seem to be quite popular around here!

I just want to make sure I'm looking at the right thing. I took a pic of what I think is the control box, center, between the louvers and the high/medium/low control. Is this correct? If so, I did what you said and disconnected the stove, put it on the high setting, turned it back on, and counted 6 flashing blue lights upon startup. It flashes 6 blue lights every 10 seconds. I assume this indicates its on position 6. Do I turn the screw setting to the left or right to get it back to 1?

It really concerns me with the lack of knowledge supposed pellet stove techs have. The 2 that came to my house twice over the past 2 weeks installed the new auger motor but let the motor capacitor rest on the bottom wall of the stove. Within a few hours of me using it of course the capacitor melted. The tech team came back, discovered it, and replaced it and now its working again, except for the high lazy flame. They adjusted the control box setting with the stove running, several times between their 2 visits. You'd think they'd know better based on what you explained to me.

So, the control box setting is supposed to be factory set at 1? Does it require re-setting over time as the stove ages? Mine is 9 years old and not sure if that has anything to do with it or not.

Thanks again for all the help.

Oh, FYI, the dial has a "v" shape notch in it, but I can't see any numbers. Of course my eyesight isn't what it used to be.

Sorry, one more FYI. I had pulled the stove out in November to vacuum/blow the dust out.

 

[Force58]

The CB1200 would be one of the last stoves I'd want to see over fire. The left side aluminum heat exchanger tubes can get quite warped if run with too much heat. Eventually the ash cleaning rod won't even move, been there.

Now that you mention this, I've had issues with the left cleaning rod for about a year now, not being able to fully pull it out for cleaning. I imagine that's what happened to my exchanger tubes. Is there any danger of the tubes rupturing due to excessive heat, or, me trying to force the rod up and down for cleaning purposes?

 

[kappel15]

Not to say you can't turn the dial while stove is plugged in, I just don't like to tempt fate. If you can't see the numbers on the dial, it is better to unplug stove and pull control box to set it.( my eye sight isn't what it used to be and need to use a magnifying glass if it is in stove) With the blue light flashing 6 times, it is set for a Santa Fe stove. You need to turn the dial counter clockwise back to the #1. And you dont' have to put it on high setting to do this. You need to put it on high setting to set feed rate. Read your manual for this. Once the control box is set on a number, it is there till you or someone else changes it. No need to adjust this for age. I would highly recommend reading your owners manual, front to back to refresh yourself on stoves operation. Esp. on why there is tall lazy flames. kap

 

[kappel15]

I would do a deep cleaning of the heat exchanger tubes and inspect them for warpage. May just need cleaned real good. You can get replacement tubes, but I would have a professional install them. kap

 

[Force58]

I would do a deep cleaning of the heat exchanger tubes and inspect them for warpage. May just need cleaned real good. You can get replacement tubes, but I would have a professional install them. kap

Thanks Kap. I'll take care of the control box setting. I didn't want to touch it until I heard back from you, but for the last 6 hours the flame has been about 2 inches above the firepot, and I have it on the high setting. Settled down quite a bit from when I originally posted. I'll check the tubes for warpage as well. Thanks again for all the information.

 

[kappel15]

Hope it all works. Let us know. Stay warm. kap