Quadra Fire GB40-I DANGEROUS???

[mikrobkirk]

Greetings - I am a newbie on here. I have purchased a used 2001 Quadra-Fire GB40-I (Grand Bay Gas Heater/Fireplace Insert). I got the unit for $100 on craigslist and had intentions of converting it from LP to NG. I thought I would try the unit first to make sure it worked on LP before going through all the effort and cost on installation and conversion. I pulled my LP tank off my BBQ grill and hooked it up to the unit. I follow the instructions in the owners manual. I turned the control knob to pilot and pushed the piezo igniter. Man - almost blew the door open. I let the gas clear out and got thinking that maybe the control valve need a regulator before it got to the control valve. So I went to my camper and disconnected the hose with the regulator attached and hooked it up. Turned the tank back on and rechecked for gas leaks and had none. This time I started hitting the piezo ignitor and then turned the gas control valve and push in to pilot position at the same time and it fired up without a big poof. PROBLEM IS - the whole burner assembly comes on - all hot 3 burners - not just the pilot. Once the thermo coupler gets hot it stays on. Not only the pilot stays on, but the burners also. And this is with the gas valve still in pilot position and the pilot button has popped back to the regular pilot position. Then when I turn the valve to the on position everything still stays on. While its burning the HIGH-LOW control knob does not change anything on the flame. It should increase & decrease the flame height accordingly. I waited for the heat exchanger to get hot and tried the blower, and it did not come on either. The guy I purchased it from seemed very honest and told me that this unit was in their lake house and really did not get much use, and was working fine when they took it out.
I have contacted Quadra-Fire and they inturn told me to get ahold of their dealers. I found 3 in the St. Louis area, which I contacted. Even drove over to the GOLD Dealership in St. Louis and they don't seem to really have a parts or service department. They do not seem to want to deal with any service or repairs. They just want me to buy a new one. I think I might have damaged the control valve (blew out a diafram or something) when I hooked it up to the LP tank without a regulator. I have searched and searched for a replacement control valve with no luck. I have been a building maintenance supervisor for a large school disctrict and have all the tools and knowledge and mechanical ability to trouble shoot this this IF I could get some guidance and assistance on where to get a new valve (which I believe is the problem) -- ANY HELP WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED

 

[R&D Guy]

What kind of valve is it? Mfg and model of the valve would be a big help.

 

[R&D Guy]

Here is a link to what I believe is the owners manual for the unit in question. I thumbed through it and there isn't a great picture of the valve, but it looks to be a SIT Nova 820. Perhaps you can confirm by looking at the valve, but this is a very common valve and you shouldn't have a lot of trouble finding a NG replacement. Also included in the manual is the NG orifice size information.

(broken link removed to http://www.quadrafire.com/downloads/installManuals/manb40i.pdf)

I hope this helps.

 

[mikrobkirk]

R&D - Thankyou for your quick reply. I have looked on the front and both side of the valve and don't see any #'s. There is a sticker on the right side that says it has been converted to LP. I have the original owner's manual and it gives the orfice sizes and also the KIT # which contains the valve and all 4 orfices (3 burners and 1 pilot). I contacted Quadra-Fire about the kit, and they said it is no longer available. I will try to get a good picture of the valve today and send it to you to if I can figure out how to get it on here. Thank You for your help - I will check out the Nova 820 to see if it looks like what I have.

 

[mikrobkirk]

Picture of the gas valve that I need to replace. Any ideas where I can purchase a replacement?

 

[mikrobkirk]

Gas Valve

 

[mikrobkirk]

So basically I just need to find a supplier that sells this valve. It is very tight in there, and it must be the same dimensions to fit properly.

 

[R&D Guy]

Yeah that's a SIT Nova 820. It's a fairly popular valve in the fireplace industry so you should be able to buy a replacement from most fireplace shops. I'd call around or even look on the net. The writing will either be on the top or bottom of the valve (can't remember which). Can you see how to take it out? That gas pipe on the right might make it tricky.

One thing you might want to consider is where you go from here. You can buy the valve in NG or LP. The issue being that if you want to test it using LP then you could either buy the LP version or buy NG and convert it, but I'm guessing you'll have trouble finding a conversion kit to change the valve to NG. As you can imagine there really is no market to convert a stove from LP to NG.

If they ask what manifold pressures you need on page 5 they list it as 3.5" water high (industry standard) and 1.5" low. If they a higher low like 3.5-1.6 or 3.5-2.2 then I'd go for it. It just means your low setting will be a little higher, but the max BTU's stay the same.

I hope this helps.

 

[DAKSY]

Depending on the Version of what you get as a NovaSIT replacement,
the price will probably range from $100 to $200 for one with a 50%
turn-down regulator...
To change out the regulator, either way, is about $30...

 

[Ironhorse74]

So basically I just need to find a supplier that sells this valve. It is very tight in there, and it must be the same dimensions to fit properly.

Not all Nova SIT 820's are created equally. There are different temperature ratings. I think I would go to the manufacturer's dealer and get the one that is a direct replacement.

 

[Fake coal burner]

Greetings - I am a newbie on here. I have purchased a used 2001 Quadra-Fire GB40-I (Grand Bay Gas Heater/Fireplace Insert). I got the unit for $100 on craigslist and had intentions of converting it from LP to NG. I thought I would try the unit first to make sure it worked on LP before going through all the effort and cost on installation and conversion. I pulled my LP tank off my BBQ grill and hooked it up to the unit. I follow the instructions in the owners manual. I turned the control knob to pilot and pushed the piezo igniter. Man - almost blew the door open. I let the gas clear out and got thinking that maybe the control valve need a regulator before it got to the control valve. So I went to my camper and disconnected the hose with the regulator attached and hooked it up. Turned the tank back on and rechecked for gas leaks and had none. This time I started hitting the piezo ignitor and then turned the gas control valve and push in to pilot position at the same time and it fired up without a big poof. PROBLEM IS - the whole burner assembly comes on - all hot 3 burners - not just the pilot. Once the thermo coupler gets hot it stays on. Not only the pilot stays on, but the burners also. And this is with the gas valve still in pilot position and the pilot button has popped back to the regular pilot position. Then when I turn the valve to the on position everything still stays on. While its burning the HIGH-LOW control knob does not change anything on the flame. It should increase & decrease the flame height accordingly. I waited for the heat exchanger to get hot and tried the blower, and it did not come on either. The guy I purchased it from seemed very honest and told me that this unit was in their lake house and really did not get much use, and was working fine when they took it out.
I have contacted Quadra-Fire and they inturn told me to get ahold of their dealers. I found 3 in the St. Louis area, which I contacted. Even drove over to the GOLD Dealership in St. Louis and they don't seem to really have a parts or service department. They do not seem to want to deal with any service or repairs. They just want me to buy a new one. I think I might have damaged the control valve (blew out a diafram or something) when I hooked it up to the LP tank without a regulator. I have searched and searched for a replacement control valve with no luck. I have been a building maintenance supervisor for a large school disctrict and have all the tools and knowledge and mechanical ability to trouble shoot this this IF I could get some guidance and assistance on where to get a new valve (which I believe is the problem) -- ANY HELP WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED

Try this link they have sit valves and parts.

(broken link removed)

 

[R&D Guy]

IronFire brings up a good point, SIT has at least 2 different temperature ratings for the Nova 820, I believe they are 175, and 225° F. I'd suggest you take the valve off you unit and check some of those specs including manifold pressure before ordering anything.