Quadra-Fire ignites, but then doesn't drop more pellets

[quigleybmd]

I have a 12 year old Quadra-Fire Castile pellet stove. I cleaned it this past summer, and it just started having this problem this fall. When I turn on the thermostat, the blower comes on, and it drops what seems like the right amount of pellets. After about 2 mins. I see some sparks in the firepot. After another 2 or 3 mins a small fire starts in the firepot. But no more pellets drop, and eventually, after about 5 mins., the small fire dies out. If I hit the reset button during that 5 mins., more pellets drop, the fire gets bigger, and then everything is fine (it keeps dropping pellets as needed, the fire is the right size, etc..). It does this every time I start it. I always
have to hit the reset button (just once), after the fire starts.

Any ideas? Thanks.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Is your t/c tip touching its ceramic cover?

 

[St_Earl]

i had to blow the fines/dust out from the top of the auger.
i clean (what i thought was) everything really well.
but it turned out that over a few seasons that area had become a little constricted.
no jam and the auger turned fine. just not quite enough pellets dropped on start up.
so the stove was doing what it needed to do but the slight reduction in the opening was enough to prevent a good start.

vacuuming out the auger channel from the bottom didn't reach this area.

this may be a somewhat unusual problem. but it was causing the same symptom you describe. and my heatilator is similar in parts an setup to the quads.
it's worth a shot anyway.
i just used an old water inlet hose from a washing machine (i think garden hose would be too big) and i cut off one end fitting.
i just put it up the pellet drop chute and blow. (go ahead, beavis and butthead like replies are expected )

now i just do this every time i clean.

good luck whatever it turns out to be.

*edit to add - i was confused at first because changing the feed gate position had little effect.
this was because the problem was at the top end.
actually, the fact that the feed gate made little to no difference is what eventually led me to think of the top end.

 

[tjnamtiw]

When you start it, and you have the initial burn, does the green light come on on the control box? If not, either Smokey is right and your thermocouple isn't sensing the heat well enough or you're not feeding enough pellets. So first question > does the green light come on?

 

[quigleybmd]

When you start it, and you have the initial burn, does the green light come on on the control box? If not, either Smokey is right and your thermocouple isn't sensing the heat well enough or you're not feeding enough pellets. So first question > does the green light come on?

Thanks for all the suggestions. The ceramic cover is pushed all the way in, so as far as I can tell, the tip of the t/c is touching it.

I'm not sure about the green light - I'll check that the next time that I start it up. It's running now, so I'll let it run out of pellets, and
then blow out the top of the auger as St_Earl suggested, and then also check the green light.
Also, I should have mentioned that I switched to a different brand of pellets
this season, and I didn't try adjusting the feed rate. Maybe if I open it up a little more, I'll get more on the initial drop and it'll start up.

 

[SwineFlue]

Thanks for all the suggestions. The ceramic cover is pushed all the way in, so as far as I can tell, the tip of the t/c is touching it.

I'm not sure about the green light - I'll check that the next time that I start it up. It's running now, so I'll let it run out of pellets, and
then blow out the top of the auger as St_Earl suggested, and then also check the green light.
Also, I should have mentioned that I switched to a different brand of pellets
this season, and I didn't try adjusting the feed rate. Maybe if I open it up a little more, I'll get more on the initial drop and it'll start up.

When you run it out of pellets, there may not be enough pellets inside the auger to prime the next startup. The manual says that the reset button may be necessary.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

When you run it out of pellets, there may not be enough pellets inside the auger to prime the next startup. The manual says that the reset button may be necessary.

Then there is the case of a miss-adjusted feed gate. The feed gate must be set for each pellet brand/batch being burned if you change the brand or burn form another years batch the feed gate may need touch up. This is done on high burn and according to the manual.

We have also heard that the older control units didn't go into high speed on the combustion fan when lighting on other than high burn. Basically this is saying that not enough air is flowing past the igniter, make certain the area around the igniter is clean, that the burn pot holes are clear and that the drop in the burn pot floor isn't any more that a dime's width. (How's that for remembering stuff tj? Us old ones need periodic reminders due to CRS syndrome.)

 

[SwineFlue]

Then there is the case of a miss-adjusted feed gate. The feed gate must be set for each pellet brand/batch being burned if you change the brand or burn form another years batch the feed gate may need touch up. This is done on high burn and according to the manual.

We have also heard that the older control units didn't go into high speed on the combustion fan when lighting on other than high burn. Basically this is saying that not enough air is flowing past the igniter, make certain the area around the igniter is clean, that the burn pot holes are clear and that the drop in the burn pot floor isn't any more that a dime's width. (How's that for remembering stuff tj? Us old ones need periodic reminders due to CRS syndrome.)

Good memory. No need for the "have also heard" part though... my controller (same age as the OP's stove) starts the combustion blower per the High/Med/Low setting. I have also seen the blower bump up to the high speed after hitting the reset button (I don't know if this last point is consistent... need to put the Kill-A-Watt meter back on the stove when I have time to play).
The manual says to start the stove on High (tough to do when it's on a thermostat). I usually use Medium instead, with no problem. I don't know how reliable starting on the Low setting would be.

The ceramic cover is pushed all the way in, so as far as I can tell, the tip of the t/c is touching it

Also, ensure there is no ash inside the cover.
Are you starting it on High, Medium, or Low?

 

[St_Earl]

my suggestion may be a long shot. but you don't need to run the pellets out to do it.
it's the upper auger. accessed through the pellet drop chute from inside the firebox.

if you see a significant amount of dust, it's possible it was an issue.
subsequently i don't get much since i do it now as a preventative.

you may also knock some of the pellets out from the top, and the first drop could be light because of that.

 

[tjnamtiw]

Then there is the case of a miss-adjusted feed gate. The feed gate must be set for each pellet brand/batch being burned if you change the brand or burn form another years batch the feed gate may need touch up. This is done on high burn and according to the manual.

We have also heard that the older control units didn't go into high speed on the combustion fan when lighting on other than high burn. Basically this is saying that not enough air is flowing past the igniter, make certain the area around the igniter is clean, that the burn pot holes are clear and that the drop in the burn pot floor isn't any more that a dime's width. (How's that for remembering stuff tj? Us old ones need periodic reminders due to CRS syndrome.)

I'm impressed, Smokey hahaha. I guess I said that so many times last year that even a rock would remember!

 

[quigleybmd]

I'm impressed, Smokey hahaha. I guess I said that so many times last year that even a rock would remember!

I've been starting it on 'high'. So tonight I unloaded enough pellets to adjust the feed, and did that (increased the feed). I turned it on,
and it did start up a bigger fire than usual, and sure enough, the green light eventually came on, and more pellets dropped, and everything
seems to be working. Now I just have to make sure I don't have too big of a fire. Hopefully that was it. Thanks again everyone!

 

[tjnamtiw]

I've been starting it on 'high'. So tonight I unloaded enough pellets to adjust the feed, and did that (increased the feed). I turned it on,
and it did start up a bigger fire than usual, and sure enough, the green light eventually came on, and more pellets dropped, and everything
seems to be working. Now I just have to make sure I don't have too big of a fire. Hopefully that was it. Thanks again everyone!

The green light means it got to 200 degrees. That tells the stove to start feeding more pellets. Eventually it should turn the red light on when it gets to 600 degrees.

 

[quigleybmd]

The green light means it got to 200 degrees. That tells the stove to start feeding more pellets. Eventually it should turn the red light on when it gets to 600 degrees.

In case anyone is still following this, I found out what the problem was. The sliding plate (for cleanout) at the bottom of the firepot was loose, and open about 1/8 inch at the bottom. The nut on the bolt holding the plate assembly in place had loosened. I tightened the bolt so that the plate was tight against the bottom of the firepot, but still able to slide, and now the initial fire in the firepot is bigger and more pellets drop, on every startup. Thanks for all the advice.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

In case anyone is still following this, I found out what the problem was. The sliding plate (for cleanout) at the bottom of the firepot was loose, and open about 1/8 inch at the bottom. The nut on the bolt holding the plate assembly in place had loosened. I tightened the bolt so that the plate was tight against the bottom of the firepot, but still able to slide, and now the initial fire in the firepot is bigger and more pellets drop, on every startup. Thanks for all the advice.

You mean sorta like:

and that the drop in the burn pot floor isn't any more that a dime's width.

in the above post at:

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...doesnt-drop-more-pellets.118675/#post-1589151