Quadra Fire Mt. Vernon 2009 temperature set to 82 and heats to 70

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sweetczz

Member
Jan 11, 2015
56
United States
It's cold out - probably 20's - and my Mt. Vernon cannot keep up with the set temperature of the room. I tried to set it at 76 but it barely gets to 70. It's fine on a warmer day. So I set it to 82 hoping it will at least get to 74 - Nope. Any advice?
 
are you in manual or auto mode?
 
i don't know the wall control pnl very well but what is the comfort level and heat output set at?
 
I'm just trying to see if the heat output level can be raised to get you more heat. i'm going by your owners manual
 
if you have your manual pages 14 - 20 will explain how the 2 modes work.
b. Manual Mode:
In MANUAL cycle, the heat output remains the same regardless of the difference between the set and room temperatures. The wall control will function as a simple on/off thermostat. When the system is set to MANUAL the HEAT OUTPUT selection is added in the lower right corner. Press the button under this selection to access this feature. The HEAT OUTPUT screen is used to set the level of heat produced whenever the wall control calls for heat. Figure 16.3. The HEAT OUTPUT screen is not accessible in AUTOMATIC cycle.
 
It's cold out - probably 20's - and my Mt. Vernon cannot keep up with the set temperature of the room. I tried to set it at 76 but it barely gets to 70. It's fine on a warmer day. So I set it to 82 hoping it will at least get to 74 - Nope. Any advice?
Yes....how big of an area are you trying to heat? Pellet stoves are space heaters and not made to heat entire houses. Unless this is a new event that has not happened in past years of heating with the same stove, we need more info on the problem to make an educated guess as to why it will not heat the "rooom" you refer too.
 
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I'm in another room. Is there a certain setting it should be at?


For my 2009 stove, i have a June 20, 2014 Manual 7034-276C (www.manualslib.com)
Auto settings - fuel type hardwood
Flame height +3 (was 2 - didn' seem to help so I went higher)
Temp diff 2.0 F
Temp cal 1
elevation normal
blower quiet
properties
WC 49h
SC 75h
CB 20h
CV 20 h
UFTI 005
Rev 020
TC1

In the earlier years, I noticed the ashes in the ash pan were very fine and didn't need vacuuming but once or every other week. Now I noticed I am vacuuming with each new bag - very clumpy ashes. I can upload a file if necessary. I always clean the pot and interior every time I clean the drawer, once a day. The last time I cleaned the heat exchanger was October maybe? I barely used the stove until November. I do check the pot for stopped up holes now and then. No issues.
 
Yes....how big of an area are you trying to heat? Pellet stoves are space heaters and not made to heat entire houses. Unless this is a new event that has not happened in past years of heating with the same stove, we need more info on the problem to make an educated guess as to why it will not heat the "rooom" you refer too.

My built on family room therm is set at 76 degs for a 2700 sq foot home (the stove is meant to heat that much). Generally, it will heat the whole house. The main house will go to 67 degs (each degree I turn up the therm, the warmer the main house will get).
 
if your getting a larger amount of ash from the pellets your burning this year your going to have to clean the heat exchanger more often. if the heat exchanger has ash build up you heat is going right up the chimney.
 
if your getting a larger amount of ash from the pellets your burning this year your going to have to clean the heat exchanger more often. if the heat exchanger has ash build up you heat is going right up the chimney.

I followed the manual. The next time I am going to pay more attention to those right and left slots. I'm not sure how well the vacuum got stuff out. I'll feel with my finger or the metal rod the next time, but the heat exchanger itself I did an excellent job : )
 
I followed the manual. The next time I am going to pay more attention to those right and left slots. I'm not sure how well the vacuum got stuff out. I'll feel with my finger or the metal rod the next time, but the heat exchanger itself I did an excellent job : )
if your getting a larger amount of ash from the pellets your burning this year your going to have to clean the heat exchanger more often. if the heat exchanger has ash build up you heat is going right up the chimney.
thanks - i will try cleaning it again. As heavy as the ash has been in the drawer, maybe that is an issue, too.
 
as funny as my wife thinks it is i use baby bottle brushes, toilet brushes and a good chimney brush. to clean the 3 stoves that i have in use. and i do them every week. well except my 25pdvc ive been 6 weeks waiting on a prom for it so it's out of the loop.
 
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as funny as my wife thinks it is i use baby bottle brushes, toilet brushes and a good chimney brush. to clean the 3 stoves that i have in use. and i do them every week. well except my 25pdvc ive been 6 weeks waiting on a prom for it so it's out of the loop.

good idea maybe a toothbrush? I'll look into the nipple brushes for the slots - now that chimney brush - are u doing that in your house? I know some stoves can be set up to do partial sweeps inside the house. How long do you wait for your stove to cool down? I hate the thought of doing it in a cold room brrrr
 
I can run one while cleaning the other, i cannot let the warden get chilly. Yes i run a big shop vac with drywall bag, 3” vac hose In the House. It is done while the warden is shopping and anything that escapes the vac is cleaned up before she gets home
 
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I would run it on manual rather than auto mode,In auto mode heat output goes down closer you get to set temp where as manual stays where you set the heat output.
 
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Put fan into Normal mode instead of Quiet to move more air.

Also sounds like exhaust passages at bottom left and right channels are getting clogged.

I'm trying your Normal mode to see what happens. I mark my pellet bags with the time and date so I can get an idea how well the stove is running. So far it's been about 12 hours a bag. Just changed to normal mode and I'm curious if there is a difference in burn.

Also, can someone elaborate a little more on calibration? I really don't get how to do it. I have it set at 1 I guess meaning within 1 degree? Which actually doesn't seem to happen, especially on super cold days like today in the single digits at night. It's more like 10 degrees difference from room temperature setting to actual room temperature. On a warmer day, the room temp does rise closer to the room temp setting. And on a day close to 40 degrees or very sunny out, there is a 3-degree difference between room temp and room temp setting.
 
I would run it on manual rather than auto mode,In auto mode heat output goes down closer you get to set temp where as manual stays where you set the heat output.

Except it's not working like that with a 2009 Quadrafire LOL - it's manual, too. I do admit, the frequent startup shutdowns are annoying and I wonder if that's why the room temp doesn't rise enough. 7 degrees difference room to set temp on thermostat. Also, my installer said something about putting a fan in the other room and it helps draw heat? Does anyone understand that concept?
 
I'm trying your Normal mode to see what happens. I mark my pellet bags with the time and date so I can get an idea how well the stove is running. So far it's been about 12 hours a bag. Just changed to normal mode and I'm curious if there is a difference in burn.

Also, can someone elaborate a little more on calibration? I really don't get how to do it. I have it set at 1 I guess meaning within 1 degree? Which actually doesn't seem to happen, especially on super cold days like today in the single digits at night. It's more like 10 degrees difference from room temperature setting to actual room temperature. On a warmer day, the room temp does rise closer to the room temp setting. And on a day close to 40 degrees or very sunny out, there is a 3-degree difference between room temp and room temp setting.

Being I've just cleaned the baffle last week and vacuumed the left and right slits very well, is it possible to need cleaning yet again that fast? The baffle wasn't that bad either but, yes, the slits seemed to be full. I could tell they were cleaned well as my mini vacuum line was freely moving in and out of the slits from one side to the other (at first the line wouldn't go in) are these slits the exhaust passage you are talking about? Hot air must be going up the chimney sighhh i'm just so frustrated..
 
Yes, those are the exhaust paths. Manual is your best heat output. I put a small 6" fan in the doorway of my kitchen, pointing into living room, where stove is. This blows air into heated room, thus pushing the hot air into rest of house. I also have one in hallway pointing into living room on colder days. You don't want to blow the hot air around as this cools it. And have you tried one or two bags of a different pellet, to see it yours is adding to the problem? kap
 
In a previous post you said temp differencial was set at 2, and then you said one. The temp differencial is how many degrees from shut off, till stove starts again. If it is on 2, I would put it on 1. Temp calibration is getting the wall control temp, the same as another temp gauge, if they are not the same, in case the wall control one is off. I would use a third one to make sure one is off. kap
 
OK - the heating problem was resolved. The pellet man showed me what needed to be vacuumed and we did it together. After that, the heat was awesome. Then, I accidentally let the pellets run out . When I realized it, I cleaned out all the areas as usual (inside stove drawer) and added the pellets. Now, I'm getting the hopper lid not closed all the way code when indeed it is. I have no idea where the switch is to see if it is out of adjustment. Does anyone have a picture of the location of this switch? It obviously was working fine until after I loaded more pellets.