Quadrafire 1200-I intermediate screeching noise in auger/motor assembly

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wagsthe

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Dec 31, 2015
4
The Dalles, Oregon
Have a 3-year old Quad 1200-I insert, ran fine until this week with an occasional squeaking/screeching noise coming from auger or feed motor only when feeding pellets. Cleaned out hopper, did not take out assembly, but noise back on. Anyone else have a similar problem? Am ready to take out assembly to look, but am curious for feedback if it could be auger, bearing(?) or motor. thx. Service tech 2 weeks out.
 
Have a 3-year old Quad 1200-I insert, ran fine until this week with an occasional squeaking/screeching noise coming from auger or feed motor only when feeding pellets. Cleaned out hopper, did not take out assembly, but noise back on. Anyone else have a similar problem? Am ready to take out assembly to look, but am curious for feedback if it could be auger, bearing(?) or motor. thx. Service tech 2 weeks out.

Had mine for almost ten years now and have never had a problem with auger or the assembly. I would pull it out completely and make sure nothing is jammed in the auger tunnel. Also try direct wire to determine what is making the noise.
 
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Had mine for almost ten years now and have never had a problem with auger or the assembly. I would pull it out completely and make sure nothing is jammed in the auger tunnel. Also try direct wire to determine what is making the noise.
Thanks for replying and info. Did take it all out, no obstruction in tunnel but grease was leaking out of motor shaft, so bearing bad. Dealer had feed motor in stock so spent New Years Eve putting in new motor, but was relatively easy. Now works without squealing. Hopefully, this motor will hold up for rest of 1200-I lifetime (?). Prior to 1200-I, had an 1100-I that lasted nearly 20 years without a problem.
Happy New Year!
 
Also having the same problem with my 3 year old Quad 1200i. At first the noise would start from a cold start then go away, know it seems to be more consisting but it does go away after awhile. I'm afraid that it will get worst over time if its a bearing issue. Mralias, wha was the cost of the parts if you don't mind me asking. Also any info on the repair would be great.
Thanks
 
Sounds like a rash of bad motors to me. kap
 
Sounds like a rash of bad motors to me. kap

It may just be coincidence kap, but it seems like there have been allot of posts about CB auger motor failures this year, more so than other Quad models it seems. I wonder if the auger location and design of the 1200's makes a difference, as it would seem if it were just a bad batch of motors that we would be seeing a proportionate # of motor failure issues in the Castile's, Santa Fe's, Contour, non-AE MV's, etc, given that all those Quad models use the same replacement auger motor.

Maybe the CB's auger design being enclosed inside the hopper, as opposed to models like mine where the motor and most of the auger tube are more exposed, and thus get more 'cooling' air ? The CB certainly puts out allot more BTU's than my 1st gen Castile, so it will logically have hotter operating temps in the guts of the stove, and thus a shorter motor life perhaps ?

I've had the right side panel off my stove since I moved it into the main part of our farmhouse, and I'm thinking that has maybe helped prolong the lifespan of my now 15 y/o auger motor, being able to vacuum out the sawdust and dirt regularly and having it get more 'cooling' room air exposure than if the panel were on. Or perhaps they just don't make motors now to last as long as mine has ! :( Cheers, DK
 
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Also having the same problem with my 3 year old Quad 1200i. At first the noise would start from a cold start then go away, know it seems to be more consisting but it does go away after awhile. I'm afraid that it will get worst over time if its a bearing issue. Mralias, wha was the cost of the parts if you don't mind me asking. Also any info on the repair would be great.
Thanks
That's the same scene as ours. Squeeled when cold but got better when warm, but over a few days got worse. Not to mention if grease is leaking out of shaft, not good. Dealer took pity on me as a repair guy was two weeks out, gave me 10% off motor price (he says) for a cost of $156. If go on Amazon, look up same model number for motor out of manual, that was about same price, plus shipping and wait time. So also not to go insane from noise, I jumped on dealer's price.
Relatively easy. The new motor comes with instructions, pretty good to follow. Unplug stove, I took out all pellets to clean hopper. With hopper lid open, there are two black screws near the top of the hopper that holds the heat shield over the motor. When the screws are removed (I put a rag in the bottom of the hopper to catch any screws that may leave the fingertips), you can lift off the shield to see the motor. If you take a rag or finger and feel behind the motor on the shaft to the auger coil, that is where the grease might be if there is a problem. After disconnecting the spade electrical connector and removing the nuts on the motor mount bracket, takes a little manuvering to pull out the motor-auger coil as one unit, but can be done. The new motor contained a new bracket, but I took the new motor off the new bracket and put it on the old bracket (three years old, so not really old) so I didn't have to mess with removing the auger coil from the nylon bearing, and just hooked that unit to the new motor. Put everything back in, tightened motor bracket nuts, reconnected spade eletrical connector, put shield back on, took out rag, added a few pellets, and it fired back up no problem. Works like it's supposed to ever since.
Wondering now if this is a bad motor series for that year of 1200i? Hope this info helps.
 
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It may just be coincidence kap, but it seems like there have been allot of CB auger motor failures this year, more so than other Quad models it seems. I wonder if the auger location and design of the 1200's makes a difference, as it would seem if it were just a bad batch of motors that we would be seeing a proportionate # of motor failure issues in the Castile's, Santa Fe's, Contour, non-AE MV's, etc, given that all those Quad models use the same replacement auger motor.

Maybe the CB's auger design being enclosed inside the hopper, as opposed to models like mine where the motor and most of the auger tube are more exposed, and thus get more 'cooling' air ? The CB certainly puts out allot more BTU's than my 1st gen Castile, so it will logically have hotter operating temps in the guts of the stove, and thus a shorter motor longevity ?

I've had the right side panel off my stove since I moved it into the main part of our farmhouse, and I'm thinking that has maybe helped prolong the lifespan of my now 15 y/o auger motor, being able to vacuum the sawdust and dirt regularly and having it get more 'cooling' room air exposure than if the panel were on. Or perhaps they don't make motors now to last as long as mine has. :( Cheers, DK
I wondered about that too, with that much heat up against the motor. Always have kept my 1200i clean. I'll see how long this motor lasts after the first one lasted only three years.
 
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It may just be coincidence kap, but it seems like there have been allot of posts about CB auger motor failures this year, more so than other Quad models it seems. I wonder if the auger location and design of the 1200's makes a difference, as it would seem if it were just a bad batch of motors that we would be seeing a proportionate # of motor failure issues in the Castile's, Santa Fe's, Contour, non-AE MV's, etc, given that all those Quad models use the same replacement auger motor.

Maybe the CB's auger design being enclosed inside the hopper, as opposed to models like mine where the motor and most of the auger tube are more exposed, and thus get more 'cooling' air ? The CB certainly puts out allot more BTU's than my 1st gen Castile, so it will logically have hotter operating temps in the guts of the stove, and thus a shorter motor life perhaps ?

I've had the right side panel off my stove since I moved it into the main part of our farmhouse, and I'm thinking that has maybe helped prolong the lifespan of my now 15 y/o auger motor, being able to vacuum out the sawdust and dirt regularly and having it get more 'cooling' room air exposure than if the panel were on. Or perhaps they just don't make motors now to last as long as mine has ! :( Cheers, DK
There could of been a batch of bad motors made, and used when they were making a batch of 1200's as there are a lot of 1200's out there that are older, and still running on their original motors. kap
 
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