I have a quadrafire 1200i that I recently purchased from a friend, it is 2 years old. It worked well for 3 days, now it shuts down after about 10 min. While it is on the flame is inconsistant. If I reset it it will fire back up, but then the same sequence. I think I have it narrowed down to either the thermocouple or the control module. I tested the thermocouple for continuity, which seems fine. Is there any way to test the control module? I brought it to a local dealer but they do not have a test stove to try it in. I am open to any suggestions.
Quadrafire 1200i
- Thread starter Tankdog
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Make sure that the thermocouple is fully in the flame path. What do you mean by inconsistent flame? From the description of the flame inconsistency, I am wondering about how clean the stove is. Were all passages thoroughly cleaned before installation? Also, what brand pellets are you using? If the pellet is too long, some may be bridging. The 1200i has a shallow hopper. You may need to assist the pellets by moving them to the center if a cavity is developing as they gravity feed toward the auger. To assist good pellet drop, I used fine steel wool on the hopper. Then cleaned it out and sprayed silicone on it. Others have waxed and polished the hopper surfaces using carnauba wax.
Before installing I cleaned the stove very well. The flame starts out about 6" tall then drops down to 1"-2" tall and then goes out. There does not seem to be any problem with the pellets feeding, as soon as I reset it it drops pellets.
Tankdog said:
Yesterday afternoon I installed a Capacitor Rep Jumper #230-2150 between the auger motor and the harness. With much surprise it appears to have cured my ailing stove. It has run all night and is still without problem this morning. This is GOOD NEWS
Try the above fix. I had a similar issue with my Quad 1200i last year about this time. To install this Capacitor Jumper, you will have to take the shields out of the hopper to reach the auger motor area.
Let us know if this helps. You can do a search on IBC for Quad 1200i and find this thread where we discussed the fix.
AR
Tankdog said:
Not saying that you did a poor job of cleaning, but we've heard that statement on the forum before, only to find out that what we consider a "complete cleaning" and what some people actually do are not even close.
If you haven't removed & cleaned both blowers, cleaned out all the ash traps, and the heat exchanger too, then you may just have a "dirty stove". Does this stove have a vacuum switch? If so, the tube may be clogged.
Might even want to do a "leaf blower" clean on it after everything above is cleaned....gets those last hidden bits of ash from places you can't reach.
Nicholas440
Feeling the Heat
I dont think the stove is dirty, it would have to be a real mess to fire up then go out in a few minutes and your flame would be orange and sooty.
Heres what should happen. When you press the reset button it will feed pellets. When the stove lights up keep your eye on the control box, the RED light will be on. Now watch it for a minute or so, and when the thermo couple reaches 200 degrees, your GREEN light will come on, and at that point you'll see and hear pellets being fed into the fire pot. If you arent seeing the GREEN light go on your fire will go out.
Make sure your thermo couple extends ONE inch over the firepot, and be sure that the thermo couple wire is seated all the way up inside the porcelain holder. If not its not going to work properly and your fire can die out.
The vacuum hose is another try as mentioned it can be clogged, and lastly and hopefully it is not the control unit itself. Hopefully its just positioning the thermo couple correctly. You didnt say if it was still feeding pellets while the flame went out or not.
Good luck and hope you get it going again with minimal effort.
Heres what should happen. When you press the reset button it will feed pellets. When the stove lights up keep your eye on the control box, the RED light will be on. Now watch it for a minute or so, and when the thermo couple reaches 200 degrees, your GREEN light will come on, and at that point you'll see and hear pellets being fed into the fire pot. If you arent seeing the GREEN light go on your fire will go out.
Make sure your thermo couple extends ONE inch over the firepot, and be sure that the thermo couple wire is seated all the way up inside the porcelain holder. If not its not going to work properly and your fire can die out.
The vacuum hose is another try as mentioned it can be clogged, and lastly and hopefully it is not the control unit itself. Hopefully its just positioning the thermo couple correctly. You didnt say if it was still feeding pellets while the flame went out or not.
Good luck and hope you get it going again with minimal effort.
tjnamtiw
Minister of Fire
Are you ending up with unburned pellets in the hopper when the flame goes out?
If not, then your feed rate is not high enough to MAINTAIN the 6" flame height. You will get the 6" in the beginning during start up because it had a constant feed for something like 60 seconds. It may be as simple as adjusting your feed. Never assume that all pellets even in the same lot will feed the same.
If not, then your feed rate is not high enough to MAINTAIN the 6" flame height. You will get the 6" in the beginning during start up because it had a constant feed for something like 60 seconds. It may be as simple as adjusting your feed. Never assume that all pellets even in the same lot will feed the same.
Ok, so far i have replaced the control module and the thermocouple, all to no avail. I am chasing all of the wires through the stove to make sure it is not just a short somewhere. I will also try replacing the capacitor at the feed motor, that someone mentioned fixed a similar problem. does anyone have any other ideas. Also is there a way of testing the 3 snap discs?
krooser
Minister of Fire
tjnamtiw
Minister of Fire
)Nope, everything is burned when the flame goes out.
P.S. do you know how to reset snap disc #3 ? I have located it but the button in the middle of the termnals does not reset?
P.S. do you know how to reset snap disc #3 ? I have located it but the button in the middle of the termnals does not reset?
Tankdog - I have a copy of the dealer service manual for the Quad 1200i.
Shoot me a PM with your email address and I'll forward you the service manual.
Shoot me a PM with your email address and I'll forward you the service manual.
jtakeman
Minister of Fire
Tankdog said:
It will only reset if it has been tripped. Do you have power to the stove?
One note on the capacitor is watching the auger motor. Some have noted the motor to actually start turning in reverse. Keep an eye on the auger. Does it stop cold turkey?
Tankdog - I just emailed the Tech Service Manual. Having the service manual really helps troubleshooting the problem. Good Luck. Rich
I vote for the Capacitor Jumper that I had to install last year. The dang stove just stopped feeding fuel. Several 1200i owners have had to do this from what I've read on IBC. If all else fails, ask Kap over on IBC. He's the Quad Guru
Let us know how things turn out with your unit.
AR
Let us know how things turn out with your unit.
AR
tjnamtiw
Minister of Fire
Having no unburned fuel in the pot after a 'misfire' sure points toward a misbehaving auger motor but we still haven't ruled out simply underfiring/underfeeding after initial startup. Have you opened the feed gate all the way and tried a FEW times? What do the length of your pellets look like? All uniform or are some really long? Mine are all over the place from dust to 4" long and it gives me fits on feeding. A lot of bridging at the top of the chute or at the feed end of the auger.
The capacitor is a cheap fix compared to dropping several hundred on the control box on a hunch. After initial startup and you have the green (on my stoves) light in the control box, can you hear the clicking of the auger motor relay about every six seconds? After gaining access, can you put your hand on the motor and feel it turning every six seconds?
The capacitor is a cheap fix compared to dropping several hundred on the control box on a hunch. After initial startup and you have the green (on my stoves) light in the control box, can you hear the clicking of the auger motor relay about every six seconds? After gaining access, can you put your hand on the motor and feel it turning every six seconds?
tjnamtiw
Minister of Fire
ARGlock said:I listed the part number for the Capacitor Jumper. Way cheaper like tjn said
AR
Hey, at least he has plenty of spares!! :lol:
I agree, and hope it is the capacitor. I only wish that i did not go and replace the control box and thermocouple already. I guess i will caulk that up to a lesson learned from taking advise from my local dealer.
Is ther a way to test the capacitor, should there always be continuity from one side to the other? Also is there a way to test the snap discs, Should they have continuity as well?
I only ask these questions because i have tested the snap discs and they all have continuity, except #1. I also diconected the capacitor and it also does not have continuity.
These two parts seem unrelated and the capacitor seems to make sense, but disc#1 does not sound like it has anything to do with the issues i have been experiencing??
Is ther a way to test the capacitor, should there always be continuity from one side to the other? Also is there a way to test the snap discs, Should they have continuity as well?
I only ask these questions because i have tested the snap discs and they all have continuity, except #1. I also diconected the capacitor and it also does not have continuity.
These two parts seem unrelated and the capacitor seems to make sense, but disc#1 does not sound like it has anything to do with the issues i have been experiencing??
krooser
Minister of Fire
Tankdog said:
This is a familiar scenario... new stove owner, slightly used and/or improperly maintained stove that hasn't had a complete and thorough cleaning after every ton of pellets have been burned. Many stove owners simply give up on pellet stoves after they start to have problems keeping them running correctly.
We have seen this many times on this forum. As a matter of fact that's how I got here.... my stove had less than a ton of pellets run thru it but was running poorly, inconsistent flame, etc. Turned out I had a stove that was plugged with ash (helped by a loose ash pan)... even though I insisted I had cleaned it throughly. I wound up having a service tech come out and show the wife and I how to really clean the stove and showed us the now famous 'leafblower trick'....
Here's copy of the owners manual (if you don't have one)... look thru pages 27-32... if you haven't pulled the baffle plates, vacuumed-cleaned and scraped the exhaust, pulled the fans and cleaned them then you don't know how dirty your stove is...
http://www.woodpelletstoves.net/manufacturers/manuals/quadra-fire-cb-1200.pdf
And here's what comes out of a freshly cleaned stove...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh6R_m_fQuc&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLRfu4WNaR8&feature=related
I'm not here to bust you b***s but to share what I've learned coming into my 4th season of burning pellets....
tjnamtiw
Minister of Fire
Snap disc #1 should be normally open. It controls your room blower when the stove gets hot enough. You would need a capacitor tester to test the capacitor, but it would show open since it is basically two plates separated by a thin insulator. The other two snap discs are normally closed since they are the safeties.
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