Quadrafire 800 issues

[CraigP]

Hello everyone

I recently purchased a new (to me) house that came with a 1994 vintage quadrafire 800 pellet stove complete with original ceramic firepot. As far as I can tell all components are the originals other than the ignitor that the seller replaced just before we moved in.

For some history It has had a slow and somewhat Smoky startup since the first use along with a large/wild flame. The stove has also tripped the snap disc next to the auger several times with no evidence of burn back into the auger.

My current issue with the stove is that when I was cleaning it out on Monday I found three obvious issues

The brand new ignitor was laying broken in the ash accumulated in the firepot (explains the inconsistent start issue it developed last weekend)

It appears to have no gasket on the firepot (could this contribute to the wild flame?)

And last the firepot itself has a crack towards the top that is fairly noticeble without the "logs" in the stove.

It seems that I am looking at an updated firepot that runs around $600 that should take care of most of the issues the stove is having.

I guess my main question is what other issues should I expect to have with a stove this old? I am currently at a crossroads of whether or not to spend the money to get this stove to 100% or replace minimal parts to get it through the winter and purchase a new stove before next season.

Sorry for the long winded first post and thank you very much for any advice!
-Craig

 

[Ssyko]

Welcome Craig
Personally i like older stoves easyer to work on and troubleshoot (less electronic controls). I flip stoves as a hobbie and i like working on them. but the newer stoves are much more efficient and more astetic for room decore. I would weigh all your pro's and con's and see where they lead. Good luck and this place will be here no when you have issues

 

[kappel15]

Sounds like you are on the right track, with the firepot causing a lot of issues. And be sure exhaust path is clear thru stove and pipes, and flame height is set, so it is not feeding to much or too little. kap

 

[CraigP]

Thank you for the advice, I do appreciate how simple this stove is, but also don't want it to be unreliable as it is the main source of heat in my house.
It looks like parts are still available for it and from the further research I've done they do appear to be a reliable unit over all.

I have adjusted the feet rate a couple of times so far with little to no difference, I have noticed since I removed the "logs" to make my current manual start easier that it has not tripped the snap disc even with a rather long run time as I've been setting the temperature higher than usual to keep shutdowns to a minimum.

I think at this point in time I will replace the firepot with the updated unit, make sure all seals are present and in good shape give the stove, heat exchanger, and fans a thorough cleaning, lube all the motor bearings, and most likely replace the snap disc as well for good measure due to its relatively low cost.

Thanks again,
-Craig