quadrafire castile auger motor failing?

[dale1959]

My Quadrafire Castile freestanding stove has been acting up lately. Cleaned it out and noticed when I restarted it, the auger is making a buzzing noise. It doesn't make the noise when it first starts feeding before the fire starts. The noise starts after the green indicator light goes on and it starts the feed cycle. It gives about 5 or 6 quick pellet feeds then a long feed. This cycle continues like this throughout the burn. I guess its the normal feed cycle. The noise is evident very slightly during the quick feeds but more pronounced during the long feed(approx. 2 or 3 seconds). Its doesn't always make the noise. I emptied the hopper and tried to turn the auger by hand and it is tight. I ran it by pressing the reset button and it didn't make the noise. I have been monitoring the pellet feed and it seems like the quick feeds aren't always dropping pellets. Sometimes the stove shuts down due to lack of pellet feed(I think, because it usually happens overnight). I just ordered a new auger motor online, but wanted to check to see if I am doing the right thing by replacing the motor. The stove is 13 years old and the original auger motor.

 

[Mt Bob]

IMHO,you are on the right track.

 

[kappel15]

These stoves cycle at set times. No long feeds and short feeds. They do drop different amounts of fuel at each drop. You can use a small mirror and flashlight and look up drop chute to see if there is any bridging going on, due to too long of pellets, which could also put some above the drop chute opening and jam against the auger motr. But as bob said, you are probably on the right track. kap

 

[dale1959]

ordered a new motor online due to the huge price difference between getting it locally or waiting for it. I paid $157 vs $220 locally. Luckily its been warm enough here that we don't need 24/7 heat from the stove. Its still making noise at different times and shutting down at times due to lack of pellet feed. I emptied the hopper and checked for clogs in the auger chute and feed chute. All looks good. I hope to get the new motor in this weekend. Any tips on removing the old motor? It looks straight forward. My only problem might be getting in there due to the way my stove sits 45 degrees in a corner. Hopefully I wont have to disconnect the vent tubes, they are a PITA to get apart.

 

[kappel15]

If it wasn't for the noise, I would wonder if the capacitor went out and motor was running in reverse sometimes. kap

 

[dale1959]

Got the new motor on Saturday. Didn't get the chance to replace it yet. Looked inside my stove where the auger motor is and can see the motor and wires. From what I read about the repair on the internet, the auger motor, bracket and auger all come out as a unit. The instructions that came with the new motor say to remove the control box to make room for auger assembly to come out. Is this necessary? Once the assembly is out I am assuming that the auger itself has to be removed from the motor shaft and the new motor and bracket will be attached to the original auger. The wire harness that came with the new motor looks different too. I think the instructions say what to do with the connections. Is there any other precautions I need to take when doing this repair, or anything I should be careful with?

 

[kappel15]

You should be able to tell if control box is in the way or not. And be sure to unplug stove before doing anything. Magnetic screwdriver works nice to keep from dropping those little screws where you can't get at em. kap

 

[dale1959]

Going to replace the feed motor tomorrow. Looked at the new motor and new bracket that came with it. The new "simplified" bracket looks different than the original. There no screw holes for mounting the bracket to the stove. Is it necessary to put the new bracket on or just use the old one? I wont know until I get the old unit out tomorrow if the new bracket will work.

 

[dale1959]

Just got finished installing the new feed motor. Took about 1 hour. The new "simplified" bracket that came with the replacement motor wouldn't work, it was the wrong shape and size and it didn't have the same mounting holes for the 2 screws to attach the unit into the stove. Pulled the old auger assembly out without having to remove the control box. It was a tight squeeze. I did have to disconnect the exhaust vent pipe to move the stove out and get access to the right side. Once I had the auger assembly out I noticed something weird looking inside the auger feed chute. Pulled it out to see that it was a plastic flower with a wire stem. Somehow this must have fell into the hopper or the 5 gallon bucket I use to fill the stove with pellets. This may have been part of the problem all along. Since I already had the new motor and had everything apart I thought it would be foolish to not put the new motor in, since the stove is 13 years old. Cleaned everything up while I had it apart and installed the new feed motor. Fairly simple repair and wire connections were easy with new wire harness that came with the new motor. One plug into the motor and 3 wires color coded(white, black and red) at the other end. I am a remodeling contractor and these types of repairs don't bother me too much. I do most of my own appliance repairs. For someone with mechanical ability and DIY experience, this would be a medium difficulty repair in my opinion. Ran it through 2 cycles so far and all seems to be good. Here s the flower I found in the auger chute all the way up at the top just below the motor mount.

 

[kappel15]

Not the first thing to be found in an auger, and not the last. Been stories of all kinds of weird crap found in there. lol Glad you were able to fix it yourself and save some coin. At least, now you have a spare auger motor. Strange that it came with that bracket. You sure it is a quad motor? kap

 

[dale1959]

Yes I checked the part numbers at my local stove shops when I tried to source the part locally. 812-4421 auger feed motor. The old one was still making some noise, so I think it was on its way out.

 

[Connecticut Yankee]

I love a happy ending. Congratulations on getting your stove all squared away!

 

[dale1959]

I love a happy ending. Congratulations on getting your stove all squared away!

Thanks. But not so fast. Stove was running fine for a couple hours and all of a sudden the combustion blower started making loud bearing noises. When I had the stove open to replace the auger feed motor I cleaned the dust off the combustion blower motor with compressed air(low pressure). When I started the stove back up it made a momentary noise then went away. I thought all was fine. The noise got worse then went away sometimes. Stove seemed to run fine. All of a sudden the noise started again and the flame went lazy. I think the combustion motor failed now. Did I screw it up by blowing the dust out or is just coincidence?

The stove had been shutting down sometimes before I replaced the auger motor. I just assumed that it was due to the auger motor failing. Maybe the combustion blower was failing and the vacuum switch was shutting down the pellet feed? The combustion blower was replaced 7 years ago. The first one lasted 7 years too. The blower that is there now is an open frame. I see enclosed motors on Amazon and Ebay(same part #) 812-4400. The enclosed motors cost more but are supposed to last longer?

 

[Mt Bob]

Well,most stoves do not have high quality motors in them.And,depends on burning conditions.You can extend their life buy oiling,greasing,replacing the bearings.Yes,if the seals are deteriorated,even low pressure air can blow crap into the bearings/bushings.There are lots of Castile owners here,I guess they are not talkative this year.

 

[dale1959]

Finally got it all straightened out and running nicely. The combustion blower was definitely bad. Ordered a new one that is enclosed with sealed bearings instead of the Quadrafire open style that I removed. Had to take a lot of stuff apart in the back to get the old one out and the new motor installed. Got everything back together and the stove runs nice and quiet now and burns with a nice bright flame. I think the 7 old motor was failing all along. All is well now and just in time.... the outside temp was 9 degrees yesterday and my house is nice and warm.

The only other issue I am having is with Energex pellets I decided to buy this year. I couldn't get the EZ Blaze I was burning for the last 2 years, so I tried Energex. Burned 10 bags first to try them and they seemed to burn fine. I went and got 2 tons delivered to get me through the rest of the winter and am getting big time clinkers. They are like chunks of hard lava. The ashes seem very dense and heavy and don't get blown out the burn pot like the EZ Blaze did. The EZ Blaze pellets had a real fine light ,fluffy ash that almost completely emptied out of the burn pot after each cycle. I am now emptying the burn pot 3 times a day now to try and keep the clinkers from causing issues. Anyone else have trouble with this brand?

 

[Ssyko]

I have yet to find any clean burning pellets. They all seam to have more impurity’s than in the past.

 

[kappel15]

I burn a mix of corn and pellets, so hard for me to say. But I have always had good luck with superior, index. kap

 

[Mt Bob]

Finally got it all straightened out and running nicely. The combustion blower was definitely bad. Ordered a new one that is enclosed with sealed bearings instead of the Quadrafire open style that I removed. Had to take a lot of stuff apart in the back to get the old one out and the new motor installed. Got everything back together and the stove runs nice and quiet now and burns with a nice bright flame. I think the 7 old motor was failing all along. All is well now and just in time.... the outside temp was 9 degrees yesterday and my house is nice and warm.

The only other issue I am having is with Energex pellets I decided to buy this year. I couldn't get the EZ Blaze I was burning for the last 2 years, so I tried Energex. Burned 10 bags first to try them and they seemed to burn fine. I went and got 2 tons delivered to get me through the rest of the winter and am getting big time clinkers. They are like chunks of hard lava. The ashes seem very dense and heavy and don't get blown out the burn pot like the EZ Blaze did. The EZ Blaze pellets had a real fine light ,fluffy ash that almost completely emptied out of the burn pot after each cycle. I am now emptying the burn pot 3 times a day now to try and keep the clinkers from causing issues. Anyone else have trouble with this brand?

If you watch both forums,and check the net,seems like most east coast pellets have great quality problems this year,again.