Quadrafire Castile Insert Feeding Issue

[ylomnstr]

Hey guys. I just recently purchased a used Quad Castile insert for my basement fireplace. It's working fine, but it seems that when the pellets get low, they stop feeding as if they're just not sliding down to all the way to the auger. The stove shuts off thinking it ran out of pellets, but there are still a healthy amount in there, just sort of stuck in the back. Can this be a leveling issue? I'm still trying to find some leveling feet because I know it's definitely not level at the moment, and leans away from the auger side. Any other suggestions or things to check?

The stove isn't bad, but doesn't put out near the heat that my upstairs St. Croix Hastings does. But it's for a small space, so it does the job, at least when it's on medium. On low, it struggles to keep the room warm.

 

[DMKNLD]

Leveling your stove will likely help some to avoid your pellets hanging up in the hopper - but it also seems to be a pellet dependent thing. The MWP and Crabbe softwoods I burned in past seasons would hang, but the LaCrete softwoods I'm burning this season don't. Pellets with lower density / less compression seem to be more problematic, as do those brands with higher amounts of dust, which increases the static charge and seem to make them hang up more.

Multiple past thread posts on this topic with as many multiple solutions - screening your pellets to reduce the dust level, decrease the hoppers friction coefficient by spraying silicone lube, graphite spray, rubbing with wax paper, spraying with Protect-All carnuba wax spray (this worked well in my stove and seemed to last the longest) or treating the hopper with other various wax compounds, foil taping the seams, are all things that have been used with success.

RE your Castile heat output. Being on the lower end of the BTU output side, (especially for those of us with the older model Castile that only have 8 heat exchanger tubes instead of the current 10 tube design), several of the 'consummate Quad tinkerers' on this forum who have that stove model, ie tj, B-mod, Swine flue, among others, have come up with some simple and inexpensive modifications to increase the BTU output of these stoves.

Search "Quad mods" for multiple postings on this topic - here's a link to one of the best threads that tj initiated, following his excellent evidence based research, and 'sparked up' a lively discussion. https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/64123/ After doing all the various mods on my stove, except for the exchanger tube 'turbulators', which I just haven't gotten around to doing yet, they have both increased my stoves heat output and performance while also reducing my over-all pellet consumption.

As in any stove modification, it can void your warranty and / or have the potential to heat stress your stove components, ie they are not Quadra-Fire nor home owners insurance company sanctioned. But many Quad owners have used these stove modifications with excellent success, with no adverse stove effects, *to date*.

Standard disclaimer / assumption of risk applies: 'YMMV', and 'use at your own risk'.

 

[QuadraFire]

Leveling will for sure help, but also making sure your appliance is clean and your pellets are stored properly can do wonder for the use of your appliance. Even a little moisture from a half an hour of sunlight can affect the stove negatively.

 

[DMKNLD]

Leveling will for sure help, but also making sure your appliance is clean and your pellets are stored properly can do wonder for the use of your appliance. Even a little moisture from a half an hour of sunlight can affect the stove negatively.

Captain Obvious here , and given your avitar logo address and user name, I take it you are a rep from 'Quad corporate'? Welcome to this forum !

It's always great to have stove company management engaged with social media outlets like this forum. The 'from the source' insights and representation will prove to be invaluable no doubt to the sometimes *spirited* but always enlightening discussions we have here around Quadra-Fire related topics. It's all good !

Speaking as one of the many many loyal Quad owners who prowl this forum, thanks for making a fine product !

 

[QuadraFire]

Captain Obvious here , and given your avitar logo address and user name, I take it you are a rep from 'Quad corporate'? Welcome to this forum !

It's always great to have stove company management engaged with social media outlets like this forum. The 'from the source' insights and representation will prove to be invaluable no doubt to the sometimes *spirited* but always enlightening discussions we have here around Quadra-Fire related topics. It's all good !

Speaking as one of the many many loyal Quad owners who prowl this forum, thanks for making a fine product !

You got it, and we are here to help! If you notice anyone else that we may miss on the forum going forward that you think could benefit from talking directly to Quad, please send them our way!

 

[DMKNLD]

Believe me when I say that you will not find a shortage of free thinking opinions and 'outside of the box' thoughts here. One of the many great things about this forum ! Great to have you as Quad connection to that.

 

[ylomnstr]

I appreciate the help, although I store all my pellets in the same place, and the same pellet seems to burn a hell of a lot hotter in my St. Croix. My friend actually sold his Quad to me because he just didn't think it was helping enough in his house. It's OK for me since it's heating up a small space, but I would still like to see more heat per pellet if possible. I've had pellet stoves for years so I think I'm pretty good at cleaning them and doing maintenance too, so I'm not sure that's the issue here. Sometimes it just "is what it is"

 

[kappel15]

You got it, and we are here to help! If you notice anyone else that we may miss on the forum going forward that you think could benefit from talking directly to Quad, please send them our way!

Nice to see Quad has joined the forum. Welcome. kap

 

[QuadraFire]

I appreciate the help, although I store all my pellets in the same place, and the same pellet seems to burn a hell of a lot hotter in my St. Croix. My friend actually sold his Quad to me because he just didn't think it was helping enough in his house. It's OK for me since it's heating up a small space, but I would still like to see more heat per pellet if possible. I've had pellet stoves for years so I think I'm pretty good at cleaning them and doing maintenance too, so I'm not sure that's the issue here. Sometimes it just "is what it is"

Our tech team responded, keep in mind without being able to get hands on the stove, we can only hypothesize:

The stove not being level could definitely contribute, but also the pellets could be bridging inside the hopper. The pellets should be removed and the hopper cleaned out. Bridging occurs if there is build up in the hopper from fines (sawdust) from the pellets. To aid in the fuel sliding easily down to the auger, you can wipe down the inside of the hopper with car wax.

Hope this helps!

 

[hooter04]

Have similar issue with my stove,So I guess I'm gonna have to do a hopper clean out.I've been comimg across some bags with alot of fines,So we'll see how I make out.