Quadrafire Castille problem. Any suggestions?

[MacKay]

i have a quadrafire castille insert. It's about 5 years old. It stopped feeding pellets.

I pulled the auger motor and gave the stove a thorough cleaning. I then put a jumper between the leads on the vacuum switch and the auger functioned properly.

I ordered a new vacuum switch and installed it. No change. Unit will not feed. When I put the jumper in to bypass the vacuum switch it works correctly.

Any suggestions?

 

[railfanron]

One of 2 things will cause this. Either the stove and exhaust piping needs to be cleaned or the gasket on the door is leaking and needs to be replaced. I would start with the cleaning (especially the exhaust piping) and if that doesn't fix it then on to the gaskets on any doors for the firebox. You can perform the dollar bill test to check the gaskets.
Ron

 

[MacKay]

What's the dollar bill test

 

[mralias]

What's the dollar bill test

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[railfanron]

Mraias has it. Any doors that access the burning chamber must be totally air tight so the flow of air is through the burning pellet pile. If all gaskets seal perfectly and the stove is clean the combustion fan will create a small vacuum inside the stove's burn chamber. This vacuum triggers the vacuum switch which turns on the pellet feed.
Ron

 

[MacKay]

I definitely need to replace the gasket. The dollar bill test on the top of the door.

Along the bottom of the door there is no gasket at all. Should there be a gasket there? I have no idea where it went if there should have been one there.

 

[jzm2cc]

Gasket on 3 sides of door, 4th side (top on some, bottom on others) is the air wash for glass.

Also check hose to vacuum switch is clear of obstructions.

 

[kappel15]

and also check the nipple on the drop chute, where hose attaches to also. a stiff pc. of wire can be poked into it, to make sure it is clean. kap

 

[MacKay]

Gasket finally came in. I pushed wire through the hose nipple, replaced the gasket and vacuum switch.
What's next?

 

[MacKay]

If I put a jumper between the wires on the vacuum switch the unit works.
It's a brand new vacuum switch, vacuum hose, & brand new door gasket.

I used a piece of wire, the nipple is clear also. I've also taken a compressor and an air gun and completely cleaned it out. What am I missing?

 

[kappel15]

When you bypass the vac switch, is the flame bright and active? If so, that should eliminate any blockage in the exhaust path(this means entire path thru stove and piping). When you got the new switch, did you hook the hose to it, and lightly suck on the hose, to make sure you could here it make contact in switch? Just because it is new, doesn't mean it works. Also, the connections could be loose on wires, when attaching to switch. You can try tightening them a bit. Only thing left is the door seal, and you replaced that. These are the only things that will cause your issue. kap

 

[MacKay]

I can't light it right now. I have an insert so I had to disconnect the exhaust pipe and pull it out to work on it. I'll check the connections. Maybe they are loose.

 

[MacKay]

I'm running out of stuff to check. I sucked on the hose and could hear the switch. I checked the spade connectors and they seem fine.

The only question I have is in order to work on it I had to disconnect it and pull it out. Would the lack of being hooked up to a exhaust pipe cause any issues?

 

[Mt Bob]

I'm running out of stuff to check. I sucked on the hose and could hear the switch. I checked the spade connectors and they seem fine.

The only question I have is in order to work on it I had to disconnect it and pull it out. Would the lack of being hooked up to a exhaust pipe cause any issues?

Yep,flue or intake air restricted/plugged

 

[kappel15]

bob bare. If he isn't hooked up to the exhaust, this wouldn't cause that issue. Only thing I can think of is have someone help you and suck on the hose again, and have someone do a continuity check on vac switch spades when you hear it close, to make sure there is a path for power. This has me scratching my head. One question. Is there fuel in hopper? If not, it can't create a vacuum. kap

 

[Mt Bob]

Well it says above he is not lighting it when it is pulled out,so I assumed he was only lighting it when he re installs it.Maybe I read it wrong.

 

[kappel15]

Maybe I did too, but he was turning it on pulled out, and wouldn't work with vac switch plugged in, but if he jumped it, it ran.

 

[MacKay]

Maybe I didn't explain this correctly. I completely emptied the hopper, disconnected the exhaust pipe and was plugging it in hoping to see the auger turn.
Does the hopper need filled back up?

 

[kappel15]

Yes, with the hopper empty, there is no way the exhaust fan can create a vacuum in the firebox, as it is sucking air down the drop chute. I am guessing if you put a couple good handfuls of fuel in hopper,to plug it up, things will start working. Let us know. kap

 

[MacKay]

It's up and running. Thanks for all the great info. The auger started turning after I dumped in some pellets.
You guys saved me a big bill! Local store wanted $250 just to come look at it. Thanks again.

 

[MacKay]

Happy wife, happy life.

 

[kappel15]

Glad you are fixed up. Lots of knowledgeable folks on here that are glad to help. Stay warm. kap