Quadrafire Classic Bay 1200 Advice

[gutlo]

Hey, guys and gals,

Considering buying a used CB 1200, I'm a little turned off considering the negative reviews, but those reviews could be the result of poor maintenance or just a small percentage of a large number of stoves sold.

What's the general opinion? Is it a reliable machine that just requires the normal maintenance schedule, or is it a piece of junk?

 

[Ssyko]

Had mine since 2001 replaced 2 ceramic thermocouple covers, 1 combustion blower and beadblasted the burn pot 2 times and refinished it once in 17 years. Love the stove its a great workhorse.

 

[gutlo]

Had mine since 2001 replaced 2 ceramic thermocouple covers, 1 combustion blower and beadblasted the burn pot 2 times and refinished it once in 17 years. Love the stove its a great workhorse.

Thanks, ssyko, for the vote of confidence.

Still want to hear from other forum members.

 

[yulanchief]

have had a 1200i for 10 yrs..it has its little issues but i have had no major problems with it.I clean it every sunday and it is a great stove.

 

[dink_smallwood]

Quad CB1200s are like the Toyota Corollas of pellet stoves...nothing fancy but very reliable and easy to maintain.

Depending on the type of pellet you use you might have to scrape the burn pot more often. Mine is an 08 that I bought used and have been burning for 3 years. I’ve replaced the convection fan, thermocoupler and ignitor.

 

[gutlo]

Thanks for all the helpful replies.

I saw the unit and it had 2 noisy motors, exhaust and distribution, which can be easily replaced. What's keeping me from buying it is when it is turned on, there is a smokey odor that comes up through the hopper. It goes away when it fires up after about 10 minutes. It comes back during shutdown. It's a lot less, but it's still there.

This was a basement install. It has 2 90 degree bends. The odor is likely caused by exhaust backup, but I looked up the CB1200 on this website and found many other less obvious causes that are difficult to resolve. The price is $475, but if I buy it and install it exhaust direct out, and it still has the odor, then I would have to cure it and I don't have the head for that.

 

[Don2222]

Had mine since 2001 replaced 2 ceramic thermocouple covers, 1 combustion blower and beadblasted the burn pot 2 times and refinished it once in 17 years. Love the stove its a great workhorse.

I have a friend who has owned a cb1200i for 17 years with few issues and would not own any other model or any other Stove! They just luv it!

 

[Don2222]

Thanks for all the helpful replies.

I saw the unit and it had 2 noisy motors, exhaust and distribution, which can be easily replaced. What's keeping me from buying it is when it is turned on, there is a smokey odor that comes up through the hopper. It goes away when it fires up after about 10 minutes. It comes back during shutdown. It's a lot less, but it's still there.

This was a basement install. It has 2 90 degree bends. The odor is likely caused by exhaust backup, but I looked up the CB1200 on this website and found many other less obvious causes that are difficult to resolve. The price is $475, but if I buy it and install it exhaust direct out, and it still has the odor, then I would have to cure it and I don't have the head for that.

Many times the exhaust flange seal is broken. It is an easy fix. The exhaust flange is the piece that round on the front where it connects to the venting and the back part is square where it connects to the exhaust blower housing. If you can wiggle it back and forth then the seal is broken. What I do is remove the 4 screws on the square end and clean off the old RTV. Put new high temp silicone on it and then use slightly larger self tapping screws to re-install it. Then it will be all set.

 

[gutlo]

If the flange is broken, would that lead to a smokey smell that comes up through hopper?

Many times the exhaust flange seal is broken. It is an easy fix. The exhaust flange is the piece that round on the front where it connects to the venting and the back part is square where it connects to the exhaust blower housing. If you can wiggle it back and forth then the seal is broken. What I do is remove the 4 screws on the square end and clean off the old RTV. Put new high temp silicone on it and then use slightly larger self tapping screws to re-install it. Then it will be all set.

 

[Don2222]

If the flange is broken, would that lead to a smokey smell that comes up through hopper?

It could but not always

 

[Ssyko]

if the stove is dirty and is very low on pellets you could get an odor. 90% of all issues short of old age mechanical failure and mother nature (lightning and that can be prevented), will lead back to good old elbow grease and keeping your stove and exhaust clean! in 17 years i have never had any smoke or odor coming from the hopper, I have had a leak like Don described, but it came from the back of the stove and sealed up in a matter of minutes

 

[Rml7012]

I have had one since 2015. I’m trying to sell it. To many little issues that will drive you nuts during heating season.

 

[stovelark]

There are thousands and thousands of Quadrafire pellet stoves in use. The Cb1200 is a workhorse, and when properly maintained is a very reliable machine. Parts are readily available and mostly reasonable in cost. Most people would (and should) put them as a top brand. They are very popular and Quad's keep it simple operation (the thermostat is its basis of operation) has endured. Most exhaust leaks are like has been noted already, at the exh outlet flange leaking, sometimes its an exhaust blower gasket leaking, or the piping. I've seen one unit years ago that was an older tired model (the model has been around since the 90's) that had a leak in the air tube area that I never could find, I gave up on that one (we had taken it in from a house that bought a new stove). Bear in mind, if both blowers are noisy/needing replacement, that's about 400-500 dollars in cost. I would try to isolate that exh leak before I purchased, but 475 sounds reasonable if it works and the leak is not serious...