Quadrafire problems & review

[Mattd]

Had the quadrafire 7100 installed 1.5 years ago into new construction. Thought the aux air line was hooked up to pull air from outside, but it turns out that the second duct on the exterior is my chimney air line. They never hooked up the aux air line.

I’ve opened the back of the chase up (master bath), and my plan was to put a register on the wall to pull air from the bathroom and get circulation going.

It’s too tight to get a good look at it, but I’m wondering if there is a cap or knock out covering access? Right now it’s just a hole in the side of the box with no collar. Like, when installing, do you have to knock out a cap, install a collar and then tie the line to it?

If not, if I flip the lever to pull from Aux, it would now get air from the hole in my chase. I can work with that I think. If not, and there is a cap, it wouldn’t pull much air and could burn up the motors. Installers removed the lock that prevents moving the lever.

 

[Mattd]

To give you a better idea here is a pic of the back of the chase/bathroom. I added the register. I had planned to reroute the aux line to the register, but there’s not an aux line. The fan is blowing full air out of the fireplace, and a flame and match smoke is pulled into the register. Maybe now that the Chase is vented I don’t even need a aux line from fire box to register? Although a vented chase is proly not good!

 

[begreen]

If the installer failed to connect the outside air supply then they screwed up. This is required, not optional. Sorry to say this but I would open up the wall and give the installation a very thorough inspection to be sure they didn't miss anything else. And I would call the dealer and insist they correct errors. The requirement for outside air for combustion is specified in the manual.

 

[Bernie McBurner]

Had the quadrafire 7100 installed 1.5 years ago into new construction. Thought the aux air line was hooked up to pull air from outside, but it turns out that the second duct on the exterior is my chimney air line. They never hooked up the aux air line.

I’ve opened the back of the chase up (master bath), and my plan was to put a register on the wall to pull air from the bathroom and get circulation going.

It’s too tight to get a good look at it, but I’m wondering if there is a cap or knock out covering access? Right now it’s just a hole in the side of the box with no collar. Like, when installing, do you have to knock out a cap, install a collar and then tie the line to it?

If not, if I flip the lever to pull from Aux, it would now get air from the hole in my chase. I can work with that I think. If not, and there is a cap, it wouldn’t pull much air and could burn up the motors. Installers removed the lock that prevents moving the lever.

see knock out on top back right.

 

[Mattd]

Thanks guys. It’s not the outside air. That’s hooked up correctly. It’s what quadrafire calls auxiliary convection air (I think). Rather then pull air to be heated from the room, it can pull it from another location. There’s a lever at the bottom to switch between pulling air from room or from the aux port.

It’s not the same port that Bernie referenced. That one is for blowing air from the firebox to another room. That’s even more of a contraption and not something I plan on doing.

The aux air I’m talking about comes out the side right next to the outside air intake. It would proly take someone that has installed one before to know for sure if there is something there or if it’s just open, waiting for duct pipe.

 

[begreen]

Thanks guys. It’s not the outside air. That’s hooked up correctly. It’s what quadrafire calls auxiliary convection air (I think). Rather then pull air to be heated from the room, it can pull it from another location. There’s a lever at the bottom to switch between pulling air from room or from the aux port.

It’s not the same port that Bernie referenced. That one is for blowing air from the firebox to another room. That’s even more of a contraption and not something I plan on doing.

The aux air I’m talking about comes out the side right next to the outside air intake. It would proly take someone that has installed one before to know for sure if there is something there or if it’s just open, waiting for duct pipe.

OK, that is different from the outside air kit. I definitely would only want the aux air to be ducted from the fireplace to the register and not use the chase as a duct. Open up the wall enough to feel or use a mirror on a stick to see if there is a knockout plate on that side. I would expect there to be one from the factory. You'll need to open the wall for access in order to put a start collar there anyway.

 

[Mattd]

We moved into our house mid 2016, and the Quadrafire 7100 was installed shortly before then. Here is my review.

I wouldn't buy it again. Despite being a high end, expensive fireplace it has many flaws. I've been in touch with my dealer Foreshaw St Louis, worthless, as well as directly with multiple people from the manufacturer, apparently clueless about their product. No help or advice from either.

The main issue over the last two winters is that it doesn't draw air very well. It has two combustion controls, one that goes low to high, and another that we call the turbo lever. Turbo is supposed to be on an egg type timer that holds open an additional air intake port while the fire catches, and after 20-30 minutes close. Luckily mine stopped automatically closing, so i can leave it open so that the fire will at least burn.

Tried many things including buying a moisture meter, my wood is around 10-12%.

My fireplace is on a 45 degree in the corner. After opening the chase I found that the only cold air intake port is on the side opposite the exterior wall. So, ducting goes out that side, up and over the firebox, to the exterior wall. Probably 7' of 6" flexible pipe. I figure it's too much run to get good air flow.

***So that's a big strike, no flexibility to connect to outside air preventing good access to air to feed the fire.

I recently had the decorative fascia off the front to clean. With it off I can see thru the small gap the two air control levers move within. As I peek thru that hole, I can see the cold air damper flap moving. Meaning that the cold air from outside pours out the front of the fireplace thru the lever hole, which is 6" x .5", when the damper is open. Also, if i shine a light thru the air holes in the firebox, i can see the light shining into the area where the lever are. These air intake holes are about 2" from the lever hole, and about 15" from the damper and outside air. So, at least some of the air feeding the fire is coming from the heated room. All other fireplaces I've run have had screw type mechanisms, or push pull to open a gate on the outside to control air intake. There was never an opportunity for cold air to get inside.

***Second big strike, poor design, probably similar to strike #1 really.

But, I've done so things to help. First, while the fascia was off I took 2 pieces of flat and wide window weather stripping. I put one piece right above the air levers, and one below, so that the weather stripping touches except where the levers protrude. Creates just a little resistance to lever movement, but no cold air coming thru.

I also widened the air holes in the firebox. There are 3, and they were probably 1/4" in size, I took em to 3/8. Might go more, or even add additional holes, but so far am seeing a large improvement. The air levers completely shut off air, so I imagine there is no limit to how large I can make them.

Not a lot of info out there about this fireplace, so adding my thoughts to the web.

Enjoy!

 

[begreen]

Sorry this has turned into such a hassle. Lack of dealership support is not helping. I am concerned about the use of combustible weatherstripping on the stove. That could be a safety hazard.

Modifying the stove violates it's EPA testing, but also may lead to lack of control with different wood sometime down the road. The air levers do not shut off the air completely. There is always some air coming through to prevent a smoldering fire.

 

[Cast Iron]

More concern is the lack of support from HHT, owner of QuadraFire and VC.
Incompetent dealer is one concern you mention. The other, more important to us, is HHT's warranty in getting a VC Flexburn stove.
Have you contacted HHT directly ? Contact info is online.
That QF 7100 is one $$$$ and too complex piece of work..

 

[bholler]

More concern is the lack of support from HHT, owner of QuadraFire and VC.
Incompetent dealer is one concern you mention. The other, more important to us, is HHT's warranty in getting a VC Flexburn stove.
Have you contacted HHT directly ? Contact info is online.
That QF 7100 is one $$$$ and too complex piece of work..

It is actually a pretty simple stove built into a zero clearance cabinet. It is just a tube stove with a baffle. But yes it is expensive especially when you take the install into account. But far less that building a fireplace then getting an insert for it. So if you want the look of a fireplace with actual heat output units like the 7100 are a good option. And no hht does not have great customer service