Smoke from Quadrafire 1200 pellet stove

[DougF]

Canada,

Just a quick question....

So the combustion intake hole in the base of the stove draws air in and under the base? I guess by example, if I completely blocked the the hole in your pic then no air would be drawn thru the air intake into the firepot combustion chamber? Wish I could see the underside of the base then I could figure it out....well I could be not gonna.... too much work ;-).


Well it helps to take a closer look now doesn't it? ....I understand now....never mind.....Survey sez YES! DOH!

I am getting what I think is good draw from the intake hole....held a lit candle over it and at about maybe 1 1/2 inches from the hole
the flame went out... as mentioned before I'll remove last years pellets from the hopper and try again...
....and so it goes...

 

[CanadaClinker]

Hey handy..... yes once you have an image in your head on how the air circuit works.... a lot of other things start to make sense ..... oh and you probably already know but there are 2 trap doors below the pot.... the one on the bottom of the pot itself and the one below it on the bottom of the air chamber (between the air chamber and the ash pan that opens into the as pan). To check that both doors are open/close properly when you pull/push the handle (and that the air flow is unobstructed going to the burning pot), just above the ash bin on the front of the stove (between the ash bin and the metal protruding lip below the door) is an access port secured with 2 screws (about 8 inches apart horizontally). You can see the operation of the trap doors in there.... you also need to clean in there maybe twice a season. Because it is a tight area in there, I use what someone else on this site suggested is a piece of garden hose taped to your vacuum. I took an old fitting from the vacuum and siliconed and taped the 3 ft piece of hose on it. It cleans right in there to the back of the air chambe behind the pot... (a vacuum crevice tool just doesn't quite fit I find).

If the 'bottom' door came off the linkage or isn't closing properly, the air from the normal air circuit gets sucked down into the ash pan and around up to the air exchainger (rather than getting sucked through the pot and working on burning the pellets) This diversion of air around the pot would cause a lazy, smoky burn rather than a forced air burn , if you get what I'm saying. This system is like when you have ever blown into the base of a fire and watched how the oxygen from your breath causes the flame to really take off. Same thing with the air into the bottom of the burning pot from the lower air chamber. This suction is all caused by the exhaust blower and a clear path to it right from the air intake.

Hope this also helps ya .... have fun getting to know your stove.... ;-)

 

[eandbnorton]

Handy, did you ever figure out your problem? I have a CB1200-I (insert) and have the exact same problem as you. Mine seems to be occuring just when the stove is cold and just at startup. It was professionally installed a couple months ago.

 

[jtp10181]

Has it always leaked smoke, or is it a recent development?

 

[eandbnorton]

Mine has always leaked smoke. Today the techs are replacing the whole vent tube and adapter. Hopefully that will fix it. My stove is only 2 months old and it definately is just leaking smoke from behind both side panels (mine is an insert.)

Edited: discovered that is isn't a venting problem. Smoke is actually escaping from the exhaust blower...but it only happens when the appliance is cold, like its the first start up for the day. Any ideas what's causing it? Does the whole exhaust blower need to be replaced?

 

[jtp10181]

How long does it take to ignite? Should only fill the box with smoke for a short time and then ignite. If you get a lot of rolling smoke in the box its an ignition problem.

 

[gregg3g]

Nicholas has a good idea there...... might just be just the ticket........ Oh and one last word about the glass wash 'slit' on the top edge of the glass (all 3 panels) as I mentoned above... my dealer who is a very knowledgeable and helpful guy said that after a month or so, the fine slit gets plugged with lint from the room air and slowly over time the glass wash becomes less affective of keeping buildup off the inside of the glass. He showed me how to take a piece of very fine wire and insert it up there (shaped similar to an upside down j shape) and move it from one side to the other of the glass windows to clean out the slit using the vacuum on it at the same time..... I would have never thought of that...... .... anyway, good luck handyd at stopping the smoke leak..... ;-)

Can you post a picture of this please? My dealer states that there is no glass wash slit on the Quadrafire Classic Bay 1200 and I can't seem to find it.
Thanks!