Smoke smell after Castile stove shutdown

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.

Rbly

New Member
Jan 5, 2024
1
Maryland
Have a Quadra fire Castile pellet stove. Is there a way to extend the duration the combustion fan stays on during shutdown? What we are experiencing is pellets on the pot that continue to smolder after the stove turns off. Not sure if pellets are on the edge and falling into the pot after the shutdown process starts, but when we smell the smoke we ca see a few pellets still glow or smoldering. Was curious if the combustion fan can be adjusted to stay on longer during the shutdown process.

Thanks in advance.
 
Have a Quadra fire Castile pellet stove. Is there a way to extend the duration the combustion fan stays on during shutdown? What we are experiencing is pellets on the pot that continue to smolder after the stove turns off. Not sure if pellets are on the edge and falling into the pot after the shutdown process starts, but when we smell the smoke we ca see a few pellets still glow or smoldering. Was curious if the combustion fan can be adjusted to stay on longer during the shutdown process.

Thanks in advance.
My Old Santa Fe use to do the same. I found that doing a deeper cleaning every 8-10 bags usually solves this. As it gets dirtier pellets and ash tend to build up more in the pot.
 
The shutdown sequence is likely not adjustable with regard to the combustion fan run time after a heat call is completed and the stove is "told" to shut down.

I had a similar situation as you when I first got our pellet stove in 2012. If you know enough about circuits and are comfortable with reading schematics, you may look into what I did.

I added a time delay off relay in between the power supply lead wires feeding my combustion fan and the combustion fan motor power terminals. They make all different kinds of these time delay relays. Some are very simplistic and wire up inline.

Mine was a little more sophisticated than that and actually has an adjustable scale for adjusting the OFF delay anywhere from seconds to to hours. I have mine set to allow the combustion fan to run for about 20 additional minutes extra than what the control board does. This extra run time ensures that any pellets or little embers in the burn pot are completely burnt out and no lingering smoldering pellets between heat calls from the thermostat.

Fellas on this message board will likely say that if your venting is properly installed, there will be zero smoke back on a stock stove after shutdown. They are wrong. All stoves are slightly different and all installs are slightly different.

Fellas on this message board may also tell you that you'll void your stove warranty and perhaps burn your house down if you aren't competent with electrical wiring and try to do what I did.

They may be right, but I sleep easy all night every night, and my stove performs much better the way I have it set up now.