snap disc or convection blower?

[lorobsmum]

I am new to this forum. We moved in our home in February 2015 , the end of cold season last year. The home has a Quadra Fire Castile Insert Wood Pellet stove. We had it cleaned professionally in November 2015. It has been running very good. Now the convection blower fan will not turn on. There is no heat coming out of the front like before. I have hit the switch from low to medium. Nothing. Could this be the snap disc #1 that I have been reading about in all the forums or would the convection blower be more likely?
I have been learning as I go for all of it from cleaning it to loading it to the right pellets. I would be very thankful for some outside feedback.

 

[DAKSY]

According to your manual, the snap-disk would be the first place to look...
Symptom Possible Cause / Corrective Action
Convection blower fails to start.
#1 snap disc defective. / Replace snap disc.
Blower not plugged in. / Check that blower is plugged into wire harness.
Blower is defective. / Replace blower.
Control box is defective. / Replace control box.

 

[Bkins]

Welcome to the forum. I don't know how mechanically inclined your are but if your interested the members can tell you how to check out the snap disc and the blower to see if either one is the cause. The checks require a small amount of electrical work. Ask and you shall receive.

 

[lorobsmum]

Tha

According to your manual, the snap-disk would be the first place to look...
Symptom Possible Cause / Corrective Action
Convection blower fails to start.
#1 snap disc defective. / Replace snap disc.
Blower not plugged in. / Check that blower is plugged into wire harness.
Blower is defective. / Replace blower.
Control box is defective. / Replace control box.

Thanks that is what I thought. Calling the repair guy. Hope he gets out soon. Will keep updated.

 

[Snowy Rivers]

Hi

The Quads are pretty easy to work on.

Unplug the stove from the wall plug ******* !!

Remove the access panel/s to get at the fan and snap discs.

Using a VOM you can check the discs easily.
The disc will be N/O when cold (normally open) and closes when it reaches temperature.

If I were doing the tests I would check things with power to the stove, and see if there is 120 volts to one side of the snap disc that feeds the fan, and if there is the disc is likely the culprit.

The other test is to remove the fan and clean it good (power unplugged) and blow out the entire motor and squirrel cage really good.

Be sure the fan motor spins easily and quietly.

With the fan off you can easily make a test wire with a plug on it and test the fan off the stove.

White wire is neutral, black is power, green is ground (Any color other than green can carry voltage)

I am not sure what type plug is on the motor, but a SAFE jury rig can be done easily.

If the motor runs fine, then the issue is likely the snap disc.

I would start first with checking to see if there is power to one side of the disc.

BE SAFE AND USE GOOD PROTOCOLS WHEN HANDLING ELECTRICITY AND WORKING INSIDE THE STOVE WHEN THE POWER IS ON.

If you do not have the tools, and or feel you are capable of performing the tasks outlined, it might be better to get a stove tech to gitterdone.

These are easy tasks, but I can only relate to this having handled high voltage up through 600 volts for many years.

Happy to answer questions

Pix are always good and help a lot

Good luck and be safe

 

[lorobsmum]

 

[lorobsmum]

Is this a snap disc on the side of the stove?

 

[lorobsmum]

Welcome to the forum. I don't know how mechanically inclined your are but if your interested the members can tell you how to check out the snap disc and the blower to see if either one is the cause. The checks require a small amount of electrical work. Ask and you shall receive.

It will be over a week before they can come out. So any suggestions we will try.

 

[lorobsmum]

Hi

The Quads are pretty easy to work on.

Unplug the stove from the wall plug ******* !!

Remove the access panel/s to get at the fan and snap discs.

Using a VOM you can check the discs easily.
The disc will be N/O when cold (normally open) and closes when it reaches temperature.

If I were doing the tests I would check things with power to the stove, and see if there is 120 volts to one side of the snap disc that feeds the fan, and if there is the disc is likely the culprit.

The other test is to remove the fan and clean it good (power unplugged) and blow out the entire motor and squirrel cage really good.

Be sure the fan motor spins easily and quietly.

With the fan off you can easily make a test wire with a plug on it and test the fan off the stove.

White wire is neutral, black is power, green is ground (Any color other than green can carry voltage)

I am not sure what type plug is on the motor, but a SAFE jury rig can be done easily.

If the motor runs fine, then the issue is likely the snap disc.

I would start first with checking to see if there is power to one side of the disc.

BE SAFE AND USE GOOD PROTOCOLS WHEN HANDLING ELECTRICITY AND WORKING INSIDE THE STOVE WHEN THE POWER IS ON.

If you do not have the tools, and or feel you are capable of performing the tasks outlined, it might be better to get a stove tech to gitterdone.

These are easy tasks, but I can only relate to this having handled high voltage up through 600 volts for many years.

Happy to answer questions

Pix are always good and help a lot

Good luck and be safe

We are willing to try to clean the convection blower but we can not figure out how to get back in there. We see an exhaust tube going up and are unsure of how to move stuff or unhook if needed to get to blower.

 

[DAKSY]

Is this a snap disc on the side of the stove?

The yellowish thingie with the purple wires is a snap disk...

 

[heat seeker]

That is may be the overtemp switch. Look for a similar looking on or near the exhaust blower housing. No harm in jumpering either one, for test purposes only. Don't run it like that unattended.

 

[lorobsmum]

That is may be the overtemp switch. Look for a similar looking on or near the exhaust blower housing. No harm in jumpering either one, for test purposes only. Don't run it like that unattended.

My problem is getting to it. There is a very small amount of room to get there. How can I get in there ? I don't want to damage the exhaust tube.

 

[heat seeker]

Can you get your hand in there to wiggle the connectors to get the wires off?

 

[DMKNLD]

Is this a snap disc on the side of the stove?

Hello and welcome to the forum. Yes, the two purple wires go to the snap disc that is possibly suspect on your Castile. X2 on everything Snowy and others have said above, particularly the electrical safety issues for you and your expen$ive control box. But with some basic electrical awareness it's certainly not beyond DIY troubleshooting skills. If you're not comfortable doing electrical stuff maybe you have a neighbor or someone you know who is that can help you with it.

You will need to pull your insert out from the fireplace to get at your convection blower to clean / inspect it. If the convection blower 'squirrel cage' impeller fans aren't encrusted with dust bunnies / cat hair / dirt / etc and they free-spin by hand without any grinding or bearing noises, then you could more likely have a #1 snap disc issue - the one in your pic with the 2 purple wires going to it. If you don't have a VOM (volt meter) like Snowy suggested above to test the voltage you can temporarily bypass the #1 snap disc to see if the blower motor turns on, which would then confirm that your #1 disc is bad.

Here's a link to a thread with a detailed description on how to bypass / jumper the #1 snap disc. Make sure the stove is UNPLUGGED before you disconnect any wires or do any electrical troubleshooting, or you could shock yourself or your $350+ control box, as there is always 110V power going to the #1 snap disc whenever the stove is plugged in. https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...e-blower-will-not-engage.149237/#post-2004162

Try the above suggestions, and post back on any findings, OK? Regards, DK

PS: Here's an on-line copy of your manual, if you don't already have one, for reference. http://downloads.hearthnhome.com/installManuals/7022_122.pdf

 

[Snowy Rivers]

With an insert, you may need to get it out of the fireplace to get at what needs to be accessed

 

[lorobsmum]

With an insert, you may need to get it out of the fireplace to get at what needs to be accessed

And that is part of the problem. It looks like I can do it, just waiting on some back up to help move it . Will post update later.

 

[kappel15]

I would unplug stove and try to jump wires together before you start tearing things apart. May be simpler then you think. kap