st croix alton bay

[Missy]

oh where to start on this mess! I've had the stove for well, just about five years now. Bought it from a dealer who knows nothing about customer service. Had issues with versa grate motor from the get go - noisey - was replaced three times - still noise. Dealer refused to replace it again - said this was "normal". Had issues with stove going out - dealer said I had to add two 90º elbows to my vent piping so it would exhaust down to the ground and straight out (he said the wind was going through the two 90º elbows and putting my flame out). Issueing with brick cracking and cracking. He replaced it once, free, then wanted to charge me $100 for replacement - this was after three months. I was told I could run my stove without in place. Issues with room vent motor - after one year. He wanted to charge me $90 just to come look at it. I said, no - stove was still under warranty. Offered to bring motor to him - he said if he doesn't find a problem with it, he won't replace it. Said it would be best if he heard it in the stove - sorry but not at $90 an hour. Rusting - the stove is located in my basement. Get's cleaned on regular bases. I ran a dehumitifer all summer. But all inside the stove is rusting - the grates, the burn pot - the sides. A very depressing experience with a stove which I thought was very good. Then again - the place where I got, did NOT support me, their customer, at all! I would never buy from him again. But now, I need parts to my stove, and I can't seem to find anywhere to get them.
I'm all up for suggestions or comments.

 

[tsmith]

I can only offer suggestions to your rust problem. After I clean my Quad at the end of the season, I spray the entire inside with Pam cooking spray to prevent rust, I also take off my vent cap and put a rubber fernco cap over the pipe to keep moisture out. works very well no rust. As far as parts, I would try to locate another St. Croix dealer. St. Croix is a good stove and you should not be having these problems, sounds more like a bad dealer problem than stove, I too had the same thing with my Quad in the beginning. My dealer was useless I found another one willing to help even though I hadn't bought it from him but he now gets all my business. Good Luck.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Sorry to hear about the problems you are having.

As several of the folks here mention time after time you need to have a reliable dealer or be able to handle the stove yourself.

Now on the rust situation, running a dehumidifier will do no good if the stoves venting is open to outside air. The moisture will come in that way in the summer. The stove should be shut down, cleaned, the vent and air intake plugged, a coat of protection such as WD40, PAM, or other light oil be applied to the interior surfaces wiped down, then a very fine coat reapplied, a silica based desiccant placed in the firepot and the stove door closed and latched.

Your room vent blower motor situation sounds like it might be due to not having been lubricated, or the bearing failed, or the lubricant being evaporated off due to excessive heat.

If it is the case of the blower not having been lubricated (usually required every 6 months of operation) then you might be able to rescue it using some SAE20 aka 20W oil, it is the blue and white 3 in 1 oil, basically 20 weight non detergent oil is what you need, place one drop in each oil port spin the blower wheel by hand in both directions until it spins freely, then add 2 drops of the oil to each port. If the oil ports are mounted so they are facing downward you should reposition them so they are facing upwards. Sometimes the ports have a plug in them that has to be removed, if your's has such a plug be certain to reinsert them once the blower motor has been oiled. If the problem results from excessive heat evaporating the oil sometimes the stove manufacturer is likely to have an adapter that repositions the blower further away from the heat.

I removed my fake brick and log set shortly after getting the stove, the log set just collected ash which dropped into the firepot, the brick was in the way of properly cleaning the unit during burn season.

Air flow issues are a royal pain, your vent should have a wind shield on the end if it is a straight out vent, if it doesn't you can have issues caused by back pressure (there are two possible issues, one is that airflow drops below the cutoff point for the vacuum switch thus shutting the stove down, or preventing enough of the exhaust gases from leaving the stove in a timely manner resulting in the combustion fan motor thermaling off tripping the vacuum switch and shutting the stove down). Incidentally this is why pellet stove venting should never be installed into the prevailing wind for the install location.

I don't know anything about the versa-grate thingy but if it is something to shake ashes out of the burnpot likely it gets jammed by ash and various deposits of chlorides and carbonates.

 

[woodsman23]

I have a afton bay and besides breaking the ignitor while cleaning it the stove has been great. The firebrick will overtime fall apart as it does in most brands of pellet stoves but they have a steel replacement now that may last forever. the versa grate must be lubed along with the cam and in front of the stove where it seats. Oli the room air vlower by removeing screws from the back plate under the vent pipe and clean inside there and oil it well. The rust will appear on all pellet/wood stoves you just need to clean it off and move on. When not using the stove coat meatl with pam,wd,olive oil what ever. If you need parts then look at st. croix web site for dealers near you. Or if you need help with something we are here and maybe i can assist you further. The stove is ag great stove but must be maintained to fuction well. Let us know what your next move is and maybe some pics of the rust??

 

[ARGlock]

I have a afton bay and besides breaking the ignitor while cleaning it the stove has been great. The firebrick will overtime fall apart as it does in most brands of pellet stoves but they have a steel replacement now that may last forever. the versa grate must be lubed along with the cam and in front of the stove where it seats. Oli the room air vlower by removeing screws from the back plate under the vent pipe and clean inside there and oil it well. The rust will appear on all pellet/wood stoves you just need to clean it off and move on. When not using the stove coat meatl with pam,wd,olive oil what ever. If you need parts then look at st. croix web site for dealers near you. Or if you need help with something we are here and maybe i can assist you further. The stove is ag great stove but must be maintained to fuction well. Let us know what your next move is and maybe some pics of the rust??

I agree with Woodsman 100% We are St. Croix dealers and would love to help you out but you should be able to find a dealer in your area. There are fixes for your issues and your stove is a very reliable model when maintained.

Please review the St. Croix website for another dealer near you.

Keep us informed as to your issues.

AR