I’ve recently purchased a used Whitfield Quest WP4 stove. Problem i’m having is with the auger. Its only dropping pellets after 3-5 auger cycles. I pulled out the auger several times and im not noticing any excessive sawdust. I’ve looked at pictures of other augers for this stove online and on posts on this site and they do not have as many pins or paddles as this one. Curious if its the correct auger. Any input is appriciated.
Whitfield Quest WP4
- Thread starter Nosajay
- Start date
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Stovensen
Minister of Fire
Hello Nosajay,
Welcome to the forum, and congratulations with your Quest pellet stove. I hope you'll be as happy for it, as I have been - and still am - for mine since I bought it used in 2008.
3-5 auger cycles between each dropping of pellets does not differ much from that of my stove. Pellet quality is a major player here. As you stated, you don't have excessive sawdust, but a batch of very long pellets may slow down the feed so much that the fire in my stove may go out on the lowest setting. A very rare occasion, luckily.
Your auger is different from that in my stove. It only has two stirrer pins! The paddles have me scratching my head, as they are actually not in contact with the pellets. Could it be a safety precaution to limit the amount of hot air from the fire box to get in contact with the unburnt pellets in the auger flight? And this precaution may later have proved redundant, since the factory has omitted the paddles in the newer models? I don't know for sure.
If we take a look at this drawing of the Quest auger system, we clearly see the positions of the stirrer pins and the paddles. Well, we don't actually see the paddles, but they must be in line with the drop chute:
Welcome to the forum, and congratulations with your Quest pellet stove. I hope you'll be as happy for it, as I have been - and still am - for mine since I bought it used in 2008.
3-5 auger cycles between each dropping of pellets does not differ much from that of my stove. Pellet quality is a major player here. As you stated, you don't have excessive sawdust, but a batch of very long pellets may slow down the feed so much that the fire in my stove may go out on the lowest setting. A very rare occasion, luckily.
Your auger is different from that in my stove. It only has two stirrer pins! The paddles have me scratching my head, as they are actually not in contact with the pellets. Could it be a safety precaution to limit the amount of hot air from the fire box to get in contact with the unburnt pellets in the auger flight? And this precaution may later have proved redundant, since the factory has omitted the paddles in the newer models? I don't know for sure.
If we take a look at this drawing of the Quest auger system, we clearly see the positions of the stirrer pins and the paddles. Well, we don't actually see the paddles, but they must be in line with the drop chute:
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Hey, Nosajay/Stovenson,
I have a Quest stove also. I'm currently having a little difficulty re-installing my auger motor. I had removed it a few weeks ago to clean out an auger plug and now I can't remember exactly what position things were in when I removed it. So I'd like to ask you what position you have your auger back-plate in for the motor mount. Is your "motor stop" spike in the down position to the right (while facing the back of the stove), with the motor mounted vertically (heavy end down)? I called the company that took over Whitfield some years back and they told me the only version of Quest that was made was the Quest Plus, but I don't think they're correct. I think there was an earlier version simply called Quest. And i think that's the one I have. The auger parts I have look like yours but the available lateral space for accommodating the motor in mine is very cramped compared to a couple of "Quest" videos I've seen, with the convection motor in mine situated right next to where the motor will be, cramping that space, whereas that convection motor appears to be below the auger motor in those videos, allowing for easier auger-motor mounting, I would think. But anyway, I'd just like to know from you how you have your auger plate oriented, (spike in lower-right corner?) and whether your auger motor is installed vertically, with the heavy end down. My post on this whole issue is "
HOW DO YOU PROPERLY INSTALL AN AUGER MOTOR ON A WHITFIELD QUEST PELLET STOVE?!"
Thanks
I have a Quest stove also. I'm currently having a little difficulty re-installing my auger motor. I had removed it a few weeks ago to clean out an auger plug and now I can't remember exactly what position things were in when I removed it. So I'd like to ask you what position you have your auger back-plate in for the motor mount. Is your "motor stop" spike in the down position to the right (while facing the back of the stove), with the motor mounted vertically (heavy end down)? I called the company that took over Whitfield some years back and they told me the only version of Quest that was made was the Quest Plus, but I don't think they're correct. I think there was an earlier version simply called Quest. And i think that's the one I have. The auger parts I have look like yours but the available lateral space for accommodating the motor in mine is very cramped compared to a couple of "Quest" videos I've seen, with the convection motor in mine situated right next to where the motor will be, cramping that space, whereas that convection motor appears to be below the auger motor in those videos, allowing for easier auger-motor mounting, I would think. But anyway, I'd just like to know from you how you have your auger plate oriented, (spike in lower-right corner?) and whether your auger motor is installed vertically, with the heavy end down. My post on this whole issue is "
HOW DO YOU PROPERLY INSTALL AN AUGER MOTOR ON A WHITFIELD QUEST PELLET STOVE?!"
Thanks
johneh
Minister of Fire
Thanks, Johneh, I appreciate this, but the stove in this video is not exactly the same stove I have. My convection motor (?) is right next to where the auger motor goes (a very tight, cramped space) which makes it impossible to install the auger motor in a horizontal position like what you see in this video. It looks to me like the convection motor in this video is located below the auger motor, giving him much more lateral space. The only way my auger motor can fit into my narrow space is vertically. And when I tried to do a vertical install by using this video as a rough guide, the motor just kept rotating and flopping, even bumping into the exhaust pipe. I'm guessing the stove in the video is a Quest Plus, whereas I think mine is the original Quest.
So anyway, what I'm trying to figure out now is what position I can put the backplate in so that the stop-motor spike will stop it from moving. The video you've linked shows the spike in the lower-right corner, but that doesn't work when the motor has to be installed vertically. And because I'm working with an extremely tight space of only 6 1/2" behind the stove, which is killing my back, I want to find the most promising position to screw the plate into first before making another attempt at inserting the auger screw and motor.
Thx
So anyway, what I'm trying to figure out now is what position I can put the backplate in so that the stop-motor spike will stop it from moving. The video you've linked shows the spike in the lower-right corner, but that doesn't work when the motor has to be installed vertically. And because I'm working with an extremely tight space of only 6 1/2" behind the stove, which is killing my back, I want to find the most promising position to screw the plate into first before making another attempt at inserting the auger screw and motor.
Thx
johneh
Minister of Fire
See the last post here
- Thread watched
The last post is my post.
The poster in the next-to-last post gets me closer to the answer by telling me he has mounted the motor vertically, but he doesn't say how he has the auger plate spike oriented for that vertical mount. I need to know which corner of the plate he has positioned the stop-spike in so that it won't be floating all over the place.
The poster in the next-to-last post gets me closer to the answer by telling me he has mounted the motor vertically, but he doesn't say how he has the auger plate spike oriented for that vertical mount. I need to know which corner of the plate he has positioned the stop-spike in so that it won't be floating all over the place.
johneh
Minister of Fire
Wherever you would like it! It is a stop for the free-floating motor
Put a small rubber hose on the spike to stop any noise and reduce
damage done the motor from hitting the stop. Suggest the Right lower corner
Put a small rubber hose on the spike to stop any noise and reduce
damage done the motor from hitting the stop. Suggest the Right lower corner
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