After 15 years of wood, I switched up to pellet this year. I have a Quad Mt Vernon insert and so far have only used Okanangan pellets. I got a good price on them with the purchase of the stove.

I have a couple questions I was hoping some more experienced users could provide input/answers on:

1. I have been getting low burn pot errors sporadically after filling the hopper, generally when it ran pretty low before hand. Is there problem caused by "sweeping" the pellets back into the hopper? I try to get as much in as possible to extend the burn time. Could I be cramming them in too much?

2. Anyone have a trick for dumping the pellets in cleanly without getting a lot of fines everywhere?

3. Any tricks for keeping the glass clean? The air wash seems to work decently for a few days, but by weekly cleaning time, the glass is pretty dirty from the edges in.

4. Is Auto generally the best mode to run the stove in term so efficiency? We have had a pretty mild winter here in Maine, but recently some cold nights. It seem the room temp is falling back more than it did when the temps were warm. In other words, the stove allows the temp to drop farther form the hold temp before starting up.

Thanks for your time.

Welcome to the forum Casco!!!

You'll need to be connected to the NASA help desk for the Quad AE since it more resembles a space shuttle system than a stove!!! The head flight engineer will be along shortly to help you out!!

Stay Warm,

AR

Could you have the hopper open too long while filling it, this will let the thermocouple drop in temp too far and kick out that error. No tricks on filling other than filter out the fines before filling. Glass just gets dirty, doesn't matter what stove you have, some will go longer then others. Depends on the temp outside how you run it. I just find the best setting on manual and try and keep the temp steady.

This is what I use to screen out the dust. 1/4" hardware cloth with window screening on top.

Hi Casco and welcome to the forum. I would suggest loading when stove is off, to see if it makes a difference. As balls of fire said, if you are taking too long to load, the fire could be getting too low, but that would still take a bit, as the pot stays pretty hot for a while. And cleaning the pellets is the best way to do things. And i also have a vac hose right there when dumping pellets into the hopper as well, to keep dust out of the house. As far as the glass, if you are a clean freak like me, i clean the glass almost daily, and balls of fire is correct again as far as all stove glass gets dirty, just a question of time. Running on auto is usually fine for spring and fall when temps are not that bad, as the closer you get to temp, the slower the stove runs, but when it is cold out, i would run on manual, and would also set the temp differential at 1 for a quicker response time. Stay warm. kap

What they said!!!!

AR

Don't forget, a clean stove is a Happy Stove!!!

Hi Kap. Thanks for the welcome! When you say it makes a difference, can you be more specific? I usually just open it up while running and scoop some in when the bag is full, push some back and then dump the bag. I don't have the lid open more than a minute or two. The times the stove kicks out the low burn pot error is not right after loading, but sometime later. If I unplug and plug back in, it resets and all is fine.

When you clean the glass, are you waiting for the stove to completely cool? I have been using a silicone based cleaner (Rutland) and thought that would help prevent build up.

I switched the temp differential last night from 2 to 1 and it did make a difference. Also, if in manual, what are you suggesting for the heat output setting?

Yes, my stove dealer was BIG on the clean, clean, clean. I have been cleaning once per week, running 24/7. I have pulled the baffle twice since having the stove (1.5 month). Not much to tend to there yet. Should it be cleaned more often? I have been using a shop van, but am eyeing the ash vacs for the simple fact of not having to let the stove cool. The consensus around the people I know here says the Loveless Ash Cougar. Any other suggestions would be appreciated!

Thanks TJ! That is a "cool" pellet filter rig! Other than the screen and hardware cloth, I already have all I need. Definitely my next project.

Try filling the stove when it is not running, to see if you still get the error code. Have you set your flame height yet per owners manual? If you have been running on auto,and the stove is not feeding enough, this may cause the low temp error code too, when it is running slow enough. See if it happens when in manual mode. If things persist, and you are still under warranty, i would contact dealer to look at it. I clean my pellets thru a homemade pvc cleaner with a shop vac attached. It dumps into a bucket, which i use to empty into hopper. I also have a vac hose right there to suck up any dust that is left,when emptying into the hopper, to keep things clean. Yes, you want the glass fairly cool, or you run the risk of cracking it. I just use windex. And when you clean the glass, be sure not to get anything on the door gasket as this will shorten its life span. When in manual mode, it depends on your house size, situation etc. If it keeps the house warm on med. high, run on that. If med. works, run on that. Temp diff. set on 1 usually works as by the time the stove gets going, it has dropped two anyway. kap