Quadrafire Contour not starting up at 14 Degrees F #%#!%

Hello
Had to do some work in the shed today but 14 Deg F is a little uncomfortable. 4 Deg F outside the shed. So I pulled out the IPhone and turned on the Quad Contour and set it for a nicr comfy 70 Deg F. Went out to the shed and No Fire and no heat! The stove is clean and it has the updated clear control box so no CSS - cold start syndrome. Finally after hitting the reset button 3 times, it started fine but took many hours to warm the shed. The shed is only 100 sqft and very well insulated with R19 in the walls and ceiling.
Granted most homes do not go down to 14 degs but cottages do so I was wondering if anyone has seen this problem?
Pic 1 - iPhone shows starting temp in shed
Pic 2 - shows call for heat light on the upgraded clear control box
Pic 3 - shows fire finally after hitting reset 3 times
Pic 4 - shows shed starting to get warm.
Pic 5 - shows shed getting warmer..
Pic 6 - finally comfortable!

 

Do you have an OAK? That probably wouldn't affect the starting, but sucking in 14º air would slow the heating process some.

 

Hi
It was 4 Deg F outside the shed but No OAK. Still 14 Deg inside the shed probably kept the pellets cool enough from lighting for 2 - 15 min timeout periods right?

 

I know for a fact my old stove would need to be ran thru the startup procedure a quite a few times at that temperature. Sometimes had to restart it twice even being 60 degrees in the house.

 

It was 28 degrees this morning so it started fine. The new clear control box does a better job.

 

You can still get the dreaded CSS, with the clear box. More with burning a mix, then with just pellets. Seems to start better with some ash in pot from a previous firee. If you listen to the stove, the exhaust fan will change pitch in 4 minutes and 15 seconds. This is the allotted time to show proof of fire(actually you have a tad longer) and to get the firepot thermocouple to read 200 degrees(green light comes on). I think you are right that the cold had a bit to do with it. But just to be on the safe side, you could use a mirror and flashlight stuck in the pot to check the igniter slit to make sure it is clear of any clinker pc's. blocking it. And sometimes, some ash can build up in the igniter housing, and partially block it also. kap

 

Good tip on the igniter slit, I have seen a stove take too long to start because that slit was clogged up!

 

Nothing works good at that temp.

Electrical stuff just gets real cranky and may not want to cooperate.

I have seen brand new cars that ran splendid in 35 F and then sit overnight at -30 F and stuff just does not want to work.

A lot of the issue may be the Quality of the components in the controller and or the sensor input is waaaaay tooooo far out of the "Normal range" and the thing does not know what to do.

Did the unit try to start ??? fans spool up, pellets drop ???

 

The unit tried to start but the pellets did not catch fire before the time out period.

 

Ya, you could give it a helping hand, and if an igniter went out, you can start it that way also. kap

 

I put a 40 Watt light bulb in my pellet stove when it gets cold out. Haven't had a problem with cold starts this year and it has started when it is 5 below F.
I also feel that the heat keeps the moisture out in the stove that isn't heated all the time. In a Quad Santa Fe.

 

Yes that would work but the shed would be cold when I went out there. :-(
LOL

A remote reset button would work and then with the Lowe's Iris camera, I could see if the fire started on my IPhone.