Englander 25 PDVC exhaust blower life

Not had that issue, I'm on my second season with the stove.

Lumberjack said:

This is my first season with the new pellet stove.

I have burned less than 2 tons so far this season. Cleaned the flue once after the first ton. Clean the inside daily.

Came home today and the exhaust blower is making a lot more noise than normal. It is like it is resonating intermittently. Changing settings doesn't seem to help. It sounds like the motor bearing to me. From what I can see and what I read in the manual there isn't a way to lubricate the bearings, the are "sealed for life".

So the question is: what is the service life for these blower motors? i figure I have less than 3000 hrs on the unit (assuming I have run it 24/7 for 120 days).

I plan on calling tomorrow as I believe there is a 1 year warranty on the exhaust blower.

Anyone else have this issue?

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You can use light oil to lubricate this blower.
2 drops on the end of the shaft and 2 drops on the shaft. Try it to see if it quiets down. See my pics

Click pics to Enlarge:

Lumberjack said:

This is my first season with the new pellet stove.

I have burned less than 2 tons so far this season. Cleaned the flue once after the first ton. Clean the inside daily.

Came home today and the exhaust blower is making a lot more noise than normal. It is like it is resonating intermittently. Changing settings doesn't seem to help. It sounds like the motor bearing to me. From what I can see and what I read in the manual there isn't a way to lubricate the bearings, the are "sealed for life".

So the question is: what is the service life for these blower motors? i figure I have less than 3000 hrs on the unit (assuming I have run it 24/7 for 120 days).

I plan on calling tomorrow as I believe there is a 1 year warranty on the exhaust blower.

Anyone else have this issue?

Click to expand...

Sure have, Been there down that Fasco motor route many a time... use your warranty as the bearings are sealed and junk.

Lumberjack said:

Pelletizer, that's the brand blower, Fasco.

Don, thanks for the feedback. Great pics btw. It is possible to "repack" this type of bearing but often you can do more harm than good. I did put a few drops of oil on the outer bearing last night to no avail. I didn't get the inner one yet.

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Welcome
You cannot repack the bearings like I did in the front wheels of my 68 Buick Grand Sport. Wish we could. LOL

Unfortunately you may need a new blower. :-(

They look like sleeve bearings, Don, right? Impregnated bronze would be my guess so entirely possible to lube. I'm sitting here thinking of the tube of door lock oil I have that is loaded with graphite. I bet that would work!
http://www.walmart.com/ip/19866156?...70991156&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=50564021196&veh=sem

tjnamtiw said:

They look like sleeve bearings, Don, right? Impregnated bronze would be my guess so entirely possible to lube. I'm sitting here thinking of the tube of door lock oil I have that is loaded with graphite. I bet that would work!
http://www.walmart.com/ip/19866156?...70991156&wl4=&wl5=pla&wl6=50564021196&veh=sem

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Yes, they are sleeved bearings but they do not easily come apart like car wheel bearings so it may be heard to get in there.
Certainly Worth a try before you junk the blower!

Don2222 said:

Yes, they are sleeved bearings but they do not easily come apart like car wheel bearings so it may be heard to get in there.
Certainly Worth a try before you junk the blower!

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The stuff I referenced is a penetrating oil too so it IS worth a try. When I got the new one, that's the first thing I would do also. If it's making noises, the shaft is probably flopping around in the torn-up, ovalized bearings so it's only a matter of time!

As for longevity, our 2008 model, still has the OEM motor. As a matter of fact, both blowers, are original.

Lots of vacuum hoses, an ignitor, and one set of gaskets, we have changed.

The control board has a problem, that the ignitor circuit, is gone - but the stove is in 24/7 service still.

Lumberjack said:

Well....got a new blower coming. They are warrantying the blower for me!

The big question is when this one fails in under a year from the date of install is it still warrantied?

I am going to see if I can't source/install BALL bearings in the old one. Not sure what the RPMs are but this seems like an application for ball bearings and not bushings.

Cool article about the issue: http://www.nmbtc.com/fans/white-papers/fans_ball_vs_sleeve.html

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*Don't think it's going to be warrantied again.

When you pull the blower (no mention that has been done), you might find it just needs a good cleaning (no mention of that, either).

If I'm not mistaken, the motors for combustion, and convection, are the same - you just have to swap the actual motors, to their respective housings. So, you might end up with a good spare.

After 2 tons....it might pay to leaf blower the stove, regardless, of the combustion motor problem.

Lumberjack said:

I cleaned the exterior flue once already this year. I was surprised by how much ash was in there. When I pull the blower I will clean the flue again.

Generally speaking, how often do you have to clean the combustion blower??? Once a season seems like it should be enough as you need new gaskets when you pull it.

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The amount of ash in the flue, has got to be equal to the ash in the blower, eh?

We've found, the more leaf blowering(per ton burnt), the less, pulling the combustion motor(once a year)

Lumberjack said:

is leaf blowing more effective than a brush?

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SUPREMELY !

As it also sucks out the nooks and crannies of the stove (including the combustion blower)

Beating the stove, with a hammer, while leaf blowering(seriously), also helps loosen, and remove clumps of ashes, that you can't see.

Lumberjack said:

Well....got a new blower coming. They are warrantying the blower for me!

The big question is when this one fails in under a year from the date of install is it still warrantied?

I am going to see if I can't source/install BALL bearings in the old one. Not sure what the RPMs are but this seems like an application for ball bearings and not bushings.

Cool article about the issue: http://www.nmbtc.com/fans/white-papers/fans_ball_vs_sleeve.html

Click to expand...

Ebm papst combustion blowers (rika,austroflam,palzzeti others)have ball bearings,perhaps you could cross over the specs and adapt,but be prepared for sticker shock.Also,the bearings are replaceable.

Lumberjack said:

Well....got a new blower coming. They are warrantying the blower for me!

The big question is when this one fails in under a year from the date of install is it still warrantied?

I am going to see if I can't source/install BALL bearings in the old one. Not sure what the RPMs are but this seems like an application for ball bearings and not bushings.

Cool article about the issue: http://www.nmbtc.com/fans/white-papers/fans_ball_vs_sleeve.html

Click to expand...

You'd have to have access to a metal lathe to open up the housing and maybe turn down the shaft to accept ball bearings but it's doable if you don't have to pay a shop.

tjnamtiw said:

You'd have to have access to a metal lathe to open up the housing and maybe turn down the shaft to accept ball bearings but it's doable if you don't have to pay a shop.

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Me thinks turning the shaft down would be a bad idea - as you'd need the original size, for the impeller.

The harder part, is you'd need to fabricate something to accept the O.D. of the ball bearing, which would be considerably larger - and have to be "pretty centered"

They are ball bearings in these blower motors from the factory. IIRC,3000rpm. I have an '06 pdvc that was already installed in the house that I bought 2 seasons ago. I cannot say for sure that they are original blowers, but do appear to be.
I have been taking both convection and combustion blowers out twice a year for cleaning and oiling. Although they are sealed bearings, I hold the unit so that the motor shaft is vertical and just add a few drops of PB multi purpose lube from an aerosol can with straw, and allow a few min to soak in past the seals.
Every few months, when the bearings start to howl a bit, I repeat.
I suspect it has bought me at least 2 seasons so far, since the exhaust blower was howling within the first month of me using it. That was a year ago last Nov.

You'd have to make a sleeve for the fan to bring the diameter down to the diameter of the shaft. Then you'd have to turn the end caps' bearing hole to the diameter of the ball bearing, usually 22mm. Grabbing the end cap and centering the hole is the challenge for the machinist but that's what he's good at.

The pictures posted earlier were of a sleeve bearing so somewhere along the way things got changed over. $$$$$ talks. To get oil past a true 'sealed' bearing you would need to either remove it, which is possible, or use a hypodermic needle. Now a 'shielded' bearing just has a tortuous path to the bearings and would work as you explained, Poopie.... love the name Either you have a baby or you buy Depends! I hope it's the first

I think poopie is right about this stoves motor,608 bearings.Just get good jap or german greased bearings,not oiled skate board bearings.

bob bare said:

I think poopie is right about this stoves motor,608 bearings.Just get good jap or german greased bearings,not oiled skate board bearings.

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I hope he is because that would be an easy solution!

Have you checked the motor housing for any "play"?

On my stove, the motor was loose and making a god-awful sound like the bearings were bad. The motor just crimps onto the housing that bolts to the blower, the crimps were loose and causing the impeller to contact the housing which was creating the noise that sounded like bearing failure. I removed the motor and put some more force on the crimps with a punch and small hammer. That was last year and I've had no issues with it yet.