Looking for help/input...P68 blower wheel blade broke off

EmilyA874 · Feb 9, 2014

I was cleaning our P68 this morning and when I went to use the brush (just a paintbrush I use for this purpose) to brush the fan blades and one broke off. The stove is our sole source of heat so my husband and I went back and forth on what to do. Our local dealer is closed today so we'll be calling tomorrow (it's still under warranty) but in the mean time is it okay to run the stove even though one blade is missing?

Thanks for your help.

misterpat · Feb 9, 2014

My biggest concern would it being out of balance. This is just my opinion and lets see what some other more knowledgeable ones say. Turn it on and watch it. If it doesn't vibrate, run it till you get a new blade asap.

Bioburner · Feb 9, 2014

I take it is the exhaust fan we are taking about? You may find it hard to keep a good fire going. Let it rip but watch it. It may not work well as the fire may be starved for air and really start to gunk up the works. Replace ASAP

Mt Bob · Feb 9, 2014

If you run it you will need a motor,not just blade as the imbalance will not be good,but if you need heat?

EmilyA874 · Feb 9, 2014

Yes, the exhaust fan. The blade is still there it's the part that is on the blade that came off (does that make sense? I can get a picture if needed.) We turned it on and it seems to be working fine however it is a bit louder than normal. My husband says it's not vibrating, just louder, but I would say it is a vibration sound.
We tried calling the two places closest to us and they are both closed. Why does this stuff always have to happen on a Sunday, ahhh.
He's calling asap in the morning.
I'm not sure if we should continue to let it run or try and get a bit of oil to run the oil heat...

Mt Bob · Feb 9, 2014

It will take the bearings out on the motor over time,so you will have to buy a complete one,if it still works when replaced,get a new wheel and you will have a backup.Or go to walmart and buy 6 electric heaters!(sorry)It may run quite a while,just keep an ear open and judge it.

P38X2 · Feb 9, 2014

Yeah, def not the best thing for the bearings. If you can burn oil til tomorrow, now would be a very good time to soak the set screw on the fan with penetrating oil. They've been know to be a PITA to remove.

If you can take it off now and you're feeling daring, you could always remove the section on the opposite side to regain balance, assuming there's an even # of blades. Keep in mind, it's not the most robust fan and you may do more damage than good. As Bio mentioned, you may run into combustion issues with the reduced fan output.

My vote is for option 1

Bioburner · Feb 9, 2014

Your original post stated that the stove was your "sole heating source". I know here with todays current high temp prediction of maybe zero, going to propain would cost about $30+ verses about seven with biofuel. Still don't think one day will kill your motor bearings. Heat and oil will hopefully get that fan off with out a big problem but I don't know how your warranty is for labor or when dealer can fix it and let him bust his knuckles.

P38X2 · Feb 9, 2014

Agree with Bioburner. Also, if you decide to "balance" it yourself, it's possible the dealer will have a tough time claiming the part through Harman, as they may want them to send back the old one.

I still say, if you're gonna shut her down, lube up that screw. Prob make it easier for the tech.

Bioburner · Feb 9, 2014

P38X2 said:
Agree with Bioburner. Also, if you decide to "balance" it yourself, it's possible the dealer will have a tough time claiming the part through Harman, as they may want them to send back the old one.

I still say, if you're gonna shut her down, lube up that screw. Prob make it easier for the tech.

Might get around that issue if you take some good pictures?! Still tell everyone about taking pictures of anything that may be questioned. Insurance had hard time wiggling out of property claims when presented pictures, much like drunks arguing with dash cams in court.

bbfarm · Feb 9, 2014

Can you find someone that could spot weld the blade back on until you can get a new one

EmilyA874 · Feb 10, 2014

Thought I'd update. We decided to try and get the oil heat running but it won't work of course (it's been well over a year since it has been run). We were going to try having it spot welded but that didn't go so well and the other part of the blade broke off. Soooo we just went with it, it's still putting out heat fine, just super loud. I called this morning and they'll be out to fix it tomorrow. He said it should be fine to keep running it as it is, hope he is right.
I really wish thay could fix it today though, makes me nervous running it like this but e don't have much choice.

P38X2 · Feb 10, 2014

Will they let YOU replace it if you bring them the broken one? If it's that loud, that isn't good.

EmilyA874 · Feb 10, 2014

P38X2 said:
Will they let YOU replace it if you bring them the broken one? If it's that loud, that isn't good.

I don't know. I'm not sure I know how to replace it, are there directions somewhere?
The place is an hour drive one way and I've got my two kids and a friends today too so going to get it would have to wait a bit, I could see when they are open until though.

P38X2 · Feb 10, 2014

EmilyA874 said:
I don't know. I'm not sure I know how to replace it, are there directions somewhere?
The place is an hour drive one way and I've got my two kids and a friends today too so going to get it would have to wait a bit, I could see when they are open until though.

It can be easy, or a pain in the butt if it's seized on there. Sounds like you have your hands full today and a 2 hour round trip doesn't sound like much fun. As long as you're sure they're coming tomorrow, it may be best to wait.

Can you run your stove for short bursts and live with a bit lower temp for the next day?

EmilyA874 · Feb 10, 2014

P38X2 said:
It can be easy, or a pain in the butt if it's seized on there. Sounds like you have your hands full today and a 2 hour round trip doesn't sound like much fun. As long as you're sure they're coming tomorrow, it may be best to wait.

Can you run your stove for short bursts and live with a bit lower temp for the next day?

I kept it off the bulk of the day, turned it on about 4:45 and it's just gotten louder and louder... we turned it off again about an hour ago. I don't know where the service guy is getting that "it'll be fine, just loud" because it sure does not seem fine at all!

Not sure what to do, it's supposed to be -6 here tonight.

P38X2 · Feb 10, 2014

So more of the blade broke off after you tried welding it? I don't know what to tell you

Seems your only choice is to run it. Maybe suggest to your dealer to bring a comb motor with him as well. Explain that it's gotten much louder and your buddies at the hearth forum have made you aware of the bearing damage that can come of this.

When all is repaired, I recommend you get your oil system back up and ready to go. Might be an easy fix. Having a backup heat source is priceless.

Mt Bob · Feb 10, 2014

Some stoves have close clearances where the impeller is,and when out of balance can hit at the speeds that motor runs.No different than a car heater blower except they are plastic and not as loud.Stay warm.

EmilyA874 · Feb 11, 2014

P38X2 said:
So more of the blade broke off after you tried welding it? I don't know what to tell you Seems your only choice is to run it. Maybe suggest to your dealer to bring a comb motor with him as well. Explain that it's gotten much louder and your buddies at the hearth forum have made you aware of the bearing damage that can come of this.

When all is repaired, I recommend you get your oil system back up and ready to go. Might be an easy fix. Having a backup heat source is priceless.

We took our chances and didn't run it over night, even though we got to -9 last night it stayed above 40 inside thankfully.

They came and fixed it this morning. The fan being off balance damaged the motor like you all said it would, I figured that was what was gong on last night. They replaced the fan and motor and we are warm again. They said they'll see us again in 10 years. Here's hoping!

Thank you all for your thoughts and help. I much appreciate it!

And yes, we'll be getting our oil heat back up and ready to go. We are also looking into replacing it entirely at some point with a more economical back up because oil is bloody expensive!

P38X2 · Feb 11, 2014

Nice! Glad to hear you got good service and are back up and running.

kinsmanstoves · Feb 11, 2014

EmilyA874 said:
I was cleaning our P68 this morning and when I went to use the brush (just a paintbrush I use for this purpose) to brush the fan blades and one broke off. The stove is our sole source of heat so my husband and I went back and forth on what to do. Our local dealer is closed today so we'll be calling tomorrow (it's still under warranty) but in the mean time is it okay to run the stove even though one blade is missing?

Thanks for your help.

Get a new blade, 3-20-502221

Eric

wsar10 · Feb 11, 2014

EmilyA874 said:
We took our chances and didn't run it over night, even though we got to -9 last night it stayed above 40 inside thankfully.

They came and fixed it this morning. The fan being off balance damaged the motor like you all said it would, I figured that was what was gong on last night. They replaced the fan and motor and we are warm again. They said they'll see us again in 10 years. Here's hoping!

Thank you all for your thoughts and help. I much appreciate it!

And yes, we'll be getting our oil heat back up and ready to go. We are also looking into replacing it entirely at some point with a more economical back up because oil is bloody expensive!

If your oil (furnace I assume) wont run after setting a year, it probably just needs a filter and nozzle to run, than a good cleaning.

Looking for help/input...P68 blower wheel blade broke off

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