Auger not turning till warmed up

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Gusser

New Member
Hearth Supporter
Mar 27, 2008
8
Canada
The last two times i went to cottage the auger would not turn for approx 30 to 45 mins. The temp in the cottage was approx. 0 degrees. I have to hand feed the pot and apply heat to the rear of stove with a radiant heater. Blower comes on ok but auger needs to warm up for 30 t0 45 mins. Any help would be appreciated.
 
Sorry, forgot to mention it is a Whitefield advantage and once auger starts it works fine. Stove is 11 years old
 
Have you removed the auger motor & auger and cleaned them and the auger flight recently? Could also be just a tired motor...how old is it?
 
CZARCAR said:
Gusser said:
The last two times i went to cottage the auger would not turn for approx 30 to 45 mins. The temp in the cottage was approx. 0 degrees. I have to hand feed the pot and apply heat to the rear of stove with a radiant heater. Blower comes on ok but auger needs to warm up for 30 t0 45 mins. Any help would be appreciated.
guess=condensation inside stove from outdoor air is freezing in auger. a hairdryer blowing into bottom of auger would result in dripping water if so. bin would have to be empty. might be good idea to leave bin empty upon leaving.

That's a good thought too....maybe one of those dessicant bags left in the empty hopper would help that too.
 
I have the same problem with my Whitfeild Advantage Plus. When the stove is cold and I press the auger button nothing happens, the light cycles on and off as if it were doing it's thing but nothing, after a couple minutes you can hear the auger trying to start and within 5 mintutes it's up to speed and doing what it should. I've taken my auger and motor out and everything is free and able to spin. I worried about burning the motor up leaving it on, but so far it takes off but only after a few minutes.
 
Thanks Guys. I will try to block outside air from rooftop chimney At the clean out tee at back of stove. I will also leave box of baking soda inside stove. Do the motors really get tired and lose effiency?
 
kipfmillerm said:
I have the same problem with my Whitfeild Advantage Plus. When the stove is cold and I press the auger button nothing happens, the light cycles on and off as if it were doing it's thing but nothing, after a couple minutes you can hear the auger trying to start and within 5 mintutes it's up to speed and doing what it should. I've taken my auger and motor out and everything is free and able to spin. I worried about burning the motor up leaving it on, but so far it takes off but only after a few minutes.

Should the auger button be pushed off when it does not turn ? I usually turn it off but maybe if i left it on the auger would start turning sooner.
 
You didn't say how old the auger motor is...it's possible it's tired, or when it gets really cold, the grease inside the gearbox gets really thick and the motor has a tough time turning it, or both things.

As for hitting the "off" button, I would, but that's just me.

Maybe next time try heating the auger gearbox w/ a hairdryer or heat gun to soften the grease inside a little....maybe that will help.

If not, maybe after 11 years it may just be time for a new auger motor assembly.
 
Gusser said:
kipfmillerm said:
I have the same problem with my Whitfeild Advantage Plus. When the stove is cold and I press the auger button nothing happens, the light cycles on and off as if it were doing it's thing but nothing, after a couple minutes you can hear the auger trying to start and within 5 mintutes it's up to speed and doing what it should. I've taken my auger and motor out and everything is free and able to spin. I worried about burning the motor up leaving it on, but so far it takes off but only after a few minutes.

Should the auger button be pushed off when it does not turn ? I usually turn it off but maybe if i left it on the auger would start turning sooner.

At first I was a little worried about leaving it on, but figured if it was going to die I would help it along. I have not had any problems leaving the button on, it takes about a minute or 2 before reaching full speed once the button is pushed.
 
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