help please my auger keeps getting stuck

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.

michael taillon

New Member
Oct 16, 2009
25
nashua nh
I have tried to call local pellet stove stores for help and they wont help me., the auger on my 1991 whitfield renissance keeps getting stuck. even with no pelletts in the hopper. i have replaced the motor and pulld out the auger. it is clean exceot for some balckening around the top. dont know what else to do . the motor is working. and the auger will turn but get stuck before it does a complete rotation and not always in the same spots. any ideas
 
Moved to the pellet forum.

Maybe it's binding? Have you checked the auger to make sure it is still true and straight? I don't know the stove. Is there a gearbox on the auger? That might also be a location to check.
 
How is the bushing at the lower end of the auger where it goes through the plate and attaches to the motor? Have you tried to just run the motor from dirrect power and see if it keeps turning with out getting stuck? I have a Whitfield profile that the Motor was running for a short time then stoping pulled it all apart cleaned up the bushings and found the motor was missing the fibre washer on the armiture between it and the bushing. This was allowing it to drop down and it was dragging when it got hot.
 
i checked the motor it is good. at the bottom of the auger is a screw that goes through it and onto the motor arm but there is play, meaning i can move the auger up and down quite a bit.
 
On my stove when i had the auger out i used a grease on the lower plastic bushing. there should be a shoulder on the bushing in the plate that holds the auger up in the hopper. On mine i believe it could move up and down about 1/8" when the hopper was empty and i was working on it. On the back of the gear box is the small motor with the windings. On the back were the bushing cap is i had to put a plastic/fibre washer as i could move the armeture up and down in the windings about 1/16". This seemed to take care of my problem. WHen it stops running is the control card stil sending it power pulses?
 
So the motor is new and it is still getting power from the controll card? How are the bushings in the stove are they loose on the auger shaft? Just to test put some high temp grease on the upper bushing and on the plastic bushing and see if that keeps it spinning. On mine it needs a new lower bushing, but i am trying to keep it going for a bit longer as funds are tight right now.
 
Try putting a nylon washer on the auger before bushing, this will help with the drag.A hardware store will have it. This is on the bottom.
 
Fatmikey197 said:
ok i am gonna remove the auger and grease it a little top and bottom and see what happens

Before you grease her up, clean the mounting hole to shiny bright. You may be binding on that "black stuff" you mentioned. Some stoves will get fines caught up there and cook them to glazed black. If the shaft falls even minimally out of line it will bind. Bought a stove three years ago that was good except for this one problem. Ten minutes and it was running tops.
 
check to see that the auger is "true" as in straight , try slipping it into the tube and rotating it by hand move it around and see if it binds in your hand inside the tube , spray it down with aerosol graphite (best lube ive ever found for augers) and see where you get fromm there , im also with the previous poster about cleaning the "black stuff" out , use bleach and a nylon scrubbing pad to remove, then dry thoroughly then add the graphite, see if that helps.
 
i cleaned it and i lubed it and i put in a washer gommet at the bottom. i got it spining it was a little tough but it was not binding anymore then the motor died
 
The new motor you just bought quite already? Hope you can get it up and going soon!
 
I may have missed it, did you roll it on a flat surface to see if it is bent at all? Kinda like how you do with a pool stick?
 
yes i tried rolling it and it is good.
the guy who sold me the motor sent me this.
Mike,



I'm not sure of what's going on either. We sell thousands of these motors and very rarely have even a single bad one, let alone two in a row. Have you checked your auger bearing/bushing to see if it is okay? Just above where the motor connects onto the auger shaft, there is a the auger retention plate with 4 bolts in it. Directly in the center is an auger bearing where the shaft passes through. That bearing must be reasonably tight (no sloppy circumferential play) and must remain solidly mounted in the plate. If it is loose and/or turning, it will act like a disc brake and can take out the auger motor. Check it and make sure that it tight as it should be.



We use two different motor manufacturers (both USA) for our Maxi-Torq motors. They are built to our specifications. Both are almost identical in performance. Both utilize ball bearings on the outer motor shaft. I am going to send to you today a motor by our other manufacturer. After you check out the auger bearing and make sure that it is as described above, give this a try.



Sorry for the inconvenience, but we'll help you get to the bottom of the problem.


so i need to tr replace that bushing cause it does wigggle.
 
Hey, did you get your stove up and running yet?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.