Anyone coat their Auger? - check this out.

[Don2222]

Hello

I was working on the Archgard auger see before picture. Not all auger's are the same. Some are nice and shinny and made of stainless steel. However many others are not. Same are metal and some are cast iron. So in the later cases like this Archgard auger, I cleaned it up the best I could using a wire brush and some cleaner. It still looked dingy so I took out the Dry Moly Spray. Wow, it gave it a nice even coat with the High Temp dry moly spray. I put it back and wow it works great!

Any comments? Has anyone tried this? Less Auger Jams!

See pics below. Click to Enlarge.

 

[DexterDay]

Did the stove have Lots of Auger jams before?

If so.. How long have you ran the stove since the coating?

IMO- I dont think coating the auger will stop a Jam. Just my thoughts.

 

[Harvey Schneider]

IMO- I dont think coating the auger will stop a Jam. Just my thoughts.

Reducing friction makes more of the motor's torque available to overcome jams. I don't know if it is a big effect, but it has to help. Coating the tube that the auger runs in should also help to make the pellets slide along easier. That should also free up motor torque. Aside from jams reducing the work the auger motors are doing should reduce the wear on their drive train and possibly extend the lifeof the motor. The question it raises for me is "How long will the coating last?"

 

[Millsk]

Looks great man. You just added life to your stove! Only thing better would be a spray on ceramic. $$$$$$

 

[DexterDay]

Reducing friction makes more of the motor's torque available to overcome jams. I don't know if it is a big effect, but it has to help. Coating the tube that the auger runs in should also help to make the pellets slide along easier. That should also free up motor torque. Aside from jams reducing the work the auger motors are doing should reduce the wear on their drive train and possibly extend the lifeof the motor. The question it raises for me is "How long will the coating last?"

I understand the friction reduction. But it seems he has just done the Modification recently.

So MUCH testing is needed. Also, knowing that the stove was Prone to Auger jams helps too (Previous amounts of testing).

The assumption that a spray is a cure all, is.... Well. A giant assumption without said testing.

Seeing how there are Many different brands of pellets out there. Each pellet will have a different coefficient friction. So testing on before and after will need to be done with the same pellet (small pellets/large pellets/different diameter pellets/amount of fines/etc)

It may work well. It may not. The only thing I.disagree with is this (without large amounts of testing on several different brands of pellets with a stove thats prone to auger jams).

This is a statement from above.

...No more Auger Jams!.

Again. Not hating on you Don. But we see very few auger jams here. If we do, there is normally a cause for them. Lots of R&D have went into these stoves. Along with lots of user operated hours. If a unit was found to have lots of auger problems. This would be the 1st place to notice.

 

[Stovensen]

Don,

First of all I hope you will forgive my ignorance on this matter, but the fact that I'm a foreigner from the other side of the pond, may lead to questions that native Americans consider stupid
So Don, here is one of those questions...
What is 'Dry Moly Spray'?
Is it paint that dries up, leaving a hard layer ? Or is it some kind of lube that stays greasy?

Thanks in advance for your answer
Bo

 

[Hellfire]

Maybe the material used for this would be top notch?


https://www.orgreenic.com/?ref=TLB-bing-OG-TM

 

[Harvey Schneider]

So MUCH testing is needed

As a former "rocket scientist" I feel comfortable saying this isn't rocket science. The cost is low, and If you feel that there is some benefit to using this spray, do it. There is no down side to it other than the cost. With experience we can each decide if it was worth the $20 for the can of spray. It would be really hard to set measurable criteria for improved performance anyway. So I will take exception with the attitude that we can't do it if there isn't enough testing to prove that it works.

 

[Don2222]

Did the stove have Lots of Auger jams before?

If so.. How long have you ran the stove since the coating?

IMO- I dont think coating the auger will stop a Jam. Just my thoughts.

Hi Dexter

Well, one of my friends that has a Magnum BabyCountrside that I helped replace the auger bushing just told me the other day that he was having auger jams ever since he got it. After I fixed it, it worked much better! In this case I pulled the auger and cleaned it and wire brushed it to get it nice and smooth! So I really believe now that cleaning, wire brushing and coating it, will definitely prevent auger jams on some stoves. Not sure on your stove but I do recommend this process to keep the pellets flowing or in the words of one of my friends "Pelleteering" LOL

 

[Don2222]

Don,

First of all I hope you will forgive my ignorance on this matter, but the fact that I'm a foreigner from the other side of the pond, may lead to questions that native Americans consider stupid
So Don, here is one of those questions...
What is 'Dry Moly Spray'?
Is it paint that dries up, leaving a hard layer ? Or is it some kind of lube that stays greasy?

Thanks in advance for your answer
Bo

Thanks for your question Bo

Dry Moly Spray is a high temperature lubricant for metal that sprays on and dries.
I use it on the combustion blower impeller blades to prevent some of the pellet ash buildup and even on some convection blower squirrel cage blades to prevent dust build up. It works better than the graphite spray that some people here already use.

See my comparison video and pics.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...on-blower-impellers-to-prevent-buildup.91664/.

 

[Don2222]

Maybe the material used for this would be top notch?


https://www.orgreenic.com/?ref=TLB-bing-OG-TM

Hello

Can you try it and let us know?
There was a discussion on using a ceramic coating for burn pots but it did not work out.

Please find out the temperature specs first to see if it is high temp enough for pellet stoves.

Thanks

 

[stoveguy2esw]

ive been playing with the dry moly as well as dry graphite on both impellors and augers . i find the moly seems to "stay put" better than the graphite, though the graphite seems easier to find in stores.

it is not my opinion this will help with auger jams but i do believe its better for the auger and the tube as well as the motor as reduced friction means a reduced load on the motor and reduced wear on the tube and auger.

 

[Bioburner]

I have a boiler that recomends using a cup of graphite mixed in with its fuel on a monthly basis. I painted the auger with graphite paint and three years later still enough slip to keep the fuel from dragging. Worked great in the corn hopper too.

 

[DexterDay]

My only point was, he was making a "Fact" (No more Auger jams). When in fact a clean and well operating auger can still jam.

Thats the only problem I had with the entire post. Lube away. It works great on combustion blowers for reducing as build up on the vanes.

We must keep in mind all the people who are not members that come here and read this as Gospel. So in trying to keep the peace, Yes, it reduces friction. As do many products. Will this Eliminate all auger jams. No.

When something gets said here, and then gets repeated a couple times, it becomes the Way. Sometimes this Way, is not the right Way or the Best Way... Will lubing the auger hurt? No.... But eliminating jams? Thats a stretch

 

[Harvey Schneider]

My only point was, he was making a "Fact" (No more Auger jams). When in fact a clean and well operating auger can still jam.

I concur. There is no evidence that spray moly will prevent jams. I doubt that it will ever be proven or disproven. I also agree that we should not oversell our ideas, but I feel that we should also not dampen the enthusiasm of others unnecessarily.

 

[imacman]

What is 'Dry Moly Spray'?
Is it paint that dries up, leaving a hard layer ? Or is it some kind of lube that stays greasy?

Bo, here's a link to one of the industrial supply house here in the US. This will give you an idea of what it is:

www.grainger.com/Grainger/SPRAYON-Dry-Moly-Lube-6KHF6?Pid=search

 

[Don2222]

I concur. There is no evidence that spray moly will prevent jams. I doubt that it will ever be proven or disproven. I also agree that we should not oversell our ideas, but I feel that we should also not dampen the enthusiasm of others unnecessarily.

I agree too, I changed it to less auger jams. Nothing is perfect.

 

[Stovensen]

Thanks for your question Bo

Dry Moly Spray is a high temperature lubricant for metal that sprays on and dries.
I use it on the combustion blower impeller blades to prevent some of the pellet ash buildup and even on some convection blower squirrel cage blades to prevent dust build up. It works better than the graphite spray that some people here already use.

See my comparison video and pics.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/dry-moly-spray-vs-spray-graphite-on-blower-impellers-to-prevent-buildup.91664/.[/quote]

Don, thanks for answering and posting the link to your video... This Dry Moly Spray is definitely worth checking out.
The price $8.65 of the Sprayon can from Grainger linked to us by imacman is the lowest I've seen so far. So this must be it.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

i actualy think its a good thing to do for the lubricating properties but moreso for the "metal to metal" contact side of the house rather than "lubing" the fuel. the moly does in my opinion stick to the surface of the auger and tube better than the graphite does

 

[Stovensen]

Bo, here's a link to one of the industrial supply house here in the US. This will give you an idea of what it is:

www.grainger.com/Grainger/SPRAYON-Dry-Moly-Lube-6KHF6?Pid=search[/quote]


imacman, thanks for the link. That price... $8.65 for a 11 Oz can is hard to beat

I clean the impeller of the combustionblower every six month. I promise to return with pics of the result.

Here is a picture of the impeller after six months of use without any protective layer sprayed on the surface:

Edit: Oops, there should have been a picture of the impeller here. Yeah I know, no pic and it didn't happen

I have to switch to an alternative computer. Picture is on the way, promise!

 

[Stovensen]

So, finally made it to the computer with the pics.

This picture of the impeller of my Quest plus stove is taken after six months of intensive use.
The innermost and oldest layers are light grey ( = good combustion ) and the latest layer is
very dark, indicating a very bad combustion with lazy sooting flames.

I'll order a can of the Dry Moly Spray recommended by imacman and give the impeller a good
spray after the next cleaning which is coming soon. Then after six months I'll pull out the blower,
take some pics and post them in this thread. That will be in the beginning of april 2013, if the good God
will allow me to live that long

Bo