Avalon Astoria auger squeak - Problem & Solution!

[Avalon]

Recently I heard this faint, high pitched squeak every so often, coming from somewhere in the house. I crept around the house stealthily, pausing like a ninja waiting for the next occurrence to tell me the location of its origin. Eventually I found that it was my 1 year old Avalon Astoria that was the culprit. I watched the stove and noticed that the only times the squeak manifested, was when the auger light came on, but not every time that it came on.

I let the stove run out of pellets and cleaned the hopper of dust and pellet debris. I even stuck the shop vac up against the base of the auger to pull out all the pellets queued up inside. I read posts where a rogue pellet became wedged in between the auger blade and the auger sleeve, so I was very diligent in making sure it was completely clean. I reloaded the hopper and all seemed fine for about 2 days and then the squeak came back again, but louder!

Fast forward a few more cleanings and inspections, and the squeak is louder than ever. I was just wondering where the dealer contact information was, when it occurred to me that the problem might be unrelated to pellets. With the lid switch depressed, I watched the auger turn and noticed that it only squeaked during a specific 1/4 of it's rotation.

A puff of graphite and little WD40 at the spot where the base of the auger blade contacts the gold washer (click on picture and see yellow arrow location) did the trick. It's been about 4 days since then, and my Astoria has been quietly humming along.

Just wanted to pass my experience along to any other Avalon users that might be having a hard time figuring out the same problem.

 

[Don2222]

Hello

Thanks for the picture and info. I had mine for 3 years now with no problems but good to know in case!!

BTW, can you post a pic of your install. I like to see other's Astoria. Thanks

 

[Avalon]

Hello

Thanks for the picture and info. I had mine for 3 years now with no problems but good to know in case!!

BTW, can you post a pic of your install. I like to see other's Astoria. Thanks

Here's a link to when I first posted to these forums with my install pictures. It's not as ticked-out as yours, but I'm very happy with how it turned out. It's a simple 45 elbow directly off the stove and 4 feet horizontal through the exterior wall to another 45 cap. It doesn't get simpler than that!

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/72388/

 

[Don2222]

Hello

Thanks for the picture and info. I had mine for 3 years now with no problems but good to know in case!!

BTW, can you post a pic of your install. I like to see other's Astoria. Thanks

Here's a link to when I first posted to these forums with my install pictures. It's not as ticked-out as yours, but I'm very happy with how it turned out. It's a simple 45 elbow directly off the stove and 4 feet vertical through the exterior wall to another 45 cap. It doesn't get simpler than that!

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/72388/

Thanks

I guess I did see it but I enjoyed seeing it again! Good work fellow Astoria man.

 

[imacman]

Avalon, you might want to actually remove the auger motor & auger to give the auger a good cleaning, and also clean up inside of the auger flight. Might be able to polish-up the back edge of the auger where it hits the washer, clean the inside of the bushing, and put some graphite in there too.

When I had my Astoria, I also taped over the screws that hold the auger flight cover so the pellets would slide all the way down....it helped some.

 

[Don2222]

Avalon, you might want to actually remove the auger motor & auger to give the auger a good cleaning, and also clean up inside of the auger flight. Might be able to polish-up the back edge of the auger where it hits the washer, clean the inside of the bushing, and put some graphite in there too.

When I had my Astoria, I also taped over the screws that hold the auger flight cover so the pellets would slide all the way down....it helped some.

Good idea Pete

Is that foil tape used for duct taping?

 

[Don2222]

Hello again

I also would like to ask you guys another question if I may about when you turned your stoves on tonight.

I have been really trying hard to tighten up this old house built way back in 62 so even though today was cold aprox 30-34 degrees all day, I did not turn any heat on until about 9:30 PM tonight when the living room dropped to 67 degrees. Then I turned the Astoria on in our basement below.

I still need to replace some more windows with double panes so I know I am still loosing alot of heat.

 

[imacman]

Is that foil tape used for duct taping?

No, not duct tape....it's regular foil furnace tape.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

My stove runs 24/7 lots of time is needed to turn over all of the air in the house. I expect to have a new low for the season before I head to bed tonight.

Today was cookie day here, the downside: the doors going outside and into the garage got a lot of use, the upside: lots of yummies in the house.

The cooking isn't done yet, we still have Needhams to make, a nice Scandinavian cardamom cookie, and some candy cane cookies.

 

[flynfrfun]

...A puff of graphite and little WD40 at the spot where the base of the auger blade contacts the gold washer...

I'm pretty sure the "gold washer" is actually the end of the bushing that you are seeing and not a washer. The other part of it is on the backside of the hopper. I think they are pretty easy to find in most hardware stores if it gets worn.

 

[Avalon]

Hello again

I also would like to ask you guys another question if I may about when you turned your stoves on tonight.

I have been really trying hard to tighten up this old house built way back in 62 so even though today was cold aprox 30-34 degrees all day, I did not turn any heat on until about 9:30 PM tonight when the living room dropped to 67 degrees. Then I turned the Astoria on in our basement below.

I still need to replace some more windows with double panes so I know I am still loosing alot of heat.

Don. Once the heating season starts, my stove is usually only turned off for cleaning. I set it on #2 at night and #3 or #4 if I'm going to be around during the day. If it gets cold enough, I might even turn it up to #5 for a little while. At this rate, my starter is going to last forever!

I think the main difference between your situation and mine is that my house is close to 100 years old and there is no insulation between the 4 courses of bricks and the plaster walls. Your place sounds really well insulated if you don't heat until 9:30PM!