Englander 25 EP One Ton Convection Blower Life

[Waterbug]

I purchased an Englander 25 EP from Lowes in early November. Several weeks after the install, we noticed that the convection blower had an annoying intermittant whine on speed #6. The simple solution was to use speeds #5 or #7. As time went by, the noise became more constant and began to occur at other speeds. Last Thursday, the wife got on my case and I called Englander tech support. At first, it seemed like I wasn't going to get any resolution. The support tech told me to hold the phone near the stove, so that he could hear the fan. He then stated that it sounded normal to him. I explained to him that WE heard the whine and that it was very annoying. I then explained to him that I had retired from the phone company and knew for a fact that telephones are designed to capture the human voice and are specifically designed to eliminate high frequency background noise. He then agreed to send me a replacement fan. It arrived today and I was able to install it without even moving the stove. All is well for now. Hopefully we won't have a reoccurance of the issue. I also opened the first bag of our second ton of pellets today.

 

[fmsm]

Went through one after 3 weeks, it was still good 2 years later when I sold the stove

 

[GrahamInVa]

I've got a new 25-EP as well. Mine is still holding up. I checked for oil ports the last time I had the covers off but didn't see any. The label on the motor said it had sealed bearings. I assumed no oil ports then? I couldn't find any mention in the manual.

Glad Englander got you fixed up. They have top notch customer service.

 

[imacman]

.....He then agreed to send me a replacement fan. It arrived today and I was able to install it without even moving the stove......

Did you check the new (and old) convection blowers for oiling ports? Did you try putting 2-3 drops of 20 w (3 in 1) oil in them if they were there? My bet the old one just needed oiling.

 

[Waterbug]

There were NO oil ports on the old or new blower motors. Both motors are identicle. When placed side by side and manually spun, you could hear the old motor and it only spun for 2 or 3 revolutions. The new fan was silent and spun for 8 to 10 revolutions. The motor appears to be pressed together and it doesn't appear that the bearings are replaceable. I'll mess with the old motor when I have some free time.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

There were NO oil ports on the old or new blower motors. Both motors are identicle. When placed side by side and manually spun, you could hear the old motor and it only spun for 2 or 3 revolutions. The new fan was silent and spun for 8 to 10 revolutions. The motor appears to be pressed together and it doesn't appear that the bearings are replaceable. I'll mess with the old motor when I have some free time.

Please post a picture of the old blower.

 

[Waterbug]

Here are the requested pictures.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Can you get in closer on that third one, looks like an oil port dead center left of the makers plate and I can't see the area where the cage around the cooling fan hits the motor cage, also it looks like a bit of crud in the cooling fan.

 

[Waterbug]

That is a hole to the left of the name plate, but it only leads to the inside of the casing. There is nothing there to wick oil to the bearings. On the right side, there is no hole at all. I even investigated that left hole to see if it would be possible to oil through it with a long tube (like on a WD-40 can) but there is no oil port on the inside either.

 

[imacman]

Can you get in closer on that third one, looks like an oil port dead center left of the makers plate .......

Not sure about that Smokey....the end bearing I see in the pic looks identical to the ball bearings in my stove's combustion blower. I usually try putting some oil around that area hoping some oil will find it's way in.

That said, a closer pic of that area you mentioned, and a closer pic of the bearing and label might help.

So far, no problems with mine.

 

[GrahamInVa]

I have the same motor as waterbug on my EP. I too have looked for oil ports and don't see any. The label on the motor says it has sealed bearings. That said, there wouldn't be any oil ports, correct?

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

I have the same motor as waterbug on my EP. I too have looked for oil ports and don't see any. The label on the motor says it has sealed bearings. That said, there wouldn't be any oil ports, correct?

That is correct and why I wanted something I could actually see.

 

[Waterbug]

I have the same motor as waterbug on my EP. I too have looked for oil ports and don't see any. The label on the motor says it has sealed bearings. That said, there wouldn't be any oil ports, correct?

That is correct and why I wanted something I could actually see.

I read the fine print on the motor label and it does say "Sealed Ball Bearings". My Bad, I should have read the fine print sooner. It doesn't look like the bearings are easily replaced either.