Harman XXV (or P Series for that matter) Auger Motor Noise - What's considered "normal"

[lbcynya]

I understand and can accept the noise from the combustion and distribution fans since they produce more of a "white noise". The auger drive system on the other hand seems to be more erratic and noisy than I would assume normal. I just had the auger motor/gearbox replaced under warranty and it too is noisy, but a different kind of noisy from the one replaced. First drive system sounded more like the motor was struggling (auger does rotate smoothly), the new drive system sounds like there are a few loose nuts and bolts rolling around in the gearbox...motor seems pretty quiet.

Is it me or does your auger feed system sound like an rotisserie attachment for a Montgomery Ward's gas grill (or insert your favorite cheap grill name)? Seems most irritating since it makes a fairly irregular sound. My buddies Quad Mt Vernon auger feed is dead silent. This made me a bit more sensitive to the sounds of my Harman. Love the stove, just trying to work through a few anomalies (this and woofing).

Since I really don't have a noise baseline to work from, share your impressions of the auger feed noise, please. Thanks.

 

[newf lover]

If it's any consolation, my P68 makes the same noise. Have had 2 different people look at it, had the feed motor replaced, no change in noise. I've gotten used to it, but I too wish it wasn't as noisy. BTW, excellent description of the sound! It is like a rotisserie.

 

[flynfrfun]

My M55's auger is almost totally silent. I can hear a slight hum if I really listen hard. I saw a post where a guy took the auger gearbox apart and packed it with high temp grease and it quietened it down. When I first got my stove, the auger motor was noisy like a rotisserie. Drove me nuts. Fans and blowers become white noise, but the auger does not. My dealer replaced the auger and it's been quiet ever since.

 

[Harman Lover 007]

If it's any consolation, my P68 makes the same noise. Have had 2 different people look at it, had the feed motor replaced, no change in noise. I've gotten used to it, but I too wish it wasn't as noisy. BTW, excellent description of the sound! It is like a rotisserie.

My P61A auger doesn't make a sound and the auger in my Harman Invincible for 14 years before that didn't make a sound either. The only thing I hear is the tinkling of pellets as they drop to the auger.

 

[tonyd]

I repacked my gearbox also on my accenrta insert. Don't use high temp grease because the gears don't get hot or spin fast enough for high temp grease to work. The gears will push the grease out of there way and it will stay there.

 

[aaronnoel]

yes my auger makes those sounds as well, I guess I'm lucky, it doesn't bother me, but the sound is there.

 

[lbcynya]

I repacked my gearbox also on my accenrta insert. Don't use high temp grease because the gears don't get hot or spin fast enough for high temp grease to work. The gears will push the grease out of there way and it will stay there.

Tempted to do the same. Looked inside the old box and there was about 1 pump of grease for the entire assembly. The needle bearings also seemed a bit dry. Stove is still under warranty, so I don't want to jeopardize that, but swapping out gearboxes isn't too productive either. Should these gearboxes literally be "packed" or just very liberally greased?

 

[gfreek]

My Harman auger motor is noisy also. It was replaced once under warranty for "squealing". This one is just as noisy as the first one before the squeal.

 

[ironpony]

my Invincible is dead quiet
direct drive, no chain
all I can hear is pellets tinkling
into the burn pot

since I replaced the noisy combustion fan
the stove is barely noticeable

 

[PJPellet]

I understand and can accept the noise from the combustion and distribution fans since they produce more of a "white noise". The auger drive system on the other hand seems to be more erratic and noisy than I would assume normal. I just had the auger motor/gearbox replaced under warranty and it too is noisy, but a different kind of noisy from the one replaced. First drive system sounded more like the motor was struggling (auger does rotate smoothly), the new drive system sounds like there are a few loose nuts and bolts rolling around in the gearbox...motor seems pretty quiet.

Is it me or does your auger feed system sound like an rotisserie attachment for a Montgomery Ward's gas grill (or insert your favorite cheap grill name)? Seems most irritating since it makes a fairly irregular sound. My buddies Quad Mt Vernon auger feed is dead silent. This made me a bit more sensitive to the sounds of my Harman. Love the stove, just trying to work through a few anomalies (this and woofing).

Since I really don't have a noise baseline to work from, share your impressions of the auger feed noise, please. Thanks.

My P43 makes that same noise too. Fortunately, I have gotten used to it. But at first I thought something was wrong with the stove. I visited my dealer and the stoves(Harman) in his showroom were making the same noises so I didn't think much about it anymore. It would be nice if it was quieter though.

 

[kcellwood]

My P68 auger is very quiet. I here a slight hum if I listen closely but the fans usually drown that out. The only sound I really hear is the tinkle of the pellets falling into the auger. Over the last couple of days I was hearing a "snapping" noise when the plate closed. The wife beat me home yesterday so before I got a chance to look at it she puts some pellets in. When I got home the nosie had gone away. Stayed quiet all night and still quiet this morning.

 

[lbcynya]

Well, my dealer agreed that the new gear motor was too noisy, so another gear motor is going in when it arrives. We'll see how that goes. If that one is noisy as well, we'll repack and lube #2 to see if that gets us back to the quiet hum I would expect.

Gear motors used currently are Gleason-Avery. I also found a guy on Ebay selling Merkle-Korff which touts tight tolerances and "silent" operation. I guess I experiment only aft the warranty period is over...

 

[76brian]

The auger motor in my P43 has a slight hum or "whir" to it but nothing major unless it decides to crunch a pellet, which doesn't sound pretty but there's no harm in it. Really the most annoying thing to me is the constant loud "clink" sounds when the pellets fall from the hopper into the auger. It would be nice if whatever they're falling into was padded or otherwise insulated to conceal the sound a little bit. The XXV that was running in my dealers office was MUCH quieter.

 

[lbcynya]

The auger motor in my P43 has a slight hum or "whir" to it but nothing major unless it decides to crunch a pellet, which doesn't sound pretty but there's no harm in it. Really the most annoying thing to me is the constant loud "clink" sounds when the pellets fall from the hopper into the auger. It would be nice if whatever they're falling into was padded or otherwise insulated to conceal the sound a little bit. The XXV that was running in my dealers office was MUCH quieter.

Interesting how we all perceive things differently - Clinking pellets, to me, sounds like "saving money", so I don't mind that sound.

 

[76brian]

Interesting how we all perceive things differently - Clinking pellets, to me, sounds like "saving money", so I don't mind that sound.

Haha, pennies from heaven? But every time it clinks, it means more pellets to be burnt! I don't like that! I hear clinking too much and it makes me think "oh no there goes more of my stash" :lol: I've gotten used to it, so most of the time I don't notice it, but when I do, I tend to focus on it and it bugs me that it happens so often. The sound of the auger is not as noticeable to me, whereas the clinking of pellets stands out. I still hear the auger motor, sometimes it does seem louder than other times and I definitely wish it was quieter also, but mostly it's just another sound among the faint white noise.

 

[newf lover]

I was thinking reading this post that it had something to do with the change to the 6 rpm motors during late 2008, and that they fixed the problem in the more recent stoves. The fact that lbcynya stove is from 2010 sort of kills that. What's the manufacture date on your stove?

 

[lbcynya]

I was thinking reading this post that it had something to do with the change to the 6 rpm motors during late 2008, and that they fixed the problem in the more recent stoves. The fact that lbcynya stove is from 2010 sort of kills that. What's the manufacture date on your stove?

Think the P68 and the PB's are 6 rpm. XXV is still 4 rpm. My stove is actualy an early 2009 model.