Lopi Pioneer Bay Pellet Stove Insert Convection Fan

[phil from barrington]

Hi Folks, new to the forum. I'm wondering if anyone else is having the same issue as I am with the speed of the convection blower on my stove. Upon start up of my stove this season I noticed that the convection fan would not get 'up to speed' when trying to adjust it. In other words, I couldn't adjust it to the higher speeds. It would blow, but only on the lower 2 or 3 speeds. So, doing what I did several years ago, I replaced it. It worked good for a couple of weeks and now it doesn't seem to be getting 'up to speed' again. It's taken almost 4 hours to increase the temp. in my house by 1 degree with the settings I usually use to get there. Can anyone lead me in the right direction? Is there a way to troubleshoot the blower to determine what's going on?

 

[Doug K]

Phil, did you get this figured out

 

[SidecarFlip]

Try oiling the bearings and blowing the crud out of the motor......works wonders.

 

[Pass the Pellets]

Sounds like the control board might be bad. Have you tried testing the blower motor stand alone and disconnected from the stove to ensure it can spin at top speed?

 

[haff99]

Had the same exact stove and had what sounds like the same exact problem. It is pretty easy to isolate if it is the fan or control board. Once your stove is out of startup, place a voltmeter across the the 2 terminals of the fan when it is running. Set the fan on the control board to high, the AC voltage should be 120V. As you decrease the fan the voltage should drop. On low, I think it drops to like 70V-80V. If the voltage changes as I explained, then the fan is gone. If the voltage doesn't change with the fan speed, the board is bad.

I had a similar problem, that the fan wouldn't run any faster then a very low setting. The voltage the fan was getting was right, but it would't speed up. The fan was shot. I know some people can repair the motors, but this is supposed to be a sealed motor so I'm not exactly sure how you take it apart.

 

[phil from barrington]

Thanks guys. I went ahead and replaced the motor and it works fine now. I do appreciate the voltage test haff99. If happens again I'll no longer scratch my head and wonder. I'll do the test right away. Seven years-2 fans.