This just started today. The blowers are working but there is a periodic squealing coming from the back of the unit and it sounds like it is near the top of the unit- would this potentially be the auger motor? Pellets are still dropping into the pot. The noise is very loud and annoying- sounds like a buzzer (lasts for about 2 seconds and happens every 5 seconds). Any suggestions would be appreciated. I have not taken the side panels off yet but plan to do so tomorrow night after work to pin point the cause.
Quadrafire Sante Fe Pellet stove making a squealing sound
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Wilbur Feral
Minister of Fire
Definitely is auger motor making the noise. Already have sides off but cant disassemble and remive auger to make sure all us cleared out from feeder hopper. Will tomorrow after the christmas tree is out of the way. Is there any oil/greasing that needs to be done to the motor?
Lake Girl
Moderator
Welcome to the forum! How old is the unit? May want to check set screw/bolt on the auger to make sure it isn't loose. Also check auger bearings while in there.
3-4yrs old.. I will check these things out and will pull auger out to see if its stopped up with fines/dust as Wilbur mentions. Thank you both for the info. But is there any periodic maintenance like oiling that needs to be done? I havent really been able to find anything out about this question.
Lake Girl
Moderator
Just checked the manual, the Santa Fe has a feed spring auger so different from auger on mine ... page 28 of the manual shows the feed body assembly
http://downloads.hearthnhome.com/installManuals/7050_146.pdf
http://downloads.hearthnhome.com/installManuals/7050_146.pdf
Wilbur Feral
Minister of Fire
I think this is one for Kap... Or, if he is not around this week, does anyone have a tech/service manual for the Santa Fe? I do not.
Hello geovat, and welcome to the forum !
I'll pinch hit as a fellow Quad owner to help out until kap, this forum's resident Quad tech expert signs on, who also has a Santa Fe stove. Fortunately lots of the parts stuff on Quads is similar. First UNPLUG the stove, then you can disconnect the wires that go to the auger motor. Taking a picture before you start disconnecting and removing stuff is always a good idea to make it easier to get stuff back the way it belongs, and it helps when others on here are helping trouble shoot problems as well. You'll need to empty all the pellets out of the hopper before you take the auger out.
The auger assembly will have 2 screws that hold the motor and bracket into the stove. It's not the 4 smaller screws that hold the auger motor to the bracket - leave those in place. Use a magnetic screw driver if you have one so you're less likely to drop the 2 small screws into the bowels of the stove after you loosen them. Then you can pull the whole auger assembly out of the auger tube - there will be some pellet dust and fines that dump out - which may be the cause of your squealing problem. Look at page 28 of your stove manual to get a good picture of how the auger assembly parts go together. Clean all the dust off then check to see if the auger feed screw is loose where it connects to the motor shaft, which could also be the cause of your squeal. If it's loose, tighten up the set screw that holds the feed screw to the motor shaft. There is also a collar ring next to a nylon bushing in between the auger motor and the bracket that is held in with a small allen set screw, make sure that is tight also. If it looks like there is oil or grease that has seeped out of the motor when you pull the auger assembly out, that is likely indicative of a motor problem.
If the top of the auger screw wasn't packed with sawdust, and neither the feed screw or the collar set screw are loose, it is likely to be your motor bearings causing the squeal. To check for that you will need to run the auger out of the stove while it is connected to the stove wiring, or connect it up to an external 110v power source. STANDARD DISCLAIMER - this takes some electrical awareness and safety for both you and your stoves expen$ive control box. Bypassing a stove component with a jumper wire is a good electrical trouble shooting skill to know, so I'll describe that one. Find the two wires that go to your vacuum switch - the round or rectangular box mounted to the back of the stove, and disconnect the 2 wires from the switch - again make sure your stove is UNPLUGGED first. Then you connect the two wires together to bypass the vacuum switch, which will allow your auger to run outside of the auger tube. The safest way to do this is with a pre-made jumper wire out of a short section of electrical wire and spade connectors, (see pic below) or in a pinch you can bend a paper clip into a U-shape and stick one end into each wires electrical connector. If you go with the paper clip jumper, wrap any exposed metal on the paper clip to the spade connectors well with electrical tape, as it can short out if the paper clip jumper comes apart or bare paperclip metal touches metal on the stove, likely frying your $350 - 400 control box when you plug the stove back in.
With the vacuum switch wires jumpered together you can reconnect the auger wires to the stove's wiring harness, then plug the stove back in, hit the reset button and the auger should turn for 60 secs. Then you'll need to hit the reset button again and it will run for another 60 secs. Do that a few times to see if it reproduces the squeal. If so, your auger motor bearings are likely on the way out. The bearings are sealed, so there is no regular maintenance you can do to for them. But you can try lubricating the motor with 3-in-1 electrical motor oil or dry-lube spray. Here's a forum link that shows some pics and describes where to lubricate the motor. https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/quadrafire-santa-fe-auger-servicing-any-tips.88577/
This may quiet your squeal but is often just a temporary fix, if it is the bearings going bad, though it often may buy enough time to use your stove while you wait for a replacement auger motor. UNPLUG the stove again before you remove the jumper wire and reconnect the vacuum switch wires and reinstall the auger assembly - don't forget the gasket that goes between the bracket and where it attaches to the auger tube.
Post back on your findings, and good luck. Regards, DK
I'll pinch hit as a fellow Quad owner to help out until kap, this forum's resident Quad tech expert signs on, who also has a Santa Fe stove. Fortunately lots of the parts stuff on Quads is similar. First UNPLUG the stove, then you can disconnect the wires that go to the auger motor. Taking a picture before you start disconnecting and removing stuff is always a good idea to make it easier to get stuff back the way it belongs, and it helps when others on here are helping trouble shoot problems as well. You'll need to empty all the pellets out of the hopper before you take the auger out.
The auger assembly will have 2 screws that hold the motor and bracket into the stove. It's not the 4 smaller screws that hold the auger motor to the bracket - leave those in place. Use a magnetic screw driver if you have one so you're less likely to drop the 2 small screws into the bowels of the stove after you loosen them. Then you can pull the whole auger assembly out of the auger tube - there will be some pellet dust and fines that dump out - which may be the cause of your squealing problem. Look at page 28 of your stove manual to get a good picture of how the auger assembly parts go together. Clean all the dust off then check to see if the auger feed screw is loose where it connects to the motor shaft, which could also be the cause of your squeal. If it's loose, tighten up the set screw that holds the feed screw to the motor shaft. There is also a collar ring next to a nylon bushing in between the auger motor and the bracket that is held in with a small allen set screw, make sure that is tight also. If it looks like there is oil or grease that has seeped out of the motor when you pull the auger assembly out, that is likely indicative of a motor problem.
If the top of the auger screw wasn't packed with sawdust, and neither the feed screw or the collar set screw are loose, it is likely to be your motor bearings causing the squeal. To check for that you will need to run the auger out of the stove while it is connected to the stove wiring, or connect it up to an external 110v power source. STANDARD DISCLAIMER - this takes some electrical awareness and safety for both you and your stoves expen$ive control box. Bypassing a stove component with a jumper wire is a good electrical trouble shooting skill to know, so I'll describe that one. Find the two wires that go to your vacuum switch - the round or rectangular box mounted to the back of the stove, and disconnect the 2 wires from the switch - again make sure your stove is UNPLUGGED first. Then you connect the two wires together to bypass the vacuum switch, which will allow your auger to run outside of the auger tube. The safest way to do this is with a pre-made jumper wire out of a short section of electrical wire and spade connectors, (see pic below) or in a pinch you can bend a paper clip into a U-shape and stick one end into each wires electrical connector. If you go with the paper clip jumper, wrap any exposed metal on the paper clip to the spade connectors well with electrical tape, as it can short out if the paper clip jumper comes apart or bare paperclip metal touches metal on the stove, likely frying your $350 - 400 control box when you plug the stove back in.
With the vacuum switch wires jumpered together you can reconnect the auger wires to the stove's wiring harness, then plug the stove back in, hit the reset button and the auger should turn for 60 secs. Then you'll need to hit the reset button again and it will run for another 60 secs. Do that a few times to see if it reproduces the squeal. If so, your auger motor bearings are likely on the way out. The bearings are sealed, so there is no regular maintenance you can do to for them. But you can try lubricating the motor with 3-in-1 electrical motor oil or dry-lube spray. Here's a forum link that shows some pics and describes where to lubricate the motor. https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/quadrafire-santa-fe-auger-servicing-any-tips.88577/
This may quiet your squeal but is often just a temporary fix, if it is the bearings going bad, though it often may buy enough time to use your stove while you wait for a replacement auger motor. UNPLUG the stove again before you remove the jumper wire and reconnect the vacuum switch wires and reinstall the auger assembly - don't forget the gasket that goes between the bracket and where it attaches to the auger tube.
Post back on your findings, and good luck. Regards, DK
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Lake Girl
Moderator
Thanks for the details DMKNLD! You gave the reminder that I normally give about unplugging stove and precautions on by-passing for troubleshooting
Ok so i have the auger out. The shaft set screw is turned so I cant get to it and I cant turn it by hand to expose it. There wasnt alot of dust in the tube either but I vacuumed it out. I took some pics of the motor end.
Also i dony have the spade connectors for the jumper. Can i have someone hold a finger over the vacuum port to trick the sensor? Used to be able to do that with cars years ago...
Lake Girl
Moderator
You can use an electric cord connected to motor spade connectors direct but again, you want to wrap the connections with electrical tape so there is no short potential. Direct power will let you know if the motor still functions...
PS ... not sure how that would work with that connection though ... mine just has spade connections.
PS ... not sure how that would work with that connection though ... mine just has spade connections.
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Well I put it back together after vacuuming out the chute just for the heck of it and (well I hope I am not jynxing myself) its humming along like it did before... Happy little pellets clinking down the chute is music to my ears at this point Time will tell of course but fingers crossed...
Time will tell of course but fingers crossed...
Wilbur Feral
Minister of Fire
Lake Girl
Moderator
Yes thanks to everyone for your help. It ran all night through approx 20lbs of pellets squeal free.
Glad you're up and running again !
I'm wondering if you sucked something out of your auger tube when you vacuumed it out - something that was rubbing / obstructing the feed auger and causing your squeal ? It's amazing the stuff people on here have posted that got either into the pellet bag during mill production or somehow ended up in the hopper - nails, rocks, chunks of wood, plastic toys, pellet bag pieces, hopper information / safety labels, you name it ! I found a chunk of a rubber and steel belted conveyor belt in a bag of pellets, luckily that I saw before it got pulled into the auger !
In answer to your question of whether you can plug the vacuum port as an alternative to jumpering the vac switch - good thought - but it won't work. The vac switch has both a mechanical and an electrical component via a diaphragm activated switch. Under slight negative pressure (created by the combustion blower and an absence of air leaks in the stove), the diaphragm deflects and closes the electrical switch, which allows the 110v to continue on to the auger motor in the start-up sequence. So plugging the port with a finger wouldn't provide the negative pressure needed to deflect the diaphragm and close the switch circuit.
Attached below is the Quad start-up sequence 'flow' diagram, which can help in trouble shooting stove issues. It doesn't include the hopper switch in the "items to check", which is a relatively new safety switch added into the newer Quad stove models, and a frequent failure point it seems. As I understand it, when the hopper is opened the hopper switch interrupts the vacuum circuit and / or the electrical circuit to the auger motor, depending on whether there is also a hopper seal along with the switch.
Post back if you have any more issues,and happy burning !
Regards, DK
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Well it came back i will try to get a video snippet of the noise. Its definitely the motor since I can feel it in the case.
i will try to get a video snippet of the noise. Its definitely the motor since I can feel it in the case.That certainly increases the 'high index of suspicion' that it is the bearings around that shaft that are going bad. You will likely get a longer, but still temporary fix, by using a light electric motor specific oil like the 3-in-one that comes in the blue can (not the all purpose 3-in-one) instead of the WD-40. The 'WD' part of WD-40 standards for 'water dispersal', which is good for freeing seized up parts, or as a cleaner / degreaser, but it really is more of a solvent than a lubricant. The SAE 20 weight 3-in-one oil is specifically made for electric motors, and will lubricate better and hold up to the heat longer, hopefully until you can get a new auger motor replacement.
Though not the 'auger-motor-on-the-way-out' news you probably wanted to hear, that was a good troubleshooting trick for you to try none-the-less. The most inexpensive Quad OEM pellet stove parts seem to be coming out of Clearview Fireplace and Patio through Amazon. Here's a new auger motor and bracket assembly for $155.99 + $4.92 for shipping. http://www.amazon.com/QuadraFire-812-4421-Quadrafire-Auger-Motor/dp/B006GDQOWS
You may want to order a new auger gasket while you have the auger out, and consider a new nylon collar bushing as well. As you found when you pulled the auger, the allen head set screws for the auger screw and the collar ring next to the nylon bushing need to be in the position where they are accessible with an allen wrench in order to get the feed screw separated from the auger motor shaft. See the link I sent to Lake Girl in this thread on a couple inexpensive parts that makes hooking the auger up to an 110v external power source easy and safe. The external power cord tester is good for 'bench' testing your combustion and convection blower motors as well if you have problems with those down the road.
I've got to count myself lucky that I'm still on my original auger motor - now on its 15th burn season -I've likely cursed myself now ! I've always run my stove during the burn season with the right side sheet metal access panel off, which is where the access to the auger, vac hose, vac switch and snap discs all are on my Quad. Not very aesthetic, but easier to take pics of that stuff for forum posts, and to do periodic pellet dust vacuuming.
I'm guessing maybe this has let my stove run cooler over the years I've had it with better heat disbursement, given that heat and dust are ultimately what kills motor bearings and windings. And needless to say, 'they don't make 'em like they use to', though the auger motor should certainly last longer than 3 - 4 seasons, IMO.
Post back again when you're fully back running again, or if any problems along the way. Cheers, DK
Though not the 'auger-motor-on-the-way-out' news you probably wanted to hear, that was a good troubleshooting trick for you to try none-the-less. The most inexpensive Quad OEM pellet stove parts seem to be coming out of Clearview Fireplace and Patio through Amazon. Here's a new auger motor and bracket assembly for $155.99 + $4.92 for shipping. http://www.amazon.com/QuadraFire-812-4421-Quadrafire-Auger-Motor/dp/B006GDQOWS
You may want to order a new auger gasket while you have the auger out, and consider a new nylon collar bushing as well. As you found when you pulled the auger, the allen head set screws for the auger screw and the collar ring next to the nylon bushing need to be in the position where they are accessible with an allen wrench in order to get the feed screw separated from the auger motor shaft. See the link I sent to Lake Girl in this thread on a couple inexpensive parts that makes hooking the auger up to an 110v external power source easy and safe. The external power cord tester is good for 'bench' testing your combustion and convection blower motors as well if you have problems with those down the road.
I've got to count myself lucky that I'm still on my original auger motor - now on its 15th burn season -I've likely cursed myself now ! I've always run my stove during the burn season with the right side sheet metal access panel off, which is where the access to the auger, vac hose, vac switch and snap discs all are on my Quad. Not very aesthetic, but easier to take pics of that stuff for forum posts, and to do periodic pellet dust vacuuming.
I'm guessing maybe this has let my stove run cooler over the years I've had it with better heat disbursement, given that heat and dust are ultimately what kills motor bearings and windings. And needless to say, 'they don't make 'em like they use to', though the auger motor should certainly last longer than 3 - 4 seasons, IMO.
Post back again when you're fully back running again, or if any problems along the way. Cheers, DK
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Hey LG,
I thought I remembered someone posting on here about an adapter that can easily connect the auger motor wiring harnesses that have the newer model stoves tri-plug connector to an external 110V power source. So I surfed around and found it here, available from East Coast Hearth. http://www.eastcoasthearth.com/products/quadrafire-auger-motor-test-plug .
They also make a reasonably cheap pre-fab AC test cord available with a choice of connector options depending on the type of stove harness wiring, all with heavy duty insulated spade connectors for added 'suicide cord' safety ! The long cord length is a nice feature as well.
http://www.eastcoasthearth.com/coll...-check-blowers-auger-motor-and-igniter-easily
I put the heavy duty insulated spade connectors on my homemade cut-off 2-prong extension cord that I cannibalized, along with some heavy duty heat shrink tubing over the connector / wire junction to make it as 'cardiac fibrillation proof' as possible ! Regards, DK
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Lake Girl
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