St. Croix York - Issues...per the norm

[RMB3889]

Hello all,

This Thanksgiving, I'm thankful I found this forum because my St. Croix York is having issues. This machine has been meticulously taken care of including regular, thorough cleanings. I am banging my head against a wall and hoping I can get some advice or pointed in the right direction from some members here familiar with the unit.

Right now we are having issues with pellets dropping into the burn pot. It seems that the auger is either not doing its job or the chute is jammed. We had it professionally serviced yesterday by a local gentlemen who is very knowledgeable with these units. Neither was an issue, he did his magic and was able to get the machine to feed pellets and garner a flame.

As things go with our luck, as soon as he left, the flame went out and we began to trouble shoot/adjust the damper according to the manual (leaving it on setting 1 and only adjusting slightly to see if we could get the right balance). We got a flame going yesterday which looked uneven in the burn pot, leaning to one side. We tried to nurse it as much as we could but it eventually went out.

This seems to be a regular thing for this stove and I am at my wits end. If I weren't trying to sell my townhouse within the next six months, I'd go out and buy a more reliable unit.

Appreciate any feedback, pointers are suggestions.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!

Ryan

 

[RMB3889]

Update: took the insert out from my fireplace, removed the auger, cleaned out, vacuumed, even replaced the membrane/gasket. Plugged the stove back in, turned on, no difference. The unit still refuses to feed pellets, but the auger will turn (I can see inside the hopper when engaging the button and also hear it). I am using a premium pellet and even sifted out saw dust/fines (shouldn't have to do this).

Technician is coming out Tuesday but if I get bad news, I'm going to replace the whole unit with a different machine. This has been a bad experience start to finish and I've lost faith in St. Croix. No longer worth dropping money into a paper weight.

 

[heat seeker]

If the auger is indeed turning with pellets in the hopper, the only problem I can see is that there is a blockage. Are you sure that the auger is tightened to the gearbox? The set screw(s) may have come loose, so that the auger doesn't turn under load. It sounds like your motor is running, since you see the auger turning with no pellets in the hopper, so it's a safe bet that the auger is loose on the shaft, or the gearbox has internal problems. Have you tried turning the auger (stove unplugged) itself by hand? It should not be possible, since there is such gear reduction in the gearbox.

 

[RMB3889]

I'm not sure how to verify whether or not the auger is tightened to the gearbox. On this particular model, there are 4 nuts on the back that hold the auger in place. Prior to my removing the auger (after a technician had come out), the auger was extremely tight to the machine and not going anywhere..and the auger was still not feeding pellets. It took some extra effort to get these locking lug nuts loose enough to remove the auger and clean auger's housing area.

After I placed the auger back in the machine, I made sure to tighten these back up but not over tighten. Still, movement initially and then no movement. I have not tried moving the auger by hand but I guess I could try that.

I'm starting to think this machine is more fuss than it's worth. Again, it came with the house I purchased so I can't complain too much but it certainly would not have been my choice, nor even on my list.

 

[Ssyko]

The auger shaft is connected to the auger motor shaft by a collar with a set screw. If the auger motor is running but the shaft is not rotating i would bet the main drive gear in the gearbox is missing some teeth/ stripped. Thus the need for a new auger motor