Top Auger not working Englander

I own a England Stove Works 25- PVDC. The top auger just kind of stopped working.. So I did a bunch of research online and then started tearing into the stove. First thing I did was
Step 1- deep clean the entire stove including the exhaust fan and flu. Tested... FAIL
Step 2- Took apart top auger to clean out any clogging in it. The bearings seemed fine. Put it back together tested: FAIL
Step 3- Checked on vacuum hoses, they seem fine so I unplugged the wire from the vacuum switch and bridged the wires together with an auto fuse to bypass the switch. Tested: Motor still doesn't work.
Step 4- While vacuum switch is bypassed I took wires from top auger and plugged them into bottom auger, the bottom auger would turn....pause....tun....pause just like the top auger was suppose to. Then I took the wires from the bottom auger and plugged them into the top auger.... it was able to turn constantly just like the bottom auger is suppose to. That leads me to think that the switch board is fine and both motors work, and vacuum switches are working.....
So yeah I'm stumped and looking for answers as to why my top auger wont turn.

Blaine

Top auger motor might be binding under load, when you were playing were there pellets in the system or was it empty?

+1
I have seen this on several 25's. Quite often, the customer will question why the top auger motor (which turns intermittently) will burn out before the bottom one which will turn constantly. The constant start and stop can be as tolling on the motor as constant turning. It may turn freely but when its pushing a spool of pellets the resistance may be enough in its old age to stall it. if this is the case, put the weak motor on the bottom (much less resistance) and the good one up top. This will get you through til the new motor comes in. How old is this motor?

Thanks for the info CT Pellet, that's actually what I ended up doing directly after posting my original question. The stove has been running now for a good 30 min with no problem. As for age of the motors I have no idea. Just bought the house 2 months ago and this is the only source of heat. I probably will not buy a new motor for the current stove. Hopefully this stove will last me through winter, or until I get a new WOOD stove. I am a forester and out in the woods 3-5 days a week so bringin home a small load of Black Oak is what I normally do once a week.. Already have about 2-3 cords of wood outside seasoned and ready to go but alas I have a small pellet stove to heat my 1500 sq ft house with 12' ceilings... I CANT WAIT TO BURN WOOD!

I think most of us here understand. For some folks wood really IS the best thing but not for those of us who lack the time, or can`t manage the work anymore, can`t live with the the dirty mess, bugs and critters,not to mention the increased dangers of a wood stove, creosote and chimney fires, having to refuel it 3+ times a day. Then you have to deal with the uneven heat output levels.
I burned wood for many years and I can`t say I miss it.

Order a new motor before you need it!
One will burn out on the coldest night of the year and you stated that it is your only source of heat!

As far as Wood Vs Pellet, I wish I had a wood stove after this hurricane, I would have 20 to 30 cord of wood in my yard if I had a wood stove. FREE energy Yeah!

Bill

As mentioned above, you probably should have at least 1 spare on hand....just in case. Seeing that you aren't going to keep it past the winter, here's a great place to buy a "spare"....only $19.00 plus shipping. I bought one as an emergency spare....... it runs great and has a MASSIVE stack.

http://www.surpluscenter.com/sort.asp?catname=electric&keyword=GIAR

The motors that are listed are all intermittent duty. The pdvc uses 1rpm these are not.
be careful.

Frequently the surplus center has 1.0 RPM gear motors ( and lower ) and Pete just gave a link to one of their 3 gear motor sections. They also are known to also carry continuous duty motors.

They just don't have them at the moment. I was just advocating caution.

If used on the upper auger, they should work fine.

I agree that an intermittent duty motor would be fine for the upper auger, as long as you don't forget and swap them next year. The big problem is, they aren't 1 rpm. The stove is going to run hotter with a 2 rpm motor in the top auger drive.

Not a huge issue....just run the stove at a lower heat setting than normal, or even turn the LFF down a couple of notches.

2 RPM upper auger motor not the best for 25PDVC but works well on lower auger.

I brought my lower auger motor back to life with WD40 a couple years ago. When I saw a user had installed a 2 RPM motor from Surplus Center for $18.95; I purchased a pair of 2 RPM CCW motors as backup even though my original motors were still working. The original Merkle Koroff motor actually turns at 1.3 RPM.

I found when used on the upper auger the 2 RPM motor would overfeed (too much heat) on the lowest setting even with lowest three button feed setting. Was OK for colder weather or emergency but I moved it to the lower auger and this works fine. I'm keeping the original Merkle Koroff motor as spare for the upper auger.

My old pdvc Merkle auger motors were listed as "intermittent" on both motors. Does anyone know if it still says that on the newer ones. My pdvc was an '06.

I don't think the Merkles are rated for continuous duty. Link has spec's and still says intermittent duty cycle.

\\http://merklekorff.thomasnet.com/it...actional-gearmotors-thermally-protected/8212?

That's interesting......I thought someone was selling Merkles on ebay that were "continuous" duty.....might have been Mr. Munson.....don't see any listed right now.....

Maybe he super charged it to last forever?

I have been searching online, and I am surprised to find that virtually all of the small gear motors are rated for intermittent duty.

Csh Inc. has continuous duty....I believe Gleason Avery too

No, GA are also listed as "intermittent" duty. The ones listed in CSH are the only ones I've seen that are listed as "continuous". Funny, though, as they don't look to be any different than any other.

Copied from Gleason Avery web page:

MOTOR CONSTRUCTION

Gearcase: Zinc die cast

Lubrication: Grease filled

Gears: Hardened steel and phenolic

Bearings: Spherical

Mounting: All positions

Rotation: CW facing shaft

Shaft: 3/8" diameter x 1" long with flat, hardened

Type: Shaded pole

Protection: Impedance or thermally protected *

Hz: 60 or 50

Duty: Intermittent

Bearings: Self-lubricating bronze sleeve

Insulation: Class B

UL and CSA

Motor Leads: 6" from bobbin

I looked at CSH INC and couldn't find gearmotors. The C-frame motors they have are all designed for air over operation for ventilators. The cooling air is how they get their continuous rating.

Thats what I think is funny too....they have similar stacks to the Merkle and Gleasons...I wonder if the gears are different?

On a side note...the ones at Surplus Sales have HUGE stacks...gonna pick up another spare...they are too cheap not to.

Look under "auger motor"

Click to enlarge

PV003 Auger motor by Multi Products of Wisconsin USA

115 Volts
SP/Open
.5 Amp
1 RPM
Continuous duty, Impedance Protected
CCW rotation, viewing from rear
3 in. body
Skeleton frame
1 in. x 3/8 in. shaft

Gleason Avery requires that you ask via their application link to state the duty cycle you need fill out the form here: http://www.gleasonavery.com/adforms/index.htm