troubleshooting fan in HI300 fireplace insert

[amyK]

I'm new here so please let me know if I'm posting incorrectly.

I have a Hampton Hi300 woodstove since 2006. It has a dual-speed fan assembly underneath with a heat sensor, new as of a couple of years ago. If I remember correctly, it was working fine at the the end of the cold season last year, but is behaving strangely now. It is clean of dust etc. The heat sensor seems to be working okay as well. (Could be better, I think, but that's a smaller issue). The big issue is this: Though the fan spins freely with the motor off when I push it with my fingers, once the motor is on, it bind up. It might spin for thirty seconds but then it slows to a stop, while the motor continues to hum. If I try to encourage it manually, it doesn't want to move. I might be able to get it to spin for a few seconds, but it quickly binds up again.

I could buy a replacement fan assembly again for $300+, but wonder if there's anything I can do to repair this one. Any suggestions much appreciated. Thanks for reading.

 

[E_Z_Wind]

Try removing and cleaning it? Spray some kind of Lube on the bearings where the drums that spin connect to the motor before reinstalling.

 

[begreen]

This may be the speed controller. Does the fan work when switched from the Auto setting to the Manual setting?

 

[amyK]

Thanks for your replies. Since I wrote, I've made an interesting new discovery: The fan spins freely with motor running when the entire assembly is held at a certain angle, with the back feet, so to speak, raised slightly. This leads me to believe there is a slight warp in the fan cage, and I am going to work to rig something to hold the thing at this slight tilt permanently.

 

[amyK]

This may be the speed controller. Does the fan work when switched from the Auto setting to the Manual setting?

yes it does

 

[amyK]

Try removing and cleaning it? Spray some kind of Lube on the bearings where the drums that spin connect to the motor before reinstalling.

This was my first thought too. Already tried spraying lube to the motor area but opening it all up is beyond my skill level. If it turned out to be the most likely problem area, I was open to learning, but see my new comment on the thread in general which explains why I believe it probably is not the issue after all.

 

[begreen]

Thanks for your replies. Since I wrote, I've made an interesting new discovery: The fan spins freely with motor running when the entire assembly is held at a certain angle, with the back feet, so to speak, raised slightly. This leads me to believe there is a slight warp in the fan cage, and I am going to work to rig something to hold the thing at this slight tilt permanently.

This could also be an intermittent connection which would be electrical, not mechanical. This is more likely if the fan spins freely and is not binding. The issue could be at a connector or inside of the wire(s) to the fan.

 

[begreen]

If this is electrical it should be fixed. Is there any darkening in the wire insulation at one of the connections?

 

[amyK]

If this is electrical it should be fixed. Is there any darkening in the wire insulation at one of the connections?

Thanks for thinking about this. I don't see any darkening in the insulation. I tested the fan in different positions and it seems it only spins freely when held in this certain position. Unfortunately no luck so far in rigging something to hold it in that position, but still trying.