Vibrations, weird noises, etc.

[stmar]

I cleaned my stove a while back, including the pipe, and since then I have vibration sounds. Can't tell if it is from the blower or main motor, think it is the blower at this point. Once it gets hot the sounds diminish and it sounds about normal. It seems to be working okay. Any suggestions about what it may be? I am not going to get into it too much since it is 15 years old and I have been eyeing the XXV, but if there is something simple I would do it. My master plan, if I can get it by the wife, is to move the old unit to the shop/shed and get the XXV. I wanted to get through this winter and do it before next winter so I may just limp along unless there is a catastrophic failure. Whitfield Profile 30.

 

[Defiant]

15 yrs??? It's paid it's dues Go with a Harman....just my .02

 

[stmar]

That is the plan, just the timing, and yes it certainly has done it's job. When I put it in the shop I will go through it and test some of the components but I would like to wait for better weather. Plus does anyone know if Harman has a seasonal sale during the year?

 

[heat seeker]

It might be a motor housing. Mine is made of sheet metal, crimped to an aluminum base. When cold, it rattles since there is clearance between them, but when it heats up, the aluminum expands and there isn't the clearance, so it stops rattling.
You could try grabbing the housings while it's rattling to see.

No point in throwing a car away just because the ashtray is full...

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

X2

Plus then you will be reduced to this https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/what-is-your-harman-feed-rate-setting.117364/ .

 

[stmar]

So I was messing around with the stove and noticed that if I open the top it sounds more normal. I really don't see any way to "tighten" that lid, it has a continuous hinge. Maybe 15 years of wear and tear has loosened it.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Place something with a bit of weight to it on the lid and see if it quiets down. I got rid of most of the noise with my bucket of parts by doing that, tightening down some screws, nuts and bolts, and the use of some gasket material.

 

[stmar]

Tried holding the lid down but it did nothing, only opening the lid seems to work. I may try some bumpers or gasket at some points and see if that does the trick. When the season ends I will go through it and see if anything sticks out. Won't do it now because when I start tearing something apart it usually ends up taking 4 times as much time as I estimate and I probably do not have enough time between storms to get the job done.

 

[DMKNLD]

Won't do it now because when I start tearing something apart it usually ends up taking 4 times as much time as I estimate and I probably do not have enough time between storms to get the job done.

How does the saying go, when estimating how much time a project *should* take, you double the numeric value and move up one time increment; ie 1 hr projected = 2 days reality, 2 days = 4 weeks, etc. For something projected to take a year or more, man, frig it....... it won't happen in your life time ! LOL

My 1st gen Quad is a rattling, vibrating, harmonic 'hot mess' as well. I had some sheet metal panel screws that were loose, put some vibration dampening fiber washers on the convection blower motor mounts, and leveled the feet on my stove where one leg was uneven on the tile hearth, and vibrated the entire stove as a result. Like most things, seems like trial and error to identify where the vibrations are coming from and experiment with things to minimize them.

Though part of this I think is just inherent to older pellet stoves with bi-metal components that have had years of differential heat expansion and contraction. Add large surface areas of sheet metal panels and some degree of vibration seems inevitable.

 

[stmar]

I agree and the fact that it gets better when it is warmed up and run for a period of time. I would be more alarmed if it increased instead of decreased. I have some rubber from a conveyor belt, used a piece on my snow plow, so I may use some of it under the stove at the 4 corners and see if that dampens the sound.

 

[tiger]

Plus does anyone know if Harman has a seasonal sale during the year?

A sale? I think getting a Harman is like adopting a baby; you fill out an application and provide references. Not sure about bribes.

 

[stmar]

I did see where they had a $100 off deal, that would cover half the tax, lol. So they don't have end of season promotions? I have two places I can purchase one; a stove store and a local building supply store. The stove store is 120 miles away and the building store is 40 miles away. I know the manager of the building supply place so I might see if he will cut me a deal. I think I can install it myself since I have all the infrastructure in place.

 

[stmar]

I took some of the rubber belt and cut it into aprox. 3" squares. I put 6 of them under the stove at the corners, yes there are 6 corners because the front angles in. Just turned it on and it is noticeably quieter and much less vibration. It will be interesting to see if the wife makes any comments when she gets home.

 

[stmar]

Mission accomplished Wife thought something was "wrong" with the stove, it was toooooo quiet For some reason when I did a thorough clean it must have altered the balance and hence the vibration was exacerbated. Funny how just a little tweak can have such a dramatic effect. I was thinking of doing this for a while but just did not get around to it, the increase in noise spurred me into action.