Whitfield pellet insert need help please

[JohnnyHaulin]

Looking for some help with my insert model 70966. How many pellets should drop when auger turns and how much should it turn? Stove was running good till I shut it down to clean it. went to restart all was good and no pellets. auger jamed. took it apart to see if it was the motor(bad motor?). motor looks to be working. pulled out auger freed it up brass bushings look good no play. put back together primed auger. Now, not enough pellets falling into pot and fire goes out stove shuts down. I have noticed before not many pellets coming out but did not kow if this was normal. I watched the red light come on and off and pellets do not come out every time or one to two pellets come out. is there an adjustment to the auger? Thanks JH

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Looking for some help with my insert model 70966. How many pellets should drop when auger turns and how much should it turn? Stove was running good till I shut it down to clean it. went to restart all was good and no pellets. auger jamed. took it apart to see if it was the motor(bad motor?). motor looks to be working. pulled out auger freed it up brass bushings look good no play. put back together primed auger. Now, not enough pellets falling into pot and fire goes out stove shuts down. I have noticed before not many pellets coming out but did not kow if this was normal. I watched the red light come on and off and pellets do not come out every time or one to two pellets come out. is there an adjustment to the auger? Thanks JH

The auger is timed each heat range setting has a different on/off time ratio.

How much the auger turns depends on its RPM rating and how long it is on.

How many pellets drops is a function of the on time and the density of the pellets.

If the auger is not securely fastened to its motor it can slip and not turn when it should.

If the the support bearings/bushings are worn the auger may have a slant to its flight and the pellets may not consistently flow even if the motor and auger are properly fastened together.

It is also possible for various things (fines and even pellets) to get stuck and either prevent the auger from loading up or discharging its load of pellets.

 

[JohnnyHaulin]

could it be a bad motor?

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

could it be a bad motor?

If you rule out the list posted the only thing left is a bad motor.

 

[Snowy Rivers]

With the stove ON, watch the red light on the panel, it should be on (feeding) for approximately 1-1/2 to 2 seconds and then off from about 2 seconds on the high setting to about 7-8 seconds on the low setting.

Watch the auger coupling and motor and be sure that the motor/auger actually turns when the light is on and does so every time.

If the auger is turning then the issue is other than the motor itself.

Make sure you dont have a CLOG at the top of the drop tube/auger area.


There is a trim pot on the panel (little adjustment screw inside) that will allow you to extend the feed time some.

1.8 seconds is the factory setting IIRC (auger motor on time)

Make really certain that the auger tube and the drop tube are totally clear of any obstructions.

If the auger motor is cycling as it should and actually turning the auger, then the stove should feed fuel properly.

You should see some pellets drop almost every time the light comes on.

I run ground nut shells which feed far different than pellets (Whitfield stoves) and there are on cycles from time to time that nothing much drops, then the next cycle will see a bunch fall into the pot.


Good luck and keep us posted.

Snowy

 

[JohnnyHaulin]

I think I'm going to take out the auger agian and see if anything is up there. It moved free after taking it out. I'll keep you posted I'm sure I will have more ?. Thanks (ps, also a trucker)

 

[Wood Heat Stoves]

the service book covers fuel rates and quality issues pretty well, and describes calibration if needed

before adjusting the trim on the board, be sure to follow ALL the maint tips in the book,

pm me for a copy of the technical manual if you like(not the owners book, but i have that too if you need a copy)
include:
model, serial number, and your email address.

 

[arnash]

You say the auger jammed but you didn't say how you knew that that was the problem. You didn't say that you removed the pellets from the hopper and watched the auger turn (or not turn) at various settings. That is one way to know whether or not the auger is jammed. If it turns normally then...I have no idea. I can't see how the chute could be jammed. Mysterious. But if it doesn't turn at the proper speed when set at high, then maybe the speed-control potentiometer is dusty inside or suffering from some malfunction. Maybe a little contact cleaner spray could be used to clean it. It's the focus of the auger speed issue so if there is no jam of some sort, that must be where the problem is.

 

[JohnnyHaulin]

Sorry arnash, Should have explained better. first thing i did was removed all pellets, wacthed auger it did not move then started checking switches they all seemed to be working(used a volt meter for open close). Then I took off just the motor to see if it would turn. it did, tryed to move the auger and could not move it i used channel locks to turn the auger to free it up after that i pulled out the auger to see if it was clear checked the brass bushing very little play. put it back together and i could turn it by hand now.Put everything back together primed the auger and fired it up. kepted watching the pellets come out one or two then none for two or three turns, would only run for 30 to 40 min. chekced low limit switch and it was closed like it should. seems like there is not enough pellets keeping fire going. Hope that helps. Thanks

 

[JohnnyHaulin]

can anyone tell me if an auger can wear out(stove was built in 93)? I have mine out again but before i took it out i tryed to turn it and it looks like the pellets are grinding up and sliping down the back then jaming up the auger at the same time.

 

[Delta-T]

sometimes the bushing on the auger mount plate wears into an oblong shape and makes the auger jam up.

 

[JohnnyHaulin]

Thanks Delta-t, Funny i ordered a new bushing and plate today.

 

[arnash]

Yeah, it sounds like a bushing problem, something that allows too much play in the auger movement.

 

[JohnnyHaulin]

Just a quick update, put in a new bushing and auger motor and stove is running good. Still might pull out auger this summer and try to fix the grinding of the pellets I'm still getting. I think I'm going to sleeve it or weld the auger all the way around to add more size to the auger. THANKS for all the help.

 

[tjnamtiw]

Sorry arnash, Should have explained better. first thing i did was removed all pellets, wacthed auger it did not move then started checking switches they all seemed to be working(used a volt meter for open close). Then I took off just the motor to see if it would turn. it did, tryed to move the auger and could not move it i used channel locks to turn the auger to free it up after that i pulled out the auger to see if it was clear checked the brass bushing very little play. put it back together and i could turn it by hand now.Put everything back together primed the auger and fired it up. kepted watching the pellets come out one or two then none for two or three turns, would only run for 30 to 40 min. chekced low limit switch and it was closed like it should. seems like there is not enough pellets keeping fire going. Hope that helps. Thanks

I may be off base here since I have Quads and not Whitfield, but if I emptied the hopper on mine and tried to cycle it to look at the augerr, I wouldn't have enough vacuum to close the vacuum switch which wouldn't let the feed auger turn. With the hopper lid open and no pellets, it's a direct path for air to flow into the fire box and kill the vacuum.
Is this the same logic for the Whitfield?

 

[Delta-T]

tj- the whitfields usually measure for pos pressure in the exhaust to cut out the auger

 

[tjnamtiw]

tj- the whitfields usually measure for pos pressure in the exhaust to cut out the auger

Thanks, always good to know the differences. Now that I learned something, I can go back to sleep.

 

[arnash]

Just a quick update, put in a new bushing and auger motor and stove is running good. Still might pull out auger this summer and try to fix the grinding of the pellets I'm still getting. I think I'm going to sleeve it or weld the auger all the way around to add more size to the auger. THANKS for all the help.

Having the same problem of fines escaping from the auger and dropping to the bottom of the stove, I thought about what I could do to prevent it, until it occurred to me that one option is to simply ignore it, which I think I'll go with since there is no problem with the auger movement. If it moved 100 times faster there would be a problem, but not at the snail pace that augers move at.