Hello
This is the worst case I have seen!
I was working on a very nice looking 4 y/o Red Enamel Cast Iron Enviro Empress. The poor Merkle-Koriff was on it's last legs and was very noisy. When I got there the heat level # 3 light was blinking. Auger Trouble for sure. Well I disconnected the flue and spun it around and took the bottom back and two bottom side panels off. The auger set screw came out easily but where the set screw press against the auger it made a perimeter mark pushed the metal up so the motor hung on for dear life! ! ! Therefore after some persuading with the pinch bar I got it off! ! !
Now the stainless steel auger looked ok at first but after some close examination I found some sloppy workmanship. Apparently where the top fins and some of the corkscrew fins are welded, it looks like some tack welding just splattered and made some prickly pimples! ! ! If I were in the QC department and saw this I would easily put it in the reject pile. See 1st pic!
Instead it looks like the auger was set aside for a minute next to the guy with blue sealant and guess what spilled on this poor auger! See 2nd pic.
So after some grinding with the grinding stone and buffing with the wire wheel and smoothing with emory cloth, the auger was sprayed with the Dry Moly Spray. Then to top it off the auger bushings had ring around the collar! The poor auger could not turn very well in it's bushings, like someone not swimming very well in their own swimming pool! So after cleaning the dirty rings and lubricating with tuff Oil Lubit-8, the auger was re-installed. It turned like butter. The a brand new Gleason-Avery motor was put on to make it smooth and quite!
I strongly suggest any new Enviro owners to check your stainless steel augers with a fine tooth comb!
Is this why many new stove auger motors do not last as long as some older stoves? ? ? See yellow arrow in pics below and click on pic to enlarge:
This is the worst case I have seen!
I was working on a very nice looking 4 y/o Red Enamel Cast Iron Enviro Empress. The poor Merkle-Koriff was on it's last legs and was very noisy. When I got there the heat level # 3 light was blinking. Auger Trouble for sure. Well I disconnected the flue and spun it around and took the bottom back and two bottom side panels off. The auger set screw came out easily but where the set screw press against the auger it made a perimeter mark pushed the metal up so the motor hung on for dear life! ! ! Therefore after some persuading with the pinch bar I got it off! ! !
Now the stainless steel auger looked ok at first but after some close examination I found some sloppy workmanship. Apparently where the top fins and some of the corkscrew fins are welded, it looks like some tack welding just splattered and made some prickly pimples! ! ! If I were in the QC department and saw this I would easily put it in the reject pile. See 1st pic!
Instead it looks like the auger was set aside for a minute next to the guy with blue sealant and guess what spilled on this poor auger! See 2nd pic.
So after some grinding with the grinding stone and buffing with the wire wheel and smoothing with emory cloth, the auger was sprayed with the Dry Moly Spray. Then to top it off the auger bushings had ring around the collar! The poor auger could not turn very well in it's bushings, like someone not swimming very well in their own swimming pool! So after cleaning the dirty rings and lubricating with tuff Oil Lubit-8, the auger was re-installed. It turned like butter. The a brand new Gleason-Avery motor was put on to make it smooth and quite!
I strongly suggest any new Enviro owners to check your stainless steel augers with a fine tooth comb!
Is this why many new stove auger motors do not last as long as some older stoves? ? ? See yellow arrow in pics below and click on pic to enlarge:
That is the difference in the way we service stoves.
