A little advice for St Croix owners

[heat seeker]

I was cleaning my Afton Bay today, and noticed that the VersaGrate shaft was binding pretty badly. Long story short, the front bushing was binding, even though I had lubed both shaft bushings this spring. What I found is that the anti-sieze that I had used had mixed with a bit of ash, and bound the bushing onto the shaft. The TSC pellets I'm burning are very ashy, but I don't know if they are the culprit.
I had to use an Xacto knife to scrape the crud out of the bushing. Once I got down to the bronze bushing material, I had plenty of clearance for the shaft, and it moves freely again. I suspect the buildup happened over a long period of time, but I'll be keeping an eye on it.
This is just a heads-up, since that binding put quite a load on the VersaGrate motor and gearbox. I could hear it straining lately, which is why I investigated.
An easy way to check the bushings is to remove the burnpot bottom, then try to rotate the VersaGrate shaft. It should move easily.
Happy burning!

 

[krooser]

good tip...

 

[bbfarm]

Thanks. I didn't know there were bushings. We just slopped on anti sieze on it. most of the time can't get the burn pot bottom out, it stops in the wrong position. I can hear ours squeal occasionally

 

[heat seeker]

You're welcome. Another little tip - if the burn pot bottom is too far forward to come out, leave the door open and start the stove. It will fail to start because the vacuum switch doesn't see the pressure drop, and #2 light will blink. But, while it's trying to start, the Versa Grate motor will run, moving the pot bottom. You may have to do this twice to move it enough.
When you're done, close the door and the stove will start up normally.

Can you tell that I've played with my stove a lot?