Another Accentra fan? Dead?

[tiger]

I've been reading some of the other topics, thinking I might need to plan for long-term work in this area. Ten days ago in another topic I posted "Well, a couple of days ago, my wife went to turn on the insert and the fan just hummed instead of running so I unplugged it (turning to “off” did not stop the humming) ASAP; I presumed I had let dust/ash build up far too much around the fan. Yikes!" And I did a deep clean, and have been pleased with how the insert has been running.

This AM, I did a front-end light cleaning, really not much in there; again, pleased. I turned on the insert and the fan came on, with a scraping sound, after a second or two it stopped and just hummed so I unplugged the insert immediately. Something is stopping something. Now (a) Can I presume that the fan that I hear at the very instant of turn-on is the combustion fan? (b) As it's so enclosed, how can I tell what the obstruction is? One has to take the cover off the front just to see the fan (not the motor) so if it's hitting the housing, I don't see how to examine.

Over the past ten days, I've been listening to the insert. I've never liked the unit's noise, but my hearing is not all that great; I cannot tell if the noise has become louder or not. Anyone use a decibel meter?

Not a happy moment. 50/50% figuring on calling for service, I presume a 30 day wait.

 

[Dataman]

When it's turned on Combustion Blower comes on. I would also look at Distribution blower. Pull the back off and check for pellets in that area. I know on my Harmon XXV I had loud buzz and it was screws impacting the Distribution Fan. Or Poor Build. Give us some info. Do you do the 1Ton Cleaning? How much pellets have you burned? Did you bend the fan blades cleaning? If your dealer is like mine they don't want to do service at any costs. Wish U Luck

The stove should tell you what fans are running if it's like mine. With LED lights.

 

[tiger]

When it's turned on Combustion Blower comes on. I would also look at Distribution blower. Pull the back off and check for pellets in that area.

Pull the back off of what?

I know on my Harmon XXV I had loud buzz and it was screws impacting the Distribution Fan. Or Poor Build. Give us some info. Do you do the 1Ton Cleaning? How much pellets have you burned?

I did my first deep self-clean ten days ago, including pulling the insert out of the fireplace. Hmm, 4-5 bags since then?

Did you bend the fan blades cleaning? If your dealer is like mine they don't want to do service at any costs. Wish U Luck

I really don't think I bent anything ten days ago, and this AM did not remove any panels/covers during my light cleaning this AM and it was running fine yesterday. I think I can get service from whom I now buy pellets, but last time, for a cleaning -- 30 days' wait.

The stove should tell you what fans are running if it's like mine. With LED lights.

Good point, but I pulled the plug very quickly when I heard the scrape/hum.

 

[Dataman]

Don't the stove have flimsy panels covering the back? Gets your access to the Blowers? I guess not being insert. Stand alone stoves cover this area up with panels you remove to get to the fans. You have to pull it out, sounds like more work.

 

[tiger]

Don't the stove have flimsy panels covering the back? Gets your access to the Blowers? I guess not being insert. Stand alone stoves cover this area up with panels you remove to get to the fans. You have to pull it out, sounds like more work.

Oh, I see. With the stove out from the fireplace, I see the distribution fan housing easily, I don't recall the combustion fan but presume it's more difficult to see. Looked pretty clean back there ten days ago.

Hmm, if I pull it out, and remove the front housing cover from the distribution fan, is it safe to plug it back in as turn it on to see if the "obstruction" persists even with the front cover off?

 

[Dataman]

Don't know. We used power plug we put together. Easy enough then.

 

[Ssyko]

Unplug the convection blower from the stove wire harness and use an old lamp cord and bare the wires enough to go into the connectors, tape connections and plug into the wall outlet. And you shoul be able to determine what is going on.

 

[tiger]

Well, got the front iron panels off and the fan cover (NOTE: the left-right retention lever for the fan cover is very tight, had to tap it to the left with the head of pliers, is there a was to ease/loosen/lubricate?)

The fan then spins freely, but there's a tiny amount of wiggle. Further, even with the cover off, I plugged the insert back in and turned it on, the Combustion Blower light comes on but the unit just hums and the fan does not turn. Dead fan?

 

[Ssyko]

Make a test cord and run the fan from the wall socket and not the stove. If there is a bad wire you could replace the blower and still have the same problem

 

[Dataman]

You can buy the slip on connectors cheap enough and make proper cord out of some old lamp cord

 

[Mt Bob]

Quite common for people to clean a stove,and not pull the combustion fan,on ones that need it,and a chunk of ash jams the impeller.