Auger motor issue

[Lightboy1]

Hello,
My Mother has a 24 yr old Whitfield advantage 2 T.
Sunday evening, the pellets stopped dropping, the red light on the control board continued to go on and off, and you could hear a faint motor sound when the red light was on. I took the rear access plate off and noticed the motor shaft was spinning but the shaft coming out of the gear box wasn't. I removed the auger motor, hot wired the motor. The motor was running, along with the shaft coming out of the gear box. The shaft coming out of the gear box had plenty of tourqe as well.
I re-installed the auger motor and the same thing occurred. Motor running, and shaft out of the gear box not spinning.
It appears the auger motor gear assembly is breaking down under load.
Any suggestions before I buy a new auger motor.
BTW, the pressure switch and high temp limit control are functioning properly.
I know it's an older model, but I do a thorough cleaning each year, and follow all maintance requirements.
Thanks in advance for any advice.
Steve

 

[Bioburner]

24 years is a good run. How many tons per year? At least its an easy to get at and replacement is off the shelf. Most of those small gearboxes have plastic gears. Taken many apart. Grainger or several online sources.
Welcome

 

[Lightboy1]

Thanks for responding so quickly.
She burns no more than a ton per season.

 

[Bioburner]

There are many Whit owners here. Was just curious about tons. Keep the fan motor windings blown out of dust bunnies and a couple drops of oil if needed(if manual recommends) and the stove will run for many more years.

 

[Lightboy1]

There are many Whit owners here. Was just curious about tons. Keep the fan motor windings blown out of dust bunnies and a couple drops of oil if needed(if manual recommends) and the stove will run for many more years.

 

[Lightboy1]

That I do, a couple of drops of 30 weight oil, and all the dust sucked out from every accessible place inside and outside of the stove.
I have taken the stove outside and blew it out with a gas powered blower, using caution on how much air I blow into the rear of the unit.
My Mother is 83, and in excellent health, but when something like this happens, it works on her. So I gotta be the good son and get it up and running.

 

[Bioburner]

Some canned air for computers does wonders for evicting dust bunnies from motor windings and using a vac to keep them from moving into the room.

 

[SidecarFlip]

24 years is an excellent run on any open frame shaded pole motor and gearbox. At that age, I suspect the gears aren't plastic, rather brass but the grease inside has long ago hardened and lubrication went south eating some gear teeth up.

If you have a manual, look at the schematic and determine the rpm of the motor drive and then take a gander at Flea-Bay for a lower cost replacement. remember rotation can be reversed by flipping the windings so rotation isn't a big issue. RPM is.

 

[Lightboy1]

With that, I am going to purchase a new auger motor. I will keep everyone posted on my progress.
Thanks everyone for your advice and support.

 

[Lightboy1]

With that, I am going to purchase a new auger motor. I will keep everyone posted on my progress.
Thanks everyone for your advice and support.

 

[Lightboy1]

Well I installed the new OEM auger motor in my Mothers, Whitfield advantage 2 T Pellet stove, and it is working like new.
Thanks for all the replies and advice, it's nice to know there's a community that can help with such good advice.
BTW, I seen prices on auger motors anywhere from, $70 on up to $180.
I went with an OEM auger motor, I wasn't too comfortable with an after market auger motor. Are the aftermarket parts for a pellet stove worth the time ?

 

[SidecarFlip]

Are the aftermarket parts for a pellet stove worth the time ?

Absolutely.All manufacturers share the same components wth the excsption of the control board and there are only a couple manufacturers that make drives and fans so shopping for porice is very important so long as you have the time (in other words it's for a spare and not a breakdown situation). Markup on these components borders on insane so comparison shopping and cost savings can be realized pretty easily so long as you aren't in a pinch.

Been perusing for components for years,,,,,,,

I keep extras on thr shelf so when something breaks (and it will break eventually because it's mechanical), I can swap out with a minimal amount of disruption.

 

[Bioburner]

Well I installed the new OEM auger motor in my Mothers, Whitfield advantage 2 T Pellet stove, and it is working like new.
Thanks for all the replies and advice, it's nice to know there's a community that can help with such good advice.
BTW, I seen prices on auger motors anywhere from, $70 on up to $180.
I went with an OEM auger motor, I wasn't too comfortable with an after market auger motor. Are the aftermarket parts for a pellet stove worth the time ?

One can usually find the same or sometimes better.

 

[Don2222]

Hello

The Hi Quality Gleason Avery Auger motors are very good!
You may need a new Nylatron Auger bearing too! ! !

 

[SidecarFlip]

Hello

The Hi Quality Gleason Avery Auger motors are very good!
You may need a new Nylatron Auger bearing too! ! !

Some say Gleason-Avery is better than the alternative (Merkle-Koroff I think ...lol) but in reality both are good. It comes down to making sure (before it's installed) that the bearings have adequate oil and the gearbox has adequate grease inside.

I take mine apart new before it's ever installed and make sure the motor bearings are oiled (I pull the outboard end cap and put a little bit of grease in the bearing too. Then I split the gearbox, carefully pulling the halves apart and make sure it's completely filled with high quality synthetic grease. Most manufacturers put only a small amount of grease inside and that gets hard from heat pretty quick and the gears are running dry and eventually fail.

Just my opinion, but if the stove has a nylon bearing on the auger, a trip to a good hardware store will net a longer lasting oilite or 660CA Bronze bearing for not much money.