Auger Motor Update

[biglar]

Last week you-all were very helpful in solving my problem with pellets not feeding in my Quadra Fire Santa Fe stove. I finally used my spare control module and that seemed to solve the problem. For a while. 2½ days later, it quit again and I went thru intermittent feed problems for a day of fussing with it, then it quit for good. Very careful checking leads me right back to the control module.

I live entirely on Social Security and they are Not generous. $200 for a control module is a great hardship, tho' I'll spend it if necessary. I do Not want to throw good money after bad, so I think a bit of a story is in order.......

I have a 120 volt reading light over my recliner; the rest of the house is all energy efficient bulbs and standard appliances. Several months ago, I got out of my chair for....something....walked a couple of feet and the bulb in the reading light exploded....I guess "imploded" would be a better term because of the vacuum in the bulb. In any case, it blew tiny fragments of glass over a 10 or 12 foot area, including in my hair and on my clothes. Pure good fortune I wasn't sitting down. I hadn't turned it on or off, hadn't adjusted it or bumped it in any way, it had been on for hours....just BANG. 1st time in my life for such a thing.

Since then, it's been burning out a bulb about every 3 or 4 weeks while rest of house is fine. The current bulb is about 2 or 3 weeks old and I noticed a couple of nights ago that it isn't as bright as previously.....so prob'ly getting ready to die again. That'll be #5 in 4 or 5 months. That light is on the same circuit as the pellet stove. I just got off the phone with the power company and they're sending a technician to look over my home and see if they can determine anything. I don't want to order a new module and have it burn out, too. Meanwhile, I'm using the propane furnace to heat my home.

For 30 years, I made my living as the owner/technician of a restaurant appliance service, including refrigeration and a/c, as well as "anything" in a restaurant and thought I'd seen it all - I'm very well versed in electrical problems and troubleshooting.....analog and solid state. This one is new to me and not sure if there even Is a problem with power. Has anyone here ever heard of such a thing ??

 

[heat seeker]

Have you measured your outlet voltages? Can you access your power panel, and measure the voltage on both legs? A bad neutral could cause voltage weirdness. A bad neutral could be outside the house, or even at the power pole. Do your lights get momentarily brighter when a motor starts in the house?

 

[biglar]

Power co. truck was just a few doors down when I called, so rather than put me on the list they just stopped by - about 20 minutes after I called. Now, That's Service. They did pretty much as I did and are arranging for a recorder to be put on my meter to look for fluctuations. Otherwise, all seems good.

Just checking things, I put the voltmeter on the 2 leads at t'stat - red & white. Hmmm.....??.....16.8 volts. Shouldn't that be ~24vac ?? Not even sure where the transformer is on this thing and not up for tearing into it again, just now. Seems to me that could have an effect on operation of the thing. I'll check it further.

 

[biglar]

Don't know where the 16.8 came from. I went down to the back of the stove where the t'stat wires attach, above the 120 plug and measured 12.4 volts there. Puzzled, I re-installed the old controller and it gave 11.8 volts. So, it's consistent with 2 of them, at least. Is this then a 12 volt system, where most heating and cooling appliances use 24 volts ?? Rechecked line voltage and showed 122 this time, up from 118. Help.

 

[Ssyko]

The stove is 120vac the control box uses an internal step down Transformer to power its components on the board. But the motors are all 120vac. If you have bulbs going every 3-4 weeks you have an issue somewhere. I understand the budget thing but if the boards are damaged you will probably need a new one and a good tripplite surge protector so this doesn’t continue.

Isobar Surge Protector, 2 Outlet, 1410 Joules, Diagnostic LED | Eaton

Premium 2-outlet surge protector provides protection for sensitive electronics and computer peripherals against power surges, spikes and line noise.

www.tripplite.com

 

[rickwai]

The stove is 120vac the control box uses an internal step down Transformer to power its components on the board. But the motors are all 120vac. If you have bulbs going every 3-4 weeks you have an issue somewhere. I understand the budget thing but if the boards are damaged you will probably need a new one and a good tripplite surge protector so this doesn’t continue.

Isobar Surge Protector, 2 Outlet, 1410 Joules, Diagnostic LED | Eaton

Premium 2-outlet surge protector provides protection for sensitive electronics and computer peripherals against power surges, spikes and line noise.

www.tripplite.com

That is a good looking surge protector.

 

[SidecarFlip]

To me, looks mean nothing, performance is everything. Far as a 'budget goes, in this instance penny wise is pound foolish. 35 bucks is cheaper by a long shot, than a new board.

 

[rickwai]

To me, looks mean nothing, performance is everything. Far as a 'budget goes, in this instance penny wise is pound foolish. 35 bucks is cheaper by a long shot, than a new board.

I wasn't referring to cosmetics of it . I will requote, That looks like a well built unit

 

[SidecarFlip]

I always check the specs not the appearance anyway. A pretty face don't make performance. never has and that applies to many things besides surge supressors.

 

[Jotoole]

My auger was replaced in September. A couple days ago it stopped dropping pellets altogether. I emptied and cleaned the hopper. I have also used a pipe snake to go up through the chute were the pellets drop down to try and clear it out. The Auger still won't drop any pellets. Does anyone have suggestions on a fix?

 

[gfreek]

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My auger was replaced in September. A couple days ago it stopped dropping pellets altogether. I emptied and cleaned the hopper. I have also used a pipe snake to go up through the chute were the pellets drop down to try and clear it out. The Auger still won't drop any pellets. Does anyone have suggestions on a fix?

Recommend you post a new thread with make and model stove..