Auger only works when unloaded.

[Beauness]

Having trouble with the pellet feed. cleaned it all out ran it empty, auger motor rotated the screw. But when I fill it back up still no feed.

I worked it manually for a bit and a bunch of pellets made it into the firebox, but it felt like it was jamming until I got the last of the pellets out.

I'm not sure what to suspect, is the motor weak, maybe the auger screw bit is wearing out and letting pellets slip in where they don't belong?

Any one have any advice? I'm leaning towards replacing the screw bit, motor was replaced once already 5-10 years ago.

Model is Whitfield Advantage ll-T

 

[zrock]

I would suspect motor is getting week. Or the bushings are shot causing it to bind when it gets a load

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[drizler]

Sounds like the motor is dead. I believe the name it’s called is GEARMOTOR. Those motors are really more of a gearbox. There’s around 20 tiny gears in my Countryside that turn a tiny no power hi Speed motor into a crawling hi-torque monster. They do wear / break especially ( usually) when they get jammed and that motor keeps pushing on those tiny little gears. It’s usually just one of the many that strips the teeth off or makes stubs out of them .
The other thing to check is the notched shaft on the auger where it engages the gearmotor. It’s unlikely though as that’s quite large at least on mine. Too bad they don’t have some kind of shear pin on there as all it takes is one hunk of debris to wreck the motor.


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[MButkus]

Take off the motor, see if you can turn the auger by your hand with fuel. Very carefully, with gloves, check the motor (the contacts are 120v and not insulated) and see if you can stop the auger motor by hand. Do not shot the contacts against the metal frame, that would toast the controller. I would suspect the auger bushing is bad, there are replacements that use nylon. Make sure nothing in in the auger tube. Is the connector from the auger to motor not slipping ?
I had an auger that had the felt gear wear and skip at that part of the gear. Some auger motors are made better than others. 5+ years may require a replacement.

 

[drizler]

Those gearmotors contain well over 10 different gears in there to transfer h very wimpy high speed down to a Crawling powerhouse . Chances are that only 2 of them that interface each other are noticeably stripped. If you pull the cover you will be able to inspect them .
Either Grainger or McMaster Carr has those motors hugely cheap compared to the stove place. Same exact motor. Just be careful to get the right RPM, bolt pattern and direction it turns. Toss the old one in your parts bin. You might be able to use a gear or two to replace a failed one down the road [emoji1695].




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[sbatzold]

Have you checked the shear pin?

 

[Beauness]

took the auger pin out and also ordered a new motor.

Website said motor was compatible with my stove but it arrived with built in (wrong) electrical connections.

Auger pin fits loosely into the bottom plate, is that normal. Can also see wear marks around the circumference of the auger shank.


I'm thinking I should just use mauretts to rig the new motor with the original connectors and maybe buy a couple washers to put around the bottom plate.

 

[Mt Bob]

Not a Whit guy,but,some basics.There is an upper auger bushing,bronze.Some looseness is ok,actual side to side movement is not.Same with your lower bushing,weather it is bronze or nylatron.Washers?Do not understand.Auger shafts rarely go bad,some scoring where rides in bushings is no big deal.Having to change wire terminals on an aftermarket motor is not uncommon.You could call ESES or East Coast Hearth,they are very good about giving info over the phone,and very good to buy parts from.

 

[Beauness]

Plugged the new motor in, checked the lines from pressure valve to limit switch with a voltpen. But the motor doesn't turn, still unattached to the auger. .

It's rated for 1.0 AMP whereas the old motor was only 0.48, is this something to do with it?

 

[Ssyko]

check your fuse? do you have power to the other motors? take the wires off the vac switch and connect them together (120vac dont let them touch anything including you), then try to power the auger. amperage could be an issue but only to your control board. 1amp is about the limit the small circuits on the circuit board can handle +/- 5%

 

[Beauness]

Was the pressure sensor, might have replaced the auger motor without needing too

New motor runs well, new sensor is installed, thanks for the help everyone