Auger Shaft Diameter (Enviro)

[Warmer Winters]

Hello. New member here (having followed along for years).

I'm in the process of a stove rebuild, including the auger/bushings. I took the auger and bottom bushing out and there was significant clearance between the two. I wasn't surprised; it had been in service for years. But I then measured the hole of the bushing and it was very close to 0.625". But the shaft is 0.617"! And that's both ends with no sign of wear; no ridges or shelves. That means the auger has about 0.008" of total clearance. That's a lot, IMHO.

Does anyone have a new auger available and the means to measure it accurately? I'd love to know if this is normal...

 

[johneh]

Are you taking into account that the area where the bushing is gets hot
and that brass and steel expand at different rates?
Not an expert just an observation

 

[Warmer Winters]

Hi johneh,

I don't think it's an expansion thing. For a 0.007", we'd need the auger to reach 1000F and that's assuming the bushing remained cool. But you can reach to the bottom of the auger and touch it quite comfortably.

I subsequently reached into the back of my Mini and pushed the Auger motor back and forth and felt some play in there, too. No data; just a subjective thing. Seems about the same. Likely the design intent.

Outcome: I reassembled and it runs just fine. If there are performance issues, I'll circle back.

-C