Blower fan acting up

[mcdougy]

Hey...I have a remote heat kit for my pe fp30. The fan that sucks the heat to the basement seems to be overheating? I took it out and blew it out,oiled the bearings, but when I reinstalled it worked for like 5 mins and the stopped again. Is there something I have missed or is it pooched? Its humming like there is power still there, but no rotation of the squirell cage? Its on its 4th season
Thanks in advance

 

[saydinli]

No issues like you describe, however I reaplced mine after 3 season due becaoming noisy. That was probably because I kept forgetting to clean it after each burn season lol.

 

[mcdougy]

No issues like you describe, however I reaplced mine after 3 season due becaoming noisy. That was probably because I kept forgetting to clean it after each burn season lol.

Did you replace it with the oem or go a different route?

 

[saydinli]

Went with OEM since it was under warranty still

 

[Mech e]

Hey...I have a remote heat kit for my pe fp30. The fan that sucks the heat to the basement seems to be overheating? I took it out and blew it out,oiled the bearings, but when I reinstalled it worked for like 5 mins and the stopped again. Is there something I have missed or is it pooched? Its humming like there is power still there, but no rotation of the squirell cage? Its on its 4th season
Thanks in advance

I like fixing things as opposed to replacing them whenever feasible. Is the motor/squirrel cage locked up? Modern motors don't typically need oiling.

 

[rwhite]

What type of motor is it? The symptoms you describe are typical of not enough "juice". I'd test the amps and volts to see what its drawing or if full power is getting to the motor. What you describe is typical of a capacitor failure so if that motor has a start or run capacitor I'd test that as well.

 

[mcdougy]

Anyone know why this cage fan would work for 3-4 hrs then quit? I can hear it humming but it won't spin.

 

[gthomas785]

1. Can you spin it by hand? is there any bearing friction at all?

2. What kind of oil did you use? Oil that is too heavy will bog it down. Also WD40 will attract gunk that makes the bearings stick after a while.

3. What happens if you power it and then give it a spin by hand? If it keeps going then you probably have a bad shading ring in your motor.

 

[rwhite]

If there is anything else inline in the system (snap disks or rheostats) I'd hook it straight to power and let it run on a bench. Does it do the same thing? If so I'd pull the motor off and inspect it. If you have a clamp on meter you can monitor amp draw during the test and see if it starts increasing as it runs. Look for dust or gunk in the armature. You can clean it all out with electric cleaner and blow it all out. You can lightly sand the armature if there is rust. Then retest. These fans are no load so it doesn't take much to stall. If the bearings are shot there's not a lot you can do. You probably could replace them but its likely more time and hassle than buying a new one. I've had hit or miss luck on reoiling bearings. If it has a rubber seal you can heat a hypodermic needle and melt through that, inject lubricating oil (not wd40) then seal the hole with a dab of silicone. That's usually a last ditch, what the heck, kinda of deal. If it's going in the trash anyway might as well try everything.

 

[mcdougy]

It seems to spin fine by hand, I used a light all purpose oil for the bearing at the motor end of the shaft. Once it runs and heats up it doesn't want to spin, when the its still powered up and it quits it will not "restart" while hand spinning. Flicking the power on and off doesn't restart it either. Its like it gets too hot and the magnetic field stops working. Im a carpenter and admittedly don't really know what is going on with this situation.

 

[gthomas785]

To me it sounds like the motor is dying. Does the motor get hot without the stove going? If it does, that's an indication that either (a) it's overloaded, but I think we've ruled that out since the fan spins freely, or (b) there's some shorted windings in the motor that are generating excess heat. Either of those scenarios will burn out a motor eventually.

As to what caused it, could be that it got too hot from being by the stove or it was poorly made. Probably a combination of those.

Edit: or it could be low voltage. Do check that you are supplying the right flavor of juice to the motor.

 

[Mech e]

It's time to replace the motor. Pull it off and head to Grainger to see if they have a replacement. These are inexpensive motors and are not typically serviceable.

 

[KindredSpiritzz]

probably those little magnet things on springs that spin around the motor coil wore out.
My circular saw has the same symptoms.

 

[rwhite]

More often than not, and depending upon how you value time, its cheaper to replace. I don't have that personality. I want to know the "why". Quite often I waste a lot of time and end up with a box of parts that goes in the trash anyway. You can always get one ordered and in the meantime start tearing into the old one. If you fix it just return the new one.

 

[mcdougy]

I did pull it and running on the bench to straight power (no switch). It runs fine it seems, when I reinstall it, it seems fine, it doesn't seem to "give up until 4-5 hours pass. I will attempt to locate a grainger location or some place similar. OEM they want about $300. I know I won't be paying that much. Also note that there isn't heat from. The firebox of stove as this fan is located 20' from the firebox....its the remote heat distribution fan from a pe fp30.

 

[rwhite]

I did pull it and running on the bench to straight power (no switch). It runs fine it seems, when I reinstall it, it seems fine, it doesn't seem to "give up until 4-5 hours pass. I will attempt to locate a grainger location or some place similar. OEM they want about $300. I know I won't be paying that much. Also note that there isn't heat from. The firebox of stove as this fan is located 20' from the firebox....its the remote heat distribution fan from a pe fp30.

Did you let it run 4-5 hours on the bench. Just trying to rule out switches and other components. Hate to see you buy a new fan when it was a bad switch.

 

[HaileyR]

Were you able to get this figured out ? I am considering getting an FP30 arch to replace the open prefab in the house we are buying. Before the issues with the fan, did you find it to be a good heat source ? Did the venting to the basement work well ?

 

[mcdougy]

Fan #3 installed today for the remote heat dump....this time I tried something different as last one didn't last very long but was free under warranty. Since warranty is now over a decided to try something completely different but knew that another forum member had put one on his stove (different make of stove but same style remote heat dump) I will give this AC INFINITY S6 inline fan a try. It came to $190 with tax CAD. It was easy in my situation to change fan styles with some cutting of drywall and getting inside the wall where the 6 inch duct was. It sure is ALOT quieter than the oem squirrel cage fan. The new one is a inline fan blade type and appeared to be a good quality. AC Infinity had a large selection of fans available. The companies focus appears to be on home grow op's equipment. The specs say it should handle the heat it will be subjected to. Time will tell......