Breckwell 5520 - Lazy Auger Motor Syndrome - Motor found lying in bottom of stove!

[Don2222]

Hello

Wow, The fines from the fireside ultra's stopped the auger dead in it's tube!

I found this at the bottom of the stove!

Cotter pin sheered off and it looks like bottom of the auger also sheared! See curled up metal!
See Yellow arrows!

Is the auger shaft shot?

 

[jtakeman]

Was it the FSU's or the Cheap Breckwell stove?

I ran FSU and my stove didn't fall apart, Just sayin!

 

[kinsmanstoves]

One hell of a jam to break that.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

One hell of a jam to break that.

Depends upon where the metal came from .... just sayin'

 

[Don2222]

Hello

Yes, it was one heck of a jam! The stove was professionally cleaned and lubed and this is the second auger jam chock full of fines from the FSUs! The FSUs have alot of fines this year! Another friend of mine with a Magnum had the set screw spin and gouged up the auger shaft! So it seems that enough saw dust can really wreck an auger!

So watch out for those fines!

This auger pulls out from the hopper, so I had to go into the back of the stove with a grinding stone to grind off the rip in the auger metal so it would pull thru the brass bushing! What a metal mess!

 

[jtakeman]

Don, if that was the same fines you posted before, It wasn't fines. It was wet pellets. They got a wet batch from the boxstore IMHO. Not the pellets fault, It was the boxstors fault.

Inspect their pellet stash and if you see lumps in the bags(corners) Show them how to bump off what might be good in the bag and not just dump the whole bag into the hopper!

If you have bags of pellets with lumpy corners and your just dumping the whole bag in? Your just asking for trouble like this!

 

[Don2222]

Don, if that was the same fines you posted before, It wasn't fines. It was wet pellets. They got a wet batch from the boxstore IMHO. Not the pellets fault, It was the boxstors fault.

Inspect their pellet stash and if you see lumps in the bags(corners) Show them how to bump off what might be good in the bag and not just dump the whole bag into the hopper!

If you have bags of pellets with lumpy corners and your just dumping the whole bag in? Your just asking for trouble like this!

Thanks alot Jay, I will check that.
I did not see any clumps when I cleared out the jam, but our Home Depot does not have any inside storage for the pellets like out Lowe's does so that is a big Red Flag!

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Hello

Yes, it was one heck of a jam! The stove was professionally cleaned and lubed and this is the second auger jam chock full of fines from the FSUs! The FSUs have alot of fines this year! Another friend of mine with a Magnum had the set screw spin and gouged up the auger shaft! So it seems that enough saw dust can really wreck an auger!

So watch out for those fines!

This auger pulls out from the hopper, so I had to go into the back of the stove with a grinding stone to grind off the rip in the auger metal so it would pull thru the brass bushing! What a metal mess!

Fines do not jam augers Don.

They may make it impossible for pellets to feed but they do not jam anything, augers tunnel right through fines.

Just sayin'

 

[343amc]

I can't imagine any wood pellet in its solid form or sawdust form being able to cause metal to snap like that, even if the pellets are damp. Nor can I imagine an auger motor has enough torque to snap an auger. I would think the gears would shear first.

This is from someone who has never experienced an auger jam, even with some of the crap I've burned. I'm always open to being proven wrong though.

 

[Don2222]

Fines do not jam augers Don.

They may make it impossible for pellets to feed but they do not jam anything, augers tunnel right through fines.

Just sayin'

You guys may be on to something here. I cleaned the jam out twice and the pellets did not seem very damp or wet. However we have had some real damp mornings in this region lately and this stove is in a commercial building on a slab right at ground level!
See pics of auger jam here > https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...ing-the-same-wood-pellets.95180/#post-1256500

The exhaust goes strait out thru the wall then up 3-4 feet on the outside of the building. Also before the last jam he got unburned pellets in the burn pot! I know his exhaust blower is flimsy and seems like it is not strong enough.

The real solution here maybe to put that magnum higher speed blower in there? This is a severe environment with a weaker pellet stove installed!

 

[kinsmanstoves]

Fines do not jam augers Don.

They may make it impossible for pellets to feed but they do not jam anything, augers tunnel right through fines.

Just sayin'

You are right, locked solid.

Eric

 

[Don2222]

You are right, locked solid.

Eric

Hi Eric

What stove is that? What happened? Is it in a dampish place?

 

[kinsmanstoves]

That was a Breckwell does not matter on the model, they are mostly all the same set up. In a house with bad pellets. I have those all the time, thanks to cheap pellets and outdoor storage. usually from someone not doing their monthly cleaning in the hopper.

Eric

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Funny what goes on when enough pellets get stuck above the layer of fines isn't it?

I saw a fines pile that completely blocked pellets from loading into an auger and the auger couldn't even move the fines up the flight let alone any pellets.​

​

It just sat there and turned until the POF said give them the ole #3 and go for shutdown .​

 

[Don2222]

That was a Breckwell does not matter on the model, they are mostly all the same set up. In a house with bad pellets. I have those all the time, thanks to cheap pellets and outdoor storage. usually from someone not doing their monthly cleaning in the hopper.

Eric

What do you tell the stove owner to do? I suggested a colander for loading pellets. They have alot of Fire Side Ultras from our local Home Depot and our HD stores them outside! I said not to use them and that was before the auger broke! Yes, they are still using them!

 

[Stovensen]

A little vegetable oil does the trick for me... for the last couple of weeks I have had great success with it.
It was a tip I got from an experienced pellet burner around here.

Only a small amount is needed and I use it preventive in this way: When the hopper is nearly empty, I sweep the accumulated sawdust and the rest of the pellets towards the auger intake and pour about half a cup of vegetable oil over it. This makes the sawdust cake up, and voila... the auger can now transport it very easily!!
Safety note: Only a small amount ( half a cup ) of oil should be used... too much oil will make the pellet chute wet of oil which could be a fire hazard, since the fire might spread to the hopper.

During my experiments I made a discovery which puzzles me: Vegetable oil does NOT disintegrate the pellets, turning them into sawdust like water does... we all know what happens when pellets are exposed to water: In a couple of minutes they are swollen and totally desintegrated ( sawdust ).
Can anyone explain this strange phenomena? Molecule size of oil vs. water? I don't know much about bio chemistry. There must be some exact explanation.

 

[Don2222]

A little vegetable oil does the trick for me... for the last couple of weeks I have had great success with it.
It was a tip I got from an experienced pellet burner around here.

Only a small amount is needed and I use it preventative in this way: When the hopper is nearly empty, I sweep the accumulated sawdust and the rest of the pellets towards the auger intake and pour about half a cup of vegetable oil over it. This makes the sawdust cake up, and voila... the auger can now transport it very easily!!
Safety note: Only a small amount ( half a cup ) of oil should be used... too much oil will make the pellet chute wet of oil which could be a fire hazard, since the fire might spread to the hopper.

During my experiments I made a discovery which puzzles me: Vegetable oil does NOT disintegrate the pellets, turning them into sawdust like water does... we all know what happens when pellets are exposed to water: In a couple of minute they are swollen and totally desintegrated ( sawdust ).
Can anyone explain this strange phenomena? Molecule size of oil vs. water? I don't know much about bio chemistry. There must be some exact explanation.

The thicker oil does not penetrate the lingin in the wood pellet that creates the shinny outer crust!

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Build them a pellet vac or large floor sifter out of wire mesh and plywood to pour the pellets over.

There are plans on here as a number of members have made them.

After flub dubbing around with the pellets enough they might decide to get better pellets or at least buy from a place with inside storage.

When you replace that auger make certain that the pinning system will shear or that the auger is made of real metal.

 

[Stovensen]

Build them a pellet vac or large floor sifter out of wire mesh and plywood to pour the pellets over.

For pellet burners with limited storage room ( like me ) that is not possible. Besides it gives a lot of extra work... pellet burning is supposed to be a smarter way of heating the home than burning cord wood.
More disadvantages: Dust is released when pouring the pellets through the sifter, and last but not least: Good BTUs are lost to the vac

I'll continue my experiments with vegetable oil. So far it has been VERY successful and if no negative side effects appear in the future, this method has my vote as being the smartest and most easy way to deal with the sawdust issue.

Just my 2 Cents

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

These folks appear to be having issues every couple of days or so.

You can also pour pellets into a metal ash can and using the handle twist it back and forth this causes the fines to fall down between the pellets leaving the clean ones up top.

These by hand methods are all time consuming methods and not something a commercial user is apt to tolerate.

The floor sifter and the pellet vac are less time consuming.

 

[Stovensen]

These folks appear to be having issues every couple of days or so.

So did I, Smokey. It was becoming so unbearable that I even considered replacing my Quest Plus with a wood stove, but... then I got this tip with the vegetable oil a couple of weeks ago. It works and now I'm a happy pellet burner again

I promise to give you feed back of the results in the future. Good or bad.

 

[Don2222]

Build them a pellet vac or large floor sifter out of wire mesh and plywood to pour the pellets over.

There are plans on here as a number of members have made them.

After flub dubbing around with the pellets enough they might decide to get better pellets or at least buy from a place with inside storage.

When you replace that auger make certain that the pinning system will shear or that the auger is made of real metal.

They are in business to sell cars, not to work with the pellet stove all day. They must buy better pellets. I told them about our Home Depot, I just hope they do not go to our Lowes. Our Lowes just got 22 tons of Inferno Wood Pellets! ! ! !!

I had to get the Breckwell auger dealer part. I hope it has been improved!

 

[Don2222]

Hello

Here is a pic of how I had to grind down the ripped base of the auger shaft in order to pull it out of the hopper thru the brass bearing!

It does not say that in the auger removal instructions in the manual! LOL

The second pic shows the ragged auger shaft base next to the torn off piece that was the auger shaft base!

 

[Don2222]

A little vegetable oil does the trick for me... for the last couple of weeks I have had great success with it.
It was a tip I got from an experienced pellet burner around here.

Only a small amount is needed and I use it preventive in this way: When the hopper is nearly empty, I sweep the accumulated sawdust and the rest of the pellets towards the auger intake and pour about half a cup of vegetable oil over it. This makes the sawdust cake up, and voila... the auger can now transport it very easily!!
Safety note: Only a small amount ( half a cup ) of oil should be used... too much oil will make the pellet chute wet of oil which could be a fire hazard, since the fire might spread to the hopper.

During my experiments I made a discovery which puzzles me: Vegetable oil does NOT disintegrate the pellets, turning them into sawdust like water does... we all know what happens when pellets are exposed to water: In a couple of minutes they are swollen and totally desintegrated ( sawdust ).
Can anyone explain this strange phenomena? Molecule size of oil vs. water? I don't know much about bio chemistry. There must be some exact explanation.

Good tip on the vegetable oil Thanks

 

[Don2222]

Hello

Well it happened again! This is the 3rd time I fixed an auger jam in this Breckwell 5520 golden eagle series stove! They are still using the Home Depot FSU (Fireside Ultra) wood pellets with lots of fines in the bags!

The good news is the New Breckwell heavier Auger did not shear and the new GGM Auger motor did not die and the new Heavier Hitch pin did not break off!

However, both new Breckwell ash pan latches I put on a week ago are broken again!

I tried everything here even coating the auger and inside of the chute with dry moly spray. I said those pellets with all the fines are not helping!

Any comments?

See pics!