I recently purchased a CAB50 that was used for one season. When the auger rotates, it will occasionally emit a loud thump sound. An investigation revealed that as the auger rotates, it sometimes “rises up” if the pointed end of the auger does not penetrate easily through the pellets in the bottom of the auger tube. The same thing can happen in the auger tube pellet loading area if an auger “flight” cannot penetrate the pellets during its downward rotation.
When the auger “rises up”, an auger flight will contact the lower edge of the feed gate and lift it up, creating the thump when the feed gate pops back down after the auger flight passes under the gate. It appears that this also happened to the previous owner, because the screw assembly(?) that holds down the gate has been ripped out.
I contacted Heatilator and their only suggestion was that the plastic bearing that supports the auger shaft, located next to the motor/gearbox, was worn out and was allowing movement of the auger. That is not the case. The auger shaft fits tightly in the plastic bearing. The auger is simply “torquing” the entire drive assembly enough to cause the problem. A small movement at the end of the auger only very slightly moves the motor end.
Eventually, this thumping will destroy the feed gate and/or the gearbox. Has anyone else had this auger problem, and if yes, how was it solved, if at all? Thanks for any help regarding this problem.
When the auger “rises up”, an auger flight will contact the lower edge of the feed gate and lift it up, creating the thump when the feed gate pops back down after the auger flight passes under the gate. It appears that this also happened to the previous owner, because the screw assembly(?) that holds down the gate has been ripped out.
I contacted Heatilator and their only suggestion was that the plastic bearing that supports the auger shaft, located next to the motor/gearbox, was worn out and was allowing movement of the auger. That is not the case. The auger shaft fits tightly in the plastic bearing. The auger is simply “torquing” the entire drive assembly enough to cause the problem. A small movement at the end of the auger only very slightly moves the motor end.
Eventually, this thumping will destroy the feed gate and/or the gearbox. Has anyone else had this auger problem, and if yes, how was it solved, if at all? Thanks for any help regarding this problem.
