Disable Versa Grate system on St. Croix?

[ylomnstr]

I understand the point of the versagrate system, but it does seem to make a considerable amount of noise. I'm wondering if you were to disconnect it, if it would hurt the stove at all? I understand I might have to clean it more often, but do you think this is possible?

 

[woodsman23]

I don't think its a problem and i would also thjink you will have to clean it more often. Did you lube the cam and the front bnushing? Maybe a bit of spray on the motor shaft? What model stove is it?

 

[ylomnstr]

It' s the St. Croix Hastings. I didnt lube it. What high temp lube do you guys recommend and where can I get it?

 

[woodsman23]

High temp never sieze will work and found at any auto parts store. A high temp grease will also work.

 

[smoke show]

This quieted the noise my quad made when auto cleaning.

 

[woodsman23]

This quieted the noise my quad made when auto cleaning.

That is exactly what the stove came with on the cams.

 

[Catfishjack]

I have a Prescott EXL and the versa grate motor is louder than the fan...luckily the stove is in our dining room and we never go in there except to pass thru to our living room...no grease will help it but the dealer said he would come over..........

 

[woodsman23]

I have a Prescott EXL and the versa grate motor is louder than the fan...luckily the stove is in our dining room and we never go in there except to pass thru to our living room...no grease will help it but the dealer said he would come over..........

What kind of noise does it make?

 

[ylomnstr]

It's funny because as soon as I shut off the stove and the grate motor stops, and just the fan is going, i think to myself "man if it was only this quiet all the time". Mine is right in the living room where we spend most of our time, and about 10 feet from my couch. It's not really an annoying noise. More like white noise, but still extra noise. You can tell that something is turning in there. If it was just the fan noise, I'd be MUCH happier.

 

[Catfishjack]

it's the versa grate motor..it's almost like a gear meshing noise..it's hard to explain but it is the motor making it....I emailed st croix tech support i was told it will make noise but they didn't day how much....is the stove new? mine was out in a few months ago ..dealer is coming over to Listen........

 

[ylomnstr]

Well I'm not bothered enough to call the dealer, but like I said, it's just another noise that's not needed. I'll have to call St. Croix support and see what the downfall of disconnecting the versagrate motor would be. I just got my stove this year.

 

[woodsman23]

Well I'm not bothered enough to call the dealer, but like I said, it's just another noise that's not needed. I'll have to call St. Croix support and see what the downfall of disconnecting the versagrate motor would be. I just got my stove this year.

Let us all know what they say and good luck

 

[Catfishjack]

did you ever call St Croix and ask them about disabling the versa grate?

 

[ylomnstr]

did you ever call St Croix and ask them about disabling the versa grate?

I did not, but according to the service manual it says:

"Versa Grate Motor - Located near the back-center of the stove and mounted to the sheet metal base. This 1RPM motor drives a cam-rod system, which ultimately slides the Grate Bottom back and forth beneath the Main Grate Body. This particular motion agitates the air passing through the Self-Cleaning Grate to improve the combustion process and also help prevent clinkers from forming on the Grate Bottom surface."

So really, I'm curious to see how much worse the burn process would be without this? I can't see much. Like I said, it may require more cleaning, but that may be worth it to get rid of that noise. Without the versagrate noise, this thing would be almost silent. I'm going to try and disconnect the purple wire which is what runs the power to the motor and see what happens.

Just wondering if you had the dealer come take a look at yours? Any updates? I don't seem to be able to get ahold of Larry from St. Croix support anymore. It's always his voicemail. Maybe because it's a busy time of year.

 

[ylomnstr]

Well I've been running for 1.5 days with the versa grate motor disconnected. It still seems to burn fine and it's so much more enjoyable without that motor sound. Maybe I should call the dealer, but the sound of that motor is really out of control now that I've heard it run without that motor. I can deal with the sound from it as long as my TV is turned up loud enough, but really, it's annoying. A bad design. But again, maybe mine is faulty? I will call the dealer and have them check it out. Although I'm sure they will not be accomodating. They'll probably read me the lines from the manual to lube it which I've done, but that's not what's loud, it's the motor itself.

 

[Xena]

I can hear the versa grate motor but it never bothered me.
I guess I'm so used to whatever mechanical sounds
the stove makes. Nevertheless, if there's no harm I
may unplug it too just to note the difference. Will have
to wait until the next time I shut the stove down tho.

 

[ylomnstr]

I can hear the versa grate motor but it never bothered me.
I guess I'm so used to whatever mechanical sounds
the stove makes. Nevertheless, if there's no harm I
may unplug it too just to note the difference. Will have
to wait until the next time I shut the stove down tho.

If you could, that would be great. Keep me posted. If you don't really notice a difference in sound, then maybe it's an issue with my motor.

 

[hossthehermit]

it's the versa grate motor..it's almost like a gear meshing noise..it's hard to explain but it is the motor making it....I emailed st croix tech support i was told it will make noise but they didn't day how much....is the stove new? mine was out in a few months ago ..dealer is coming over to Listen........

Just out of curiousity, how did you e-mail tech support, I've been trying to find a way to do this.?

 

[mkmh]

Interesting thread. I too can hear the versa grate, but like Zeta, I just accepted it. On mine I don't find it to be very noticeable at all, but if I listen for it I can pick it up.
There was a thread on here a while back where a St Croix owner had a Versa Grate failure. If I recall, a hex screw had fallen out or something so the shaft wasn't moving. The symptom that tipped him off was that ashes were backing up in the burnpot, and (I think) ultimately extinguishing the fire.
I can't see the harm in experimenting with it off for a couple days at a time as long as you are conscious of it. I wouldn't necessarily recommend running it overnight that way, but from what i've heard, the consequences are probably just that the stove will go out.

Please do post continued results. Now that I think about it, I think versa grate was mainly designed for corn. Clinker formation is definitely a battle with that fuel, and it may be that with pellets, the versa grate is "less" of a necessity.

 

[ylomnstr]

Well, another day with it running on a thermostat, and fairly cold today here in the northeast, and it seems to still be burning fine. Perhaps I'll try and take a video with sound and post it so you guys can hear it, but it's very noticeable when on. I'll call the dealer tomorrow and see if they're willing to come take a listen. It's night and day when it's running vs. when it's not. I did verify that the motor was turning the shaft. If anything, what I've noticed is that on low, the flame seems to be a tad less high than when the versa grate motor is running, but again, in exchange for the noise, I'll take the less noise.

 

[Xena]

ylomnstr are you unplugging the versa grate motor
with the stove on? I want to see what mine sounds
like without it but I don't want to shut down the stove.
The suspense is killing me!

 

[ylomnstr]

ylomnstr are you unplugging the versa grate motor
with the stove on? I want to see what mine sounds
like without it but I don't want to shut down the stove.
The suspense is killing me!

The first time I unplugged the stove. But the next time I unplugged the purple wire from the versa grate motor while it was running. Plugged it back in while it was still running. No problems here. I'm sure other guys will recomend unplugging the stove first, but I really don't think it's an issue. I'm dying to know if you notice a difference. If not, I suspect I have a bad motor. I mean with the motor off, all I hear is the pellets hitting the burn pot, and a slight slight hum of the fan, but when I plug the motor back in.......well I'm not even sure how to explain it, but there's a definate mechanical motor running and it's very annoying. I don't plan on plugging it back in until the dealer comes to look at it. I don't think anyone here would say they don't hear a big difference on my stove.

 

[Xena]

I unplugged just the purple wire. It sparked a little
when I unplugged it but the stove didn't blow up
or anything....
Omg, huge difference. Like you said, the versa grate motor
spinning sounds like annoying white noise on a tv, and
add a little bit of tiny ball bearings rolling around in a can
effect. I'm leaving that sucker unplugged.

 

[ylomnstr]

I unplugged just the purple wire. It sparked a little
when I unplugged it but the stove didn't blow up
or anything....
Omg, huge difference. Like you said, the versa grate motor
spinning sounds like annoying white noise on a tv, and
add a little bit of tiny ball bearings rolling around in a can
effect. I'm leaving that sucker unplugged.

Yeah exactly. Keep me posted on your burns. Wondering if you notice the way it burns or not. So far for me, the difference is totally worth it.

 

[Xena]

Will definitely keep you updated. Thanks for
this thread! I never would have known that
noise was avoidable. Keeping fingers crossed
that the foolish mechanism isn't needed.
It's sooooooooo quiet without it and one less
part to worry about having to replace too!

My stove is four years old so no warranty
and I honestly can't remember if it always made
that sound or not.

Have no worries running it overnight like this.
I run it 24/7 and I scrape the pot and
rake the ash down before I go to bed and
also every morning so I don't think
there's going to be any issues but I'll post
back tomorrow.