Englander 25-PDVC Bottom Ager Motor noise..??

[Beaudeen]

Evening all...first post

I have been running the above stove for 5 plus years with out major problems.
Just the other day, the bottom auger motor started making a rattling noise. I've removed it last year when it stopped driving the auger. Opened it up and removed the gears, cleaned it up and re-greased it. All worked fine.
Did the same today, but still making the noise. It's not steady, but evey 20 sec or so and pretty loud. Gave the stove a good cleaning. Auger turns freely in the lower tube and is clean and runs fine with good heat, but this noise sounds like a dying motor...

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated..

 

[Harvey Schneider]

My best guess is that the gear box on the motor is worn out. It still drives the auger, but the gears don't mesh properly and consequently make noise. It is most likely the axels of the gears rather than the gears themselves.

 

[Beaudeen]

Thanks for the reply...i'm swapping the motors around till the new one arrives...will dig into the drive gear at that time. Just reading on here about the auger motors. There's really not much that can go wrong in the gearing from what i've seen earlier today.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Not really except steel axles in die cast aluminum housings. They do wear out after a while. 5 years is pretty good life IMO.

 

[Beaudeen]

I just opened up the gear box ..AGAIN..for a look at the gears..all seem fine with no play or stripped gears. This time I popped the top bushing carrier assy. It was a little sticky so I cleaned her up and greased it. Ran it for 20 minutes before hooking it up to the auger...no noise so far. I just swapped the bottom motor to the top and all is running fine with no noises. Will give it a few days to see if it's back to normal. Seems like a good idea to swap the drive motors around every few years to get the max life out of them. That bottom motor runs pretty HOT compared to the top one.

 

[Harvey Schneider]

That bottom motor runs pretty HOT compared to the top one.

The bottom one runs continuously, the top runs intermittently.

 

[Beaudeen]

Thanks for the replies...
Well she's been running fine now all night and not a PEEP from the motors. I'll run it this way till if/when that motor craps out..I'll have a spare.
I've been reading posts now on the englander and have a quick question on changing the setting from D to C..I tried holding the up/down buttons on the blower speed, but i don't get a letter display to change..?? Shut it down..let cool..unplug for a minute..plug in hold buttons and NO letter displayed...??

 

[Chrisnow86]

dont hold them.. just press them for a second and release

 

[Beaudeen]

Alrighty then...that worked. thanx

Learning more about this stove in the past few days then i have
in the past 5 years on my own..luvin this forum

 

[Chrisnow86]

when you first fire it in c mode run it on 5 for a little while and slowly go up with the heat just watching the stove and how it reacts.. i run mine in c i did the switch cause it was not keeping up with the house.. never had a over fire or pellet jam..

 

[bill3rail]

Well she's been running fine now all night and not a PEEP from the motors. I'll run it this way till if/when that motor craps out..I'll have a spare.

Install the new motor and keep the old one as a slightly damaged spare in case of emergency! You do not want the motor going bad on a cold winter evening when you are dressed up ready to go out.

Like you stated, rotate the top and bottom motors periodically.

Bill

 

[Harvey Schneider]

Install the new motor and keep the old one as a slightly damaged spare in case of emergency! You do not want the motor going bad on a cold winter evening when you are dressed up ready to go out.

Like you stated, rotate the top and bottom motors periodically.

Bill

Also keep in mind that if the bottom auger motor fails it may damage the top auger motor gear box. With the bottom auger stopped, the pellets will pack the space between the augers and stall the top motor. A questionable motor is best kept as an emergency spare.

 

[Stretch]

"This time I popped the top bushing carrier assy. It was a little sticky so I cleaned her up and greased it. Ran it for 20 minutes before hooking it up to the auger...no noise so far."

That's likely your problem. I had the same problem, and figured it out while the new motor
was enroute. You can see the motor shaft spinning in that little die-cast outrigger bearing carrier.
Give it A DROP OR TWO (no more!) of gun oil or ATF every day, and it will last for years. I
think the one I'm treating like this is on it's 8th or 9th year. My theory is that these motors are not
ideally suited to run constantly in a hi-temp environment. That's why the top one lasts so much
longer on these stoves - it's not running constantly and it's not nearly as close to the firebox.

-Stretch

 

[Beaudeen]

Running in C mode for a few hours now..started at 5, but living room getting a little too warm for my liking..I don't want to put the Speedo on. Seem to have a little more control of the heat settings now. I usually run it at 2/3..heat and 4/5 blower with 30 hours per bag.

I'll keep the iffy auger motor as a spare when the new one shows up...Good point guys and thanks again for your help.

 

[Chrisnow86]

ya running in C mode will def pump out some heat, but you will notice your pellet consumption will go up a lot.

 

[Beaudeen]

Update...

Auger motor running like a champ since original post. I have a new one sitting in the box if/when it happens again. I can swap it out in about 15 minutes.