As many of you folks know, last week I had a vent fire in the Prodigy II
The vent fire was of no concern after all was sorted out, just a reminder that it can happen and that these stoves need to be run hot every day for a bit to clear the unburnt materials from the vent/stack.
Ok, this said, the last couple of days I have noticed a strange "Harmonic noise" or vibration coming from the exhaust fan area.
This little stove has a tiny "C" frame motor mounted in a small space along side part of the Hopper.
The shaft is very long, nearly 5 inches and protrudes through the exhaust housing (cast iron) and has the exhaust impeller located towards the outer end of the shaft.
The bearings are in the motor and there is a LOOOONG reach that is unsupported.
This morning I got up and went to fill the hopper and there was this NOISE and vibration coming from the exhaust fan area.
I removed the cover plate and accessed the situation. The motor had a noticeable vibration that was setting up an anoying harmonic noise that could be heard thought the house.
VERY anoying noise, a metal on metal Buzzing sound.
I shut the stove down and allowed it to cool for 45 minutes, then set about removing the access PORT, which is a cast iron plug about 2-1/2" in diameter right over the fan blade.
The fan turned easily and smooth, but there was a large accumulation of hardened carbon/soot on many of the blades.
Some blades had more than others resulting in an out of ballance condition.
Careful cleaning with a small screw driver/scraper and a tiny brass brush easily removed the accumulation of crud and restored the smooth opperation of the fan once again.
The vibration in the stove was markedly reduced after cleaning the fan blades.
My suspicion is that the vent fire burnt off some of the carbon/soot deposits, leaving the blade out of ballance.
Many of the pellet stoves have fairly easy access to the exhaust fan, this stove requires far more work to disassemble things.
I suspect that this is why the manufacture installed the access Port.
Just a heads up if your stove has some bad vibes.
Even the room air fans can become laden with dust and dirt and become out of ballance, causing vibrations.
Snowy
The vent fire was of no concern after all was sorted out, just a reminder that it can happen and that these stoves need to be run hot every day for a bit to clear the unburnt materials from the vent/stack.
Ok, this said, the last couple of days I have noticed a strange "Harmonic noise" or vibration coming from the exhaust fan area.
This little stove has a tiny "C" frame motor mounted in a small space along side part of the Hopper.
The shaft is very long, nearly 5 inches and protrudes through the exhaust housing (cast iron) and has the exhaust impeller located towards the outer end of the shaft.
The bearings are in the motor and there is a LOOOONG reach that is unsupported.
This morning I got up and went to fill the hopper and there was this NOISE and vibration coming from the exhaust fan area.
I removed the cover plate and accessed the situation. The motor had a noticeable vibration that was setting up an anoying harmonic noise that could be heard thought the house.
VERY anoying noise, a metal on metal Buzzing sound.
I shut the stove down and allowed it to cool for 45 minutes, then set about removing the access PORT, which is a cast iron plug about 2-1/2" in diameter right over the fan blade.
The fan turned easily and smooth, but there was a large accumulation of hardened carbon/soot on many of the blades.
Some blades had more than others resulting in an out of ballance condition.
Careful cleaning with a small screw driver/scraper and a tiny brass brush easily removed the accumulation of crud and restored the smooth opperation of the fan once again.
The vibration in the stove was markedly reduced after cleaning the fan blades.
My suspicion is that the vent fire burnt off some of the carbon/soot deposits, leaving the blade out of ballance.
Many of the pellet stoves have fairly easy access to the exhaust fan, this stove requires far more work to disassemble things.
I suspect that this is why the manufacture installed the access Port.
Just a heads up if your stove has some bad vibes.
Even the room air fans can become laden with dust and dirt and become out of ballance, causing vibrations.
Snowy
