Hi all, this is our first season with a new-to-us but definitely not brand new CAB50. It is several years old but still does does a brilliant job of heating our house. The stove is the primary heat for the first floor of our 2000 sq ft farmhouse, and our utility bills are significantly lower than they were last year when we limped through the winter with an even older stove that had *issues* (the previous homeowners didn't maintain it really well, and parts were hard to come by) and relied a bit too much on electric space heaters.
However, over the last couple weeks the exhaust fan has been getting progressively noisier, with intermittent high pitched noise. At first it was intermittent just at start up, but now it's more consistent. I did a full clean of the stove last weekend including the exhaust path, fan impellers and the back of the fan, making sure that there wasn't any gunk or dust bunnies back there on the axle or plastic cooling cup. The fan spins freely and my burn is still really good, but I suspect that the bearings are going bad. I wouldn't be surprised if the fan is the original fan - it doesn't look like it's ever been replaced.
I ordered a Pellethead replacement for the CAB50 which does not have the cooling cup: https://pellethead.com/product/pell...arth-combustion-blower-exhaust-fan-motor-kit/. My understanding is that the fans on newer CAB50 models don't have one. There is a bracket on the end of the axle of the replacement fan that looks like it can be removed to install a cooling cup, but I'm not sure if that's something that can be done or if it should be installed as it is. Do I need the cooling cup? Can it be installed, or should I return what I have for one that has a cooling cup already installed? BTW, the one on the current fan is in good shape and looks like it can be reinstalled on a new fan motor if needed.
I keep my stove and vent pipe as clean as possible - clean the burnpot and vacuum the ashbox daily, take out the baffles and do a deeper clean of the stove, exhaust path and fans (including taking off the back panels) every 2-3 weeks, and clean the entire vent after every ton. Took the outside cap off last weekend to inspect and brush out the outside venting, and ash is reasonable and I don't have soot or creosote build up. Plan on doing a full clean of the entire system when I install the fan. And yes, I have an OAK, even though my house is pretty loose.
However, over the last couple weeks the exhaust fan has been getting progressively noisier, with intermittent high pitched noise. At first it was intermittent just at start up, but now it's more consistent. I did a full clean of the stove last weekend including the exhaust path, fan impellers and the back of the fan, making sure that there wasn't any gunk or dust bunnies back there on the axle or plastic cooling cup. The fan spins freely and my burn is still really good, but I suspect that the bearings are going bad. I wouldn't be surprised if the fan is the original fan - it doesn't look like it's ever been replaced.
I ordered a Pellethead replacement for the CAB50 which does not have the cooling cup: https://pellethead.com/product/pell...arth-combustion-blower-exhaust-fan-motor-kit/. My understanding is that the fans on newer CAB50 models don't have one. There is a bracket on the end of the axle of the replacement fan that looks like it can be removed to install a cooling cup, but I'm not sure if that's something that can be done or if it should be installed as it is. Do I need the cooling cup? Can it be installed, or should I return what I have for one that has a cooling cup already installed? BTW, the one on the current fan is in good shape and looks like it can be reinstalled on a new fan motor if needed.
I keep my stove and vent pipe as clean as possible - clean the burnpot and vacuum the ashbox daily, take out the baffles and do a deeper clean of the stove, exhaust path and fans (including taking off the back panels) every 2-3 weeks, and clean the entire vent after every ton. Took the outside cap off last weekend to inspect and brush out the outside venting, and ash is reasonable and I don't have soot or creosote build up. Plan on doing a full clean of the entire system when I install the fan. And yes, I have an OAK, even though my house is pretty loose.
