Feed motor hum, feed motor hum…

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tiger

Feeling the Heat
Feb 3, 2014
438
Seabrook, MD (DC suburbs)
…Where’s that feed motor comin’ from…?

With the combustion motor replaced and running much more quietly than before, and the circulation fans OK, what I really notice these days is the feed motor; or, at least, what I’m hearing is happening what the “feed motor light” is on. It’s a hum, and a bit of a discordant one. The motor cycles perhaps slightly more often than once a minute for a few seconds (I guess I could time it), combined with the tinkling sounds of the pellets dropping. With the television or stereo on, one hardly notices it, but while trying to read quietly, it’s a bit distracting.

So,

(a) am I heading toward a mechanical failure (it seems to feeding just fine, and has been all along), and what will dealing with that entail? Just a few months ago, I was sure I did not want to try changing the combustion motor myself, and yet I did so with help from this group. And I’m just guessing that it’s the motor and not the auger itself. From the diagram in the manual, it looks like the auger is direct-drive form the motor.

(b) anything to be done to quiet it down? I’ve mentioned in other topics that I’d be interested in trying some sound-deadening product on the various parts of the insert, like Dynamat. However, I presume no one has tried that.

Other than that, the Accentra insert seems to be working just great. With my wife working from home these days, I run the stove 8AM-10PM on weekdays even, if temps justify it, instead of waiting for her to come home. There are already days when it is too warm for a fire, and I suspect the pellet season will taper off for us and end 3-5 weeks from now. I probably would not pull the unit out from the fireplace before then unless it comes to a stop.
 
With the moving parts in any pellet stove, you will get some noise no matter what. If you only hear it with everything else off i would say that it is normal and working properly. Try turning on a a small fan.
 
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Reactions: johneh
you will get some noise no matter what

Thanks for the reply, and I presume you are right about that. I did figure that there would be some input on the forum about Harman feed motors in general - how to replace if they fail, which ones to get, etc. Then again, maybe not.

It's difficult to relate via words what I am experiencing, this might be "normal" , or possibly "near-failure", although the former is more likely. I see at Amazon that handheld sound meters are cheap; perhaps I should get one and take a reading and post it.

Other than that, it's running great. Today is wet & dreary, high to be near 55F, being near the fire is enjoyable.