Hardcore auger jam on Breckwell P23i

[Joerg]

Folks,

Normally I could remove the computer board panel, reach in, give the motor a hefty tug and it would free up. I made myself an "auger tug rope" for that. But ... no more :-(

Took off the motor, the auger turns by hand at times but sometimes I need big grip pliers to turn it past a resistance. Then I can hear pellets crunching, stuff arrives in the burn pot and I can turn it hy hand maybe one or two revolutions. After that it needs plier force again and this is also where the motor permanently stalls out in normal operation. Shouldn't I be able to turn the auger by hand after removing the motor?

Is there anything I can do other than removing the auger? That would be tough because the stove will only partially come out of the old fireplace (without a major mess) and they smeared some hard red goo on the whole auger plate.

We use Golden Fire pellets which supposedly are the best around here. But I noticed that this year they have longer pieces in there, some over an inch long. They easily break into the usual 1/3" chunks by hand but maybe the get into the auger in the wrong position? Anyone heard of issues with Golden Fire lately?

Regards,

Joerg

 

[Joerg]

Meantime I got it going, somewhat. Cleaned it all out with a vacuum plus lots of massaging. When cold the motor gearbox makes intermittent ugly screeching noises but that subsides when it warms up. For a test I gave the motor constant AC. The auger turns but after filling in some pellets one can hear that when it has to crack a pellet the RPM goes down to a fraction of normal until ... *KA-CRUNCH* ... KLONK ... and back to normal. It sounds like it's close to a stall. I've also noticed that the auger has a few tenths of an inch of play in the direction of the chute.

On the Breckwell P23i, does the fastening ring for the auger (with the set screw in it) have to sit almost on the gearbox or should it have some more clearance than just enough not to rub on the gearbox?

 

[wwert]

There should be bushings at both ends of the auger. Sounds like yours have worn out. That allows the shaft to wobble slightly which causes the jams. Replace the bushings and maybe the auger motor and you should be good to go. Make sure you check the auger speed, depending on the age of the stove it could be different than the current ones are.

 

[Joerg]

I've stuck a matching rod in there where the motor gearbox shaft normall goes, tightened the set screw and tried to wiggle. It has no sideways play but it does in push direction, along the axis. Do they normally have that?

Today I want to take the auger motor out once more to see if I can oil it somehow so it won't screech on start-up. It screeches in itself, while not connected to the auger. The auger itself doesn't screech (when slowly turning it with a little power screwdriver).

I sure wish there was a trick to get such a heavy insert out of the old fireplace without backpain or scratching up the hearth area. I've worked with a 4ft square steel profile and wood blocks, plus an aluminum "sliding plate", but it's still a pain.