Harman p38 Feed Motor or augur stuck

[DrOriginal]

Hey guys, lurked for a while, and now I have a problem. Hoping somebody here can help. I've got a Harman, P38 with just the two knobs to control the fan and feed rate, 1-6. It's bout 6 years old or so, lightly used. It's our secondary/emergency heat source. Might burn a ton year.
Started the fire last night and it ran for a few hours, then just went out. Thought I was out of pellets, nope full hopper. Started it again and I could hear the auger motor turning but never heard the pellets clinking down in, and none got fed into the burn pot. Unplugged and took the shrouds off. Plugged it back in to watch the feed motor turn the auger and it didn't move. Cleaned out all the pellets from the hopper and cleaned out the auger just in case there was a jam, which has never happened before. Fired it back up and the auger turned for about 10 minutes, stopped again. I noticed it got stuck in the same place. When the wheel on the back of the auger gets to the end of the boomerang shaped lever that opens the door to the hopper, the wheel gets stuck.
I've unplugged it and raised the bar with my hands, then plug it back in and it works for another 10 minutes or so. I cleaned out the fines from boomerang/L shaped lever and made sure it was moving freely, which it appeared to be. Fired it up and same result, stuck at the bottom of that lever. But every time I unplug, move the lever and it works for a while.
My question is, is the feed motor struggling to power through it? Or is it more likely that the lever is bound up somehow? Not sure what to take apart next. The feed motor does spin the augur, I'm not sure how strong it was before, or how hard the lever was to turn before. Never had any reason to mess with it. Thanks in advance for your help. Sorry, just realized how long this is

 

[DAKSY]

Disconnect the auger from the motor. You want to look for a 1/4-20, hex head screw that secures them together...Once you remove the bolt the motor will turn without the auger moving. If the motor stops at that same location, there may be a flat spot or missing teeth on a gear inside the motor casing. IF that's the case, replace the motor. If the motor keeps turning past that spot, there may be something in the auger tube. Pull the motor off the auger, paying attention to its position. Take a pic of the position if you need to. You should be able to slide the auger freely out the back. Look for dings or gouges in the auger flights. File them down to smooth them if you need to. Shine a light in the auger tube & make sure there are no gouges in the bore. File them down with a rat tail file if there are. Reassemble & check operation.

 

[DrOriginal]

Disconnect the auger from the motor. You want to look for a 1/4-20, hex head screw that secures them together...Once you remove the bolt the motor will turn without the auger moving. If the motor stops at that same location, there may be a flat spot or missing teeth on a gear inside the motor casing. IF that's the case, replace the motor. If the motor keeps turning past that spot, there may be something in the auger tube. Pull the motor off the auger, paying attention to its position. Take a pic of the position if you need to. You should be able to slide the auger freely out the back. Look for dings or gouges in the auger flights. File them down to smooth them if you need to. Shine a light in the auger tube & make sure there are no gouges in the bore. File them down with a rat tail file if there are. Reassemble & check operation.

Wow, thanks for the fast response. I can try that tonight when I get home. Should I be at all concerned with the hopper door lever and how that slides? Are those setups problematic at all? The auger doesn't always get stuck in the same spot. Occasionally it will got for 10 mins, other times it gets stuck at the bottom of that bar every single rotation. I figure of I'm going to take this beast apart again I'll try to hit everything we can think of.

 

[tonyd]

Check that the slide plate arm inside the fine box is lined up and in the slot in the slide plate. Fines built up around the slide plate.With a block of wood, you may need to tap the auger out from the front of the stove.

 

[DrOriginal]

Okay guys. I loosened the screw and let the motor run, and it didn't hang up or stop at all. I then removed the auger and took a look at it. I didn't find any burrs or dings or dents at all. The auger tube also looked good and clean. With no motor attached to the auger, it spins nice and freely in the tube. I opened up the feed cover and checked the slide plate. It appears to be lined up properly, but there was a lot of dust. I got the shop vac and sucked everything out I could. It seemed to help. But I'm starting to think it's the slide plate, that isn't sliding anymore. And it's getting bound up, causing the cam bearing to get stuck on the pusher arm. Is there any way to free up the slide plate. Would graphite help the slide plate actually slide better? Or should I just take it all apart and clean it all out? Is there a way to take it apart? Thanks again guys.

 

[tonyd]

Great! its not the motor or auger. Yes, take it out. Empty the hopper and vac all pellets and dust from the hopper first. Not complicated at all. Note the step in the plate. it goes up. The plate slides in a narrow channel. Make sure after cleaning the plate slides in and out with no resistance. Mine did build up with some crud and didn't want to move. Clean is slick.

 

[DrOriginal]

Great! its not the motor or auger. Yes, take it out. Empty the hopper and vac all pellets and dust from the hopper first. Not complicated at all. Note the step in the plate. it goes up. The plate slides in a narrow channel. Make sure after cleaning the plate slides in and out with no resistance. Mine did build up with some crud and didn't want to move. Clean is slick.

Just put the stove back together and its finally working again. The slide assembly was gunked up. There wasnt a lot in there but it didn't take much to stop it from sliding freely. And this was also the first time in 6 years I have opened up the plate on the slide feeder and vacuumed it out. Once I cleaned it out it slid nicely. Put it all back together and I'm sitting here enjoying the heat. Thanks guys!

 

[Bioburner]

Something to put on your annual list of to do when cleaning up after the season

 

[DrOriginal]

Something to put on your annual list of to do when cleaning up after the season

Yes it is. Nothing like the school of hard knocks, hard work, and a few lost hours to learn it....

 

[boo boo]

Just put the stove back together and its finally working again. The slide assembly was gunked up. There wasnt a lot in there but it didn't take much to stop it from sliding freely. And this was also the first time in 6 years I have opened up the plate on the slide feeder and vacuumed it out. Once I cleaned it out it slid nicely. Put it all back together and I'm sitting here enjoying the heat. Thanks guys!

 

[mark lanctot]