help pin point a noise

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.

sculptor

Member
Sep 22, 2009
197
central nc
Periodically I hear a noise that sounds similar to a table saw blade barely touching a piece of wood. It will make this noise for a few seconds and then stop. Any advice on what to do to stop this?
 
on my stove , every once in a while the combustion blower did this
when i opened it up to clean it, the fiberglass gasket was hanging
down and touching
 
I would have to say that is probably a fan blade getting out of balance and touching the housing somewhere.
I would try to isolate it and through elimination figure it out. On startup your exhaust blower should be the only one running. Then once it gets up to temp the room blower will kick in. So during those two periods you should be able to isolate the noise?
 
When I hear a funny noise like that I take it as a sign that it is time to clean both fans. They get covered with dust and other sorts of stuff. When I clean the fans and start it back up the noise is gone usually for a couple weeks or so.
 
I took the access panel off and I can hear it coming from the blower motor or housing. Do I have to remove the blower motor to clean inside the blower. Does the gasket fit right back on or will another need to be purchased?
 
sculptor said:
I took the access panel off and I can hear it coming from the blower motor or housing. Do I have to remove the blower motor to clean inside the blower. Does the gasket fit right back on or will another need to be purchased?

Always be certain to have a gasket when you play with the fans, they are fragile and fall apart easily during removal.

ETA As for removing the motor it would depend upon the blower, normally the motor itself does not need to be removed.
 
sculptor said:
I took the access panel off and I can hear it coming from the blower motor or housing. Do I have to remove the blower motor to clean inside the blower. Does the gasket fit right back on or will another need to be purchased?

Sculptor, are we talking about the combustion blower, or convection?
 
Combustion blower. The one on the left side of the stove/ opposite the control panel, that connects to the exhaust vent. It is whistling pretty good now. I check for vibrations and nothing stopped it. I'm guessing it's the fan blade touching something? Or it has that sound of a motor that's about to fail - like metal on metal screech. I hate to have to take the blower off to find out...is this the only way?
 
Ouch, a screeching combustion blower. I hate that, you have to remove the fan from the housing (usually 6 nuts) the motor, mounting plate, gasket and fan should then come right out.

Remember, always have another gasket, they don't always survive the removal and reattachment.

The one that I had that screeched was replaced it had a blown bearing.

But you should clean it and see if that was the cause, also make certain you clean the cavity out and when playing with brushes etc , please be careful around that blower it is easy to bend the fan blades poking around.
 
sculptor said:
Combustion blower. The one on the left side of the stove/ opposite the control panel, that connects to the exhaust vent. It is whistling pretty good now. I check for vibrations and nothing stopped it. I'm guessing it's the fan blade touching something? Or it has that sound of a motor that's about to fail - like metal on metal screech. I hate to have to take the blower off to find out...is this the only way?

Pretty much.

But the blower is pretty easy to remove on your stove. Unplug stove, remove side cover, disconnect the motor wires, loosen & remove the 6 nuts holding the motor to the housing, and carefully slide straight out. If your VERY careful, you can do it w/o ripping the gasket. I took a single edged razor blade ( or sharp pen knife would do too) and carefully slid it around behind the gasket.....mine came right off w/o tearing.

The motor itself should make almost no noise at all, as they are ball bearing units. The only sound while it's out of the housing should be the "whoosh" of the air off the fan blades. Spin the blades by hand too and make sure none of them are bent.

If everything looks good, clean inside the housing ( vacuum w/ brush attachment), and re assemble.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.