HOW DO YOU INSTALL AN AUGER MOTOR ON A WHITFIELD QUEST PELLET STOVE?

[DarbyDog]

HOW DO YOU PROPERLY INSTALL AN AUGER MOTOR ON A WHITFIELD QUEST PELLET STOVE?!

I have a question about how to install the auger motor properly on this pellet stove. I'm doing something wrong that I can't figure out.

This pellet stove hit the market in 1993, I believe. It came with the Rocky Mountain, Colorado house my wife and I purchased in 2007, as a free-standing basement stove, and up until this winter, I had hardly ever used it--maybe ten times total. But after moving my office to the basement recently, I had been using it quite successfully for the past couple of months until I encountered an auger plug that I had to dislodge by removing the motor and auger screw. Out came the plug. Then, I got busy with other chores and sidelined reassembly for a couple of weeks.

Bad decision, because by that time I had forgotten how both the motor as well as the auger plate had been positioned/oriented with each oher, etc. So anyway, I reinserted the auger screw, attached the auger plate (held by four screws), slid the motor shaft into the bottom end of the auger screw and screwed the set screw into the motor shaft's collar ring and screw, aligning the set screw with the flat side of the shaft. And I had to do all of this in an 8-inch space between the wall and the back of the stove, using mirrors, etc.--not fun.

So...I then turned on the stove and hit the auger button to test it. The auger, as viewed inside the hopper, was turning, but only intermittently. BUT when I looked inside the back of the stove, I could see that the motor itself was rotating in sync with each movement of the auger. In other words, the motor is not held in place by anything, and I don't see how that can be right. Doesn't it have to be held in place somehow? And also...While testing it, I had put a handful of pellets into the hopper to see if it would drop some through the chute. I ran it for about five minutes and it never dropped any pellets even though the auger screw appeared to pulling pellets up.

I'm sure I'm doing something really obviously stupid, but I can't figure out what it is. Does the auger plate, which has a spike that juts out from one corner, have to be positioned correctly to hold the motor in place? Is that the problem?

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[johneh]

Watch this

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welcome to the forum

 

[DarbyDog]

He, thanks a lot Johneh. Appreciate it. And thanks for the welcome. I really hope I can find omebody here who has some personal experience with this specific model of the Quest. It's getting pretty damn cold in my basement. I'm at 10,000 feet in the Colorado Rockies. It snowed today. Four-dog nights.

Here's my problem though: I actually had run across this video myself and had been thinking it would be useful. However, this is a different model of the Quest stove than what I have. The model I have has a very cramped space for the motor to fit into because the convection (?) motor is right next to where the auger motor needs to go. That motor in the video is below the auger motor, so the lateral space is much wider. This tight space of mine also limits positioning of the motor to only two positions, up or down, but not sideways like the one in the video. But in addition to that, unfortunately, this video does not show the motor in action after it's installed, so I can't see whether or not it's normal for the motor itself to be rotating while running. I can see the gentleman manually rotating the motor; mine can rotate manually as well, but I just don't see how the motor can function without resistance in the form of being bolted/screwed to the frame. It's all very confusing. And unfortunately, I had never seen the motor in action before pulling it out because I had never taken the back off before.

Anyway, thanks again.

 

[johneh]

That little spike that hags down is the motor stop
The motor is free to rotate until it hits the stop
hint put a little piece of hose on the spike as a noise-stop
and to stop any damage to the motor (a bumper)

 

[DarbyDog]

Thank you, man!

Thought that's what it was intended for, although I'm surprised the designers couldn't have come up with something more sensible--My opinion at least. And I'm pretty sure my motor-shaft rotation is clockwise, so I'm going to try to visualize the spike positioned to hold the motor in place as a counterforce against the shaft and auger screw. Really tight, cramped space I'm working with too, so I'll cross fingers that I'll be able to get it in there correctly.

I'll update with the outcome.

Good of you to take the time. Thanks again

 

[johneh]

Good of you to take the time. Thanks again

No problem that's what we are here for

 

[Ricks]

On my Quest the auger motor is positioned vertically with the mass below the auger. The motor is designed to “float” against the stop. I find my laying on top of the stove and looking down the back of the stove the easiest. But I will grant you there isn’t much room.

Keep an eye out on the flat part on the auger shaft and make sure the set screw is tight.

The quest is a great stove and will last a long time. It is fussy when it comes to pellets and really benefits from the leaf blower trick to clean it. There are two exhaust passages that get filled up with ash that cannot be reached with a vacuum.

 

[DarbyDog]

Cool! Thanks a lot. Great to have an actual Quest owner replying.

I'll try the "laying on top" of the stove. Anything has to be easier that working on it from the side. I swear, it takes me two days between attempts just to get my legs and sides back to normal.

Just so that I'm clear on what you're saying, though, when you refer to the "mass" being below the auger, you are saying that youhave your motor positioned vertically so that the longest part of the motor (the weightiest part) is pointing toward the floor and the shortest (lightest) part toward the top of the stove?

And here's another thing you can probably help me with: If you were looking directly at the back of the pellet stove, which corner of the auger plate do you have its "spike" (the motor-stop that juts out) positioned at for your vertical placement of the motor? Is your spike positioned in the right-upper corner, the left-upper corner, the lower-left corner or the right-lower corner? I have tried the right-lower corner and that was a complete dud--the motor kept rotating into the exhaust pipe. And because it has been so exhausting working in such a tight space, I want to make sure I have the plate correctly positioned for my next attempt so that I can achieve a successful motor install.

Also...do you know where the model number of the stove can be found? I'm not the original owner; it came with the house we purchased in 2007.

And I also have another separate question if Johneh would like to chime in on this as well: About a month ago, the auger stopped working. So I bypassed the pressure switch with some alligator clips which showed the auger working, so I decided to order a new pressure switch which, with some difficulty, I installed (had to cut out the old one with a multi-tool and then drill thru the hopper to mount the new one). But because I couldn't find a perfect-match replacement part anywhere, I settled for a new, smaller Whitfield Advantage pressure switch. I'm thinking that will probably work okay, but I'm not sure. I mean, the stove did work with it in place and the auger was turning, but I'm a little concerned the switch will not work when necessary. Not terribly worried about it in any case because I keep the exhaust pipe and chimney clean, but I'd feel better knowing it's an acceptable-enough way of doing things.

Anyway, thank you all for the help.

 

[johneh]

If the stove operates with the new switch installed properly then
you should be good to go. That being said to test it open the door just enough to see in.
The auger should stop supplying pellets to the burn pot effectively shutting down the stove

 

[DarbyDog]

Cool! Glad I asked.

Thx

 

[DarbyDog]

Cool! Thanks a lot. Great to have an actual Quest owner replying.

I'll try the "laying on top" of the stove. Anything has to be easier that working on it from the side. I swear, it takes me two days between attempts just to get my legs and sides back to normal.

Just so that I'm clear on what you're saying, though, when you refer to the "mass" being below the auger, you are saying that youhave your motor positioned vertically so that the longest part of the motor (the weightiest part) is pointing toward the floor and the shortest (lightest) part toward the top of the stove?

And here's another thing you can probably help me with: If you were looking directly at the back of the pellet stove, which corner of the auger plate do you have its "spike" (the motor-stop that juts out) positioned at for your vertical placement of the motor? Is your spike positioned in the right-upper corner, the left-upper corner, the lower-left corner or the right-lower corner? I have tried the right-lower corner and that was a complete dud--the motor kept rotating into the exhaust pipe. And because it has been so exhausting working in such a tight space, I want to make sure I have the plate correctly positioned for my next attempt so that I can achieve a successful motor install.

Also...do you know where the model number of the stove can be found? I'm not the original owner; it came with the house we purchased in 2007.

And I also have another separate question if Johneh would like to chime in on this as well: About a month ago, the auger stopped working. So I bypassed the pressure switch with some alligator clips which showed the auger working, so I decided to order a new pressure switch which, with some difficulty, I installed (had to cut out the old one with a multi-tool and then drill thru the hopper to mount the new one). But because I couldn't find a perfect-match replacement part anywhere, I settled for a new, smaller Whitfield Advantage pressure switch. I'm thinking that will probably work okay, but I'm not sure. I mean, the stove did work with it in place and the auger was turning, but I'm a little concerned the switch will not work when necessary. Not terribly worried about it in any case because I keep the exhaust pipe and chimney clean, but I'd feel better knowing it's an acceptable-enough way of doing things.

Anyway, thank you all for the help.

View attachment 325303

On my Quest the auger motor is positioned vertically with the mass below the auger. The motor is designed to “float” against the stop. I find my laying on top of the stove and looking down the back of the stove the easiest. But I will grant you there isn’t much room.

Keep an eye out on the flat part on the auger shaft and make sure the set screw is tight.

The quest is a great stove and will last a long time. It is fussy when it comes to pellets and really benefits from the leaf blower trick to clean it. There are two exhaust passages that get filled up with ash that cannot be reached with a vacuum.

03/01/24: Hey man, thanks for the tip about laying on top of the stove to work on it. However, just to let you know, I tried that and it doesn't work on my stove because it turns out I only have 6 1/2" space behind it. The main reason it's taking me so long to get things done.

 

[Ricks]

Sorry to hear laying on the stove didn’t work.

First off yes the longest part of the motor should be below the auger. The spike as you call it should be on the right side of the stove as you look at the stove from the back.

The spike is designed to stop the motor from rotating, but allows one to confirm the auger isn’t jammed.

Again once you get comfortable with the stove it is a simple stove to maintain, yet does a great job.

 

[Ricks]

As I understand it there were two models of the Whitfield Quest. It sounds like you have the earlier model. There is a part supplier located in Massachusetts that I have had very good luck with. They may be able to help with pictures of the earlier model Quest.

 

[DarbyDog]

As I understand it there were two models of the Whitfield Quest. It sounds like you have the earlier model. There is a part supplier located in Massachusetts that I have had very good luck with. They may be able to help with pictures of the earlier model Quest.

I think that's correct. I think there were two models and that I have the earliest.

Massuchusetts supplier? Wow, that would be very cool to be able to work with a parts supplier for this ancient stove. What's the name of the supplier?

In doing a iittle research recently on pellet stoves, it looks like it was a Dr. Whitfield who invented the pellet stove in the late '80s and that the Whitfield Quest (my stove) may have been the first pellet stove ever mass marketed (early '90s). So if mine is the first model, I may have a museum piece. I actually love this little stove and agree with other posters here that it's a solid unit. Also, as long as parts are available, I can see this stove lasting for a very long time past its current thirty one years.

If anyone's interested, I'll cap off here with a final post to let you chaps know how things turned out in the end once I can get things put back together.

Thanks all! (assuming things go well; otherwise I may be back with more annoying questions)

 

[DarbyDog]

Sorry to hear laying on the stove didn’t work.

First off yes the longest part of the motor should be below the auger. The spike as you call it should be on the right side of the stove as you look at the stove from the back.

The spike is designed to stop the motor from rotating, but allows one to confirm the auger isn’t jammed.

Again once you get comfortable with the stove it is a simple stove to maintain, yet does a great job.

My apologies--I'm doing two separate replies here; I'm not much of a forum type.

Anyway...

No problem, man. Thanks anyway for the tip. And BTW, I'm 6'1", so I'd have trouble getting even half my arm on top of it.

When you say your spike is on the right side of the stove, do you mean the right-side-top or right-side bottom? Because I had tried right-side bottom and that hadn't worked. The motor never wound up landing on the spike. It just kept hitting the exhaust pipe. So I'll probably try right-side top next. Anyway, like I said though, I think my Quest stove model is somewhat different than yours and most other owners' stoves out there, most of whom own the "Plus" model.

Thanks again. Appreciate your help!

 

[DarbyDog]

And another thing, Ricks, before I forget...How does the spike "help one confirm the auger isn't jammed?" That would certainly be useful, bit I don't understand how the spike could relate to an auger jam.

 

[Ricks]

The motor is only fastened to the auger so as the motor turns the pot or pushes against the spike. If or when the auger jams you can grab the motor and twist it away from the spike. Depending on the reason for the jam working the motor and auger back and forth can free the jam. If that doesn’t work you have to remove the motor and the auger.

On my Quest the spike is on the bottom or below the auger and sticks out the back.

The two suppliers I would suggest would be:
East Coast Hearth (I believe the owner is a member here)
Stove and grill parts for less

 

[DarbyDog]

Thanks, man. Appreciate it.

 

[DarbyDog]

Alright, well...The Quest is up and running now. Thought I'd retire my involvement in this post with a brief explanation of what I had to do to get the motor installed for future visitors who may own one of these earlier models. The only position I wound up being able to get the auger motor into was the one shown in the photo I'm attaching. I installed it vertically with the heavy end down (thanks RickS). And BTW, this photo is a literal mirror image taken of the back of the stove through a mirror i had placed against the wall behind the stove as an aid. As any Quest Plus owner may notice in the photo, my stove has a cut-out in the frame directly below where I mounted the motor. And without this cut-out, I would not have been able to install the motor; Installation required open space below the motor to allow for maneuvering it into position for getting the shaft inserted. In fact there was barely enough room even with this cut-out present to get the motor in there. And to create a motor stop, I wound up having to secure the auger back-plate so that the "spike" wound up in the lower-left corner as viewed from the back. That motor-stop spike now effectively keeps the motor stationary while in operation. And when I say stationary, I mean stationary. There is no wiggle room at all for being able to rotate the motor to dislodge pellet jams, etc. The motor is now held in place on one side by the spike and below by the cut-out. I'm thinking Whitfield improved their next version, the Plus, by moving some parts to allow the auger to float.

Anyway, thank you all for your input.