How often do you guys clean the combustion blower?

[Chrisnow86]

It's been about a year now and thinking of giving it a good cleaning this weekend... And one more question I know the fiberglass gasket will fall apart so I was thinking about picking up some red RTV sealant to do the job. Does that work good?

 

[Snowy Rivers]

I am anal about cleaning my stoves, but the fact is that I had never cleaned the exhaust fan on the big Whit at any time since we bought it used back in 2010

A couple weeks ago I was getting a poor draft so decided to yank the fan.
Fan impeller great, but farther up the exhaust passage, between the inner ash baffles and the fan it had become real ugly.
Just over time the rough edges in there had gathered enough crap to really start things clogging up.

So, a used stove, then 5 years with us.

Now, the best thing is to buy a couple of the high temp silicone gaskets, as these are reusable.

Listings on ebay often.]

Silicone will work, but getting it off is going to be a beotch next time.

The silicone gaskets are very nice and should be good for many removals.

DO NOT TIGHTEN THE SNOT OUT OF THE BOLTS AS IT CAN WARP THE BACK PLATE ON THE FAN UNIT.

Just a good snugging is all that's needed

Good luck and happy cleaning

 

[Chrisnow86]

Thanks! I figured I would need to scrape off sealant the next time to do a cleaning.. I'm anal about my cleanings as well. My wife thinks I'm nuts but I tell her it's part of running a pellet stove

 

[Bioburner]

I have used silicone but then I apply a layer of foil over the silicone and assemble but not tighten for a day to let the silicone set up. Then tighten, allows for easy removal as you have only applied to one surface and the foil meets the other.

 

[English BoB]

I just cleaned one after last season, 3 ton +. I was amazed at how dirty things were, gasket was shot. Thanks for the tip on different types.

bob

 

[h2ochild]

The manuals for both the PDV and it's little brother the PDVC, suggest removing the blower and cleaning it once each season. I do mine at the end of the season, replace the gasket with homemade replacements, from Lytherm sheets bought on Ebay. I made templates for gaskets from heavy cardboard. I clean the motor windings with compressed air. My particular motor has no oiling port. After carefully cleaning the fins and base plate with a small wire brush, I coat those areas with graphite dry lube to discourage buildup on the fins. As Snowy says, reassemble carefully, no need to overtighten.

 

[Snowy Rivers]

Thanks! I figured I would need to scrape off sealant the next time to do a cleaning.. I'm anal about my cleanings as well. My wife thinks I'm nuts but I tell her it's part of running a pellet stove

UH HUH

Just a little insight into the mentality of some folks.

Buddy of mine scored a NEW Thelin Parlour stove at a garage sale for $50
Owner said it did not work.
"I pushed the button and it made noise, but no heat came out"
My buddy looks in the hopper and it's totally clean with the owners manual still taped to the inside of the lid.

Pellet stoves around our house are a part of the very fabric of our existence in the winter.
This is not a casual thing or just for ambiance in the den after dinner.

IT IS A WAY OF LIFE
Do or be very cold.

Good on ya for loving your stove.

 

[TStark]

Great ideas there

I found a 2x2 sheet of boiler gasket from the local Heating supply house is inexspensive and can make a hightemp gasket for anything.

 

[Chrisnow86]

Another question I have is any of you experienced over heating issues associated with a dirty combustion blower?

 

[Snowy Rivers]

That's an interesting though.

Should not do that, but, I suppose anything is possible.

 

[Chrisnow86]

Just thinking of the air flowing threw the stove is going slower it has more time for the steel to absorb the heat... Idk I guess we will see tomorrow

 

[Bioburner]

Or not enough air through the pot to produce a good hot fire that creates less heat

 

[Chrisnow86]

Touché

 

[Bioburner]

Happy balance in there somewhere.

 

[Chrisnow86]

Well cleaned it there was some pretty decent build up on the fins.. Also took one of my sons old bottle brushes and cleaned out the exchanger as much a possible.. Flame seems sharper and sparks are coming out of the burn pot again..

 

[RobertNH]

I was also annual on blower (actually everything) on the old unit. Break it down and blow it out..
But on that one, I also dumped the ash pan with every other load of pellets.
Very dirty stove... So happy I upgraded!

This one I'm now curious about and wanted to see also what others are doing.
The pan now gets emptied every 3rd week, whether it needs it or not.
A decent cleaning happens, no where near what I used to do...

This season just a 'blow-out', and running great!
The reason I was curious,,

 

[Chrisnow86]

No ash Pan with my stove so every weekend I shut down and vac it out.. When I do that I scrape carbon off the auger and bun pot.. Every other week I would do that but also clean out the heat exchanger with a 3ft pc of hose, and put a few drops of oil on all the motors bearings.

 

[Wilbur Feral]

Every other week I would do that but also clean out the heat exchanger with a 3ft pc of hose, and put a few drops of oil on all the motors bearings.

If possible, check out oiling reccs in your manual. Many recc 1-2 drops per YEAR. Too much can invite excess dirt capture. Just a thought.

 

[Ranger72]

I remove both blower motors from my Whit at the beginning of every burn season. I blow it out with compressed air, inspect, oil and reinstall.

 

[Chrisnow86]

That's the plan from now on.. I burned a good 7 ton since the last time it was cleaned so it was way over due