Hi all, long time lurker, first time having a problem that I couldn't find an answer to. I've got a Lopi Yankee Bay insert pellet stove that has been working fine for the past few years until today when it began emitting a high-pitch whining sound intermittently when the auger is operating. Now I've gone ahead and vacuumed/blown out the pellet hopper while running the auger through a full cycle to see if it was some kind of blockage - no dice, the whine persists. I've checked the actual pellet shoot into the firebox, no blockage visible.
Now my next course of action is to buy some graphite lubricant (sidebar: any suggestions on the aerosolized graphite lubricant vs. the powdered version?) and I'll apply that to the visible auger + a small batch of pellets that I'll run through the stove like normal, hopefully coating any grinding areas in the process and removing the whine. My fear is that if that does not work, I'm out of options as accessing the auger/motor is virtually impossible without completely pulling out the insert, something I'm not sure is advisable by a non-professional.
Has anyone with a Yankee Bay or any other type of insert encountered a similar issue/found a solution to the whine? If not, I'll be calling a professional service this week. Thanks in advance.
Now my next course of action is to buy some graphite lubricant (sidebar: any suggestions on the aerosolized graphite lubricant vs. the powdered version?) and I'll apply that to the visible auger + a small batch of pellets that I'll run through the stove like normal, hopefully coating any grinding areas in the process and removing the whine. My fear is that if that does not work, I'm out of options as accessing the auger/motor is virtually impossible without completely pulling out the insert, something I'm not sure is advisable by a non-professional.
Has anyone with a Yankee Bay or any other type of insert encountered a similar issue/found a solution to the whine? If not, I'll be calling a professional service this week. Thanks in advance.
