Mt Vernon Augar Jam

[Bkins]

Hi,

How does one un-jam a augar on one of these? It is a free standanding stove and I have the right side panel off. I am not getting pellets and I can't see that the augar is turning.

Thanks, Bkins

 

[Bkins]

Its mfged date is june of 05'.

Bkins

 

[imacman]

...... I am not getting pellets and I can't see that the augar is turning.

Thanks, Bkins

Is the auger motor getting power? Can you put a voltmeter across the leads and see if you get any voltage? If so, then you probably have a pellet jam.

Or even make a "test cord" like I did out of an old lamp cord.....unplug the stove, unplug the auger leads, and put test leads on it ( I even put spade connectors on it so it connects just like the stove leads), and then plug in the motor & see what happens.....if it turns, then you have an electrical issue in the stove.

 

[Bkins]

There is a clip that holds the motor on. I took the clip off and the motor runs with no problem. Before disconnecting the motor there was a clanking noise coming out of the stove. I would say it sounded like a motor with a fan on the end that had a lot of play end to end in the shaft. It is like a rattle/clanking noise but the augar is not turning. I can't determine if one of the shaft connections is slipping or not. The gear assembly doesn't want to come off. There is the motor that connects to the gear assenbly that connects to another shaft that I'm assumming is the auger shaft. It is a pretty tight working space in order to work. I am trying to determine if there is a set screw on a hub that the gear motor connects to. I've taken everything apart that I can see to take apart in order to get to the augar. I bought this used and was assured there was nothing wrong with it. Guess what???

Bkins

 

[imacman]

...... I bought this used and was assured there was nothing wrong with it. Guess what???
Bkins

Hope you didn't pay too much for it.....like the saying goes, "let the buyer beware".

Did you have the previous owner fire it up for you before you bought it? Always a good idea.....you can start these stoves anywhere near a door or outside, just need an extension cord and some pellets.

 

[Bkins]

The problem is in pulling the augar. It ain't coming out and I don't want to put alot of english on it only to find out I missed how it comes apart.

Bkins

 

[Bkins]

Yes it is a one augar system and I've been trying hard to get the assembly to come apart. I am hopin that one of the Quad techs might tell me how to get it apart. Is there some where to get a manual telling me how to get it apart. I don't want to do more damage by forcing the issue. My experience has been that once you start using a lot of pressure to get things apart that damage will occur. I can't get to the augar other then where the pellets go in and that space is very limited.

Bkins

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

Once you loosen the screws that hold the motor in place, the entire auger screw and motor will come with it. The auger probably was left with pellets in it and they got damp and swelled in the auger tube. If i remember correctly, the motor is held on with two screws, the plate with four screws is not the correct plate to loosen. Its been a while since i tore one apart so just look at the auger and how it is mounted to the bracket. If the screws are out, it will come out.

 

[Bkins]

MountainStoveGuy,

Thanks for your response. There must be a big jam in the augar tube as I can somewhat move the motor assembly at the top of the augar tube but the augar itself is frozen solid. No movement at all. Do you have any suggestions on how to get the pellets that are in there to soften up somewhat. If I squirt some water in the pellet drop chute do you think I it would help or just create a bigger mess? I have a lot of background fixing mechanical things and when I say this is solidly jammed it is solidly jammed. Is there anything in the tube that might get hurt by forcing the jam? There is the vac tube fitting and 2 snap disks on the outside of the augar tube. There seems to be a metal plate that I hit when trying to probe the augar from the hopper bin.

David

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

I would not put more water in there. its likley to cause a bigger mess. Can you get the collar off of the auger shaft? there should be a set screw that will release the motor. If you get it off.. you might try to take a pair of vise grips and try to unscrew the auger from the jam, then once the screw is out, it should be easy to clean.

If you feel like you are going to destroy something, you might call a quad dealer and schedule a service call. It might be cheaper then replacing the damaged parts.

 

[humpin iron]

is this an old mt. v or a newer a/e ?? If it's an a/e it's all 12 vt do not test as described in the earlier post. if it's a straight mt. v then you can dig out pellets from both ends of the auger tube, with the help of a strong shop vac, gently but firmly tap the auger shaft, if you get real desperate, soak the tube with wd-40. afterwards you will have to swab out very well.

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

This would be a non- AE. (2005). AE was released in 2007 i believe.

 

[imacman]

is this an old mt. v or a newer a/e ?? If it's an a/e it's all 12 vt do not test as described in the earlier post......

Yep, if it's a 12v model, my "test" leads idea above wouldn't be a good thing to do.

Since he said that the motor does run, then I agree with MSG....try getting the auger motor disconnected & out of the stove, and turn the auger backwards using vice grips....if you can "unscrew" it out of the auger tube, then you' can go from the top side and scrape the old pellets out.

 

[Bkins]

Well here is what I ended up doing after a bunch of hours of working on it. I took off the motor and also took the set screw off that held the gear reduction assembly on. This set screw was a bi##h to get to with as little working room as there is. I also took off the 7/8" collar that is held on with a set screw. I was left looking at the end of the augar shaft hub which had a 5/16" recess for the gear reduction shaft to fit in. I'm guessing it was 5/16". I then made another shaft , out of a old drill bit, with a flat on one end that would fit into the augar recess. The other end I put in my cordless drill, tightened the set screw on the augar recess and put the drill in reverse. Out came the augar. YA HOO!!. There was a mess of hardened pellets that I had to chip away at to get out of the augar tube. Put everything back together and I am now getting pellets in the firepot. Most of the running noise went away so I am a happy camper.

Thanks to one and all for your help and suggestions. I now know how my augar system works inside and out.

Bkins

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

Awesome. FWIW, the seller of this stove probably had no idea that the pellets jammed up. Im guessing the humidity coupled with the pellets sitting in there while caused your problem. Run that auger clean at the end of the season next year. Otherwise, you should have very few problems. The spring type auger system on the quads is one of the best IMO.

 

[Wood Heat Stoves]

h. The feed system can be removed as an entire
assembly. The assembly includes the Feed Motor,
mounting bracket, bearing and feed spring (auger).
To remove assembly, remove the two Phillips head
screws located next to the nylon bearing and the
whole feed system will pull straight out.

taken from the manual....
i just emailed you the service manual btw...

 

[Bkins]

Thank you Dave.

 

[Shortstuff]

Bkins, I had an auger feed problem last winter and just found my original post that I made about it that explains everything I experienced in detail. If your Mt.Vernon feeds pellets similar to my Castile, then you may want to keep something in mind if something like that happens again. If you can, use a small mirror and coat hanger (something to reach up the pellet feed shute with) and it could be as simple as one pellet causing the problem that you can clear.

You can see what I experienced here.

Steve

 

[Bkins]

Bkins, I had an auger feed problem last winter and just found my original post that I made about it that explains everything I experienced in detail. If your Mt.Vernon feeds pellets similar to my Castile, then you may want to keep something in mind if something like that happens again. If you can, use a small mirror and coat hanger (something to reach up the pellet feed shute with) and it could be as simple as one pellet causing the problem that you can clear.

You can see what I experienced here.

Steve

Shortstuff,

Thanks for the link. Mine was solidly packed and once I got the augar out I had to dig the get the mass of pellets out. Dug a little bit and then vacuum, dig and vacuum. You get the idea. I took the 2 screws off that hold the whole assembly to the augar tube and puilled. I pulled hard enough to move a 400 lb stove a couple of incehes and the augar would not budge. My situation was a little bit different then yours but thanks for the link to your post as I'll keep that it my memory bank if I have another problem.

I'm looking forward to my first heating season with 2 pellet stoves.

Bkins

 

[imacman]

..........I'm looking forward to my first heating season with 2 pellet stoves.

Bkins

Glad you got it fixed, and like you said, you now know a lot more about the workings of the stove....knowledge is power!

Have a happy burning!

 

[chrisf]

Is it possible to get a copy of the service manual for the mt. vernon. Thanks

 

[Bkins]

Is it possible to get a copy of the service manual for the mt. vernon. Thanks

I don't have a service manual for the Mt Vernon. Dave at Wood Stoves sent me one for the Mt Vernon AE. The manuals are different. If you want one on the AE send a PM to Dave and I'm sure he will help you out. I don't want to send you what I got from him without asking. It is not the manual for our stoves.

Bkins

 

[smalltown]

Bkins I was following your posts and glad to read that you have solved your problem. I agree with you that if you "bull" something, additional bad things will happen. Sometimes worse thatn the original trouble.
Again glad to read your problem is solved!

 

[Bkins]

Bkins I was following your posts and glad to read that you have solved your problem. I agree with you that if you "bull" something, additional bad things will happen. Sometimes worse thatn the original trouble.
Again glad to read your problem is solved!

Ya in years past I would of just gone at it. That type of thinking has cost me mucho money replacing stuff that I broke or damaged and time to replace it. Just about always there was a correct way to do it. Now I just don't FORCE stuff without first hand knowledge that that is the only way to do it.

Bkins

 

[Shortstuff]

I’m looking forward to my first heating season with 2 pellet stoves.

Last year was our first year heating with a pellet stove and the price of oil can drop all it wants to, we will continue to heat with it.

Our conventional heating system is a nice Burnham oil burner and all our baseboard is their solid cast iron which currently sells for almost $30.00 per foot. 40-45 minutes after the boiler shuts off, it's still very warm to the touch, it really is about the best there is. But we like the heat provided by our pellet stove better. We don't know exactly what it is, but keeping our pellet stove set at 68° feels as warm as keeping our oil burner set at 72°. And that is being measured using the same thermometer well away from direct heat from either source.

I don't know if you've used any pellet stoves before at all and this is your first season with two, but if you don't mind the little extra work to feed pellets and keep them clean, you'll be one happy camper as we are.

Steve