My Quad Santa Fe had a squealing combustion blower so I bought a new one from a popular dealer and installed it. From day 1 it has randomly squealed just like the original that lasted 6 years without a peep. I've been told I can send it back and if it squeals when they bench test it(for an hour) then the warranty will be recognized. In the email I was told it sounded like either a bad bearing or incorrect installation. I've removed and re-installed the original several times without a problem. It's so random I'm afraid I'll be out the money if I send it back. I even sprung for 2 day shipping at 50 dollars because we were cold. I bought some 3 in 1 oil today but the bearings are sealed so not sure what good it will do. Any thoughts? What could have gone wrong with the install?
New combustion blower intermittent squeal
- Thread starter mattwade808
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heat seeker
Minister of Fire
Hey Matt,
Did you replace the gasket when you put the new exhaust blower in? Generally any time you take out the blower to clean it, or in your case replace it, you should put a new gasket in to avoid smoke leaks as well as vibration, which could be a cause of your intermittent squeal.
If you have some electrical knowledge and comfortabillity you can bench test your blower motor by hooking it up to an external 110v AC power cord to see if you can reproduce the motor squeal. This would save you having to send it in to Quad for them to do the same bench test, and would tell you if the squeal is coming from somewhere other than the blower motor.
You can make an AC jumper cord out of a cheap 2 prong / 2 wire extension cord, or an old lamp cord, by cutting off the non-plug end, then splice insulated male spade connectors onto each wire. Make sure the spade connector wire splice is well wrapped with electrical tape, or better yet use heat shrink tubing over the hub of the insulated spade connector. Here is a link to a pre-fab power cord that shows the insulated female electrical connectors.
(broken link removed to http://www.eastcoasthearth.com/products/pellet-stove-ac-line-test-cord-check-blowers-auger-motor-and-igniter-easily)
Standard disclaimer ! - 110V AC can easily bite you, or worse, hence their common referral as 'suicide cords'. It doesn't matter which spade connector hooks up to which blower motor wire. Make sure your stove is UNPLUGGED before disconnecting the exhaust blower wires, and make sure the external AC power cord is UNPLUGGED when you are connecting or disconnecting the blower motor wires. Safety first ! Both for you and your Quad's expen$ive control box !
Post back on how things go, OK? Regards, DK
Did you replace the gasket when you put the new exhaust blower in? Generally any time you take out the blower to clean it, or in your case replace it, you should put a new gasket in to avoid smoke leaks as well as vibration, which could be a cause of your intermittent squeal.
If you have some electrical knowledge and comfortabillity you can bench test your blower motor by hooking it up to an external 110v AC power cord to see if you can reproduce the motor squeal. This would save you having to send it in to Quad for them to do the same bench test, and would tell you if the squeal is coming from somewhere other than the blower motor.
You can make an AC jumper cord out of a cheap 2 prong / 2 wire extension cord, or an old lamp cord, by cutting off the non-plug end, then splice insulated male spade connectors onto each wire. Make sure the spade connector wire splice is well wrapped with electrical tape, or better yet use heat shrink tubing over the hub of the insulated spade connector. Here is a link to a pre-fab power cord that shows the insulated female electrical connectors.
(broken link removed to http://www.eastcoasthearth.com/products/pellet-stove-ac-line-test-cord-check-blowers-auger-motor-and-igniter-easily)
Standard disclaimer ! - 110V AC can easily bite you, or worse, hence their common referral as 'suicide cords'. It doesn't matter which spade connector hooks up to which blower motor wire. Make sure your stove is UNPLUGGED before disconnecting the exhaust blower wires, and make sure the external AC power cord is UNPLUGGED when you are connecting or disconnecting the blower motor wires. Safety first ! Both for you and your Quad's expen$ive control box !
Post back on how things go, OK? Regards, DK
Thanks for the responses folks. I am definitely comfortable testing the fan outside of the stove one it's warm. The seller actually suggested that before I send it in. The fan came with a new gasket and I used it. I've been home all day due to blizzard conditions and, when we had power, I was able to listen to the fan more and am sure that there's a bad bearing. It sounds exactly like the old fan after 5 years of use. The motor came out of the box really dusty so I wondered how long it had been on the shelf.
There have been reports on the forum of bad batches of exhaust blower motors from certain manufacturers. Is yours a Quad OEM blower or an after-market one?
It seems with more and more after-market blower motors available on-line now that there is continual market pressure to outsource production, and to use cheaper sealed bearings and components.
My 1st generation Castile's OEM combustion blower lasted 12 burn seasons, and it still has the original convection blower in it, blowing strong on its 15th burn season now. I'll be lucky to get half that life-span out of its replacement when it eventually dies !
Cheers, DK
It seems with more and more after-market blower motors available on-line now that there is continual market pressure to outsource production, and to use cheaper sealed bearings and components.
My 1st generation Castile's OEM combustion blower lasted 12 burn seasons, and it still has the original convection blower in it, blowing strong on its 15th burn season now. I'll be lucky to get half that life-span out of its replacement when it eventually dies !
Cheers, DK
You can still get a little oil on em. Had a friend that had his motor start making some noise. He sprayed a little wd40 on it, and it has been quiet ever since. Go figure. I would talk to your supplier about warranty period. I think it is only for 90 days on replacement parts? I would make sure he will stand behind you if you are waiting for warmer weather. You may want to put your old one back in, to send this one back on time. Good luck. kap
Thanks for the replies guys. This is, indeed, an after market fan. The company also sells OEM for 60 dollars more. I have been in contact with the seller to let them know I'd like to wait for warmer weather and was assured that was fine. I appreciate that. The warranty is for a year so I plan on sending this one back.
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