P68 distribution blower

[Havilcek stole the ball]

I've got a P68, well beyond warranty, with a weak blow from the front. I had one distribution blower replaced under warranty about 4 or 5 years ago. I looked through other threads and generally people say the blower should be tested in a household electrical outlet before committing to replacement. I see the blower has three female leads. My questions is how is the test done - should the leads be cut off and then the wires be stripped and then spliced on to a household plug? Or should I find three male leads and wire those to the household plug? I'm concerned about what will happen if for some reason I end up keeping this blower and all the wires have been cut up and reconnected, and then stuffed into a high heat situation with electrical tape or wire nuts.

Also, if I plug it into an outlet and it blows well, I guess that means the problem is in the circuit board? At that point, I think I'm calling a repair person.

I'll try to clean it first today and see if that helps. It went from passable wind velocity to very little pretty abruptly, so I kind of doubt the cleaning is all it needs.

Thanks in advance!

 

[mralias]

I've got a P68, well beyond warranty, with a weak blow from the front. I had one distribution blower replaced under warranty about 4 or 5 years ago. I looked through other threads and generally people say the blower should be tested in a household electrical outlet before committing to replacement. I see the blower has three female leads. My questions is how is the test done - should the leads be cut off and then the wires be stripped and then spliced on to a household plug? Or should I find three male leads and wire those to the household plug? I'm concerned about what will happen if for some reason I end up keeping this blower and all the wires have been cut up and reconnected, and then stuffed into a high heat situation with electrical tape or wire nuts.

Also, if I plug it into an outlet and it blows well, I guess that means the problem is in the circuit board? At that point, I think I'm calling a repair person.

I'll try to clean it first today and see if that helps. It went from passable wind velocity to very little pretty abruptly, so I kind of doubt the cleaning is all it needs.

Thanks in advance!

Here is the wire diagram for you stove. Based on what I see, the green wire is a ground. The red and white go to the board. If you don't feel comfortable working with AC power then I would not attempt it and have someone that does make the proper connections. Looks to me like there are spade connectors on the combustion fan which indicates they are not real concerned about heat on the connections.

 

[Havilcek stole the ball]

Here is the wire diagram for you stove. Based on what I see, the green wire is a ground. The red and white go to the board. If you don't feel comfortable working with AC power then I would not attempt it and have someone that does make the proper connections. Looks to me like there are spade connectors on the combustion fan which indicates they are not real concerned about heat on the connections.

Thanks; I have it apart now, and the wires are color coded. It looks simple enough, so if I were to replace the blower, I could do it by matching color to color or just tagging where they came from. If I were to test it, I guess I would create an outlet plug with the three female leads, and then plug the blower into that, rather than cutting the leads off the blower. Anyway I cleaned up the blower and I'll see if that helps. I don't know where this thing finds all the dust.

 

[corkman]

Just get yourself an old lamp cord and install some male connectors on the end of it and connect it to the females of the blower cord. A 2 word cord is fine to use also. Ground not really needed to test it

 

[mralias]

Just get yourself an old lamp cord and install some male connectors on the end of it and connect it to the females of the blower cord. A 2 word cord is fine to use also. Ground not really needed to test it

And make sure it is disconnected from the stove and the stove is unplugged when working on it....

 

[Havilcek stole the ball]

This project went from bad to worse. Cleaned up the blower and reinstalled. When I tried to start the stove back up, it would not do anything. In test mode, the lights are on, feed motor on and the distribution blower now blows nicely, but the auger won't turn. I called the shop where I got it and they figure it's an air leak. No one's around until Tuesday. I've checked all of the doors and I re-seated the blower to make sure it's on right, but nothing works. The only things I detached were the blower and the ESP probe, and I re-attached both. Usually this stove is not so touchy. I'm stumped.

 

[mralias]

This project went from bad to worse. Cleaned up the blower and reinstalled. When I tried to start the stove back up, it would not do anything. In test mode, the lights are on, feed motor on and the distribution blower now blows nicely, but the auger won't turn. I called the shop where I got it and they figure it's an air leak. No one's around until Tuesday. I've checked all of the doors and I re-seated the blower to make sure it's on right, but nothing works. The only things I detached were the blower and the ESP probe, and I re-attached both. Usually this stove is not so touchy. I'm stumped.

Is there a gasket with that blower and if so did you replace it or use the same one?

 

[corkman]

Check hopper switch and seal and igniter is on auto. Where on south shore are you. I'm in norton

 

[Havilcek stole the ball]

Is there a gasket with that blower and if so did you replace it or use the same one?

No, it's never had a gasket. Two screws, that's it. I tightened it up pretty good, within reason anyway.

 

[Havilcek stole the ball]

Check hopper switch and seal and igniter is on auto. Where on south shore are you. I'm in norton

The hopper is old and I don't think it has a switch. The latch has been redesigned since this model. The hopper is definitely not a great seal, but it has been that way for many years. I put some weight on it and still didn't work. I'm in Quincy.

 

[PJPellet]

Maybe possibly bumped something loose when working on the distribution blower and wiring. I would check all of the wiring with a flashlight and maybe even disconnect and reconnect all of the connections just to re-seat everything. It could be just a coincidence that your auger isn't turning now but since you were just working in this area I would check all of the connections....even the ones that you didn't touch.