I let my hopper go down to nothing today. First started by scraping the burnpot and around the end of the auger. Ran it in the test mode for a cycle. Still friggin’ squeaked!! Before I tore it apart and voided my warranty I called my dealer...again. AGAIN a service rep was not there and they told me to call back at 1:00 PM. I’m a mechanic by trade (Maintenance Manager for a local municipality) and ran it through another test cycle and watched how the pellet feeder at the bottom of the hopper slides to feed, then slides back. It is when the feeder slides back that it makes the squeak. Pulled the panel on the back so I had better access and watched how it worked, once again in the test cycle. If you hold out your pointing finger and thum and make a “C” it is a U shaped cam that a bearing rides inside to make it slide back and forth during the feed cycle. I worked back and forth it by hand and could simulate the noise. So I figured it could be the bushings it turns in. Covered everything up with paper towels and lubed the pivot points with penetrating oil. Worked the mechanism back and forth and put more lube to it. I found that there is a little in and out back lash, maybe an 1/8th of an inch. If the mechanism is out, more towards back of the stove it will squeak. If it is toward the front, it doesn’t. I feel it is the feeder slide inside the feeder box hitting on the sides that makes the squeak. So I went in search in my barn in the hopes of finding a double split shaft collar to hold it in place. I couldn’t find one but for right now I pushed the shaft in as far as it would go “in” and I am using a hose clamp on the very end of the shaft pushed tight to the outside mount. SILENCE It’s now 12:45 and I’ve got it fixed before I can even call them. I should go to work for these knuckle heads.
