Pellet Release Interval

[RKBAGUY]

How often does your stove release pellets to the burn pot when on 'pilot' or 'idle'? My stove is running the auger for about 1 second every 4.5 seconds, which seems a bit much to me. I would think that half that would be adequate for pilot. Is there an adjustment somewhere I can apply on an Austroflamm Integra that I can experiment with, or should I be looking into a new EPROM for the board?

 

[Delta-T]

I'm just gonna suggest you don't mess with it.

 

[RKBAGUY]

I'm just gonna suggest you don't mess with it.

Yeah, but the problem is listening to that whirring sound every five seconds gets annoying.

 

[imacman]

Edit the title of this thread to include the make & model....you should get more responses from people who are familiar with that stove.....something like "Austroflamm Integra feeding pellets too often?", or something like that.

 

[RKBAGUY]

Edit the title of this thread to include the make & model....you should get more responses from people who are familiar with that stove.....something like "Austroflamm Integra feeding pellets too often?", or something like that.

Good suggestion, but I can't. The system only allows me to change the content of the post, not the subject.

 

[MountainSean]

You can turn the auger feed potentiometer on the user control board counter clockwise to decrease the auger motor feed. None of the Eproms change the auger feed settings. Different versions changed the voltages to the two blower motors but no adjustment to the auger. At the minimum heat setting the auger should feed for .6 seconds and be off for 3.9 at factory default setting (12 o'clock). The potentiometer allows a total of a +/- 22% adjustment of the feed rates

 

[RKBAGUY]

Sean, thanks again for your helpful insight. I'll give that a shot, but even with the +22% increase in interval, it gets me to ~6 second intervals rather than the present ~5 second interval, so it's hard to imagine how much improvement that'll be. The real reason for this is not just to conserve pellets, but to decrease the whirring noise I'm getting from the auger motor. Do you also have that sound, or is it normal? This is my first pellet stove, so I'm not sure what to expect, and I bought the Integra on its reputation for being the most quiet on the market... except for that annyoing gear whirring sound, I suppose. Then again, we're not yet into winter so perhaps it'll be less obtrusive when the stove is running at temperature.

 

[MountainSean]

It is not unusual for an auger motor to make some noise, especially when it gets 20+ years of service on it. I just had to replace my 21 year old auger motor (same Merkle-Korff Austroflamm uses) on my Whitfield this year because of the .06 cent fix. I changed the entire motor out because it was old and noisy. The change in volume was amazing. It went from a whirring grinding noise to running so quietly you literally cannot hear it standing right next to the stove. If you want you can take your auger motor off and crack open the case and clean it then re-pack it with high temp grease and probably change out the rubberized washer that holds the shaft from the motor into the gear box while you are at it and it would quiet right down again. That takes too much time for me when I am working the busy season and raising three kids so I took 10 minutes and swapped to a new motor.

 

[DAKSY]

Good suggestion, but I can't. The system only allows me to change the content of the post, not the subject.

What would like to change it to?

 

[RKBAGUY]

It is not unusual for an auger motor to make some noise, especially when it gets 20+ years of service on it. I just had to replace my 21 year old auger motor (same Merkle-Korff Austroflamm uses) on my Whitfield this year because of the .06 cent fix. I changed the entire motor out because it was old and noisy. The change in volume was amazing. It went from a whirring grinding noise to running so quietly you literally cannot hear it standing right next to the stove. If you want you can take your auger motor off and crack open the case and clean it then re-pack it with high temp grease and probably change out the rubberized washer that holds the shaft from the motor into the gear box while you are at it and it would quiet right down again. That takes too much time for me when I am working the busy season and raising three kids so I took 10 minutes and swapped to a new motor.

I'll give that a shot. Sounds like it's easy enough. Thanks

 

[RKBAGUY]

What would like to change it to?

Thanks for the offer, but we're good to go at this point.

 

[RKBAGUY]

It is not unusual for an auger motor to make some noise, especially when it gets 20+ years of service on it. I just had to replace my 21 year old auger motor (same Merkle-Korff Austroflamm uses) on my Whitfield this year because of the .06 cent fix. I changed the entire motor out because it was old and noisy. The change in volume was amazing. It went from a whirring grinding noise to running so quietly you literally cannot hear it standing right next to the stove. If you want you can take your auger motor off and crack open the case and clean it then re-pack it with high temp grease and probably change out the rubberized washer that holds the shaft from the motor into the gear box while you are at it and it would quiet right down again. That takes too much time for me when I am working the busy season and raising three kids so I took 10 minutes and swapped to a new motor.

I take it any auto parts moly grease (such as that for wheel bearings) would be sufficient? Or is there something in particular you'd recommend?

 

[imacman]

I take it any auto parts moly grease (such as that for wheel bearings) would be sufficient?.....

Yes

 

[flynfrfun]

I too can't stand the auger motor grind. The M55 comes with one of the best and quietest on the market (Gleason Avery), but even so after about a heating season I can start to hear it as it wears in. Starts as a slight hum and grows more pronounced until you can start hearing the gear whine. I ended up modding mine using rubber mounts and isolating the motor and gearbox from the stove. Now, it is totally silent, I can't hear it at all. Most of the noise you hear is the gearbox noise being transmitted directly to the stove via the hard connection to the auger. The hopper and other stove parts then amplify the noise and makes it 10X worse. Once you isolate the auger motor from the stove, it has to make a lot of noise to overcome the fan noise to ever be heard since it's noise is no longer being amplified. This means you can run the auger motor until it fails instead of until it drives you nuts.