Pellets binding EF 2 auger -- burned up motor

[smiley]

I bought a used EF 2 insert that has worked fine but jammed yesterday. I thought perhaps a gear had stripped so pulled it apart checked and lubed the gears, reassembled it and everything worked freely while empty. I loaded pellets and ran the stove for 5-10 minutes when I could hear it binding again and smelled something like hot electrical wires. It quit feeding and today I found it had burned out the motor. The auger was jammed absolutely tight. After wiggling it back and forth enough to get the pellets out and turning freely by hand again, I threw in a handful of pellets and it promptly jammed. All it takes is 3 or 4 pellets to make it bind. It appears the auger is so worn (bushing OK) that a pellet will get caught vertically behind the auger which starts picking it up until it gets up about 1 1/2 " where the auger is not worn as bad and the clearance is less and if the pellet doesn't break, stops the auger. If I put pellets in above where they can get behind the auger, it seems to function fine and raises the pellets no problem. This bag of pellets appear harder and longer than the ones I used before, therefore harder to break, which may be why I never had the problem before.
I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced and solved this problem?? I hate to spend at least couple hundred bucks for a new auger and motor and not have it work. I'm considering building (welding) up the edges of the screw for the first 3 inches where the maximum wear is to see if it stops the jams.
Any thoughts appreciated.
Thanks,
Smiley

 

[Bioburner]

Would like to see a picture or two of this worn auger. Never seen an auger worn to any degree with wood pellets. What type of flights? Heavy cold roll stock or thin ribbon? What is the auger speed rpm? I've reflighted augers when the fire end has gotten bad.

 

[chamas]

It appears the auger is so worn (bushing OK)...

Hard to tell from your description where the auger is worn. Can wood pellets really wear down the beefy auger that is in the EF2? Have you checked BOTH auger bushings (upper and lower)?

 

[smiley]

Hard to tell from your description where the auger is worn. Can wood pellets really wear down the beefy auger that is in the EF2? Have you checked BOTH auger bushings (upper and lower)?

Auger wear appears to be mainly the bottom 1 1/2 - 2 " where it leaves enough clearance for the pellets to get behind the screw where they bind and get crushed as they try to feed up.
It's very difficult to check the upper bushing without a go/no go gauge or complete dis-assembly. I tried moving it with a stick from the burner pot end with no detectable slop. Also as mentioned, If I put the pellets on the auger above where pellets can get behind it, I can spin them right up and over with my fingers. Of course it's not carrying a full load but if some of them spill to the bottom they catch and bind as they go up caught between the screw and the tube.

Would like to see a picture or two of this worn auger. Never seen an auger worn to any degree with wood pellets. What type of flights? Heavy cold roll stock or thin ribbon? What is the auger speed rpm? I've reflighted augers when the fire end has gotten bad.

I'll try to get some pics tomorrow

 

[charger1966]

I have a free standing EF 2 and had the same problem. To correct it I replaced the worn out Bushing and plate at the base of the auger shaft. If the motor is bad replace it and the bushing & plate that the bushing rides in. There are replacement bushing kits that are now made from a plastic material. I replaced mine with the Bronze one again. I figure the first one lasted almost ten years so what the hell. Good luck and keep us posted. Also go with the largest torque motor available for the stove. Mine has a 200 inch pound one in it now and will crush any pellet if it needs to.

 

[smiley]

I looked at the stove this afternoon and find more problems than originally thought. When the auger seized and burned up the auger motor, it apparently took out the timer also. The feed light stays on all the time and in testing the timer as per the manual, it's apparently shot, putting out juice continually instead of intermittently. Although I like the stove because of it's simplicity, I think I may replace it with a propane unit I have in the garage. I know propane will cost more to run but it is only used when the temp is below zero and the kitchen range won't heat the whole house. I figure that with the 2 -300$ I won't have to spend for new parts and as my blowers, pot and most controls are good, plus the outer panels/door/etc. are nice, someone may want those to convert a freestanding unit to an insert. I never used more than 3-4 bags of pellets per year so I figure that with what I save in new parts and what I can get parting mine out, I can buy a few years worth of propane.
Thanks for the replies and any further thoughts are welcome.
Smiley

 

[charger1966]

Where are you located? If close enough to me I might be interested in buying it from you .

 

[smiley]

Where are you located? If close enough to me I might be interested in buying it from you .

I"m near Utica so probably close enough, but we like the stove so well because of it's simplicity and it does the job we need, we decided to look for another parts stove and repair this one. Also believe I've found a source for the timer for $55 instead of the $130 plus online. If that pans out, I'll post it. I am on the lookout for a coal insert and if we ever find one that will fit, will move the pellet stove to the back room.

 

[charger1966]

Yeah you are close enough, Amsterdam here. If you decide to get rid of it please contact me.

 

[smiley]

For those of you that might need parts, I found and ordered from a couple very helpful companies with well below retail prices. Control Source Int.--http://controlsourceintl.com/scripts/prodList.asp?idCategory=46 -- has the Infitec 1 second timers TRS51A13S2A and newer 3 sec. timers TRS51A13S2A, for $55 plus shipping. They offer only UPS shipping on the site at about $14, but I asked for USPS and they were happy to do so and refunded $7.99.
I got a Gleason Avery ball bearing auger motor from esesstoves on ebay for $65.99 including shipping. They also offer helpfull information. I don't have a nickle in either company, just passing along great prices and service.

 

[smiley]

Would like to see a picture or two of this worn auger. Never seen an auger worn to any degree with wood pellets. What type of flights? Heavy cold roll stock or thin ribbon? What is the auger speed rpm? I've reflighted augers when the fire end has gotten bad.

I have to preface this by saying that all my problems started when I tried a different brand of pellets that are much harder and longer that those I'd been using and frm what I'm reading, that can be a problem in itself.
Here's some pics. After disassembling I found the auger bushings have less than .002 clearance, probably well within factory tolerance. The auger itself was worn only on the tip where it picks up the pellets. It was rounded over half way across the flight and jamming pellets behind the auger. Unfortunately I didn't take a photo before I welded it up and reground it to shape. I also found where the paddles were rubbing the discharge tube slightly, so ground the chamfer on each. When reassembled I found pellets were still going underneath the auger partially due to wear on the rear plate. I removed it and put a large 2 1/2 inch washer under the auger which spaced it up perfectly so the auger just clears it and picks up the pellets perfectly. Sometimes however pellets got behind the auger and tube and started binding. I enlarged one of the bolt holes so I could move the auger slightly sideways to the left (looking into hopper from rear) and down. That decreased the clearance between auger and tube and the pellets feed very well until they get to the top. Looking up the drop tube, I can see them getting caught between the paddles and tube causing severe binding.

Now the question. I'm assuming those paddles are there to break up any possible plugging and am thinking of grinding another chamfer on the lower end of the paddles, to allow pellets to slide up a little further and possibly drop before the paddle catches them an binds. I doesn't seem to me that it would affect paddle function much and allow extra room for the pellets to drop before catching and crushing them.
Any solutions or thoughts on this will be appreciated.
Thanks,
Smiley

 

[charger1966]

Did you already replace the auger motor? If you did what is the max torque of the new motor? As I had said earlier I had the same problem and changed out the lower bushing and replaced the auger motor with one that has a torque of 200 inch pounds. Made BIG difference and you can actually hear pellets snap when they get in that jamming stage.This is close to what I bought,
http://www.eastcoasthearth.com/products/1-rpm-auger-motor-auger-high-quality-extended-life

 

[smiley]

Did you already replace the auger motor? If you did what is the max torque of the new motor? As I had said earlier I had the same problem and changed out the lower bushing and replaced the auger motor with one that has a torque of 200 inch pounds. Made BIG difference and you can actually hear pellets snap when they get in that jamming stage.This is close to what I bought,
http://www.eastcoasthearth.com/products/1-rpm-auger-motor-auger-high-quality-extended-life

Charger,
That is the motor I got as below, but haven't installed it yet as I'm still debating about grinding the chamfer on the bottom of the paddles to see if it helps the binding problem. If no one here has tried it, I may do it and if it has a detrimental effect, weld them back on. I assume by your name you have/had a '66 charger? Never had one of those but a '65 Goat and about every other good one you can name.

For those of you that might need parts, I found and ordered from a couple very helpful companies with well below retail prices. Control Source Int.--http://controlsourceintl.com/scripts/prodList.asp?idCategory=46 -- has the Infitec 1 second timers TRS51A13S2A and newer 3 sec. timers TRS51A13S2A, for $55 plus shipping. They offer only UPS shipping on the site at about $14, but I asked for USPS and they were happy to do so and refunded $7.99.
I got a Gleason Avery ball bearing auger motor #901 from esesstoves on ebay for $65.99 including shipping. They also offer helpfull information. I don't have a nickle in either company, just passing along great prices and service.

 

[charger1966]

Hey Smiley, Yes I still own a 66 Charger. I can no longer drive since I lost my eye sight ten years ago due to Diabetes. I now have 20/400 vision in both eyes so I am legally blind. I was a heavy equipment mechanic for the State of New York before loosing my sight. When my stove started to act up I also was looking for other,less expensive way to repair it but only found what I have told you already. Good luck with yours and keep us informed on those changes to those paddles.(broken image removed)

 

[charger1966]

Hey Smiley, I just went through my emails and found the exact motor that I bought. It is this one. As I said it works great.
(broken link removed to http://www.cshincorporated.com/product_info.php/products_id/3788)

 

[smiley]

Hey Smiley, Yes I still own a 66 Charger. I can no longer drive since I lost my eye sight ten years ago due to Diabetes. I now have 20/400 vision in both eyes so I am legally blind. I was a heavy equipment mechanic for the State of New York before loosing my sight. When my stove started to act up I also was looking for other,less expensive way to repair it but only found what I have told you already. Good luck with yours and keep us informed on those changes to those paddles.(broken image removed)

Sorry about the loss of sight and the Charger looks great. My '65 GTO was a spotless orchid and black 2dr hardtop that ran not to far from you in Fonda. It only had 10,000 mi when I traded it in. Of course that 10,000 mi was most all 1/4 mile at a time and it needed major engine work.

 

[charger1966]

Yeah , Thanks about the Charger & my eyes. I am too young to remember Fonda the Drag Stip but built & maintained a Stock car for there for a friend from 1985 -90. Sounds like a sweet ride you had. My charger will celebrate 38 years with me in the fall. My son has vowed to get it restored to a resto mod. I hope that I am around to see it when it is done. He still has student loans to pay off before he starts having the work done to it.

 

[smiley]

I had a lot of good times at Fonda in the early 60's. Ran my 283 powered XK120 Jag roadster there. Cha cha Muldowney was running there then but never raced her as the Jag was my street car and she had all out race cars.

 

[charger1966]

I actually met and did work for her husband a few years ago. He was a really nice guy. My oldest brother use to race at Fonda but like I said I was to young back then. Hope you get your stove running agian.