Pellets not sliding well in hopper...REVISITED...LOL W/ Pics!

[imacman]

Well, just got finished doing my weekly cleaning of my Astoria, and decided to try Shortstuff's suggestion of using the metal tape over the screws. The Astoria has sheet metal screws that hold the auger flight in place, plus silicone to seal it. In general, the pellets seem to slide pretty well, as the side of the hopper are pretty steep, but I figured, "hey, what the heck".

I had some Hi-Temp foil tape from re-doing the exhaust flue joints on the oil burner. I went over the whole hopper with 00 steel wool, vacuumed it, cleaned it with rubbing alchohol, and put 2 strips of the tape over the holes as smooth as I could.

Then, I figured I shouldn't do a half-a** job, so I was all ready to go to the garage to get the car wax, when the light bulb went on in my head...... I headed for the cleaning closet, and lo and "Behold"....Behold!! That's right everybody, I used furniture polish, and let me tell you, the metal is as smooth as a baby's butt......and the stove smells good too!! :lol:

And the final thought I had was that since many family's share the chores (men put the garbage out, cut the lawn, put pellets in the stove,etc, etc, women clean the house, cook, laundry, and do the dusting and polishing, I figured that since this is using polish, it falls under the other half's part of the household workload.....wadda ya think...will this fly???

 

[Shortstuff]

...the metal is as smooth as a baby’s butt......and the stove smells good too!!

Lemon scented! Yes!

I'm gonna have to try the Pledge, it can be used on so many things! And to get my better half to polish the inside of the hopper as part of her household duties... I've been married too long to try that one!

By the way, great job on the tape.

Steve

 

[tinkabranc]

Dare ya to ask the Mrs. and see how far ya get ;-)
Your chore list is outdated and needs to be revised..LOL

 

[imacman]

Dare ya to ask the Mrs. and see how far ya get ;-)
Your chore list is outdated and needs to be revised..LOL

Hey, I'm no dummy....I don't want a frying pan over my head and/or sleep on the couch (although the stove WILL keep me warm there)..... :lol: I figured you guys might give it a shot for me.....I THOUGHT of the idea, why do I have to be the guinea pig too?????

 

[tinkabranc]

Becuz you can never assume all the members on this forum are men ;-)

 

[imacman]

Becuz you can never assume all the members on this forum are men ;-)

I know, I know....why o why must there always be a fly in the ointment.......BANG.......Ouch, that hurt

 

[Wet1]

I occasionally spray a little Pam in my empty hopper, it keeps the pellets from sticking.

 

[Molson]

pledge works great on the stock car windshields too!!

 

[CanadaClinker]

........here's a thought....... how about some sort of vibration device on a timer which would give the hopper a vibration shot once every .... say 5 hours or so..... to cause the pellets to work downwards to the auger...... what do you think we could use to do that? ......CC

 

[imacman]

........here's a thought....... how about some sort of vibration device on a timer which would give the hopper a vibration shot once every .... say 5 hours or so..... to cause the pellets to work downwards to the auger...... what do you think we could use to do that? ......CC

It was brought-up last winter. I think someone actually did cobble something together, and as I remember, it seemed to work.

CC, I think it's a PERFECT project for you.....beats watching the stove temp and grabbing the wrong (grill) remote control. LOL

 

[imacman]

Take a look at this thread from last winter, and specifically post #'s 5 & 14. I knew I saw something about this before. :lol:

EDIT: Oooops....forgot the thread link: (thanks no pane)

www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/34801/

 

[smoke show]

what thread???
link???

 

[imacman]

Thanks no pane...I forgot the link...see above EDIT

 

[teetah222]

I occasionally spray a little Pam in my empty hopper, it keeps the pellets from sticking.

So the Pam doesn't just soak into the pellets??

 

[imacman]

I occasionally spray a little Pam in my empty hopper, it keeps the pellets from sticking.

So the Pam doesn't just soak into the pellets??

He's talking about a very light coating, and even if it did get into the pellets, you would never know the difference. Most people that tried the Pam sprayed a light coat, and then wiped off most of it leaving a very thin film.

Personally, I think the spray furniture polish is better suited.....it's meant to be sprayed on, rubbed in, and then wiped off, and then it dries.

 

[sickss]

In all of my stoves I use spray graphite.

have to re-treat every 2-3 years. no problems.

 

[imacman]

In all of my stoves I use spray graphite.

have to re-treat every 2-3 years. no problems.

'moheat, where do you get the spray graphite?

 

[sickss]

CRC makes a decent deal now.

http://www.amazon.com/CRC-03094-Graphite-Lubricating-Aerosol/dp/B000LDICCE

I got it from my local grainger store last time...many years ago

I am still on my first can after 6 or 7 years and it is over half full.

 

[imacman]

CRC makes a decent deal now.

http://www.amazon.com/CRC-03094-Graphite-Lubricating-Aerosol/dp/B000LDICCE

I got it from my local grainger store last time...many years ago

I am still on my first can after 6 or 7 years and it is over half full.

I have a Grainger about 2 miles from me...I'll give them a call tomorrow.

Thanks 'moheat.

 

[Meneillys]

CRC makes a decent deal now.

http://www.amazon.com/CRC-03094-Graphite-Lubricating-Aerosol/dp/B000LDICCE

I got it from my local grainger store last time...many years ago

I am still on my first can after 6 or 7 years and it is over half full.

You can get it at most auto stores and hardware stores. Make sure its dry graphite I grabbed the wrong can out of the shed and had a mess 2 years ago.

 

[MCPO]

Becuz you can never assume all the members on this forum are men ;-)

Some of us are mice. And lets hope there`s no cross dressers.

 

[imacman]

.....And lets hope there`s no cross dressers.

Where's Pook????

 

[joefraser]

CRC makes a decent deal now.

http://www.amazon.com/CRC-03094-Graphite-Lubricating-Aerosol/dp/B000LDICCE

I got it from my local grainger store last time...many years ago

I am still on my first can after 6 or 7 years and it is over half full.

You can get it at most auto stores and hardware stores. Make sure its dry graphite I grabbed the wrong can out of the shed and had a mess 2 years ago.

I got some powdered graphite at Home Depot made for key locks and it did't seem to work to well. Is this the right stuff?

 

[sickss]

no... the right stuff will dry hard. you also must make sure the bin is clean and smooth.

 

[teetah222]

So your hoppers are plain metal? The paint in mine makes it rough. So that's my problem.