Potential problem with Auger

[South of Boston]

While cleaning my insert today I noticed on the stove under the auger motor a few drips of a clear liquid. THis seems to be some kind of oil and the same moisture around a bolt that holds the motor in place. Not alot of oil but am wondering if this is a concern. I would say the amount would cover a quarter. Enviro EF2I

 

[OU812]

I have an ef2i and have never seen that. Just a guess but did you look at the gearbox attached to the auger motor?

 

[South of Boston]

I have an ef2i and have never seen that. Just a guess but did you look at the gearbox attached to the auger motor?

It could be the gear box and dripped down to the motor. Does the gear box contain oil?

 

[stoveguy2esw]

I have an ef2i and have never seen that. Just a guess but did you look at the gearbox attached to the auger motor?

It could be the gear box and dripped down to the motor. Does the gear box contain oil?

gearboxes usually contain grease not oil, but if the grease gets hot it will liquify, might have pushed some out through the shaft seal , i'd monitor it , and if it persists , maybe contact your service type. it may not be an issue but i'd keep an eye on it anyway

 

[South of Boston]

I have an ef2i and have never seen that. Just a guess but did you look at the gearbox attached to the auger motor?

It could be the gear box and dripped down to the motor. Does the gear box contain oil?

gearboxes usually contain grease not oil, but if the grease gets hot it will liquify, might have pushed some out through the shaft seal , i'd monitor it , and if it persists , maybe contact your service type. it may not be an issue but i'd keep an eye on it anyway

Thanks Mike,
Will grease congeal when it gets cold again? This seemed to be just like motor oil

 

[OU812]

Yes - I would start by wiping a napkin over the gearbox and checking it for fluid. If it is coming from the gearbox I believe you can purchase those separately and you should replace it soon. I also found this ad on ebay if you are willing to take the risk or you can buy a new one from CSH incorporated.

(broken link removed to http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=270324375111&_trksid=p3907.m32&_trkparms=tab=Bidding)

http://www.cshincorporated.com/

The other possibility is that maybe something got spilled into your hopper and it seeped out from the bottom. There are not too many parts in the ef2i and you should be able to locate the source without too much difficulty. I would probably go ahead and just remove the auger and motor at the same time to check them out. It is fairly easy to do and that way you can give your auger screw a good cleaning as well as stuff gets caked up in there. I know on mine, the motor is held by a single bolt on the shaft collar connecting it to the auger. After you remove that, there should be a steel plate with 4 bolts that need to be removed to access the auger. I dont think you can pull the auger out all the way without difficulty but you should be able to expose enough of it too give it a good cleaning. Make sure to check the brass bushing on the plate holding the auger for wear as well since you are there.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

I have an ef2i and have never seen that. Just a guess but did you look at the gearbox attached to the auger motor?

It could be the gear box and dripped down to the motor. Does the gear box contain oil?

gearboxes usually contain grease not oil, but if the grease gets hot it will liquify, might have pushed some out through the shaft seal , i'd monitor it , and if it persists , maybe contact your service type. it may not be an issue but i'd keep an eye on it anyway

Thanks Mike,
Will grease congeal when it gets cold again? This seemed to be just like motor oil

sometimes yes sometimes no, depends on the type of grease. if its a new stove its also possible that one of the sheet metal parts of the stove didnt get cleaned before painting , and as the stove heated up it cooked the oil out of the steel but wasnt hot enough to "burn it away" ive seen ours do this with rear access panels before. that would definately be oil not grease, like a 20 weight. most all steel used in manufacturing comes from the steel mill pickled in oil. processes in manufacturing the stove help to remove it , but sometimes it gets missed and the heat from the stove pulls it through the paint and it drips down.