Quad Mods

[cmarc]

So toward the end of last year my blower motor started getting noisy. I wasn't real sure if it was bearing or something in the motor because it kind of sounded like an electrical buzz. Finally the motor got to be so loud it became unbearable, so we stopped using it until it's repaired.

I contacted my dealer because I was just inside my 2 year warranty and for a week I couldn't get the dealer to call me back or approve the warranty claim. Tick tock, my warranty was running out and I'm missing good burning weather. I contacted Quad and they were very helpful and reached out to the dealer directly. Unfortunately, the part will more than likely not arrive until after Thanksgiving, which means I'm missing one of my 3F's (Fire, Family, and Football).

Long story short, I decided to take matters into my own hands.

Pulled the motor and cleaned the squirrel cages:


Pryed the tabs to open the housing (it was a little loose to begin with) and blew out the coil:


Only the finest 608Z Chinese bearings, good for fidget spinners and skate board wheels:


Ordered and installed new higher grade NTN 608ZZ bearings.
Installed rubber o-rings between the motor and squirrel cage housings


Installed Noico 80mil sound deadening mat on the floor of the insert where the motors sits and on the back wall where the lip of the motor bracket is seated. Added two strips to the bottom of the squirrel cage housing as well. (Sorry so excited during reassembly, I forgot to take pics but if I ever dig back in there, I'll be sure to get a few).

I've burned the last two nights and I'm totally blown away by the result. The blower is far quieter than it ever was. I can't speak for others Voyageur Grand inserts, but my blower always had a hum when the blower speed was turned all the way down. This is gone completely. The hum was caused by the motor transmitting vibration noises into the squirrel cage housing which acted as an amplifier. The sound deadening seems to have stopped all noise transfer from the squirrel cage to the hollow air chamber. The end result is only air noise and even that seems significantly reduced across the speed range, probably thanks to the sound dampening mat that seemed to reduce the echo effect of the air chamber.

At some point my new blower is scheduled to arrive, but at least I'm good to go for our Thanksgiving holiday.

Just thought I'd share. If anyone wants any more details about rebuilding the motor or installing the sound deadening mat just let me know.

 

[Sodbuster]

So toward the end of last year my blower motor started getting noisy. I wasn't real sure if it was bearing or something in the motor because it kind of sounded like an electrical buzz. Finally the motor got to be so loud it became unbearable, so we stopped using it until it's repaired.

I contacted my dealer because I was just inside my 2 year warranty and for a week I couldn't get the dealer to call me back or approve the warranty claim. Tick tock, my warranty was running out and I'm missing good burning weather. I contacted Quad and they were very helpful and reached out to the dealer directly. Unfortunately, the part will more than likely not arrive until after Thanksgiving, which means I'm missing one of my 3F's (Fire, Family, and Football).

Long story short, I decided to take matters into my own hands.

Pulled the motor and cleaned the squirrel cages:
View attachment 216094

Pryed the tabs to open the housing (it was a little loose to begin with) and blew out the coil:
View attachment 216095

Only the finest 608Z Chinese bearings, good for fidget spinners and skate board wheels:
View attachment 216096

Ordered and installed new higher grade NTN 608ZZ bearings.
Installed rubber o-rings between the motor and squirrel cage housings
View attachment 216097




Installed Noico 80mil sound deadening mat on the floor of the insert where the motors sits and on the back wall where the lip of the motor bracket is seated. Added two strips to the bottom of the squirrel cage housing as well. (Sorry so excited during reassembly, I forgot to take pics but if I ever dig back in there, I'll be sure to get a few).

I've burned the last two nights and I'm totally blown away by the result. The blower is far quieter than it ever was. I can't speak for others Voyageur Grand inserts, but my blower always had a hum when the blower speed was turned all the way down. This is gone completely. The hum was caused by the motor transmitting vibration noises into the squirrel cage housing which acted as an amplifier. The sound deadening seems to have stopped all noise transfer from the squirrel cage to the hollow air chamber. The end result is only air noise and even that seems significantly reduced across the speed range, probably thanks to the sound dampening mat that seemed to reduce the echo effect of the air chamber.

At some point my new blower is scheduled to arrive, but at least I'm good to go for our Thanksgiving holiday.

Just thought I'd share. If anyone wants any more details about rebuilding the motor or installing the sound deadening mat just let me know.

Cmarc, nice job on saving yourself some $$. I might add that all stove owners should blow their fans out at the end of the season. I let mine go to 2 years once, and the unholiness that came out was ridiculous. Blower blades clogged, dust and dog hair flew everywhere. It had to cut way down on the efficiency.

 

[SculptureOfSound]

Awesome mod! I can't believe that these companies charging $3-4k for a stove can't go the extra mile and focus on sound deadening a bit more. Fan noise is a common complaint from almost all insert owners - you'd think they would spend a couple extra dollars and do it right.

 

[cmarc]

I agree, spending a few bucks to engineer the acoustics of the inserts would go a long way. A majority of the noise on the Voyageur Grand comes from the intake side. The underbelly could have easily been designed with a couple of baffles to muffle and pressurize the lower chamber before turning upward and back over the top of the insert.

With less than $40 in beatings and sound dampener, I’m extremely happy with the final result of this upgrade.