Slow, Dirty Burn in Upstate NY (I'M BACK!)

[lrm1995]

OK gents. I bypassed the vacuum switch (a paperclip is between the leads) on my Whitfield Quest and the auger motor continues to work fine without it. However, the fire is very slow burning and not very hot. The auger setting is buried at the bottom and the damper is wide open. However, Im suspecting a blockage or some other combustion issue. Would a properly-working vacuum switch take care of the problem? What else could I try? No, I dont want to "suck on the hose" again!

Lew in Upstate NY

 

[imacman]

OK g....However, the fire is very slow burning and not very hot. The auger setting is buried at the bottom and the damper is wide open. However, Im suspecting a blockage or some other combustion issue. ......

I don't know anything about your stove, but from what you said, sounds like a dirty stove, IMO.

 

[lrm1995]

Hey Czar, I like your bottom line up front approach. THANKS! Im so naive when it comes to this stove: which one is the blower motor and which is the ventilator motor? Am I looking for the one that's tied into the flue- system? Thanks again.

 

[lrm1995]

Czar, Macman et al: Perhaps my original problem was a ventilator blower motor that was seized. Thanks Czar for inspiring me to open a part of the stove I had not looked into before. As soon as I opened the side panel, I saw the problem: the fins on the motor were NOT TURNING. Either too dirty, not enough lube, or both. I had not oiled anything this year. I prodded it with the business end of a screwdriver and it started moving again. Now that the ventilator blower is working fine, my combustion problem has disappeared. Want to venture a guess about whether my vacuum switch will work properly now? Im betting so. What do you say? Thanks again for your guidance. My getting to the root of this problem could not have come at a better time with the 10 F and -10 F cold we've been having here in the Land of the Frozen Chosen!

 

[imacman]

..... As soon as I opened the side panel, I saw the problem: the fins on the motor were NOT TURNING. Either too dirty, not enough lube, or both. I had not oiled anything this year. I prodded it with the business end of a screwdriver and it started moving again......

If you had to push the fins w/ a screwdriver to get it to move, it needs to be CLEANED and possibly LUBRICATED I would do that ASAP, as I think the same thing will happen again.