So Many Loud Noises! Timber Ridge 49-TRCPM

[Chodey83]

This is my first season with my Timber Ridge 49-TRCPM stove. It's been nothing but a headache from day one. The first problem I had was with the auger squealing like a pig. That part has since been resolved but I still have two major annoyances I would love to get some help with!

1 - my convection blower buzzes loudly while running, mostly at the top third of its range but it's not limited to that all the time. If I push up on it the noise goes away. I shoved a block of 2x4 under it to put constant pressure on it but it doesn't work all the time. I contacted Englander, was told it could be a bad blower, was sent a new one, replaced it, and the noise is still there! It gets loud enough to wake me up at night. What could be the cause and what, if anything, can be a permanent (non 2x4) resolution?

2 - my vacuum pump can sometimes be extremely quiet, just making the usual "vvm" sound every five seconds or so. The problem is the other times when it starts making more of a much louder "bvvvsm" sound. It's also loud enough to wake me up. I also resorted to shoving a piece of wood between the base of the stove and the metal piece that houses the pump. That works sometimes but eventually goes back to the loud noise. Again, ideas of what to do?

There are more noises but these are the two that are actually causing problems with my sleep schedule so I'll focus on these for now.

Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[SidecarFlip]

Can't help you with the vacuum pump, my stove is a manual (hand sanitizer and a match) starter and I prefer that actually, but, your blower noise can be basically eliminated by removing the blower from the HX and cutting a gasket from a sheet of neoprene (with sharp scissors and/or a razor knife) and installing that between the HX and the mating face of the blower. It's harmonics and you need to isolate the blower from the HX. Pretty simple really.

Most oem's just use a fiber glass gasket, That will only transmit harmonics to the HX, not dampen them...at all.

 

[Chodey83]

i went to Home Depot a month ago and bought the thin rubber sheets they sell by the foot. Cut it out and did exactly what you suggesed. No help. Could this rubber be too thin? What if I replaced the fiberglass on the blower with some foam rubber window insulation?

 

[SidecarFlip]

That might work but the heat might also degrade the foam. I'd try doubling the gasket thickness first. You could also remove the motor from the blower housing and install rubber grommets on the attachment (from the motor to the housing) bolts, rubber sink wahers (like the ones you buy to fix a leaky faucet work real well and last a long time. What you need to do is isolate the harmonics the motor produces, from the housing which amplifies the vibrations and in turn sends them to the sheet metal HX box which amplifies them again. Break the cycle and it will be quiet.

 

[Lake Girl]

While site fixes may help dampen the sound, wonder if anyone has tried putting dampening material under the feet of the stove? Have seen some comments from folks with inserts that have used furniture felt or rubber under insert feet...

 

[Chodey83]

I tried adding dampening material to the portion where the fan contacts the stove. It didn't help at all. The buzzing is not constant but when its there it is very loud. It's to the point where it's waking me up numerous times throughout the night so I've resorted to shutting it down at night and just burning oil. The exact thing I bought the stove for was so I wouldn't have to burn oil. Look how well that turned out...

Now I'm not convinced it's coming from the fan. I think it could be coming from somewhere else in the stove. I'll try the padding under the stove itself but am not sure that'll fix it either.

Does anyone else have this issue or know what or where this noise may be coming from if it's not the fan? If I push down on the fan from the back side of the stove the buzzing goes away. I really don't want to shut this thing down every night but more importantly I also would like to sleep through the night! Next thing on my list is to scrap Englander as a whole and move on to a company that's more reliable and won't cause me the constant headaches this company has from day one.

 

[SidecarFlip]

It's a long shot, but the HX is formed from sheet metal and spot/stitched welded together and it is remotely possible that one or more of the welds are faulty (which would explain why, when you put downward pressure on the fan, the buzzing stopped). IOW, the sheet metal is loose and vibrating against itself causing the noise you hear.

The only way to ascertain that would be to have a qualified technician come in and inspect the unit and if the HX is faulty, the unit would have to be replaceg as I don't believe you could fix it in the field. I guess you coud sheet metal screw the HX outer together as a fix, but that would not be an acceptable solution for me at least.

If the HX jacket is faulty, it represents no hazard to you other than the noise. It's only room air inside and if it is leaking, it's only leaking air.

Stranger things have occured before.

All the noise issues I've seen/heard about were fan isolation issues with fan to HX gaskets, this may be different but again, a qualified England Stove Technician need to make that determination. The ESW rep is on this site regularly, you might want to PM him for guidance.

 

[heat seeker]

Sometimes the housing of the motor itself will rattle. Mine is steel, and the motor base is aluminum. Over time, the differential in expansion creates a small gap between them, and the motor rattles until it gets quite warm. Once it's warm, the housing becomes tight on the motor again, and all is quiet.

 

[Chodey83]

Mine makes noise all the time. Not always, but after running for 30 seconds, an hour, two days straight, etc... I guess I'll be making another call to ESW.

 

[SidecarFlip]

I cannot believe the noise from a housing could keep someone awake in another room.... Light sleeper maybe?

Even if the housing was vibrating, double gaskets between the blower housing and the HX outer shell would mitigate the noise.

 

[Chodey83]

Unfortunately, you're incorrect. No, I'm not a light sleeper. The noise is incredibly loud. Not a small buzz, it's a loud noise.

I called Englander, got ahold of Mike, and he's working on it now. It's not anything normal either, because it's somewhat perplexing to him as well. He believes it's an electrical buzzing coming from the motor. He heard the sound too. It's loud.

 

[SidecarFlip]

Unfortunately, you're incorrect. No, I'm not a light sleeper. The noise is incredibly loud. Not a small buzz, it's a loud noise.

I called Englander, got ahold of Mike, and he's working on it now. It's not anything normal either, because it's somewhat perplexing to him as well. He believes it's an electrical buzzing coming from the motor. He heard the sound too. It's loud.

I'm not physically there to hear it or see it, so it's a crapshoot at best. I'm as correct as I can be in an absentee situation.

Let us know what Mike comes up with.....

 

[woodmakesheat]

Mine sometimes buzzes when transitioning from high-low after the thermostat stops calling for heat. It's temporary and I've sometimes been able to stop it by loosening and then re-clamping the door to the stove. Figure that one out - lol.