St Croix Hastings auger issue

[Otter]

Hi, thanks for looking, my hastings stove recently burned out an auger motor due to a pellet jam, which I replaced with a new one along with a new bushing and washer.

Unfortunately, this new one is also jamming up and causing the new motor to get hot, luckily I noticed in time and turned off the stove before I blew the fuse or killed the motor.

I'm thinking it may need a new auger since this one is having a hard time breaking up the pellets and they seem to be getting caught under the auger. Does this sound like a worn / bad auger to anyone?

The auger spins freely when not connected to the motor with very little play in the bushings but when I drop a few pellets in I can feel it jamming up while spinning by hand.

 

[Mt Bob]

St croix stoves are not known for auger problems,heck,most of them are rated to burn corn.You could have upper bushing problem,auger tube with hard buildup that needs cleaned,or very crappy pellets.

 

[jzm2cc]

Agree, sounds like dry upper bronze bushing, give it a good coat of oil.

Also load auger up and down while spinning by hand (auger motor disconnected) to see if you can get it to jamb. I've seen bent up augers catch inside of chute before. Grinding down bent metal fixed the binding.

 

[Otter]

Agree, sounds like dry upper bronze bushing, give it a good coat of oil.

Also load auger up and down while spinning by hand (auger motor disconnected) to see if you can get it to jamb. I've seen bent up augers catch inside of chute before. Grinding down bent metal fixed the binding.

St croix stoves are not known for auger problems,heck,most of them are rated to burn corn.You could have upper bushing problem,auger tube with hard buildup that needs cleaned,or very crappy pellets.

Ok, thanks, I have a new OEM auger motor ordered so I'll lube the bushing again and see what happens.I've spun the auger by hand and it spins freely while pushing up pellets and I don't see or hear any grinding or damage to the shute. I think the Green Supreme pellets that I'm using are having a hard time breaking up and may have pushed the auger motor over the edge, pretty sure it's at least 12-15 years old. Luckily I only have a couple bags left that I'll burn up in my other Hastings downstairs.

 

[Otter]

Ok, so I'm really stumped now, the new auger motor has been installed, new lower bushing, top bushing lubed and unit spins very easily. I ran the new auger motor with no pellets for about 4 minutes and checked how hot the motor was and it was pretty hot. Just to compare I started my other Hastings stove to see how hot the auger motor gets and it's barely warm after 10 minutes. Sooo..I'm thinking either a bad ground somewhere or a bad control board. Anybody care to chime in with any ideas? Voodoo maybe?

 

[Ssyko]

Check the voltage to the auger with a multimeter. Low voltage will make the motor hot in no time.

 

[Mt Bob]

Well,I think you did everything right,checked the right stuff,so do not feel bad,Agree with Ssyko,probably a voltage problem.But,sometimes,control boards go bad,put out proper voltage,but the frequency is messed up.

 

[Otter]

Thanks guys, I'll check it with my meter when I have a chance later today. I must have wasted 8 hours at least chasing this problem. I might just wait till next fall to get any deeper into it.

 

[Don2222]

Ok, so I'm really stumped now, the new auger motor has been installed, new lower bushing, top bushing lubed and unit spins very easily. I ran the new auger motor with no pellets for about 4 minutes and checked how hot the motor was and it was pretty hot. Just to compare I started my other Hastings stove to see how hot the auger motor gets and it's barely warm after 10 minutes. Sooo..I'm thinking either a bad ground somewhere or a bad control board. Anybody care to chime in with any ideas? Voodoo maybe?

Sounds like a bad auger motor. Take the motor out of the good stove and see if that works. Then you will know for sure!
Then get a good heavy duty ball bearing motor with the new needle bearings on the output shaft. Google S902

 

[heat seeker]

Thanks guys, I'll check it with my meter when I have a chance later today. I must have wasted 8 hours at least chasing this problem. I might just wait till next fall to get any deeper into it.

IMO, not really a waste of time - you learned a lot about your stove.

 

[Otter]

Hi, just following up on the auger motor overheating issue with the St Croix stove from last spring..

I had a chance to put a multi meter on it and what seems to be happening is, when the auger motor is triggered/ running, it's getting 120 volts and when auger is not triggered it's receiving 105 volts. This seems a little odd, since previously mentioned by Ssyko, too little current can cause overheating. Does anybody know if this sounds like a control board issue? I've already replaced motor 3 times. Thanks for looking!

 

[Ssyko]

Yes, sounds like a triac is leaking voltage when it’s supposed to be off. More than likely a short or ac surge took it out.

 

[Otter]

Yes, sounds like a triac is leaking voltage when it’s supposed to be off. More than likely a short or ac surge took it out.

Thanks for the info, I guess I'll be ordering a new control panel, Looks like this one had been already replaced, it's an older stove with new style board..

 

[Ssyko]

I would get a good surge protector also so you won’t have to do this again

 

[Otter]

Just a follow up, I just installed and programed the new control board and it's up and heating my man town. Thanks for all the replies!