St Croix Prescott EXL Versa Grate Motor Replaced

[tchdngrnby]

Finally made time to tear down the stove to do a deep cleaning and to replace that rattling versa grate gear box/motor. St. Croix had sent me a new one under the warranty. Kept the stove under a vacuum with the leaf blower and used my compressor with the air nozzle to clean those hard to reach places. Noticed I got a lot more ash out of the stove that cannot be reached with a brush or the vacuum cleaner. Especially behind the those firebox void covers, ash traps, and the heat exchanger tubes. Pulled the combustion and convection fans and chased the entire vent system from the fire box to the outlet. Cleaned out the intake (nothing much there) and the vacuum switch fitting/tubing. Also removed all of the versa grate linkage, cleaned and lubricated the bushings and cam. Darn thing runs quieter than ever. Next project is to pull that old gear box apart, clean it up, give it a close inspection and then repack it with lube. No sense disposing of it, it still worked fine, just drove me nuts with the chatter. Hopefully this might fix the problem and I will have a spare motor available if the new one fails. Stove is breathing "happily".

 

[imacman]

......Also removed all of the versa grate linkage, cleaned and lubricated the bushings and cam. Darn thing runs quieter than ever.......

Amazing what a little lubrication will do

 

[smwilliamson]

sweet. I hate doing anything to do with the versa grate....WAPITA! Great when the squeeks go away isn't it...or beware, as I found, when the squeak stops...it's not working.

 

[tchdngrnby]

Pulling the versa grate system apart is not a big task however, I will agree it is a slight pain in the hiney. Simply loosen the 3 foundation screws and slide the entire unit back until the cam is clear of the "U" shaped bracket welded to the versa grate shaft. Then in the burn pot, pull the lock pin on the spacer that rides over the versa grate shaft and you can slide the entire assy out the back of the stove. I will admit that pulling the bushings on the back of the fire box is a tight squeeze but it dropped out just fine. The front bushing falls right into your hands. I will admit that while I was putting it back together, I tried to install the shaker plate and then noticed that I forgot to slide the spacer over the versa grate shaft and install the lock pin. Yes, I had to pull the motor assy apart one more time. You gotta love having extra parts staring back at you when you think you have it licked!

For those that own a St. Croix with the versa grate system, to remove your shaker plate, open the left side door and watch the versa grate cam lobe (stove running of course). When it reaches its fully "retracted" position. Then secure the power. This will ensure that the shaker plate is clear of the igniter hood and will lift right off of the shaft without any problem. I learned that one by trial and error, the manual does not speak about this. Yea, I RTFM!

 

[smwilliamson]

For those that own a St. Croix with the versa grate system, to remove your shaker plate, open the left side door and watch the versa grate cam lobe (stove running of course). When it reaches its fully "retracted" position. Then secure the power. This will ensure that the shaker plate is clear of the igniter hood and will lift right off of the shaft without any problem. I learned that one by trial and error, the manual does not speak about this. Yea, I RTFM!

Excellent! Most of my experience with the vera grate has been on the York insert...you have to remove the auger motor too to slide it back.

 

[woodsman23]

My Afton Bay versa grate is simple to clean takeout and lube. It is so much better than that noisy agitator in the pot of some other stoves. It just needs to be lubed to keep it quiet. simple really.