SUCCESS: Unclogged Enviro EF-2 augur!

[saigon71]

I am not terribly mechanically inclined but my dealer said they were a week out and that's a lot of oil to burn, so I checked out a video on youtube for the M55 (it talks about removing a capacitor that the EF-2 doesn't have so skip this step).

The situation: Pellets were not dropping. Called the dealer and they said to clean tailpipe, vacuum sensor would shut off augur motor if tailpipe clogged. Did this, no luck. Decided either augur motor was blown, augur was jammed, or connection between the two was stripped.

The solution: Took off back vent plate. I would at this point take a picture so you remember how to get it all back together. Removed 4 bolts connecting augur motor, removed bolt connecting motor to augur shaft. Motor dropped down and pellets came spraying down. It took some maneuvering to get shaft back in its place and bolts back in place and I did disconnect both wires for more room to maneuver, they snapped easily back in place. Works like a charm now.

Conclusion: I didn't find anything jamming augur, I think the sawdust built up or a pellet jammed. This may be a yearly part of maintenance.

 

[imacman]

I would have taken a look with a flashlight up the auger tube, just to be sure there wasn't anything else in there that might give trouble down the road.

Do the pellets you're burning seem to have a lot of long ones (more than about 1")?

Polishing the auger itself with fine abrasive so it's really slick & shiny will help too.

 

[saigon71]

Thanks for the suggestions! Do you mean a very fine sandpaper or steel wool? I have seen some longer pellets, I didn't measure but in the 1" range. I burned Barefoot and Dry Creek this year. Should I switch to something else?

 

[imacman]

No, both those pellets are ones I'd burn....don't think that's the problem. Polishing with some real fine sandpaper or emery cloth will help....not sure if steel wool will do much, or is even needed.

Only other thing I can think of is maybe the auger is tired or motor bearings need to be oiled. Or gearcase needs to be repacked w/ grease? How old is the stove?

 

[saigon71]

It is just finishing its 2nd heating season, has burned maybe 7 tons total. It was purring yesterday which made me realize it had progressively gotten louder before it stopped working.