My stove stopped feeding pellets I called the store and they sent someone out. After they checked the stove they replaced my auger motor. The tech said because the stove augers pellets up any sawdust is left behind in the tube and mine was packed with the stuff. He said after each ton just let all the pellets burn thats in the stove and then stick a vacuum in the pellet bin and vacuum any dust in the bottom of the auger shoot. He said sometimes I might have to reach in a shake the auger a little to make the dust fall down. That's it
Quadra Fire owners better clean this
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This gets done on my Castile every couple of weeks, just wait for the hopper to empty before I clean and include vacuuming the hopper as part of a normal maint. If you have a long vac extention, tapping it down by the feed hole in the hopper when vacuuming will knock pellets and stuff free in the auger tube. Remember it will take a few re-sets to prime the auger after you do this!
Fish On said:
+1 on the pellet vac. It's a lot cheaper to make a pellet vac then replace the auger motor every few years.
The way I see it, I don't dump cereal box fines in my breakfast bowl, I'm sure as hell not going to dump wood pellet fines in my stove hopper.
no pane said:
I THINK he has a bottom feeder...sez the auger feeds the pellets UP.... maybe a Harman owner?
I've never vac'd my auger... I guess I've never needed to.
I would like to know how fines will damage a Quad auger motor. When mine gets too many fines in the pickup area it just picks up less pellets, the fire gets lower, sure sign it needs cleaning. I sift now.
I have only vacuumed mine out maybe twice in the 3 years I have been running it. Everytime I go to vacuum there is none there etc. The way the auger is designed... in "most" circumstance it wont jam. Most of my fines get hauled up the auger with the pellets....
My Englander jammed up this past weekend. I had been burning some free pellets in it, first gen Athens. The saw dust was packed around the auger and it wouldn't move, lucky I didn't burn out the motor. I will now periodically run the stove dry and vac out the fines.
.....krooser......did I see you accus'n someone of be'n a 'bottom feeder'......... opps sorry..... guess 'I' need new glasses........... :coolsmile:
When I hooked up the leafblower this weekend it sucked all the sawdust out of the feed tube. When I opened the door after there wasn't any ash but a good layer of sawdust that wasn't there before. Once a ton sounds good to me.
Never seen fines damage a Quad auger motor. Even if you jam the auger shaft solid with something like... car keys (true story) it wont hurt the motor. It has some sort of a clutch in it so it just slips when it gets stuck. In fact the only auger motors I have ever had to replace were melted ones from auger shaft fires... and even those, the motor still works, just everything else was melted so we had to order the entire auger assembly with a new motor.
Regardless, still a valid point. Also the OP never said hos old this stove is?
Regardless, still a valid point. Also the OP never said hos old this stove is?
jtp10181 said:
Really? If that's true, that's a new one on me. As far as I saw looking inside one, there are just gears, some of which are plastic.
Most jams that I've heard about simply stall the motor, or strip out a gear or two.
Being the gear-head that I am, maybe you can post some pics of the "clutch"....I'd like to see it.
Never taken one apart, I am just guessing. When they get jammed I can hear them trying to move and they make more noise than normal like the motor is spinning but its slipping someplace. You'd think for sure its junk but after the jam is cleared out they always seem to work fine.
jtp10181 said:
Awesome !
I guess I'll just keep blissfully dumping bags in and not give it another thought ! Thanks for adding the voice of experience to this topic.
cncpro said:
I would still suggest cleaning out the auger shaft during the yearly maintenance. But I would not worry about it too much.
When you clean the stove,make sure you clean your hopper and your auger too. It only takes an extra minute. I can't say enough.....keep your stove clean as possible when you can. It will treat you right and last a long time.
IF THE THE AUGER JAMS IT WILL SIMPLY REVERSE THE FEED MOTOR AND UNJAM THE AUGER SEEN THIS WITH MY OWN EYES!!
macman said:
IF THE THE AUGER JAMS IT WILL SIMPLY REVERSE THE FEED MOTOR AND UNJAM THE AUGER,I SEEN THIS WITH MY OWN EYES!!
MainePellethead said:
I WONDERED FOR AWHILE WHAT THE LITTLE BUZZING NOISE WAS COMING FROM THE AUGER ONCE IN A WHILE, MAKES THAT NOISE WHEN REVERSING,FROM A JAM ,EVEN WITH LIGNETICS PELLETS,MY PROBLEM WAS MY CONTROL BOX WAS WACKED LIKE THE GREEN LIKE DIDNT COME ON ANYMORE ,THAN AT 3 IN THE MORNING FREEZING FINDING MYSELF PUSHING THE RESET BUTTON OVER AND OVER FOR HEAT AT 5 DEGREES SUCKS,STILL BEATS THE HELL OUT OF MESSING WITH FIREWOOD FOR 20 YEARS
jonmisie said:
I WONDERED FOR AWHILE WHAT THE LITTLE BUZZING NOISE WAS COMING FROM THE AUGER ONCE IN A WHILE, MAKES THAT NOISE WHEN REVERSING,FROM A JAM ,EVEN WITH LIGNETICS PELLETS,MY PROBLEM WAS MY CONTROL BOX WAS WACKED LIKE THE GREEN LIKE DIDNT COME ON ANYMORE ,THAN AT 3 IN THE MORNING FREEZING FINDING MYSELF PUSHING THE RESET BUTTON OVER AND OVER FOR HEAT AT 5 DEGREES SUCKS,STILL BEATS THE HELL OUT OF MESSING WITH FIREWOOD FOR 20 YEARS
slls said:
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