Alderlea T6 blower failure

[Derf Summerfreeze]

I'm just into my second season with a 2022 Alderlea T6. I bought the blower option (WODC.BLOWB) and have been impressed at how much this blower helps with getting the most heat out of my stove economically. I figure that I get 1/3 more heat with the blower motor running at approximately 1/4 to 1/3 full speed on the variable control. I heat with wood primarily so the stove never cools off in the winter time and the blower is running at least 4000 hrs per year. Well, the bearings started to chirp on the 'Canadian' made blower. It's not Canadian made in any way shape or form that I can tell, but regardless the bearings were shot. I know I could have gotten a warranty claim (perhaps) but I decided to just go ahead and replace the bearings which I did. They take a miniscule R4ARS bearing. I bought some inexpensive ones and re-greased them with Lucas red and tacky grease. I suspect the Peer brand (china) bearings that were installed originally were shy on grease, hence the early failure at approximately 4000 hrs on low speed. The new bearings are also Chinese, but I'm sure they will last longer.

While waiting for bearings, I bought an Amazon replacement fan/motor that fits perfectly in the original fan housing (see the pics). It comes with 3 wires. Do not use the red wire if you have a variable speed control. Use the black and white wires only. You will have to crimp on some male faston (spade) connectors for the white and black wires and then carefully tape off the red wire. I suggest using a wire nut (marrette) on the red wire and then seal it with electrical tape. The Amazon fan is not cheap, but far cheaper than the original part and has larger bearings. I believe the Amazon fan which of course is also Chinese has 608 bearings which are larger than the bearings in the original PE fan and are common on skate boards. Interestingly, the original fan which is also from China uses inch sized bearings on the 1/4" shaft. If you do replace the bearings, be careful not to bend the motor shaft or lose any parts.

The hardest part is pulling the first fan off the shaft. Pull the fan off on the side with the heads of the screws holding the motor together. Mark the fans and bits so that everything goes back on the same way. The second fan is easy to pull off the shaft as you can use the rotor of the motor like a slide hammer to help pop it off. Just don't lose any washers or the spring on one side. Use blue loctite when assembling the new bearings onto the shaft. One of the original bearings was spinning on the shaft and gouged it, so a bit of loctite makes for a better fit and will keep the new bearings from spinning on the shaft. These fans need to be vacuumed of dust (and cat hair at my house) at least once per year so I put studs in the back of my stove to make installing the blower easier. See the pics. Derf Edit: BTW, I liked the Amazon fan so much that I bought another. That's the one in the picture with the original PE fan. I should be set for life now

 

[begreen]

Well done, nice repair. Did you get the Regency blower in case the repair failed? That's what the two hot leads are for. Some have a high/low speed switch instead of a rheostat. Do the mounting feet locations match the OEM?

There is also a beefier Grainger motor that may fit. I haven't measured the feet, but have had pretty good luck with their blowers in the past.
Grainger 1TDU7 blower

And this place sells an oem replacement

Pacific Energy 80001858 (5024.51) Blower Replacement

Pacific Energy 80001858, 5024.51 blower replacement for MINB.BLOW, WODC.BLOW wood burning stoves. OEM blower only, does not include housing and power cord.

fireplaceblowersonline.com

 

[Derf Summerfreeze]

The Amazon blower was $138 Canadian, so about 5$ American It fits perfectly. No modifications required other than taping off the red wire (low speed) and adding male faston connectors to the white and black wires. Derf