BLOWER MOTOR LONGEVITY

[Gilly]

Installed my Harman Accentra Insert this summer and have been happily burning for a few months now. I have learned a tremendous amount by reading this forum! Kudos and thanks to Craig Issod for founding such a great site.

I have a pretty large, open house which so far the stove has been able to heat by itself. (with the employment of some ceiling fans and floor fans - the house is literally twice the square footage of the stove rating) Running the stove nearly 24/7 on the cold days. Aside from an annual cleaning, the Harman manual doesn't give any information on preventative maintenance and longevity of the combustion and distribution blowers. I like to keep my equipment in top shape. I thoroughly scrape the burnpot daily and complete the periodic cleaning (which the manual states should be done every ton of pellets burned) on a weekly basis.

1. Anything I can do in the way of preventative maintenance for the blowers?

2. Generally, how long can I expect these blowers to operate (hours, seasons, etc.) before they require some type of overhaul or replacement?

Thanks for your time.

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

Folks with pets and hardwood floors typically see a reduced life in motors. If you dont have either, then you should enjoy a pretty maintenance free (for blowers) for a good long time. If you do have pets and hardwood floors, 2-5 years isnot a uncommon replacement time with quads and whitfeilds.

 

[Turner-n-Burner]

What about those of us with hardwood floors, but no pets ?

-TNB

 

[Robbie]

I think MountainStoveGuy is right on. Hardwood floors are slick, causing almost no friction for hair and dander/dust to stick. The crud then slides across floors and gets lifted up into the fan or blower motor.

I think you can stretch the life of most motors/fans/blowers ect. by doing seasonal maintenance.

Most blowers/fans have brass bushings for the shaft or some type of bearing system. These bearings or bushings will collect dust and stuff that will slow down the motor by friction, causing less output.

The simple solution is to remove fan and vacuum in and around blades, and especially bushings, careful to not loosen wire connections. Use a tooth pick or something small to remove wound up hair etc. that almost always will encircle the shaft/bushing area.

I made a special vacuum hose adapter that is small like a tiny hose that I use to get in tight places on motors, it works great for removing dust and crud from motor area.

After cleaning, I put a couple drops of "light weight" oil on my bearings/bushing.

I ran my blower for one season and cleaned it in the spring, it was very dusty and the blades were coated with dust, I'm sure causing a reduced output in air.

I have a simple electric fan I have ran for at least 15 years and the reason I think is because I clean it once a year.

I used to tinker on motors and fans years ago and the main reason I found fans would stop working was because of dust and crud build up in the shaft and bushing area. most of the time I could get them running like new with just a good cleaning.


Robbie

 

[GVA]

My advance has a blower motor with 4 bolts on the shroud (this by far gets the dirtiest of the motors) The best way to clean this motor is to remove the 4 bolts and lay it on it's side and clean the fins with a toothbrush and vacuum it out. Between the dog hair and just the general crud out there if allowed to accumulate could throw the fan out of balance causing premature wear. Clean thouroghly at least once a season......
Me I got hardwoods and 3 dogs The puppy has long hair and i've noticed alot of hair starting to accumulate around the stove, so I tend to run the shop vac around the back at least once a week, and I will clean the blowers about every other month. Again it depends on your situation as far as the cleaning.
Oiling the bronze bearings it's up to you But be aware that most are oil impregnated and do not need lubrication, well most of the time it won't even stick to the bearing but it will on the shaft but it can also allow contamination to stick to the oil and cause more wear.

 

[Robbie]

To oil or not to oil.............

I have heard that it can cause things to stick to the oil and cause premature wear on moving parts. But I feel if I keep the area "clean", and add a couple drops of light oil, it should be fine for many years.

So far, oiling bearings/shafts has not hurt, and it gives me a little piece of mind knowing my bearings are not going to get dry.

The main thing is to at least clean these fans once a season, that should make a huge difference.



Robbie

 

[Gilly]

Thanks for all the information gents...

Has anyone ever tried putting some sort of filter around the intake vents??

I have two dogs myself.

 

[GVA]

To oil or not to oil.............

I have heard that it can cause things to stick to the oil and cause premature wear on moving parts. But I feel if I keep the area "clean", and add a couple drops of light oil, it should be fine for many years.

So far, oiling bearings/shafts has not hurt, and it gives me a little piece of mind knowing my bearings are not going to get dry.

The main thing is to at least clean these fans once a season, that should make a huge difference.



Robbie

It all depends on the situation here, I've had a bearing manufacturer try to push me on their Pillow block ball bearings saying they never need to be greased????????
The follow up here was if it needs to be greased then it needs to be replaced...........So who's trying to make money here... The bearing company of course...

As far as bronze, at work I got maybe 2000 to 3000 bronze bushings on equipment some I grease (but these have the corkscrew relief in them), some I have on automatic oilers, and some I never touch. It depends on the environment in which the bearing is located. ;-)

 

[HarryBack]

NO....other than cleaning the hair/lint/ash/other crap off the blower fins, there is no periodic maintenanace on any Harman blowers...combustion or distribution. Oil can cause stuff to actually stick to the oiled area. if its starting to make noise and isnt under warrantee anymore, start looking for a new blower. If its under warrantee, call the dealer, soon. Doesnt work if you are out of warrantee and tell the dealer its been making noise like that "for a year". If the oil quiets it down, the blower is still on its way out.

 

[coldinnj]

I like the idea of using a filter on the inlet, provided of course that all the necessary precautions are taken to protect from unwanted combustion.
As to the oil it might help to get a high quality "turbine oil" places such as AB Johnstone, Graingers etc all carry it. I don'[t like the "sealed, never grease" bearings. Using filter and oil with a fairly dirty environment I've gotten approx 13 years from blower motor.