CB 1200i Auger Noise

[CaptnIgnit]

I inherited a CB 1200i in a house I purchased a couple months back. I've had it serviced and cleaned and have been using it the past couple days. I've noticed that once its been running for about 90-120 minutes the auger starts making a creaking/grinding sound. It eventually stops running so I'll shut the unit off. Once it cools back down the auger seems to work fine again.

I'm guessing the motor is going bad but I figured I'd ask around before dropping the $$$ on a new motor. Thoughts?

 

[kappel15]

Do you have any extra long pellets ? They can bridge the drop chute opening and then get taken to the top of the auger, and then start grinding and jamming the auger up. You can pull the auger out to check on that.You can also use a mirror and a flashlight and look up the drop chute to see if there is anything up there. Otherwise, it may be time for the auger to be replaced. kap

 

[CaptnIgnit]

Do you have any extra long pellets ? They can bridge the drop chute opening and then get taken to the top of the auger, and then start grinding and jamming the auger up. You can pull the auger out to check on that.You can also use a mirror and a flashlight and look up the drop chute to see if there is anything up there. Otherwise, it may be time for the auger to be replaced. kap

I removed the auger last night to check for jams and it looked ok. There were quite a bit of fines that I vacuumed out, but the issue still occurred. My best guess is the motor is overheating since it seems to only happen after its been running in that 90-120 minute range.

 

[heat seeker]

Try lubing the motor bearings with the proper lube. Also, see if there is radial play in them.

 

[CaptnIgnit]

Try lubing the motor bearings with the proper lube. Also, see if there is radial play in them.

From everything I've read, lube is just a stop gap to get a bit more use out of a dying motor. If the motor is dying, I'd rather not screw around with it and just replace it outright. More so wanting to check that I'm not missing something else that would result in the behavior I'm seeing.

 

[kappel15]

I would check to see that you can get the motor off the old one before ordering just a motor. Sometimes they are a real bearcat to get off. Almost like they are welded on. kap

 

[DMKNLD]

I would check to see that you can get the motor off the old one before ordering just a motor. Sometimes they are a real bearcat to get off. Almost like they are welded on. kap

Looking at the on-line retail store sites, it looks like they invariably sell the motor and bracket assembly together, which I'm guessing is for good reason, beyond just parts up-selling. I could see that stripping those 4 small phillips head screws that mount the motor to the bracket would be very easy to do, considering all the heat cycles the auger motor is exposed to.

I luckily haven't had to replace my auger motor yet........ knock on pellets. Have only had to pull the auger to clean out some moisture-swelled 'dirt in a bag' pellets that jammed up, after pulling a rookie / bonehead move in not emptying the hopper at the end of the first season I burned pellets. Live and learn......... Regards, DK