Fan ... Thelin parlour 3000
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A note on the bearings. I found that the price buying directly from VXB.com is much better than Amazon. Shipping for me was $3.90 for 4 of the bearings and each bearing is about $4. I do recommend using the high quality made in Japan Nachi bearings instead of the much less expensive bulk China or skate type bearings you can get anywhere. the Japan Nachi bearings last 2-3x as long for me.
I am posting my annual update on the Thelin pellet stove (in service since 2005) as the winter of 21/22 winds down. The life total for this stove is now 17 winters and 43 tons of pellets. I burned another 2.2 tons of pellets this winter.
At startup in the first week or two I had some bearing noise that went away. This motor was new in 2017 and bearings and brushes replaced in 2020. So it likely cannot be rebuilt again due to armature wear. So out of caution I ordered a new motor from thelin for $210 since they had it in stock and my concerns over the supply chain told me to put it on the shelf. I pressed on and the motor quieted out and has run flawlessly over the entire winter. With luck I'll get one more winter out of this motor. We will see. When it fails the new Exmek motor on my shelf will go in. I continue to find the Exmek motor much more robust than the Pittman motor. The Exmek is quieter and stays quieter and lasts longer.
My electric ignitor has been getting weaker and never was super fast to light. So rather than doing a new ignitor rod in the middle of winter I will wait and do it when I replace the fan motor. So I started cleaning the fire pot, putting a fist full of pellets in the pot and putting the stove on medium. Then I take a Bernzomatic TS-8000 torch at full blast and point it down in the pot for about 20 - 25 seconds. close the glass door and it is fire on. It lights so much faster than the electric ignitor that I'm kind of hooked on this method. The TS-8000 torch has a trigger ignitor so it is just a trigger pull to light it. I'll likely replace the electric ignitor anyway but torch lighting is much easier and cheaper than the alcohol gel method I have used in the past when the power is out (no AC for the ignitor rod).
At startup in the first week or two I had some bearing noise that went away. This motor was new in 2017 and bearings and brushes replaced in 2020. So it likely cannot be rebuilt again due to armature wear. So out of caution I ordered a new motor from thelin for $210 since they had it in stock and my concerns over the supply chain told me to put it on the shelf. I pressed on and the motor quieted out and has run flawlessly over the entire winter. With luck I'll get one more winter out of this motor. We will see. When it fails the new Exmek motor on my shelf will go in. I continue to find the Exmek motor much more robust than the Pittman motor. The Exmek is quieter and stays quieter and lasts longer.
My electric ignitor has been getting weaker and never was super fast to light. So rather than doing a new ignitor rod in the middle of winter I will wait and do it when I replace the fan motor. So I started cleaning the fire pot, putting a fist full of pellets in the pot and putting the stove on medium. Then I take a Bernzomatic TS-8000 torch at full blast and point it down in the pot for about 20 - 25 seconds. close the glass door and it is fire on. It lights so much faster than the electric ignitor that I'm kind of hooked on this method. The TS-8000 torch has a trigger ignitor so it is just a trigger pull to light it. I'll likely replace the electric ignitor anyway but torch lighting is much easier and cheaper than the alcohol gel method I have used in the past when the power is out (no AC for the ignitor rod).
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Annual update on the Thelin pellet stove. This spring I did a couple of burns and things were OK but the auger sounded a bit funky like it was struggling. I decided to tilt the stove over and work on the auger and while it was down replace the fan which was still working OK from 2020 with a brand new Exmek motor and fan assembly. I don't have pictures of the auger motor work but it is very simple, two screws open it up. It was filled with carbon dust. The brushes looked to be about 30% remaining and since they went 17 years I decided to clean the inside of the motor with compressed air and light lubrication on the end bearings. I also replaced the front bushing on the auger assembly as it was very loose allowing the auger to wonder and more easily jam on an occasional poorly positioned pellet instead of cutting it. This bushing is a plastic material and just presses into the front of the auger housing. The rear auger bushing was in good shape. I also blew out all of the dust from the circuit boards and sensors. Fired it right up and it is running just like brand new. For me after 17 years and 44 tons of pellets it's still going good. Planning to burn another 2 to 3 tons this winter. My experience is that the Exmek fan motors go about 3 years (9 tons) before needing bearings and brushes and I have got 6 years (18 tons) with a brush and bearing change.
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I'm starting the 11th year with our Thelin Providence insert stove which runs the same motor assembly. I re-installed the original pitman motor mid season last year with new brushes and it only lasted a few weeks before finally wearing through the commutator contacts. I just dropped the Exmex back in which is on its third full rebuild. The brushes last much longer on the Exmek but the hot side bearing seems to fail annually. I now have a supply of extra bearings. I just ordered a new Exmek motor since I'm down to just the tired Exmek I just re-installed.
I burn 4-5 tons per year so I'm at 45 tons burned with this unit. The regular fan motor work is the bulk of the maintenance. Other parts replaced over the years:
Front door glass (original glass cracked thanks to a botched gasket replacement)
Firepot (original cracked and lost a chunk in the middle base when cleaning)
One igniter failed two years ago
Feed motor, all sensors and electronics all original.
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