With that stove being on its 24th year I dont think I would try to re-engineer it. If the new feeder last another 20-24 yrs he would not be doing to bad
A new feeder weldment is roughly $250.P61a smoke in hopper
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A new feeder weldment is roughly $250.
The tube might cost a couple bucks. Not re-engineering anything just replacing it. Take me about 1/2 hour in the shop to remove the old one and install a new. thicker one. Little grinding and a quick weld job.
Helluva lot cheaper than a 250 buck part I'd say. Any competent fab shop can do it. probably for around 50 bucks time and materials.
Helluva lot cheaper than a 250 buck part I'd say. Any competent fab shop can do it. probably for around 50 bucks time and materials.
I'm not and never have been a 'plug and play' person. I'm a fix and repair person. Plug and play always costs more than f&r. and usually the replacement isn't as good as the original anyway. I learned a long time ago that 'new and improved' usually means more expensive and lesser quality.
A thicker walled auger tube will necessitate grinding a larger appropriately sized hole in the stove body as well as the burnpot weldment. The studs of course still need to lineup so the hole needs to be perfectly centered. Suddenly things are getting more and more involved. You will also need to "jig" that auger tube replacement pretty darn precisely if the hopper is to align with the whole assembly so that things actually go back together. I'd be super impressed with anyone who could whip that job out in short order.
I do heavy fabrication and welding all the time. Mostly excavation buckets though but the tools are the same. Whatever. Let him spend the 250 and smile..........
I'm not doubting your level of determination or skill but I'm wondering if you realize how complex the Harman feeder welment assembly actually is. Are you proposing to replace the entire auger tube with thicker walled material? This isn't your average front end loader
From the sounds of things, he’s an amazing fabricator and can fix anything. Just ask him....I'm not doubting your level of determination or skill but I'm wondering if you realize how complex the Harman feeder welment assembly actually is. Are you proposing to replace the entire auger tube with thicker walled material? This isn't your average front end loader
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The disassembly process to extract the auger tube from the rest of the weldment to begin with makes $250 for a new, well alligned weldment seem very reasonable. That said, I would think a handy welder ought to be able to do a "build up" repair that ought to provide several more years of workable service.
How I earn my wages folks. I don't just do excavation buckets either. Take a look at my website sometime, it's listed in my sidebar.
Other than that. I'm done commenting. Other than....
Other than that. I'm done commenting. Other than....
Not many people have that kind of machining/welding talent. If someone sent you a worn feeder would you be interested in doing a build up weld and remachining the tube? It wears thru on the very end. the other 99.9% of the feeder is fine. I would think that if you could do the repair for $100 then freight of approx. $25 each way would be worth it to save $100. Plus the weld build up would probably be harder than the original tube material?
I don't like to be insulted (see post 32). I can I do that stuff and do it all the time (fabrication) but I'll think about it and let you know. I would probably cut the compromised end off and weld on a new end. Certainly don't look difficult. Would you do me a favor though... take a magnet and put it on the feed tube and the weldment itself and tell me if it's magnetic (strong or weak) or hot. I've never seen one before so I need to know that.
I don't see it being 3o4 stainless but it might be. 304 is mildly magnetic whrere as mild steel will be strongly magnetic.
From the looks of it, looks to be MIG welded so I'm thinking it's mild steel (hot rolled plate) and seamed steel tubing. 304 has to be TIG welded and the welds don't appear to be like any TIG I've ever seen or did.
The other thing I would need to know and that is, can the tube end stick out farther than it is presently or is there a reason why it's that long?
I'm more accessible at [email protected] My website email address.
I don't see it being 3o4 stainless but it might be. 304 is mildly magnetic whrere as mild steel will be strongly magnetic.
From the looks of it, looks to be MIG welded so I'm thinking it's mild steel (hot rolled plate) and seamed steel tubing. 304 has to be TIG welded and the welds don't appear to be like any TIG I've ever seen or did.
The other thing I would need to know and that is, can the tube end stick out farther than it is presently or is there a reason why it's that long?
I'm more accessible at [email protected] My website email address.
The burn pot is strongly magnetic and certainly will/does rust. The extra bit of auger tube that extends beyond the rectangular plate is just enough to pass through the stove body and burn pot weldment so that that it ends up flush with the interior surface of the burnpot. If it extended farther into the burn pot it would quickly conflict with the burn pot's rapidly upsloping surface. A thicker walled tube would necessitate opening up both the hole in the stove body as well as burn pot weldment.
I shut down my stove today and did a deep clean. I did a thorough inspection of the end of the auger tube and it is totally smooth- no sign of any holes. The end of the auger seemed ok too.
It looks like a crossover tube kit is in my future.
I have already ordered a new hopper latch. While I think mine still seals ok, it makes sense to replace it. Thanks for advice Bob.
I have been running this stove since 2005 and I have burned 80+ tons of pellets in it. Hopefully I can get another 15 years out of it before I have to replace the feeder weldment.
Mike
It looks like a crossover tube kit is in my future.
I have already ordered a new hopper latch. While I think mine still seals ok, it makes sense to replace it. Thanks for advice Bob.
I have been running this stove since 2005 and I have burned 80+ tons of pellets in it. Hopefully I can get another 15 years out of it before I have to replace the feeder weldment.
Mike
The best way to check and see how far your auger flight is worn, it to take off the burnpot and inspect it. That's how I found out how worn the end actually was (see pic). I did a weldment replacement on a P68 a couple months ago.
Although replacing the flight from the rest of the weldment is obviously possible, IMO, if measurements are pretty dead on it would be a problem fitting things back into the stove. There's also cutouts and a flange that needs to be added......UNLESS you just replace the end of it and not the whole thing.
![[Hearth.com] P61a smoke in hopper](https://www.hearth.com/talk/attachments/harflight-webp.269803/ "[Hearth.com] P61a smoke in hopper")
Although replacing the flight from the rest of the weldment is obviously possible, IMO, if measurements are pretty dead on it would be a problem fitting things back into the stove. There's also cutouts and a flange that needs to be added......UNLESS you just replace the end of it and not the whole thing.
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