Stove blower maintainance for the Jotul C450

[Rudyjr]

We are into the third year with our Jotul Kennebec C450 and have tried to keep a close eye on keeping it in good shape. The last two years I have diligently removed the ash lip and vacuumed out any stray ashes that have found their way into the fan area and used a brush to keep this area clean ( I thought!). This year I decided to remove the fan assembly and look it over closely and make sure it was totally clean. I took it into the garage and removed the three nuts that hold the sheet metal cover over the blower and could not believe the amount of dust and dirt that was inside the fans and behind the screens on the end of the fans. I also noticed that the fan motor has oiling ports over both ends of the motor. I blew out the fans and motor with compressed air and could not believe the dirt that came out from inside the fans . I put a few drops of oil in both ports on the motor and reassembled and installed the unit. I feel that this should be a yearly item to take care of that will add years of life to the blower on this stove.

 

[begreen]

Yep, regular service will extend it's life by years. Good to hear that they have an oilable motor.

 

[hatrick]

What kind of oil should be used when oiling the blower motor. I want to clean my blower in my 3 year old Jotul 450 Kennebec but don't want to use the wrong oil

Also, how hard is it to entirely remove the blower??

Thanks,
Eric

 

[Rudyjr]

Go to a good regular hardware store and tell them you want a "zoom spout" oiler. This is a clear plastic tube full of oil with a bent hypodermic looking spout on the end of it. It will easily reach into the ports so that you can put a couple of drops in each of the ports.

 

[Rudyjr]

Well I guess it has been a few years since I have bought one of these oilers. I checked on-line and it seems as though LA-Co no longer makes this with the metal hypo looking spout. They now make it with a straight plastic or flexible spout which I assume will work just as well. They list it as turbine grade oil although I have heard it called sewing machine and electric motor oil as well. I believe that general 3&1 oil is a similar product although the can is tough to get into tight spots. It only takes a couple of drops per side per year to do the trick.

 

[hatrick]

Thanks for the reply. I have a small tin of 3 in 1 oil so I should be good there. Where exactly do I put the drops of oil. I don't see any obvious spots but it is kind of hard to get a good look since the fan is partially covered by a sheet metal heat shield. I'm sure I can take it out but if I don't have to that would be a time saver.

Thanks,
Eric

 

[Rudyjr]

Thanks for the reply. I have a small tin of 3 in 1 oil so I should be good there. Where exactly do I put the drops of oil. I don't see any obvious spots but it is kind of hard to get a good look since the fan is partially covered by a sheet metal heat shield. I'm sure I can take it out but if I don't have to that would be a time saver.

Thanks,
Eric

Take the three nuts off that hold the sheet metal cover off and move it out of the way as I mentioned in my first post. You do not need to disassemble it all the way or remove any wires. You should see two oiling holes, one on each end of the motor. Blow the dust out while the cover is out of the way as well. There will be a ton of dust and fuzzy stuff in the motor and fans if this has been running a few years.

 

[hatrick]

I must have a slightly different heat shield as I only see one screw on the right side and when I take that out it is still it there rock solid.

Eric

 

[Rudyjr]

You have only removed the ash lip, you have the exact same stove as I do. Now you need to remove the whole fan assembly, it just pulls out cast iron and all ! Don't you have an owners manual that came with the stove? You are not going to hurt anything it just basically sits part way into the bottom of the stove.

 

[Rudyjr]

Here is a link to the manual look at pages 13, 14, 15, It just has clips that slide over the sheet metal of the stove you can remove it completely. Figure 16 shows the assembly and the three nuts. As stated earlier DO NOT remove the wiring just move the shield out of the way.

(broken link removed to http://www.inglenookenergy.com/Stoves/Wood_Insert/jotul/c450_kennebec/C450_Kennebec_Manual.pdf)

 

[hatrick]

Rudyjr,

Now I get it... the whole front slides out... very slick design. I just took it out and blew a ton of dust out. I also found the two oil "chutes" which are in more the middle of the blower. I originally thought they were on the outer edges. My blower must have been choking hard with all that dust. I can't wait to fire it up this weekend.

If I am not mistaken, the blower looks like it is a Fasco A125 with an extra grounding wire soldered onto the motor.

Thanks gain for the help!!

Merry Christmas,
Eric

 

[Rudyjr]

Eric, You are welcome. You are correct the oiling ports are on the ends of the motor itself and the fans run on the shaft that extends out both ends of the motor. I can even see both of the ports in one of your pictures. I think oiling the fan could be done with just the ash lip removed. The real benefit of removing the whole thing is being able to clean out the fans. I had always removed the ash lip and vacuumed out the fan area thinking I was getting most of it. I too was shocked by the amount of dust I was missing before blowing it out. My motor is the Fasco as well. Merry Christmas, glad I could help. Jim

 

[slate]

Eric, You are welcome. You are correct the oiling ports are on the ends of the motor itself and the fans run on the shaft that extends out both ends of the motor. I can even see both of the ports in one of your pictures. I think oiling the fan could be done with just the ash lip removed. The real benefit of removing the whole thing is being able to clean out the fans. I had always removed the ash lip and vacuumed out the fan area thinking I was getting most of it. I too was shocked by the amount of dust I was missing before blowing it out. My motor is the Fasco as well. Merry Christmas, glad I could help. Jim

So I conversed a little with Rudyjr last year regarding my Jotul Kennebec C450. I really wanted to find those oil ports b/c my blower was starting to make some real noise that sounded like bearings. After Rudyjr's great description I tore that blower apart. Took every screw off, every plate, oiled any hole available but I'm just convinced that I don't have those ports. My stove was purchased by previous house owner in 2004. Maybe it's older?

After looking at pics posted by Eric, I can see exactly where the oiling ports are. They are the little dimples on either side of the motor, just before the edge, right? They are silver colored?

I'll upload some pics of my blower and you'll see I just don't have them. Frustrating. I think I need to replace the blower. It's just so loud

 

[slate]

Pics

 

[mellow]

You need to pull that entire blower out and give it a good once over with high powered air, I just had to do this for a 450 and the fins were covered in dog hair, pulling the blower out is easy. Take a picture of how the power connects to the snap disk and power outlet so you can put it back together easy. If you need it I have a pic of it here: Got the itch again... Jotul C450 Kennebec

 

[slate]

I cleaned it out thoroughly at the end of last season. It didn't improve anything unfortunately. Haven't done it this season b/c I think it's shot. It's 10 years old

 

[Lumber-Jack]

I started a thread here a couple years ago about yearly cleaning of those blowers, but it didn't get much interest. Most people don't bother cleaning them till they get real noisy, often by then it's too late. As the dust bunnies build up in the fan cages it causes them to go out of balance, and if they run for very long out of balance like that it puts extra strain on the bearings causing them to wear prematurely.
Of course the amount regular day to day use they see makes a difference on their lifespan too, and in the end nothing last forever, but there was no way I would pay the $300 the stove company is asking for the factory blower for their stove when the off the shelf $14 wall mount fan works so much better.

 

[slate]

I will definitely clean the next blower annually if not biannually. I need to buy a compressor b/c doing it by hand takes forever and isn't as thorough