It is so good to see you again.
After replacing both the heat exchanger distribution blower and the combustion blower, the pellet stove is up and running again!
The parts were expensive, but in general, staying warm in Wisconsin winters is an unavoidable cost. It is merely a matter of picking the least painful expense and inconvenience for your situation. Removing the fan blade from the combustion blower motor shaft was a nightmare. The allen screw pretty much welded itself in place over the last 10 years. Liquid Wrench didn't work. Heating it with a torch didn't work. How-to instructions on the internet recommended cutting the motor shaft with a saws-all or hacksaw. The fade-out cut in the online video was a dead giveaway that it would still be a very slow process even with power tools. My dad's saws-all would not fit inside the stove and I did not feel like squeezing a hacksaw blade behind bent over fan blades. In the end, I spent a couple hours laying on my stomach in front of the pellet stove grinding out the allen screw on the fan blade assembly with Dremel cutting discs, only breaking three of them in the process. Once that was done, hubby arrived home from work and finished the disassembly and re-assembly process. Ahh, my knight in pellet stove ash covered jeans!
It is nice not to hear the boiler in the basement sucking so much oil any more. We were very lucky to be able to get the tank filled while the oil prices were low, but they are on the rise again. In the three days that the pellet stove was out of commission, the tank went from just under 7/8 to 3/4 full. With the sub-zero temperatures, it will still kick in when the pellet stove cannot keep up, but with the new parts on the pellet stove, it is running like a new machine again. Both the cat and dog are happy again. Tigger the cat is happy because it is hot downstairs. Chloe the dog is happy because it is cooler upstairs. And we are happy that not quite as much money is flying out of the chimney now.
The parts were expensive, but in general, staying warm in Wisconsin winters is an unavoidable cost. It is merely a matter of picking the least painful expense and inconvenience for your situation. Removing the fan blade from the combustion blower motor shaft was a nightmare. The allen screw pretty much welded itself in place over the last 10 years. Liquid Wrench didn't work. Heating it with a torch didn't work. How-to instructions on the internet recommended cutting the motor shaft with a saws-all or hacksaw. The fade-out cut in the online video was a dead giveaway that it would still be a very slow process even with power tools. My dad's saws-all would not fit inside the stove and I did not feel like squeezing a hacksaw blade behind bent over fan blades. In the end, I spent a couple hours laying on my stomach in front of the pellet stove grinding out the allen screw on the fan blade assembly with Dremel cutting discs, only breaking three of them in the process. Once that was done, hubby arrived home from work and finished the disassembly and re-assembly process. Ahh, my knight in pellet stove ash covered jeans!
It is nice not to hear the boiler in the basement sucking so much oil any more. We were very lucky to be able to get the tank filled while the oil prices were low, but they are on the rise again. In the three days that the pellet stove was out of commission, the tank went from just under 7/8 to 3/4 full. With the sub-zero temperatures, it will still kick in when the pellet stove cannot keep up, but with the new parts on the pellet stove, it is running like a new machine again. Both the cat and dog are happy again. Tigger the cat is happy because it is hot downstairs. Chloe the dog is happy because it is cooler upstairs. And we are happy that not quite as much money is flying out of the chimney now.
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