Noises From the Hopper or Auger area

Symptoms:  Stove periodically makes a moaning, squealing, or clunking noises while in operation, specifically when the stove is feeding pellets into the burn pot.

Resolution:  Intermittent or random squealing, groaning, or clunking sounds coming from the auger usually indicates that some pellet dust has made its way down into the auger bearing plate, and is putting just a little bit of stress on the bearing.  We have gotten many recent reports of very dusty pellets, which could be partially to blame.  This lubricant is used to help displace the dust particles, and protect the area from future dust.

• The quickest and easiest solution is to empty and vacuum out the hopper, and do a visual inspection of the bottom auger area, looking for any foreign debris.
• The next step is to then add some nonflammable lubricant right at the bottom of the auger plate.  Having the auger spinning while in diagnosis mode or auger priming while applying this lubricant helps to allow it to penetrate down into the bearing housing.  

• Be sure to wipe up any pooling/residue, and allow all vapors to dissipate before reloading the hopper with pellets and firing the stove.
• Graphite is okay as a lubricant, but we have recently found that the synthetic PTFE based lubricants work much better, and the results last much longer.

To perform an auger priming:

Press the Secondary function button (7) - the indicator red light will come on (3).
Now press the Enter button (11)
A message saying "Feeding on" will display under the house.
Let the auger feed until the pellet drop becomes steady.
Then press the secondary function button (7) again to stop the priming.

• If the above steps did not solve the issue, the next step would be to try to alleviate downward pressure on the bottom auger plate by readjusting the auger bit, by loosening the 5mm set screw, pushing upward on the bottom of the bit, and then retightening the auger bit.  (This video may help act as a visual aid for where to locate that set screw:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQYy8ckAJ6E
• If none of the above solves the issue, you may need to replace the bottom auger bearing. (9 out of every 10 auger bearing failures will be the bottom bearing due to the stress and pressure applied to it during operation).  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-B1hdKJoljM

Cause:  There are many different scenarios that can cause the augers to make these noises. One is either the bearings weren’t lubricated properly, or the grease on the bearings got too hot and dried out.  Another is that sometimes moisture can get into the stove over longtime use. Some ways to prevent this is making sure if you have an outside air intake that it is disconnected during the summer or when not in use. For more information see our our article on performing midseason and end of season cleanings.