After year 2 1/2 of burning the fan on my insert stopped working. Called the company that I baught it from and they said the part is $310 and labor will be $60! Couple questions Should the fan last longer than 2 1/2 seasons. The fan runs about 3 months almost non stop and 2 months part time. Will no fan reduce the efficiency of the stove with no fan? Is there anything you can do to increase the longevity of the fan? Thanks!
Fan is set to go on when the stove gets hot enough (dealer said 110). It can be manually turned on/off from under the stove. Survive guy thought it might be barings??!
If it’s the bearings the fan will scream at you with all sorts of squeaky noises and would do the same when you bypass the thermostat. Sounds like it is the heat disk thermostat thing. Or maybe the third wire connection to it has a problem since you say it works in manual bypass. Got a multimeter?
An insert without a fan is just about useless for heat in my experience. If it is squealing time to replace. I found a generic one off eBay that would fit for about $50, manufacturer wanted $300. Not much labor involved, so diy. These types of fans you can't service, so 2-3 years is about the life cycle. You may be able to extended the life by blowing out with compressed air.
x2, and in my case I've blown out with compressor/and sucked up with vac attachment more dog hair out of one than my vacuum picks up off the floors....... Granted it was here when we bought this home, but we have dogs too that added to it.
They’re supposed to have a sealed bearing, at least on my Buck it is... First blower started squealing so I replaced it with on from the manufacturer for $179. Then went to work on the first one... Blew out with compressed air and worked in some Marvel Mystery Oil. Used the compressed air to turn the fan which turned the bearing and slowly drew the MMO in.. well, when the second fan started making noise, I put the original one back in and that’s been working well for about a year... I would think that graphite is probably a more appropriate lubricant. The MMO smelled a bit for the first couple days of use,, So I’m now on a 2 blower plan with intent to swap them out, clean and lube as needed with minimal down time. I found that the electric motor can be detached from the squirrel cage fan with a long Alan wrench. Makes it easier to work on. You really need to have OCD about keeping stuff clear of the intake to reduce the dust and hair that get drawn into these things...
3 in 1 oil to the rescue! Trust me, clean it up, and oil the bearings with 3 in 1. While they're really not serviceable, they get dirty and need a lube. I'll leave that there for someone to have a good laugh at.
Yep, you have to use the least stinky oil that lasts. So don't use wd40. The dog hair is our issue, but even dust/ ashes get sucked in. Clean it out, lube it up and you'll be good.
I used MMO on mine as well! It's a temporary fix, but a rotating plan could work. Good idea. The motor spins off squirrel cage housing usually with enough force.
