Harman auger bearing is sluggish - comments?

Hello
I pulled this auger out of my 2004 Harman Advance because it was dirty and jammed up when feeding the pellets. The auger motor was just replaced with a high quality Gleason-Avery 4 RPM motor. Which goes to show what I always suspected, a dirty gummy auger alone can cause an auger jam! It cleaned up well but even though the bearing turns freely, it is sluggish compared to a new auger bearing. See video.

This auger bearing does not pass my spin test!
Would you replace this auger bearing by installing a new auger.

 

I think the old bearing's ok.....its only 4 rpm, and not running all the time. These bearings going bad is pretty rare...when they do go bad, when you turn them, you can feel the bearings rumbling around, or, its much more difficult to turn than usual....hard to explain, you just have to feel one. I think the original is fine.....

 

I would think that with the torque developed by the motor's gearing, a sluggish bearing wouldn't make much difference. However, it will bind up sooner or later, so in the interest of long term reliability, you might want to replace it.

 

Yes, I agree. The Harman auger bearing is well made and rarely does fail. It does still turn freely and maybe good for a little while longer. If it does go bad soon, it will hurt the new auger motor I just installed. Since I had it out and a new auger with a new bearing ready to go, I replaced it. The stove is running super now.

Now that I had all my experiences with the Harman Advance and P61, even though the Advance is much more attractive, it is harder to clean. The simplicity and additional heat that the P61 puts out is still my # 1 choice of any stove on the market with the Quadrafire Classic Bay CB1200 a good second choice.

 

Good move, IMO. Can the bearing itself be replaced? You'd have a good spare on hand, if so.

 

I do not know?
Anyone ever do that?