St Croix Hastings issue

Hello all-
Just found this site, so happy I did. I purchased a Hastings in 2005, kept it clean my self and every third year or so had a expert spend 3 hours plus on it to make her run smooth. I cleaned it up yesterday and found tht the auger is not spinning or dropping pellets. A bit of background, a few months back I left the stove plugged in and we had a power outage. The power wet on and off for a while then shut down. When power was restored the stove was blinking like crazy and full of pellets. They backed up into the chute.

When I tried to fire it up last night the auger light goes on it makes a noise but does not spin. I hit the auger button after cleaning the hopper out and see the auger moving ever so slightly. Is the motor shot? Could the auger be jammed. I am not mechanically inclined but may give this a shot. I also read about a reset button, should I try that? Where is it located?

Thanks for any input. FYI I live in North East Connecticut and burn either Vermont or Blazers. Low ash content. I am not a heavy burner 1-1.5 tons a year max, as we are never really home .

 

Thanks much Scotty.

 

Welcome to the forum Birddog! Lots of friendly & helpful people here.

I would try removing the auger motor & auger from the stove. Since it's been sitting for a while, pellets may just be jammed/expanded slightly and stopping the auger from turning. That way, you know the auger tube and auger are completely clean. Use the power adapter cord Jay mentioned (make out of an old lamp cord) and test motor while out of the stove.

If the motor spins OK after cleaning &/or removal from stove, you may have fried the board. Most everyone here has a real good quality surge protector on their stoves to eliminate just that expensive problem.

Here's what a lot of us have made just for testing motors both on and off the stove:

 

Thanks much fellow Nutmeger (is that even a word lol). Will take a peak when I get home. Don't have the lamp cord thing and not sure if I am inclined to do that kind of stuff, but will try to see if I can get out and dust/obstructions.

 

Re-read my post above...I edited & added some more thoughts.

 

Imac, so a "fried board" would prevent auger from turning? issues? As noted I still get the power light and auger light and hear the motor trying to turn auger and see a small amount of movement in the auger. Would a fried board allow for this??

Thanks all, I assume I am going to need an expert to do this but am hoping I can rule out any possible easy fixes.

 

Yes, a "fried" board could very well cause your problem, but If the auger motor seems to be trying to turn, all may not be lost. You need to remove the auger/motor from the stove so you can be sure it isn't just jammed.

An "expert" may be needed, but easy troubleshooting you can do yourself may save you a lot of $$ with an "expert". If you're the least bit handy, these troubleshooting tips should be "doable".

If you're uncomfortable with the electrical part of it, don't try it. And ALWAYS unplug the stove before trying anything.

 

Ok for giggles I hit the reset button while up lugged and that did not do it. I did my best to look up the pellet chute with ilght and mirror, just cannot see. So I worked a few pellets that were stuck in the chute. I cleared the hopper as well as possible. Tried that and auger still barely moving. I put a handful of pellets in pot and it fired right up but then died as auger was not feeding anything. I looked at the motor (did not pull it out) it seems to work. I have no clue how to pull auger out, from the motor end its very tight, and of course cannot take it out from top. So I think its either a clogged auger or dead motor. Need to call repair man I guess. UGH

 

The motor w/ gearbox should be attached to the stove with either 4 bolts, or just the shaft attached to the auger itself, or sometimes both. Looking at your owners manual parts breakdown, it looks like 4 bolts hold the auger assembly along with a bracket or 2 and a gasket. There also looks like a set screw holding the auger gearbox shaft to the auger itself. Doesn't look complicated. See if you can locate the 4 bolts and remove them.

If you can get the motor assembly loose, you should be able to wiggle/turn it back & forth and eventually slide the whole auger out of the tube.

 

Should be something similar to this:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=OG9JnC5rGFk

 

My issue here seems to be the stove is almost an insert and I cannot get to the back of the stove. (It just barely fits on the hearth). So I can see it from the side but cannot pull from back. Its friggin heavy and I cannot lift it and move it off the hearth. Dexter, the auger is moving ever so little, and there was a lot of pellets backed up. I did watch some videos on this, but like I said can not get to the motor except for trying from the side. If the board was shot I assume in this case it would just be the auger portion, as the green auger light lights as normal and the motor does spin.

 

Update-
It appears I solved the problem. I was able to disconnect the back of the stove drop the auger out and about 5 handfuls of pellets came out with it! Fired it up, auger ran smooth, but on off blinked a lot. Did not shut down correctly, so I did a "hot" unplug and she fired back up! Did not run for too long, as it is a bit warm here today. Will need to start running it this weekend, so I am keeping my fingers crossed!!

 

Glad you were able to clear the auger blockage. By "hot unplug" do you mean you unplugged the stove while it was still burning? Did it start back up correctly and run through the start up cycle?

 

Yes smokin, she was turned off but did not shut down so I unplugged (read that was the best way to reset) then I loaded up pellets fired her up and she ran correctly (no flashing on/off switch and she turned off properly!

 

Welcome to the Show Birddog see how all the good folks here helped you solve the issue on your own and saved you some $$$ good job man

 

Yes they did, I have zip for confidence when it comes to this stuff (used to work on cars back when) and never have time to work on anything due to job, but I let it sit for a week got aggravated and got er done! Thanks all!! Next couple rounds on me!

 

We get thirsty around here