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[Little-m]

Halfway through my rib smoke last night the grille stopped working. Cracked it apart this aft and this is what I found. The motor was sitting on a 45* angle due to the broken shaft and therefore could not turn the auger. It turned itself 90 degrees, bending the metal shelf under it. Pretty strong motor I must say...

And no, there was no clog. Everything was fresh.

This is not a bash, just something that may happen to someone else. I honestly feel I purchased a unit built on Monday or something. This is the second issue I had with it since I bought it earlier this summer.

Mark

 

[jcam222]

Wow that sucks? What brand?

 

[pigbark]

Wow, the shear pin should keep that from happening... now they have to send you a new Auger and Pin.. what brand ya got ?

 

[Little-m]

PB.

It is possible the shaft had a crack in it, but there is no way to tell. The motor is not mounted to anything; it just hangs there, wobbles around and shifts position. This I think was probably what did it in - it was able to shift too much to one side and started a "jamming effect". Then it just progressively got worse as time went on.

 

[daveomak]

The auger on my pellet stove has a slip clutch.... It's been used a few times as I have found metal parts, in the pellets, from their extruder... nuts. bolts etc.... Too bad they don't do something like that....

 

[pigbark]

PB.

It is possible the shaft had a crack in it, but there is no way to tell. The motor is not mounted to anything; it just hangs there, wobbles around and shifts position. This I think was probably what did it in - it was able to shift too much to one side and started a "jamming effect". Then it just progressively got worse as time went on.

yea i would think the motor should be mounted.. it shouldnt be able to move around like that, just asking for problems... Like Dave said, if the pellet factory has a piece of metal or even a screw come off and it finds it way into a bag.. a clutch gear or a shear pin will save it from major damage.. you lost the entire end piece man.. you may need a new auger and shear pin, then try to find a way to mount the motor so it cant move around..

 

[Little-m]

yea i would think the motor should be mounted.. it shouldnt be able to move around like that, just asking for problems... Like Dave said, if the pellet factory has a piece of metal or even a screw come off and it finds it way into a bag.. a clutch gear or a shear pin will save it from major damage.. you lost the entire end piece man.. you may need a new auger and shear pin, then try to find a way to mount the motor so it cant move around..

Yup. Luck is not on my side though. Augers are back ordered 4-5 weeks. I wanted to get a few more smokes in before the snow flies. I have a turning center so I will just make my own bushing and weld it on. Then make a mount for the motor.

For China made stuff, it is always a race to the bottom. I bet the first run of grills off the assembly line were absolutely perfect.

I guess what pisses me off, is I (we) have to be the troubleshooter and repair man for these things. There is no such thing as reseller support with this stuff.

/rant

 

[martin1950]

You have my sincere condolences. Nothing worse than a busted pit.

 

[Little-m]

You have my sincere condolences. Nothing worse than a busted pit.

LOL thanks. This is strike two. If it breaks down one more time I am kicking it to the gutter.

Mark

 

[Little-m]

So here is a pic of the plate that the auger motor bent. It bent the plate enough that it had turned itself 90 degrees. Now you understand why i rant on about Chinese steel (I'm kidding...).

With the homemade bushing in place I added angled pieces on each side of the motor to stop it from twisting again. I also leveled the motor with the auger. Hopefully I won't encounter this issue again (yes, the white on the left is snow, unfortunately).

 

[daveomak]

Nice fix....

 

[pigbark]

if that dont hold it, I dont know what will.. good fix.

 

[Winterrider]

Nice repair... Pays to be handy or mechanically inclined. Probably just helped others who have or may encounter the same issue with this brand or others.

 

[browneyesvictim]

Excellent job! Nothing like a little ingenuity and elbow grease!