My husband got home early today and decided to dig into the pellet stove and get it cleaned out and ready for winter. First thing he noticed while cleaning it out was how worn the auger was. We knew that we were going to have to check into replacing it sooner or later. We had some issues last year with the auger making some noises occasionally and when my husband cleaned the stove out monthly he could see it waring out more and more, so, we knew it was going to need attention. The pellet stove is a Harmon which is a pretty popular name brand that is know for how well it is built. When we called to get the part we were not surprised that they had it in stock.
We got out the vacuum cleaner and my husband began taking the stove apart.
Since we have pets we had an issue of pet hair to clean out around the fans and motors. Then we emptied all the leftover pellets out of the hopper and the top feed tube. My husband then took apart the auger assembly to replace the auger. Then he cleaned out the lower feed tube before putting the auger back into place. This feed tube was filled with a tar like substance that had to be scrapped and chiseled out. We are not sure if this is something that should be done on an annual basis or if this build up was caused by the quality of pellets we had last year. Early in the season last year we purchased a ton of pellets that as the season went on they seemed to disintegrate or turn into sawdust. We reported this back to the company that made them and they told us they did have an issue with the adhesive and would replace the pellets.
Removing the damaged auger from the auger assembly
We have a rather small house to heat but where we live the winter temperatures can get quite severe. We chose the Wood Pellet Stove because it doesn’t need a chimney. It only needed to be vented to the outside. This made installation very easy. The stove doesn’t get hot on the sides or even the top so you can put it anywhere in your home and it is safe. We use less than 2 tons of pellets a season (again our house is very small) so it is very economical. 
Related Posts -
Harmon P38 Wood Pellet Stove Maintenance Image via Wikipedia It is recommended that the Pellet Stoves get regular maintenance on them once a month. This means you need to shut them down and let them cool off and clean them out. This is by far the worst part of having a Wood Pellet Stove. We...... -
Opening Day Deer Hunting Season, Upstate NY Image by laffy4k via FlickrWell, the guys are off to hunting camp. Final shopping and packing up yesterday left my house a lot less messy and a lot more quiet. This year they opted to share the cooking and my husband elected me to cook a pot of chili. Our...... - Time to Fire Up the Wood Pellet Stove Image via Wikipedia We finally had to fire up the wood pellet stove. Once the temperatures hit below 40 degrees on a consistent basis we have to start up the wood pellet stove. We usually get by until around the first of November. Like our neighbors, family and many others......
-
Deer Hunting Season- Last Week Here in Upstate NY Image by Crashworks via FlickrToday is the last week of Deer Hunting here in Upstate New York. It is the first day of Muzzleloader or Black Powder Rifle hunting. My husband did not get a deer yet this season. The weather has been rather warm for hunting to be good...... -
Ice Fishing in Upstate New York Image via Wikipedia Well as the seasons change we go on to the next hobby or interest. Now that the cold has set in and temperatures have dropped for a long enough time to freeze the lakes over we are getting ready for Ice Fishing. It is important to......
Related Websites -
What a Difference a Year Makes Today is Day 2 of the SITS Girls Back to Blogging event. Thank you to the event sponsors Standards of Excellence, Westar Kitchen and Bath and Florida Builder Appliances. Today’s assignment is to re-upload a post you wish more people had read and explain why it was important to...... -
6 Tips to Save Money on Electricity The following is a post from staff writer Crystal at Budgeting in the Fun Stuff, where she writes about finding the balance between paying your bills, saving for your future, and budgeting for the fun stuff along the way. I am not what anyone would call extremely frugal, but I...... - Warm Your House Throughout By Installing A Pellet Stove This Winter by Xavier Toolhausens Warming your house can be quite expensive, especially when you live in a colder climate. Traditional home heaters and air systems can cost an arm and a leg to install and continue to cost a lot to run. Though, there is an alternative method that is a......
- Is The US's Economic Strength On A Permanent Decline? Jim Rogers thinks the US has lost its title as the world's economic engine. He thinks the subprime mess will last for years, Bernanke doesn't know anything about the economy and should resign, the US dollar is on a permanent decline and China will become the world's foremost economic power.......
- Guest Post - 2 Energy Tax Credits Expiring This Year (Once again, I have the pleasure of providing The Amateur Financier readers with a high quality guest post. This one, from Matt Robinson of TaxDebtHelp.com, provides a short overview on some of the tax credits that expire at the end of the year. Get them while they're hot!) 2 Energy......
December 25th, 2009 at 12:34 am