Direct Vent Maintenance

Guys,

I have an older Keystoker 70,000 BTU. It has the direct vent option. I burnt it for the first time last year. The stove is located on the first floor (not the damp basement.) At the end of the heating season I did a good cleaning on the interior of the stove. I did not close of the exhaust pipe last year at the end of the heating season until mid-summer. I will have to replace the exterior section of the pipe at a minimum. I am wondering how my direct vent motor held up. It is not convenient to remove the motor and attached pipe, but I don't want to take any chances in getting things ready before the heating season.

What's the prescribed maintenance for a direct vent motor?

Thanks
Joe

The vent mechanism gets clogged with flyash.. with the summer humidity it may have caused a fair amount of corrosion... so it would be a good idea to remove and dissassemble the direct vent unit, clean and lubricate the motor.

Greg L

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I took the motor apart last night. Looks dirty, but I don't see any corrosion. Lucky break. Must be the dry inside air coming in from the intake fought off the summer humidity. What should I use to clean and lube the motor and blade. There is also a combustion motor, gear motor, and convection blower motor. I was going to vacuum them out real good and use 3-in-1 oil to lube them. Does that sound OK?

The other question I have is about the combustion blower. My old Keystoker uses a thermostat and timer system to call for coal as well as combustion air. I have done some reading about getting the most out of your coal (no un-burned coal in the ash pan). I'm planning on hard-wiring my combustion blower this year and then just using the stroke length adjustment to dial it in. I think I'll get a more complete burn this way. (I've read about the coal-trol but I'm not looking for another investment in the stove right now.) My only thought about this mod is that I may have to adjust my timer mechanism since I'm messing with factory settings. (The timer is something I'm not too excited about having to mess with.)

Any opinions on my maintenance and mod plans above would be appreciated.

Thanks again,
Joe

Yes, the DV should be cleaned with a wire brush and any crud/ash buildup cleaned the best you can, If you can get the blower out of the DV housing for a good cleaning, but you may have to seal it back up when done.

There should be a couple holes in the case to lube the bearings, may be on the bottom, depending on how it's mounted.

Yes, the combustion air blower should run all the time, the timer (if an Intermatic one), can be adjusted easily if it has the PINs.

Give us the settings currently and maybe a picture of your setup, we can then tell you what needs done. I think mine is 2 mins ON/10 mins OFF and seems to work good for idle. It;s never gone out.

The stroke length should only be adjusted so you don't push hot coals off the end on a FULL burn, I think mine is at 2 full turns out to start and seems to work pretty good - Clockwise in - more coal and counter clockwise out, less coal. It is just trial error.

I am a newbie this year but have read many threads and learned alot. From what I have read I would stay away from the "household" 3 in 1 oil. These motors are under extreme conditions use a SAE 30 or 10w30 motor oil will last alot longer and do a better job.
Chris

Don;t use Automotive Oil 10W30, use the recommended ELECTRIC MOTOR OIL like SAE20 or something.
They make a 3 in 1 Oil specifically for electric motors.

I use Supco Zoom Spout MO 98. The owner of a HVAC supply store near me recommended it. He has a Keystoker 90K stove also and carries all of the motors for them. This oil is for high speed shafts and bearings. Claims to be non gumming and for use in electric motors. Has a tube that pulls out of the top and fits right down into the oil slots on the motors. Seems to work fine.

Jeff