It seems like two or three times a week I get a call or email from a customer who is looking for information or parts to assist them with rebuilding a motor for their Whitfield pellet stove. This can be and auger motor, a convection fan or an exhaust/combustion blower. Usually there is a bearing or a bushing that has failed and it seems like there should be parts to fix it.
Why are these parts so hard to find? Most of these Englander motors are very inexpensive costing less that $200. The companies that make these do not make a lot of money on them. If they were to provide parts they would kill their sales for these small simple motors. With just a few parts costing less than $20 you could get them to pretty much last forever but if you did you wouldn’t ever buy a new motor. Motor manufacturers are going to do what is most profitable to them as long as the market will bear it and that is to sell only new motors with no replacement parts.
Surely there are some parts you can replace, right? Wrong! My experience of 14 years in this business has never yielded a success story in rebuilding motors. Many have tried only to find that the part they seek can only be obtained if you buy 5,000 of them from china.
I did have one guy figure out that he could use a skateboard bearing to repair his exhaust fan but he burnt out the bearing before he realized the need for high temperature grease in the bearing. When he removed the bearing and tried a new one he bent the shaft which thwarted his attempts.
By this time I have heard every story in the book on trying to repair these small motors and thus far it has been a total waste of time for all who have made attempts. Save yourself the time and headache of trying to do this. Bottom line, there are no parts. You have to buy a new motor.
For pellet stove parts or technical assistance visit my store at by clicking this link.
