harmon mag stoker leaking gear oil?

Just took noticed to a big puddle of what looks like gear oil on the floor on the back of my harmon mag stoker. It appears to be coming from the feed motor. Are those motors filled with oil?
I'm going to call the dealer tomorrow since it's still under warranty yet. The stove is only 2 years old

The gear reducer housing is filled with oil. Sounds like something bad happened. I would shut it down and remove the motor for a full inspection.... better to get it out of the way now rather than wait till real cold.

Usually the gearbox should not be filled to the top, but to a level that is near the input shaft level (less than half full). There should be a plug on the side for the level reading, the level should not exceed the height of this plug. Overfilling can leak/and or damage the drive. There should be no oil in the motor but if there is, repair the problem and clean the oil up. It should not hurt the motor. Some submersible pump motors actually run immersed in oil.

First a little info with the stove Bought the harman mag stoker 12/09/2005. first week of running the stove the feed motor failed. Would overheat and stop.The dealer replaced the motor under warranty.New motor lasted 1.5 months and started to do the samething again.motor replaced once again. At the start of the heating season in 06 the motor would get hot to the touch after 15 min of running. gets to the point were if u have your hand about an inch away u can feel the heat.Called dealer again. They called harman and harman said they can't replace under warranty till it actually failed. Ran all season and it didn't stop nor was there any oil leaking. Stove has been running about a month now when i noticed the oil leaking out of the output shaft. Called dealer. Dealer called harman. Harman told dealer it's not oil filled but packed with grease. Harman is saying the motor got hot and melted the grease. Still won't replace cause it's still working. Dealer asked me to try and get actual temps of the motor after it has been running for awhile and call him back. Well that motor is hitting 162 deg. When i call the dealer back on Monday i'm going to ask for the intire feed system be replaced. i've had problems with the feed motor since day one getting hot and failing. So i guess i'll find out if harman is commited to the custumer as they claim. If not i guess i'll have to take a ride up to there main office and raise a little hell...lol

Should have remembered that from last year. I now recall all the posts about motor temps, I even took the cover off mine and put a fan back there after I discovered it was running over 100*.

Just out of curiosity what are your stroke and timer settings? I alleviated the problem last year by increasing the stroke and reducing the on time and extending the off time.

Good luck with the factory, I wonder if there is a stove lemon law?

When the dealer replace the stoker motor, did they ever replace the capacitor? A bad capacitor could cause the motor to run hotter than it should.

I've added a small muffin fan in the stoker cover to keep the motor cool, it comes on with the stoker. Seems to do the trick, the motor never runs hot anymore.

Hey guys,

Just curious, as I have a magnum stoker as well. Do we need to add oil to the motor at any time?

lime4x4 wrote:First a little info with the stove Bought the harman mag stoker 12/09/2005. first week of running the stove the feed motor failed. Would overheat and stop.The dealer replaced the motor under warranty.New motor lasted 1.5 months and started to do the samething again.motor replaced once again. At the start of the heating season in 06 the motor would get hot to the touch after 15 min of running. gets to the point were if u have your hand about an inch away u can feel the heat.Called dealer again. They called harman and harman said they can't replace under warranty till it actually failed. Ran all season and it didn't stop nor was there any oil leaking. Stove has been running about a month now when i noticed the oil leaking out of the output shaft. Called dealer. Dealer called harman. Harman told dealer it's not oil filled but packed with grease. Harman is saying the motor got hot and melted the grease. Still won't replace cause it's still working. Dealer asked me to try and get actual temps of the motor after it has been running for awhile and call him back. Well that motor is hitting 162 deg. When i call the dealer back on Monday i'm going to ask for the intire feed system be replaced. i've had problems with the feed motor since day one getting hot and failing. So i guess i'll find out if harman is commited to the custumer as they claim. If not i guess i'll have to take a ride up to there main office and raise a little hell...lol

The motor should have a thermostat built in that would trip if exceeding a certain temp . I would also take a current reading on the motor,FLA (full load amps ) should be on the name plate . If it is using extra current which it sounds like it is then I would check for a bind in the system either the gearbox or the the mechanics of the system . If the current draw is high with no binds then I would call that a failed motor .A bad motor dosen't have to stop,but you will be making the electric co very happy . If there are binds fix them an check current again . Dave

jimbo970 wrote:...Do we need to add oil to the motor at any time?

No as lime said it's grease according to his dealer. In that case the only way it will need service is if it overheats. The grease will be changed to oil most probably if overheated and you will get an indication (a bit of oil leaking out).

I just reach through the hole in the cover occasionally and check the temp (carefully!). If it's too hot to touch just keep an eye on things and possibly remove the cover and either put a fan there to cool it or ad a muffin fan as highlander did. As I said in my previous post, I have had good luck changing the feed stroke and timer settings to make the motor run less to get the same amount of coal.

From what I have seen on the forum these motors do not have a high failure rate. Lime 4X4's case seems to be the exception rather than the rule.

So if I have this correct, I should reach back to where the coal feeder motor is and put my hand on the box to see if its hot?? or are you guys talking about the other dist\combustion motors??

The stroke adjustment rod sticks out of the cover for the feed motor. You can remove the cover or just reach in to feel the motor temp. The cover won't be as warm as the motor so it is not an accurate way to check.

The other two motors (convection and combustion) are not an issue that I know of. Except one thing to look for is that the combustion motor fits tight in the slot. I had my stove go out when the motor backed out of the slot and was no longer feeding air. All you have to do is bend one of the tabs slightly to make it fit tightly in the slot.

I have had a hot motor since day one. Dec. 2005. I removed the cover at the beginning of last season. I had started a post I think it was last year. Now the cover is on a shelf in the basement. The motor is still hot. Now I'm thinking Energy=Heat=$$$$$ May hook up a computer fan as suggested.
Stay warm Jimmy