Please Help Wood Master 4400 Problem

[BulaBula]

Hello everyone,

Sorry for the first post to be me in need. I am going to be coming back to the site to introduce myself and check out some threads as soon as I get my heat back. This is my first year using the furnace, which I believe to be less than 5 years old. So here is my situation...


Short Version - Wood Master Heavy Duty 4400, Less than five years old
Furnace tripping circuit only when fan kicks on
Found one poor connection leading to fan, corrected wires, worked for less than 2 hours before it tripped again
Can't figure out how to unhook fan motor to check wire connections inside
Unsure of other connection locations that may be worth looking into

Full Version-

I had let the fire go out yesterday because it was going to be a fairly warm day and my wood supply is short (more on that at another time). I came home last night, got the fire cooking, then noticed that green light was not illuminated. I got the hose out and filled the system through the top of the furnace (the installer never plumbed in a valve to fill it because it was "really cold" when it was installed :bash. The furnace took very little water before it was full. Everything was good, normal, and the water was getting up to temperature.


Two hours or so later I look out the window to see that nothing on the furnace is illuminated. I immediately go outside and confirm that the furnace had lost power. I head in, reset the tripped circuit breaker. Then I head out, reset the stove, and the second I turn on the fan...POOF out goes the power to the furnace.


So now I am thinking maybe a wire came loose and is shorting somewhere leading to the fan. I opened the cover on the door, opened the electric box inside to find some sloppy wire nut connections. There was exposed wire hanging out of both wires. So I think Bingo!, problem solved. I undo the connections (one at a time to keep the wires straight), straighten them out, re-wire nut them, and heat shrink. I then reassemble, flip the circuit breaker, go out to the furnace. When I hit the fan the power stayed on and the furnace appeared to be working properly once again. I stayed out getting the fire started for a bit and then headed inside.


Well an hour or so later I am getting ready to leave for work and the furnace is once again without power. I once again take the cover off the door, open the electric box, inspect my wiring repair and determine that is not the problem. So, now I have called out of work and here I sit telling you guys as much info as I can in hopes of getting this straightened out.


My thought is still that there is a wiring problem somewhere with the fan. The motor on the fan is a Dayton 1 1/2 hp something. The label is facing back against the door and I have crammed my head in as many ways as I could to try to read it, even tried taking pictures. I am thinking I should open the motor up and inspect those connection. The only thing is I can't figure out how this motor is attached. I was thinking maybe it twists and drops out but didn't want to force anything without knowing for sure.


One other thought is that maybe there is a short on the fan switch connection, although I am really unsure. Also, Winter has been a bit tough and I got laid off for a couple weeks that I wasn't planning on so I don't really have the money to call a repairman or buy anything I absolutely don't need to.

Any ideas/suggestions are greatly greatly appreciated. I can also post pictures of the said motor if that will help.

Thanks,
Matt

 

[beerman6]

Can you disconnect the fan and try it without?
That would rule out the motor.

I do not own one so I cant tell you how to remove it.sorry

Does it also have a solenoid that opens a damper when the fan comes on?
That could be bad as well.

 

[OH_Varmntr]

Where do you live?

How big of breaker do you have feeding the unit, and does it supply power for anything else?

 

[phantomblack]

Where are you at with this thing? Do you have a clamp on amp meter that you can check amp draw of the fan when it turns on? Also do you have large enough wire ran out to the stove to support it's amperage demands. Also you may want to check the connections in the furnace where the power from your house connects. Have you checked to see that your pump is not pulling to many amps also? I had a taco 009 that was popping the fuse in my central boiler.

 

[Biglurr54]

i have the same boiler. I replaced my fan due to it slowing down and not providing the cfm flow it should be. It might be a good idea to buy a new fan. They are $75 and its nice to have on on the shelf in case one breaks. When the flapper closes on the boiler (reaches temp) the fan is trapped in the fire box which is not smoldering and smoking. That smolder and smoke can work its way into the shaft of the fan which will slow it down and eventually bind it up. This would create a large load on start up. Electric motors can pull 3-4 times their running amperage on start up. There is a solenoid for the flapper too that can get stuck and draw.

The other thing to check is if anything is wired off the boiler. My boiler is on 12/3 wire and its 120 ft from the 15 amp breaker. I haven't tripper the breaker yet and I have a large 011 pump on it. I am planning on running a feed to my shed for the boiler but at most it will be able to run is some LED spot lights in the winter. During the summer i can run other things in the shed when the boilers off but the circuit is pretty maxed out when the boiler is running.

Check those things first. If you are in the upstate NY area I have a spare fan and i can come help you out with it.

 

[joshdan50050]

This is my first time on here. I also have the same problem as bula. I did the exact same thing, fill the water which it didn't take very much. Now the fan keeps tripping the breaker. I replaced the solenoid hoping it was the problem but no trip again. Wiring looks good and just put a new motor on last year. Any ideas?

 

[Biglurr54]

Check the wiring in the bottom left side. Nice tear it up there. Do your best to trace each wire with a mutli meter. I bet you will find a broken wore in the bottom left corner due to some mice.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

 

[joshdan50050]

I did figure it out, thanks. It was the snap point. When I filled the boiler somehow water ran down the boiler and soaked the snap point. But thanks for replying