Wallas 95D Heater Cover Fan Not Working

[sjhantzis]

My 95D Wallas stove starts and works fine but the fan for the heater top doesn't work when I lower the hood. The unit has very few hours on it. Any thoughts?

 

[dutch123]

Look underneath at back of stove you will see a lever conected to hood this actuates a switch when hood is closed, check for corosion you might be able to repair otherwise replacing this unit is a good start.

 

[journey on]

Well, how about that. The darn thing died this summer on Journey On and I'm going to share what I found out.

First, we got through the summer with an ECOFan which is actually better than the lid fan. First, the E-fan is quiet. Second, the E-fan can be pointed at the V-berth so it warms that place up a little before you get out. And, finally, the E-fan doesn't wear out.

Second, while on the trip, I called Mike at Scan Marine for advice. Mike is a very helpful person, pointed out the switch is $75 and he would replace it if we dropped it off, for the $150 cleaning fee. This later grew to $100 for the part and a bit more for the installation. Fair enough. However, Mike pointed out that a 5 yr/old Wallas needed several more parts replace to guarantee reliable operation.

Third, so this has become a home repair job. I pulled the Wallis out with the help of Tom/Primitive PDF doc: Wallas Stove Service. He doesn't mention the lid, but the aft screws on each side remove the lid, which is shown below. You'll also have to disconnect 2 sets of wires, one to the lid switch, the other to the relay.

[/img]

You're looking at the bottom of the lid/cover, with the blower fan on the right, at the rear of the lid. The black cube at the top right is the power relay which drive the fan motor. The most important part is at the bottom right and is the lid blower switch, complete with junction board and a thermal switch. The problem seems to be not with the micro-switch, but corrosion on the board. That's the $100 item, and I'm not questioning the price. What I'm worried about is that Mike said that switch is prone to die, since it's in a place which catches a lot of crud.

My plan is to replace that microswitch with a manual switch that can be turned on when we want heat from the Wallas. Have one i bought for $5 from the auto parts store, and I'll mount it at a distance from the stove. That switch only drives the relay, so there's no real power going through it.

At the same time, I'll follow Mike's suggestions, and replace the start-up motor, etc, etc, as detailed in Toms document. that should only be ~$100 in parts (at this time.) And after reading the above, you may want to send that stove to Scan Marine. I figure the total bill would be ~$500.

By the way, just to make you happier, it was mentioned that the Wallas 85 model, introduced right after we bought Journey On, fixes all these problems. The story of my life.

Boris

 

[Hunkydory]

SJ

All good stuff from Boris.  One other thing you might check is the fan motor & if it's running but the fan isn't then the motor shaft to the fan bushing.  On our last Southeast Alaska cruise I had to tear the Wallas down as show by Boris in Sitka, Alaska.  The shaft is superglued to the bushing & found the glue had failed.  Repaired that but in the process of checking it applied direct 12 V to the fan motor & found out quick that's a no no.  Voltage fed back & took out the switch & junction board shown by Boris.  Thought at the time it was the main control board it took out so ended up without the Wallas for the rest of the cruise, which was over a  month.

Jay

 

[Captains Cat]

And here is the THREAD about disassembly of one. Have fun!

 

[My IRA]

Wow,

For the money that these stove/heaters cost, one would think that they would hold up better.

 

[sjhantzis]

Great post, Journey On, which Ecofan model to you use? I see there are two listed for wood stove use, an 800 and an 812.

Thanks,

SJH

Well, how about that. The darn thing died this summer on Journey On and I'm going to share what I found out.

First, we got through the summer with an ECOFan which is actually better than the lid fan. First, the E-fan is quiet. Second, the E-fan can be pointed at the V-berth so it warms that place up a little before you get out. And, finally, the E-fan doesn't wear out.

Second, while on the trip, I called Mike at Scan Marine for advice. Mike is a very helpful person, pointed out the switch is $75 and he would replace it if we dropped it off, for the $150 cleaning fee. This later grew to $100 for the part and a bit more for the installation. Fair enough. However, Mike pointed out that a 5 yr/old Wallas needed several more parts replace to guarantee reliable operation.

Third, so this has become a home repair job. I pulled the Wallis out with the help of Tom/Primitive PDF doc: Wallas Stove Service. He doesn't mention the lid, but the aft screws on each side remove the lid, which is shown below. You'll also have to disconnect 2 sets of wires, one to the lid switch, the other to the relay.

[/img]

You're looking at the bottom of the lid/cover, with the blower fan on the right, at the rear of the lid. The black cube at the top right is the power relay which drive the fan motor. The most important part is at the bottom right and is the lid blower switch, complete with junction board and a thermal switch. The problem seems to be not with the micro-switch, but corrosion on the board. That's the $100 item, and I'm not questioning the price. What I'm worried about is that Mike said that switch is prone to die, since it's in a place which catches a lot of crud.

My plan is to replace that microswitch with a manual switch that can be turned on when we want heat from the Wallas. Have one i bought for $5 from the auto parts store, and I'll mount it at a distance from the stove. That switch only drives the relay, so there's no real power going through it.

At the same time, I'll follow Mike's suggestions, and replace the start-up motor, etc, etc, as detailed in Toms document. that should only be ~$100 in parts (at this time.) And after reading the above, you may want to send that stove to Scan Marine. I figure the total bill would be ~$500.

By the way, just to make you happier, it was mentioned that the Wallas 85 model, introduced right after we bought Journey On, fixes all these problems. The story of my life.

Boris

 

[rogerbum]

Great post, Journey On, which Ecofan model to you use? I see there are two listed for wood stove use, an 800 and an 812.

Thanks,

SJH

Most here that use them use the two blade model (the 800). It's smaller and easier to stow.

 

[journey on]

I bought the cheapest EcoFan available. Works great.

I put it over the small burner on the Wallas, so it blows over the large burner. I once made the mistake of putting it over the large burner so it would run faster. It did run faster, to where I thought it would come apart. But those clever folks at EcoFan put a small metal insert in the base to lift it off the burner when it gets too hot, sort of a thermal safety switch.

Put it over the smaller burner.

Boris

 

[sjhantzis]

I tripped the microswitch with a fillet knife and it seems to be working fine -- for the moment.

I bought the cheapest EcoFan available. Works great.

I put it over the small burner on the Wallas, so it blows over the large burner. I once made the mistake of putting it over the large burner so it would run faster. It did run faster, to where I thought it would come apart. But those clever folks at EcoFan put a small metal insert in the base to lift it off the burner when it gets too hot, sort of a thermal safety switch.

Put it over the smaller burner.

Boris

 

[Pandion]

My 95D Wallas stove starts and works fine but the fan for the heater top doesn't work when I lower the hood. The unit has very few hours on it. Any thoughts?

Has anyone had the opposite problem--fan won't turn off when the lid is raised?

 

[sjhantzis]

The fan has failed to turn on a couple more times since my original post and I've always "corrected" the problem by tapping it with a filet knife.

 

[Hunkydory]

My 95D Wallas stove starts and works fine but the fan for the heater top doesn't work when I lower the hood. The unit has very few hours on it. Any thoughts?

Has anyone had the opposite problem--fan won't turn off when the lid is raised?

. Andy, yes if you mean the 95D, but only due to the lid not being in the correct position to contact the switch in the up position. On our replacement 85 model I noticed the fan always ran regardless of lid position & was concerned about it causing shortened fan life, as with our 95 model we had to replace several fan motors, along with the one time problem of the fan shaft slipping in the bushing. From a call to Scan Marine, I was advised the 85 model was designed to have the fan run continuously & it's motor failure a very remote possibility, due to it being designed to run many thousands of hours.

Jay

 

[Chester]

Love-Hate.
The concept is great, the execution... Not so much.
Look at your tiny cell phone and it's incredible abilities.
Now, look at the crude 20th century motherboard, sensors, switches and unrealistic voltage demands on the Wallas.

 

[Pandion]

The fan has failed to turn on a couple more times since my original post and I've always "corrected" the problem by tapping it with a filet knife.

Thanks. I'll start tapping.

 

[TyBoo]

The fan has failed to turn on a couple more times since my original post and I've always "corrected" the problem by tapping it with a filet knife.

Mine did the same thing starting year before last. The required tapping got progressively more violent until it quit working at all late last year.

I got an Ecofan but don't like it sitting up there while underway so I also mounted a 12v fan above the stove that blows down onto it.

I will probably do as Boris plans and see if replacing the switch with a manual will work. If not, I will leave it like it is.

My stove is an old one, circa 1999, and the last time I sent it to Scan will be the last time. They replaced some parts with used parts - had they asked first I would have said to use new - but the bill was still around $600. And they did nothing about the fan problem I asked them to fix. Something has changed up there, because the service isn't like it used to be.

 

[hardee]

Andy, When I saw this thread listed I wondered if you had seen it. Guess so. Not much joy in this set, so far.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

 

[Pandion]

Harvey, hopefully the switch has another year or two of filet knife-tapping left in it before it gives up the ghost. At least it's stuck in the on position. If it dies completely I'll look at an Ecofan or maybe attempt to install an independent switch, as has been suggested.

But the stove itself is apparently in its geriatric years; 13 years old and it's had three separate pricey part failures already this year. Unless I can buy some kind of health care plan for it, or pay for a comprehensive overhaul that includes a warranty, I can't afford--ching ching--to keep taking it back to Scan Marine.

 

[hardee]

Understand. And if you are using it primarily for cabin heat, you want the fan on anyway. That other little stove works great for cooking, so on with the knife tapping.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

 

[TyBoo]

My plan is to replace that microswitch with a manual switch that can be turned on when we want heat from the Wallas.

Works great. Thanks!

I even had an unused switch on the helm panel I was able to use.