# Harman Accentra 52i – problems in paradise



## HP52NOVA (Dec 17, 2014)

So we went ahead and purchased a Harman Accentra 52i pellet insert.   I was debating between the Enviro and the Harman and eventually went with the Harman because of its reputation and got a really good deal on it.    The stove was installed in May 2104, and we started using it this season around mid-September.   I got 4 tons of Hamer pellets (via our local Southern States – statesman pellets), 1 ton of Turman pellets and a few misc ones to try.  

The issues started around October when we started seeing a lot of partially burned pellets in the Ash tray, glass was turning black within 24-48 hours and it kept getting worse.   So I called my dealer to find they went out if business.   Great, now I am stock with a problematic stove with no warranty on the install!    

So I called Harman direct and they gave me an alternate dealer: Miller Ace Hardware out of Stephens City, VA.   Very nice guys - told the service manager I have a problem and need to stove and install reviewed.   They came in to perform cleaning, no clue on how install of how to troubleshot a Harman stove, so we ended up cleaning the stove in November, it was very clean indeed.   

I thought things were a bit better for like a week, but not really, as then they came back in force.   I got a 3 blink status message two weeks ago, did a manual reset.   Then again earlier this week, again anther manual reset.   This morning we woke up to cold house, stove was down with now a 6 blink error (with plenty of pellets)

Called Harman again, they were not really helpful.  Very sympathetic on the phone (oh, we are so sorry), but no help so far.   I am under the first year warranty.

So I now called another dealer: Mace Energy Supply out of Smithsburg, MD.  They will be here next week and will have to double charge me because they are over 50 miles away…great.

On my end: I tried reducing the burn rate, different pellets, etc.   That made things a bit better but the issues were still there and we had reduced output.   I follow the instructions on cleaning, scraping the burn pot twice a day now, cleaning the fire box (ash removal is now daily and massive); I even clean the little chamber under the burn pot (the igniter area) and vacuum it out.    The rest is supposedly yearly cleaning stuff, unless I am missing something.   Between the error status codes, mounds of ash and overall headache (not to talk about $$$), I am wondering if we made the right decision here.

Any suggestions from the community will be welcome.     Thanks in advance.


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## gfreek (Dec 17, 2014)

Defective ESP (Exhaust Sensing Probe) ??  3 blinks


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## bags (Dec 17, 2014)

How many pellets have you burned in the 52 total starting at bag 1?


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## Edward Hughes (Dec 17, 2014)

HP52NOVA said:


> So we went ahead and purchased a Harman Accentra 52i pellet insert.   I was debating between the Enviro and the Harman and eventually went with the Harman because of its reputation and got a really good deal on it.    The stove was installed in May 2104, and we started using it this season around mid-September.   I got 4 tons of Hamer pellets (via our local Southern States – statesman pellets), 1 ton of Turman pellets and a few misc ones to try.
> 
> The issues started around October when we started seeing a lot of partially burned pellets in the Ash tray, glass was turning black within 24-48 hours and it kept getting worse.   So I called my dealer to find they went out if business.   Great, now I am stock with a problematic stove with no warranty on the install!
> 
> ...


Hate to see this happen. There are plenty of Harman owners here and should be here After dinner.
This kind of service makes a lot of us think, I'll just keep what WE have.
I hope these owners burn the phone to coporate HQ, An put a stop to this BS.
GOOD LUCK


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## Randy Fischer (Dec 17, 2014)

HP52NOVA said:


> So we went ahead and purchased a Harman Accentra 52i pellet insert.   I was debating between the Enviro and the Harman and eventually went with the Harman because of its reputation and got a really good deal on it.    The stove was installed in May 2104, and we started using it this season around mid-September.   I got 4 tons of Hamer pellets (via our local Southern States – statesman pellets), 1 ton of Turman pellets and a few misc ones to try.
> 
> The issues started around October when we started seeing a lot of partially burned pellets in the Ash tray, glass was turning black within 24-48 hours and it kept getting worse.   So I called my dealer to find they went out if business.   Great, now I am stock with a problematic stove with no warranty on the install!
> 
> ...


 Sorry to hear you having issues.  We are down the road from you in Purcellville.  New 52i as well.  We got ours from Miller.  I was under the impression that Millers uses ALJ Services for their service and installs. Is that who came out?  He is a factory trained tech and very good (as far as I know thus far).  We went to those folks up in Smithsburg when we were looking, they REALLY did not want to come down this far and made it pretty plain we were going to pay out the butt if they did.  Assume Rusty's was your dealer? Heard Harman yanked their business from them.  Let me know if you want the contact info for ALJ Services.  He is coming to the house on the 31st to replace our door (which by the way the dealer, Millers Hardware, replaced for free when a piece of the enamel fell off). We are burning Turmans as well, hope you did not pay Rusty's price for them!


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## HP52NOVA (Dec 17, 2014)

bags said:


> How many pellets have you burned in the 52 total starting at bag 1?



We burned about 80-90 bags so far.


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## HP52NOVA (Dec 17, 2014)

gfreek said:


> Defective ESP (Exhaust Sensing Probe) ??  3 blinks



Well, now I get 6 blinks and the stove will maybe run on low for an hour and shutdown.


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## HP52NOVA (Dec 17, 2014)

Randy Fischer said:


> Sorry to hear you having issues.  We are down the road from you in Purcellville.  New 52i as well.  We got ours from Miller.  I was under the impression that Millers uses ALJ Services for their service and installs. Is that who came out?  He is a factory trained tech and very good (as far as I know thus far).  We went to those folks up in Smithsburg when we were looking, they REALLY did not want to come down this far and made it pretty plain we were going to pay out the butt if they did.  Assume Rusty's was your dealer? Heard Harman yanked their business from them.  Let me know if you want the contact info for ALJ Services.  He is coming to the house on the 31st to replace our door (which by the way the dealer, Millers Hardware, replaced for free when a piece of the enamel fell off). We are burning Turmans as well, hope you did not pay Rusty's price for them!



Our dealer was UniqeHeat from Stephens City VA, it was run by a guy named John Butcher.   He was a gold dealer with harman, sold us the stove and did the install.  He is a good guy, hard working but apperantly not a very good business manager as the company went bankrupt during the summer.  They just fell of the face of the earth  ,phones disconected, etc.   We spoke to Harman and they sent us to Miller's.  Millers did not use to sell Harman and only started this summer when John went out of business as HHT gave it to them.  They only sold quad until then.  I never worked with Rusty, his price for the enviro stove was very $$$.   Miller's sent a guy named Tom, he seems to work for them and know how to work on quads but was new to Harman.  I do know ALJ, they also gave us a quate when we were looking.  They must have a contract with Millers's of some sort as I don't see ALJ listed as a registered dealer on their own so was hesitant about calling them.  I hope your are happy with your stove.  Ours is now down completely and the old furnace is cranking back up


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## bags (Dec 17, 2014)

3 blinks = ESP probe is bad or bad connection. Have you done a manual reset? Unplug the stove for a bit and plug it back in? Your owners manual has a trouble shooting section. Have you read the manual? It's very helpful and beneficial if you do.

I also question the "cleaning" the guys did that knew nothing about service and installing to begin with. I am a contractor but knew nothing about pellet stoves and installed mine. I am no pellet pro by any means but have figured some stuff out. Obviously more than these cleaners have. Has the probe even been cleaned? Did you do that when you cleaned? They say it's a put it off service to a degree cleaning on the probe for awhile but it does not hurt to make sure it's clean. After almost 2 tons ran thru it there can be a bunch of dirty stuff. I was shocked at what I saw in certain areas after a short time or one ton. What exactly have you done cleaning your stove? Scraping the pot, cleaning the glass, and emptying the ash pan is not a clean so to speak.

Locate and clean the probe 1st. Do a regular recommended clean at that time for starters. Do the manual reset to see if it resets the ESP probe. Let us know. Read your manual if you haven't also.


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## Big papa (Dec 17, 2014)

Call harman and see if they will send you a new ESP and we will talk you through replacing it and harman ultimately is responsible for the warranty they set the warranty parameters and had it written into the manual not the dealer that closed.


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## BrotherBart (Dec 17, 2014)

Probably cost $50 bucks to file in small claims court and get HHT's attention.

It's their warranty. Not the dealer's.


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## bags (Dec 17, 2014)

6 blinks is incomplete combustion which you have had from what you are saying. Find your manual and trouble shoot it yourself so you get an understanding. There are suggestions in a trouble shooting section somewhere in there. To me it sounds like proper cleanings have not happened or something with your probe. Again, no expert here but you have to start somewhere to eliminate what it is not. To rectify the 6 blinks you need to turn your dial to OFF then back to your room or stove setting.

Hopefully and more experienced Harman guru can chime in. For your stove being so new and what it is this is not very common from what I've seen.


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## Randy Fischer (Dec 18, 2014)

HP52NOVA said:


> Our dealer was UniqeHeat from Stephens City VA, it was run by a guy named John Butcher.   He was a gold dealer with harman, sold us the stove and did the install.  He is a good guy, hard working but apperantly not a very good business manager as the company went bankrupt during the summer.  They just fell of the face of the earth  ,phones disconected, etc.   We spoke to Harman and they sent us to Miller's.  Millers did not use to sell Harman and only started this summer when John went out of business as HHT gave it to them.  They only sold quad until then.  I never worked with Rusty, his price for the enviro stove was very $$$.   Miller's sent a guy named Tom, he seems to work for them and know how to work on quads but was new to Harman.  I do know ALJ, they also gave us a quate when we were looking.  They must have a contract with Millers's of some sort as I don't see ALJ listed as a registered dealer on their own so was hesitant about calling them.  I hope your are happy with your stove.  Ours is now down completely and the old furnace is cranking back up


 I wondered why UniqeHeat never would anwser the phone. As far as I know, I think Alan Jackson who owns ALJ services only does service, not sales and he does have a deal with Millers to do thier service, very highly rated by Angies list. You can reach them at 540-349-3306. As I mentioned, factory trained by Harman.  I have only burned Turmans so far, without something to compare it to, dont know if it's ashy or not. I can get 4-5 days before glass needs to be cleaned.  Good luck!


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## HP52NOVA (Dec 18, 2014)

I think I will take the advise here and just strip it down tomorrow for a full clean +.   I watched some vids and it probably worth doing before I call for service.   As a minimum I will know if this is just a clogged part somewhere causing this, or do I really have a faulty stove...   Will update once my experiment concludes.


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## Randy Fischer (Dec 18, 2014)

HP52NOVA said:


> I think I will take the advise here and just strip it down tomorrow for a full clean +.   I watched some vids and it probably worth doing before I call for service.   As a minimum I will know if this is just a clogged part somewhere causing this, or do I really have a faulty stove...   Will update once my experiment concludes.


 Take some pics of the ESP area if you can, I'm wondering what kind of job that will be.  I was planning to put that off till next spring.  Do you have a rail kit?  Making one is on my to do list, although just had foot surgery this morning, so laid up for several weeks.  Good Luck.


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## chken (Dec 18, 2014)

Unless I missed it, did the OP clean the vent? He's burned almost 2 tons.


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## Big papa (Dec 18, 2014)

chken said:


> Unless I missed it, did the OP clean the vent? He's burned almost 2 tons.


I believe he had service come in and clean but was not specific on wether the vent was cleaned or not


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## HP52NOVA (Dec 23, 2014)

Still down here.   I did clean the $%#% out of the stove on Friday, fired it back up and it worked fine for about 2 hours. But then I noticed it would not throttle down.   it kept going on high and heating up while it was on room temp and around 74F to well above that.  When I decreased the temp the distribution blower shut down and we started smelling a burnt smell (from I the hopper, I think...)   no error lights this time, but something is very wrong here, so I shut it down as a precaution.

I give up.   Called Mace Energy Supply and they will be here tomorrow to troubleshoot (for a lot of $$).   The warranty covers parts and labor on site only if the issue is with the stove itself.   travel fees, cleaning fees, and install issues are not covered (as they did not install it).   Lesson - pick your dealer very carefully!

The vent was cleaned (inside and out) on 11/4/14 by the last service visit.       I guess it could be a clogged vent, as we did burn 2 bags a day since 11/4, but will that explain the 3 and 6 error codes we have been seeing, or the overall performance issues, or the burnt smell?


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## fmsm (Dec 23, 2014)

can you describe your venting? is it 3 or 4" ? Does it go to the top of the chimney or another configuration? Length? Outside air? are there any sharp turns from the cage?


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## HP52NOVA (Dec 23, 2014)

fmsm said:


> can you describe your venting? is it 3 or 4" ? Does it go to the top of the chimney or another configuration? Length? Outside air? are there any sharp turns from the cage?



I have a zero clearance setup with side venting.  The stove is in a Harman zero clearance metal box.   The venting is via 4" Selkirk pellet vent going up about 4 feet and then to the side (elbow) for another 5-6 feet ending in a round cap outside - sticking out about a 1.5 feet.    I do have an OAK kit installed, it is installed right next to the vent outside.


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## SmokeyTheBear (Dec 23, 2014)

HP52NOVA said:


> I have a zero clearance setup with side venting.  The stove is in a Harman zero clearance metal box.   The venting is via 4" Selkirk pellet vent going up about 4 feet and then to the side (elbow) for another 5-6 feet ending in a round cap outside - sticking out about a 1.5 feet.    I do have an OAK kit installed, it is installed right next to the vent outside.



Ouch,  please check that horizontal run and the area where the vent goes to the stove.  The 6 blink is poor combustion and indicates things are ashed up or there is a leak in a gasket somewhere or there is something like a blocked termination cap.   Make sure that that stove has a proper draft and the the horizontal is not truly horizontal or worse going slightly downhill.


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## chken (Dec 23, 2014)

HP52NOVA said:


> The vent was cleaned (inside and out) on 11/4/14 by the last service visit. I guess it could be a clogged vent, as we did burn 2 bags a day since 11/4, but will that explain the 3 and 6 error codes we have been seeing, or the overall performance issues, or the burnt smell?





HP52NOVA said:


> I follow the instructions on cleaning, scraping the burn pot twice a day now, cleaning the fire box (ash removal is now daily and massive); I even clean the little chamber under the burn pot (the igniter area) and vacuum it out. The rest is supposedly yearly cleaning stuff, unless I am missing something. Between the error status codes, mounds of ash and overall headache (not to talk about $$$), I am wondering if we made the right decision here.



So, when you posted the thread, it's been 6 weeks since your last vent cleaning and you burn 2 bags a day, that's roughly 80 bags. In general, most stove mfr recommend cleaning the vent once a ton, until you get a sense of how often you need to do it, then you can adjust to suit your stove and the pellets you use.

I'm not an expert on your stove, but the first thing to rule out is a dirty stove and vent. Most people who get a stove clean it, religiously, but often ignore the part about cleaning the vent. Cleaning a vent can be tricky, especially inserts, etc. And you did say the people who came out, Miller, didn't really know Harman stoves.


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## Peterfield (Dec 23, 2014)

There is an article that has been quoted here before regarding an independent pellet stove repair technician that has made about 5000 service calls for almost every brand of stove and he kept meticulous records.  If I remember the data correctly, no matter what stove brand, over 60% - 70% of the trouble calls were solved simply by doing a thorough cleaning rather than having to replace any parts.


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## HP52NOVA (Dec 24, 2014)

Well, the techs are on site.  So far, they replaced the following: burn pot and fan assembly had to go due to a redesign, brand new parts.   New circuit board and ESP are also being replaced!   Stove is clean and the vent is clear.   they suspect my OAK is confusing the stove, apparently its not something you need on an insert unless you are 4 feet from a window.   work is still in progress.


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## SmokeyTheBear (Dec 24, 2014)

HP52NOVA said:


> Well, the techs are on site.  So far, they replaced the following: burn pot and fan assembly had to go due to a redesign, brand new parts.   New circuit board and ESP are also being replaced!   Stove is clean and the vent is clear.   they suspect my OAK is confusing the stove, apparently its not something you need on an insert unless you are 4 feet from a window.   work is still in progress.



You are getting a bunch of crapola on the OAK.


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## SmokeyTheBear (Dec 24, 2014)

What year is that  52i you have?

ETA: For giggles please post a picture of the outside of your house that shows the vent.  I would like to see the termination cap.


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## alternativeheat (Dec 24, 2014)

With Harman 3"  horizontal venting is not to exceed 4 ft and Harman will advise shorter, FWIW. But that is with 3" vent, I don't know the rules about 4" as mine goes straight up 26ft.


HP52NOVA said:


> Well, the techs are on site.  So far, they replaced the following: burn pot and fan assembly had to go due to a redesign, brand new parts.   New circuit board and ESP are also being replaced!   Stove is clean and the vent is clear.   they suspect my OAK is confusing the stove, apparently its not something you need on an insert unless you are 4 feet from a window.   work is still in progress.


Let us know how it ends up but this sounds like the replace it till it runs right bunch.


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## Randy Fischer (Dec 24, 2014)

HP52NOVA said:


> Well, the techs are on site.  So far, they replaced the following: burn pot and fan assembly had to go due to a redesign, brand new parts.   New circuit board and ESP are also being replaced!   Stove is clean and the vent is clear.   they suspect my OAK is confusing the stove, apparently its not something you need on an insert unless you are 4 feet from a window.   work is still in progress.


Did the burn pot have holes in the sides or was it dome other issue?


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## Peterfield (Dec 24, 2014)

Randy Fischer said:


> Did the burn pot have holes in the sides or was it dome other issue?



When my installer was here, he immediately said no OAK based on fireplace installation.  So far, so good.


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## rickgrimes2 (Dec 24, 2014)

Randy Fischer said:


> Did the burn pot have holes in the sides or was it dome other issue?


Mace energy installed my 52I on September of 2013, and this fall they updated the burnpot and the combustion fan blower cover. The techs name was Will. They have a good reputation in this area. Been around these parts for awhile.Hopefully they will get you up and running.


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## F4jock (Dec 24, 2014)

gfreek said:


> Defective ESP (Exhaust Sensing Probe) ??  3 blinks


Or dirty?


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## alternativeheat (Dec 24, 2014)

Peterfield said:


> When my installer was here, he immediately said no OAK based on fireplace installation.  So far, so good.


My dealer said 98% of stoves they install get no OAK.  So I installed mine with no OAK. We had our own little Windy City right here inside our house last winter. So this year we installed  an OAK. Don't use an OAK if you don't want to, the stove will burn fine either way as long as it gets enough air. But I can tell you first hand no OAK will pin point for you every draft source in your house. If you think your house has air leaks then install a pellet stove with no OAK to locate them. Cause they will about quadruple in intensity when you fire that baby up.

Maybe it's a little different with an insert, the insert might pull some air from leaks around the fireplace or chimney. don't know, ours is free standing ( P61).


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## F4jock (Dec 24, 2014)

SmokeyTheBear said:


> You are getting a bunch of crapola on the OAK.


Amen!


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## dradam1 (Dec 24, 2014)

alternativeheat said:


> My dealer said 98% of stoves they install get no OAK.  So I installed mine with no OAK. We had our own little Windy City right here inside our house last winter. So this year we installed  an OAK. Don't use an OAK if you don't want to, the stove will burn fine either way as long as it gets enough air. But I can tell you first hand no OAK will pin point for you every draft source in your house. If you think your house has air leaks then install a pellet stove with no OAK to locate them. Cause they will about quadruple in intensity when you fire that baby up.
> 
> Maybe it's a little different with an insert, the insert might pull some air from leaks around the fireplace or chimney. don't know, ours is free standing ( P61).


I have a 52I insert in a 200 year old farmhouse. Absolutely needed an OAK, it was draft city.


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## F4jock (Dec 24, 2014)

Peterfield said:


> When my installer was here, he immediately said no OAK based on fireplace installation.  So far, so good.


My insert sucks air from outside via the old fireplace cleanout door. Cheepo  OAK. No problems at all.


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## alternativeheat (Dec 24, 2014)

F4jock said:


> My insert sucks air from outside via the old fireplace cleanout door. No problems at all.


My fireplace had no clean out. But either way I installed the P61 outside the fireplace and ran the vent up the chimney. This year I also ran the OAK up inside the chimney as well. So far so good, way, way less drafts than last year.. But ya, I can see air being drawn through a loose clean out.


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## dradam1 (Dec 24, 2014)

F4jock said:


> My insert sucks air from outside via the old fireplace cleanout door. Cheepo  OAK. No problems at all.


I ran my OAK outside thru my old fireplace clean out in the bottom.  Added a dryer vent cap to it outside. Just have to keep the snow from 20". It worked great.


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## F4jock (Dec 24, 2014)

alternativeheat said:


> My fireplace had no clean out. But either way I installed the P61 outside the fireplace and ran the vent up the chimney. This year I also ran the OAK up inside the chimney as well. So far so good, way, way less drafts than last year.. But ya, I can see air being drawn through a loose clean out.


I put a ribbon in the old ash doorway to monitor airflow. Sucks it in flat horizontal! Also, it's in the garage so no weather worries.


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## GeHmTS (Dec 24, 2014)

I don't like OAK, they are a waste of time in my opinion.  Harman simply don't need them.  I fired my last chimney sweeper because he wouldn't stop telling me that I needed one along with a flex liner.  I told my recent chimney that and he doesn't bring it up at all.  Live long and prosper!


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## SmokeyTheBear (Dec 24, 2014)




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## GeHmTS (Dec 24, 2014)

Make sure they do a draft voltage adjustment if the techs are still there.  They should have brought the necessary tools with them.


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## HP52NOVA (Dec 24, 2014)

Okay, the mace guys just left and we are up and running.  It is great to have some pellet heat on Christmas eve! The techs were great, very professional, and I would recommend them to anyone with a Harman stove in need of service.     As I said, they replaced the burnpot and the combustion fan blower cover as part of the Harman redesign on the 52i (recall).   My stove was installed in May 2014 and manufactured in April 2014  and was not supposed to be affected, but it was.  I suggest for any new owner of the 52i to check this ASAP with their dealer.

They also replaced the circuit board and ESP probe for good measure.   They suspect a communication issue between these two components was the main cause of my problem, compounded by the recall stuff.   So I basically have an almost new stove now.    Seems to be running great, never seen it so happy!   We will follow up for a week or two to verify the issues do not come back.    

On the OAK - we did clear that up - I do need it as my vent is only about a foot from the house.   They did say that they normally do not put them on the inserts.   Not sure if I get anything out of having it, but its installed and connected with no plan to remove it so far, I guess will keep it.

My vent was practically clean.   Its code safe, but a bit too close to the house and makes a mess on the siding - we might end up extending it up to the roof or something of that sort.


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## alternativeheat (Dec 24, 2014)

GeHmTS said:


> I don't like OAK, they are a waste of time in my opinion.  Harman simply don't need them.  I fired my last chimney sweeper because he wouldn't stop telling me that I needed one along with a flex liner.  I told my recent chimney that and he doesn't bring it up at all.  Live long and prosper!


No OAK didn't work so great in my house. But I knew my house was loose enough to support combustion at least. Some new construction houses today are not ( we don't all live in those), in fact they are very tight and the stoves croak out on a higher burn rate or at least get a dirty flame.. You are entitled to an opinion though. Doesn't have to be right but you get one !!


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## HP52NOVA (Dec 24, 2014)

alternativeheat said:


> No OAK didn't work so great in my house. But I knew my house was loose enough to support combustion at least. Some new construction houses today are not ( we don't all live in those), in fact they are very tight and the stoves croak out on a higher burn rate or at least get a dirty flame.. You are entitled to an opinion though. Doesn't have to be right but you get one !!



My house is a new construction, insulated to R60, I have no drafts, almost LEED level if I didn't have garages.   It sounds that the OAK is needed in my case then?.     Stove is installed on main level (out of 3).   The house is about 5000 SQF total.


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## F4jock (Dec 24, 2014)

alternativeheat said:


> No OAK didn't work so great in my house. But I knew my house was loose enough to support combustion at least. Some new construction houses today are not ( we don't all live in those), in fact they are very tight and the stoves croak out on a higher burn rate or at least get a dirty flame.. You are entitled to an opinion though. Doesn't have to be right but you get one !!


Take two, they're small!


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## HP52NOVA (Dec 24, 2014)

Randy Fischer said:


> Did the burn pot have holes in the sides or was it dome other issue?



Yes, we did have the holes on the side, among other issues.


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## alternativeheat (Dec 24, 2014)

HP52NOVA said:


> My house is a new construction, insulated to R60, I have no drafts, almost LEADS level if I didn't have garages.   It sounds that the OAK is needed in my case then?.     Stove is installed on main level (out of 3).   The house is about 5000 SQF total.


I would suspect so, or crack a window somewhere. But hold on to your hat if you do that ( kidding). Ya and OAK sounds ideal in your situation. You would be surprised how much air these stoves suck. Though your house certainly has a lot of square footage for the stove to draw from. Let's put it this way, if it were my house the stove would have an OAK.


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## gfreek (Dec 24, 2014)

Good to hear,   hopefully  your problems are resolved.  Enjoy the heat and holidays...Be well..


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## chken (Dec 24, 2014)

HP52NOVA said:


> My house is a new construction, insulated to R60, I have no drafts, almost LEED level if I didn't have garages.   It sounds that the OAK is needed in my case then?.     Stove is installed on main level (out of 3).   The house is about 5000 SQF total.


The tighter your house air envelope the more you need an OAK.


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## F4jock (Dec 24, 2014)

HP52NOVA said:


> Yes, we did have the holes on the side, among other issues.


Curious. Did they charge you or was it warranty?


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## HP52NOVA (Dec 24, 2014)

F4jock said:


> Curious. Did they charge you or was it warranty?


Paid for travel only.  Labor and parts covered by Harman


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## F4jock (Dec 24, 2014)

HP52NOVA said:


> Paid for travel only.  Labor and parts covered by Harman


Not too shabby I guess.


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## HP52NOVA (Dec 24, 2014)

gfreek said:


> Good to hear,   hopefully  your problems are resolved.  Enjoy the heat and holidays...Be well..


Thank you! I wish the same for you.


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## GeHmTS (Dec 24, 2014)

did they check your low voltage draft?


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## Peterfield (Dec 24, 2014)

F4jock said:


> My insert sucks air from outside via the old fireplace cleanout door. Cheepo  OAK. No problems at all.



Mine is kind of the same way.  I didn't connect a pipe but there is an ash door leading to a chamber in the basement so I am sure some air is drawn in that way.  I may be in the minority but I want some fresh air drawn in from outside.  If it means I have to burn a dozen more bags over the winter I have no issue with that.  My house is not tight and I prefer it that way.


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## Peterfield (Dec 24, 2014)

F4jock said:


> Curious. Did they charge you or was it warranty?



They are supposed to replace it according to a tech who recently visited my home.


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## GeHmTS (Dec 24, 2014)

With regards to OAK, flexes, and other accessories.  I think if you have a valid reason, then fine.  I just got fatigued that every time I had someone look at my stove, they automatically think I need some accessories even though my stove is operating with good efficiency.  So I lost patient with this line of claims -I guess it's kind of selfish. 

If your stove isn't operating properly, then you need to figure out what it will take to get the heat you need which maybe a flex, OAK or whatever.  I just don't see the need in adding these accessories if everything is already running as prescribed.  If it ain't broke, don't fix it is my modus operandi.


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## HP52NOVA (Dec 24, 2014)

GeHmTS said:


> did they check your low voltage draft?


I didn't ask specifically (saw your post after they left) but they run whole bunch of tests once done.  What is this test and why is it important?


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## alternativeheat (Dec 25, 2014)

HP52NOVA said:


> I didn't ask specifically (saw your post after they left) but they run whole bunch of tests once done.  What is this test and why is it important?


They probably ran this test since they were so mindful about the whole repair/visit. I can't imagine they ran a gamut of tests and not this basic one. What this does is set your draft, in Harman pellets stoves draft is controlled by the combustion blower speed by way of varying blower speed with a little screw in the control board. Turning the screw alters the base voltage to the combustion blower.. It has to be set up with meters, or should be anyway. Since it sounds like they had the Harman scan tool set up on the stove it makes sense to me they would have checked draft voltage.


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## HP52NOVA (Jan 3, 2015)

Well, it's been over a week now post the repairs, and we seem to be running strong (knock on wood).  I actuly don't recognize the stove operation as I now realize I never saw it run properly for all this time  Happy to have it working, but not so happy I had to go thru all this to find out about a recall the hard way...I think Harman should make sure to contact all new stove owners and verify they are all fixed, proactively and regardless of their dealer status.


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