# Harman PB105 Owners



## Chris04626 (Sep 19, 2013)

What is your cleaning schedule you follow? On the hopper there is a recommended schedule do you follow that?

Just waiting to get mine hooked up.   Do you shut it down before cleanings? Any tips?


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## ScotL (Sep 20, 2013)

In between cleaning, I pull all 3 heat exchanger cleaning rods a few times every time I put pellets in.

I shut mine down before cleaning by turning the low temp setting all the way to Off then coming back a while later when the fan has stopped. Then I swing the burner open, pull the ash pan out, and set the pan under the burn pot. Then I use the little scraper it came with to scrape the bottom and sides of the burn pot. It will have the "Harman Speed Bump". I little lump of carbon built up towards the bottom of the burn surface. Just above the burn pot mine has a fire brick piece to deflect heat. Be careful not to hit it or scrap it with the scraping tool.
Then I loosen the 2 thumb screws under the burn pot and take off the cover for the ignitor. I thump the sides of the pot with the scraper to knock any ash out of the ignitor and carefully scrape the ash out of the chamber - don't damage or pull the ignitor wires.

For me, that's the most important part. Keeping the ignitor clean. If I let it get really bad, the ignitor won't work correctly and you can get a backfire when the pellets take a long time to light. Then when it does light, it will touch off with a big Boom and blow smoke back out the air intake.

During the summer, while I'm just providing domestic hot water, I clean it about once per month and dump the ashes out every 3 months (about twice from spring to fall). During the winter I clean it every 2 weeks. In the coldest part of winter I clean it every week. I dump the ash out after each ton of pellets.

About twice per year I take the leaf blower to it and thump on the exhaust pipes. I have a 4" brush and I really should find a way to brush it out soon. I haven't been able to get the T's apart without destroying them so I'll need to buy some new ones and just wreck these.

I also bought a small stove brush with a long flexible metal handle to brush down the heat exchange tubes a little better. I do that a couple times a year.

Once per year I pull off the combustion fan and check the blades. Haven't found any problems yet so I brush it off and put it back in.

I'd be interested to know if anyone has oiled their fan motor and what they used.

There's also a small cover next to the fan that I remove once per year and clean out the really fine powdery ash that collects in there.

Oh, there's also a fines trap that people say should be checked. It's under the hopper on the opposite side from the control panel.


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## Chris04626 (Sep 20, 2013)

great, thanks.  So basically daily put it pellets and pull the rods a few times.  The burnpot don't need to be cleaned daily?


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## ScotL (Sep 20, 2013)

No not all. The most I ever clean the burn pot is weekly. Most of the time bi-weekly is enough.


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## Chris04626 (Sep 20, 2013)

great thats what i had read before, but then i saw the sticker on the hopper saying to clean out daily.


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## Chris04626 (Sep 20, 2013)

how do you have yours installed, do you have a separate thermostat for it?


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## ScotL (Sep 23, 2013)

Chris04626 said:


> how do you have yours installed, do you have a separate thermostat for it?


Mine uses the same thermostat that my oil boiler uses. I just turn off the switch for the oil boiler. If I go on vacation, I turn the oil boiler back on and turn the switch off to my pellet boiler.


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## Chris04626 (Sep 26, 2013)

Thats how i am having mine done.

They started installation today.  I noticed one of the rods when you pull it something rattles a little bit  what could that be?  Also one of them is a little tough to pull out.


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## ScotL (Sep 27, 2013)

The far right rod on mine rattles too. I think it's a small chain that dangles down to rub the surfaces below it. I usually work that one a little more vigorously to get that chain rattling.
The only one that pulls hard on mine is the one right over the burn pot when it's really cranking out the heat. When it's off or not blasting hard they pull out easily.
If it pulls hard now when it's cold, it might be too tight on the heat exchanger or the fitting in the sidewall may be too tight.


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## Chris04626 (Sep 27, 2013)

yes thats the one that pulls hard, it will pull out a bit then the rest of the way it pulls hard


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## ScotL (Sep 27, 2013)

You might want the get the dealer to check that out. You'll have this boiler a long time so you'll want it working well. Maybe they'll recommend trying it after the first fire to see if the heat loosens it up? I don't know. But if you let them know now when it's new you'll have it on record in case it gets even worse later on.
When you say "pulls hard" do you mean hard enough so it takes 2 hands to pull it out? Sometimes mine will drag a little but mine's not new anymore so it has ash on the heat exchanger. If I get it really hot, the left one sometimes won't come out all the way but never the far right one.
I guess on the positive side that means it's scraping really tightly on the water pipes and getting them really clean.


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## Chris04626 (Sep 27, 2013)

i can get it out with one hand, it pulls out maybe a couple inches than pulls harder the rest of the way


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## Chris04626 (Sep 27, 2013)

they have worked on it for 2 days, hope to have it done Monday, Just have to set it up now and make sure its burning correctly and and drafting right.


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## ScotL (Sep 27, 2013)

Are you going to use it for your domestic hot water too?


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## Chris04626 (Sep 27, 2013)

Well im not sure, IS something different needed to heat the hot water?  I have basebord heating so i assumed the water is being heated


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## wil lanfear (Sep 27, 2013)

Chris04626 said:


> Well im not sure, IS something different needed to heat the hot water?  I have basebord heating so i assumed the water is being heated


 A few ways to meet the needs for DHW using the pellet boiler to produce DHW, purchase and install the DHW coil in the pellet boiler or use a circulator between both boilers keeping both boilers hot in order to obtain DHW from the oil boiler coil or purchase a Superstor which would be piped as a zone for DHW.


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## Chris04626 (Sep 27, 2013)

i dont know a whole lot about it, i know i dont have the coil, I know he did install an expansion tank.        From what he has told me, he is hooking it up so if for some reason the pelelt boiler shuts off, out of pellets or error or something then the oil boiler will automatically come on.

Any of you have pics of your instal?


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## Chris04626 (Sep 27, 2013)

how often do you clean the vent pipe out?    With my regular pellet stove i had a T that I would also take the cap off and empty


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## Chris04626 (Sep 29, 2013)

what setting do you put the boiler on? What kind of pellets you burning? Ever find any it dont like?


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## sinnian (Sep 29, 2013)

Chris04626 said:


> what setting do you put the boiler on? What kind of pellets you burning? Ever find any it dont like?



I am going to go out on a limb here and say he burns MWP's


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## SmokeEater (Sep 29, 2013)

I've burn hardwood and soft/hard blend and they seemed to burn the same.  I clean the burnpot on Saturday mornings and it takes only about fifteen minutes to open the swing out. clean the pot and vacuum it out, scrape the boiler walls a little with a putty knife and here I only see grey ash buildup maybe one eighth of an inch thick.  I might check the ignitor compartment a couple of times a season, but found little in there.  Checked the combustion fan once last winter and it wasn't coated at all, replaced it with no other effort.  I dump the ash pan once a month after burning about a ton per month and that's it.  Easy.  There is a little carbon build-up in the burnpot each week but a couple of vigorous scrapes with the Harman tool takes care of those.  Done and easy.


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## ScotL (Sep 30, 2013)

I've been out for the weekend. But about the DHW, I have a boiler-mate for my DHW. My oil boiler used to provide the heat for my DHW but with the pellet boiler connected directly to the oil boiler it now does the same thing. The boiler-mate can't tell the difference. When it calls for heat it activates the circulator on the pellet boiler (just like if the thermostat upstairs had called for heat) and the pellet boiler takes care of keeping the water at the correct temperature. During the summer I have the pellet boiler temperature settings turned down. The high setting is on 175 and the low on 145.

If you currently have electric DHW, then you'd have another investment to make. If you currently have a boiler-mate and are using your oil boiler for hot water, you don't have to do anything.


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## Chris04626 (Oct 1, 2013)

He has it the same as yours water temp at its lowest. e has the feed rate at 4 is that where it should be this time of year?

Also te rod thats the hardest to pull out is the bottom one. Now that its running its even harder to pull out, i suppose i should call the dealer and see what they think


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## ScotL (Oct 1, 2013)

I leave my feed rate at about 4 all the time.


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## Chris04626 (Oct 4, 2013)

It seems to be using very little pellets  for hot water, but today for soem reason with the thermostate turned down low, the boiler is running and we have heat coming from baseboards,  Any idea why this would be?


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## Chris04626 (Oct 6, 2013)

The first few days i hardly used any pellets using for my hot water, but ever since im using probably a bag a day and every so often i am getting heat from my baseboards, when my thermostat is set for 60 and its already 70 in here.              IS something wrong with it? Or is there some explanation?


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## wil lanfear (Oct 6, 2013)

Something could be wrong with the way it is piped to the oil boiler, meaning that a circulator running to circulate water between both boilers is opening flo-check(s) or maybe it's a bad zone valve if you have them which will allow heated water to circulate in the zone.Some photos showing the connection to the oil boiler would be helpful to determine what the cause may be.


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## Chris04626 (Oct 6, 2013)

i know i set my thermostat to 73 to see what it would do and the boiler didnt start a fire until the temp guage on the boiler went under 140


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## Chris04626 (Oct 6, 2013)

here are some pics http://s1131.photobucket.com/user/Chris04626/library/


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## wil lanfear (Oct 6, 2013)

The photo showing the circulator to circulate water between both boilers might be installed so the water in the pellet boiler is being pushed into the oil boiler which may cause the flo-check for your heating zone to open.Check to see which direction the flow is by looking at the arrow on the circulator body, the arrow should show the flow direction into the pellet boiler


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## Chris04626 (Oct 6, 2013)

This thing here you mean? http://s1131.photobucket.com/user/Chris04626/media/IMG_20131006_144631_263.jpg.html?sort=3&o=8  or which pic shows the circulator? i dont know much about it lol sorry


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## Chris04626 (Oct 6, 2013)

Or do you mean the green thing in the top right corner in this pic http://s1131.photobucket.com/user/Chris04626/media/IMG_20131006_144154_571.jpg.html?sort=3&o=18  ??? Arrow is pointing down, this thing was already in place for the oil boiler


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## ScotL (Oct 7, 2013)

What you described with turning up the thermostat and the pellet boiler not starting until it's water temperature dropped is exactly how it is supposed to work. The thermostat should only control the circulators. The pellet boiler will only monitor it's own water temperature and try to maintain that.

You definitely shouldn't have hot water circulating in your baseboards like that. I have no water circulating in my baseboards during the summer. The output from my pellet boiler is connected with a T to the input (on the bottom) of my oil boiler and the output of my oil boiler is connected with a T to the input of my pellet boiler. There is an expansion tank in the loop and a circulator pushing the water into the inlet of my pellet boiler and 2 shutoff valves near the oil boiler.

The water from my pellet boiler only circulates through my oil boiler and it's in the same direction of flow through the oil boiler as it would normally flow without the pellet boiler attached to the loop.


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## Chris04626 (Oct 7, 2013)

Plumber came today said a wire came lose and causing it to call for more heat and pellets than it needed.

How often does yours fire up to just heat hot water in summer?


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## ScotL (Oct 7, 2013)

I'm not sure. The cooldown cycle is so long that is seems like it's on whenever I go downstairs. But it uses about 2 bags a week. Sometimes a little more.


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## Chris04626 (Oct 7, 2013)

Been working fine since he fixed the wire. Will have keep track of bags burned better. We are a family of 5 so use a fair amount of water so we would probably burn more pellets


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## Chris04626 (Oct 8, 2013)

What happens if power goes out does it restart itself


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## iceguy4 (Oct 8, 2013)

Chris04626 said:


> Been working fine since he fixed the wire. Will have keep track of bags burned better. We are a family of 5 so use a fair amount of water so we would probably burn more pellets


  Does your oil boiler get hot when the pellet boiler is on?


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## Chris04626 (Oct 8, 2013)

yes


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## Chris04626 (Oct 10, 2013)

It seems to be running alot to just keep the water hot. Even when the water isnt getting used.


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## Chris04626 (Oct 10, 2013)

Ok question is this normal?

IT was 63 in here i turned thermostat to 67 heat came on and its now 68 in here so thermostat turned off, i go downstairs and look at the boiler and the temp on that is a little under 140 and theres a fire and pellets are feeding every 5 seconds.

If the heat was on shouldn't it have heated  the water? Why is temp on boiler  showing under 140 still which causes it to eat pellets and continue to run?


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## sinnian (Oct 10, 2013)

No offense, but this thread is why I bought a Pinnacle = customer support.

Depending on your high low limits the pellet boiler will run.  Also, like your oil boiler, the pellet boiler will run at times to keep the water hot ~ just in case you want DHW.


http://hearthnhome.com/downloads/installManuals/PB105.pdf


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## Chris04626 (Oct 10, 2013)

yeah i have it set at the minimum 140, and it seems to run alot. I also have the outdoor sensor installed, not really sure what it does if anything

Is it normal for the water temp to drop below 140 so often when nothing is using the water


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## ScotL (Oct 14, 2013)

I had a lot of trouble with the dial pressure and temperature gauge not reading the same as the probe in the boiler well. After the dealer messed with it for a long time, replacing ESPs and control boards and sensor wires, I gave up and just pulled my probe up off the bottom of the well slightly. I have a brother and a cousin both with PB105s and they didn't have that problem.
It also took me a few days before I noticed that the larger indicator on gauge was for pressure with the smaller indicator on the bottom of it for temperature.

I have my upper limit of 175 and lower limit between 140 and 145.

DHW is why I would buy a Kedel instead now if I had to do it all over again. It's capable of scaling its output down for just DHW use in the summer but it still has to keep the water hot all the time just like the Harman - just in case you want DHW like Sinnian mentioned. But, my Harman does the job.
Have you kept track of how much you're using for pellets since they fixed the wire?


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## Chris04626 (Oct 15, 2013)

I have been using it a little bit for heat in the mornings as well.         Put 2 bags in an empty hopper Sunday morning and its close to empty now , i will have to add more  tonight


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## Chris04626 (Oct 15, 2013)

What exactly does the feed button do? i have it set at 4 and turned down to 3 and dont notice any difference


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## ScotL (Oct 16, 2013)

There's a "sticky" link at the top of the forum that covers the Harmans in detail:
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/how-your-harman-works-what-your-manual-doesnt-tell-you.91030/

It shouldn't be using that many pellets just for hot water though. Unless it's providing heat at night maybe?


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## katman (Oct 16, 2013)

With your lower limit set to 140 your boiler is going to cycle on just to maintain your setpoint.  Also, the reason why the boiler was running after your call for heat was satisfied is the stored hot water in the boiler circulated through your house to satisfy your call for heat.  That call for heat dropped the water temp in the boiler below the set point so the boiler is heating itself back up to be ready for your next call for heat.  I found that cycling on and off does consume pellets so if you are heating your domestic hot water and maintaining boiler temp almost a bag every 24 hours may not be unrealistic consumption.  When it gets cold out and your boiler is running frequently it will be more efficient and your domestic hot water will be heated constantly, not just on demand.  The Harman isn't the most efficient boiler, but I'm pretty pleased with the performance and reliability.  Like others, my far right cleaning rod does stick but if I cycle it a few times when the boiler is in standby mode it pulls easily.  Sticks more when it is hot and expanded.

During the coldest part of the winter last year I burned about 3 bags of pellets every 24 hours.  My boiler is in a remote building, with heated water pumped through about 100 feet of thermopex to my house.  The house is about 3000 sq ft, very inefficient to heat due to cathedral ceilings and open floor plan.  We keep the temp set at approximately 71 and leave the door to our sunroom open so our dogs can access their dog door.  I figure I saved about $2800 last year by burning pellets instead of oil for the boiler and propane for the fireplace.  Wife was much happier because the pellet boiler is set up to flow water slowly through the baseboards, providing a more constant steady heat that fills the rooms much better than the quick cycles we had with the oil boiler.


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## Chris04626 (Oct 16, 2013)

ScotL said:


> There's a "sticky" link at the top of the forum that covers the Harmans in detail:
> https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/how-your-harman-works-what-your-manual-doesnt-tell-you.91030/
> 
> It shouldn't be using that many pellets just for hot water though. Unless it's providing heat at night maybe?



Yes i am using it a little bit in the morning and evening for heat.


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## Chris04626 (Oct 16, 2013)

katman said:


> With your lower limit set to 140 your boiler is going to cycle on just to maintain your setpoint.  Also, the reason why the boiler was running after your call for heat was satisfied is the stored hot water in the boiler circulated through your house to satisfy your call for heat.  That call for heat dropped the water temp in the boiler below the set point so the boiler is heating itself back up to be ready for your next call for heat.  I found that cycling on and off does consume pellets so if you are heating your domestic hot water and maintaining boiler temp almost a bag every 24 hours may not be unrealistic consumption.  When it gets cold out and your boiler is running frequently it will be more efficient and your domestic hot water will be heated constantly, not just on demand.  The Harman isn't the most efficient boiler, but I'm pretty pleased with the performance and reliability.  Like others, my far right cleaning rod does stick but if I cycle it a few times when the boiler is in standby mode it pulls easily.  Sticks more when it is hot and expanded.
> 
> During the coldest part of the winter last year I burned about 3 bags of pellets every 24 hours.  My boiler is in a remote building, with heated water pumped through about 100 feet of thermopex to my house.  The house is about 3000 sq ft, very inefficient to heat due to cathedral ceilings and open floor plan.  We keep the temp set at approximately 71 and leave the door to our sunroom open so our dogs can access their dog door.  I figure I saved about $2800 last year by burning pellets instead of oil for the boiler and propane for the fireplace.  Wife was much happier because the pellet boiler is set up to flow water slowly through the baseboards, providing a more constant steady heat that fills the rooms much better than the quick cycles we had with the oil boiler.




140 is the lowest it goes


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## katman (Oct 17, 2013)

Yes, I understand that 140 is the lowest setpoint.  My recollection is Harman doesn't want lower temps because of concerns about moisture/condensation.  I'm not an engineer but it seems like other designs employing a separate water storage system get around this consideration and may be more efficient.  I looked at several arrangements but for me the Harman does the job and has a small footprint.  I use heat pumps until temps drop around mid-november and then I switch to the pellet boiler.  I don't use the outside air sensor so cycling is minimal and I think my pellet consumption is pretty reasonable.


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## Chris04626 (Oct 17, 2013)

What are the pros and cons of the outdoor sensor?


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## katman (Oct 17, 2013)

As I understand it, the outside sensor influences how hot the boiler burns.  I'd have to go back and look at the manual, but I think it influences the high limit that you have set based on the outside temperature.  I think it has a preset range of about 20 degrees.  So, if the outside temp is, say, O degrees, and you have a low limit of 140 and a high of 185, your boiler will come on at 140 and off at 185.  But if the outside temp is 20, your cutoff might be about 165, even if your setpoint is 185.  There should be a table in the manual that shows how it works.  It might be useful to you up in Maine, but where I am in Maryland we can get daytime temps in the mid to upper 40s or above and then down to low 20s when the sun goes down.  And we usually don't have any snow on the ground.  I tried the outside sensor for a brief period and didn't see much if any benefit.  I'll try it again if we have a real cold spell.


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## Chris04626 (Oct 18, 2013)

katman said:


> Wife was much happier because the pellet boiler is set up to flow water slowly through the baseboards, providing a more constant steady heat that fills the rooms much better than the quick cycles we had with the oil boiler.



How do you set it to do this?


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## Chris04626 (Oct 19, 2013)

This morning i noticed a stroke some smell coming from the basement, i went down, they stove wasnt running, but there was smoke coming from underneath the hopper, i looked in the door and it was filled with smoke.  I turned it to test to try to evacuate the smoke, once it was clear i noticed a bunch of un burned pellets in the ash tray,

Any idea what may have happened?

When yours starts up does alot of smoke come out the vent outside?

What exactly is the screw in the firebox door for


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## ScotL (Oct 21, 2013)

Sounds like a failed start. Could be time to scrape down the burn pot and clean out under it and around the ignitor.

Mine does smoke when it starts. The longer between cleanings I go, the more it smokes and longer it takes to start.

The screw on the firebox door might have to do with the air-wash for the window. I don't remember it. It might just be to plug a hole designed for something else.


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## moey (Oct 21, 2013)

I hope you get this resolved this thread pains me to read when someone spends this much money and cant get the darn thing to function properly. Hopefully its all just growing pains.


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## Chris04626 (Oct 21, 2013)

Yes I've cleaned the burn pot weekly and vacuum med the area underneath.

Is been running fine since then. I will get through tonight and then it will have burned 4 bags since wends day morning

Supposed to start getting colder after this week


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## Chris04626 (Oct 22, 2013)

Came home from work, and checked the ashpan and there is alot of unburned pellets in there again.  So its either not igniting very fast or its just being fed  too much and spilling into the ash tray

Does  this outside sensor control the feed or does the feed knob on the stove?


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## Chris04626 (Oct 22, 2013)

Ok i had the temp on the boiler at 180, we left the house for a couple hours with no hot water running or heat on, we came home and the boiler temp was back to 140 and the boiler turned back on.  What would of caused it to drop 40 degrees?


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## moey (Oct 22, 2013)

Chris04626 said:


> Ok i had the temp on the boiler at 180, we left the house for a couple hours with no hot water running or heat on, we came home and the boiler temp was back to 140 and the boiler turned back on.  What would of caused it to drop 40 degrees?



Thermal loss?? Our boiler would cycle every 3 hours or so to maintain temp. Its also possible your indirect cycled and dropped the temp of the boiler. Just guesses.


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## Chris04626 (Oct 22, 2013)

not sure, didnt know if its something normal that happens or something is wrong somewhere


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## katman (Oct 23, 2013)

Chris04626 said:


> How do you set it to do this?


 Hey Chris.  I haven't been back here for a while and it seems you still are having a couple of issues.  First, your question on how I have my system set up--basically, I have four zones for the house baseboard heet system.  I still have my oil boiler in my subbasement and the pellet boiler is in my barn.  I tried a few different circulator pumps to move the water heated by the pellet boiler to the house.  The one I have on now moves the water slower than others I tried but seems to give me steadier warmth.

Sounds like your smoke, unburned pellets is a startup issue.  When you cleaned the stove did you unscrew the fines plate and clean out the fines?  If that chamber is not clear your combustion air will be reduced, causing a backfire or "burp" that would produce the smoke.  Also, slow startup could mean too many pellets are being dumped into the firebox and they are falling out unburned prior to ignition.  This situation also can be due to fines restricting air flow.

the reason your boiler was on when you returned home could be that it cycled water through your system and if the water had been stagnant because there wasn't a call for heat in a long time it was could anbd dropped the boiler temp way down so it was trying to recover.

If I were you I would consider unplugging the outside air sensor, at least for a few days to see if the system performs differently.  My boiler runs fine without it and I know there are others who live up in the colder areas don't use the sensor.


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## ScotL (Oct 23, 2013)

When you take that cover off the front of the burn pot to clean out inside the burn pot, be sure to lightly tap the guard over the ignitor a few times to knock out any ash stuck in there. The only time I have unburnt pellets is when the ignition doesn't work correctly. Ash in the ignitor or carbon on the surface of the burn pot will cause that in my stove. Cleaning the ignitor and scraping the surface of the burn pot fixes it for me. In fact, that's my sign that it's been too long since I cleaned mine.

Have you checked to make sure the water circulator for the boiler isn't on all the time? There will be ambient heat losses of course but a circulator on all the time would dramatically increase any loses.

I agree with moey. I'm hoping it's just the learning curve. It's awful to see someone having trouble with an expensive new system.


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## Chris04626 (Oct 23, 2013)

I vacumed the little fine box below the burnpot.  

I have unplugged outdoor sensor for now to see how it goes without it

I have feed at 4 and min at 140 and 185on the max

I noticed temp got up to 195 before it shut down so gauge must be off


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## Chris04626 (Oct 23, 2013)

what does the circulator look like and how do i tell if its on all the time?


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## Chris04626 (Oct 23, 2013)

How do i find the Fines area??? I was thinking it was the area under the burnpot with 2 wingnuts,        but the manual said the fines are cover only has one wingnut.         But i am not seeing anything with 1 wingnut.


I am getting alot of smoke outside through the vent when it starts up to the point my neighbors stop thinking the house is on fire.


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## ScotL (Oct 24, 2013)

They look like this:


Mine are smaller and green. They are very quiet. The only way I can hear mine is with my ear almost touching it.

The fines area Katman mentioned is under the hopper. The bottom guard is held on with 4 screws. You loosen them and slide the entire bottom out then down off the screws. You'll want to have the power turned off. You'll see the auger motor and auger shaft. Underneath the hopper, on the opposite side from the control panel is a big wing nut. That's the fines cover.

I've never had fines cause bad ignition. The only thing that's caused poor ignition for me (a large amount of smoke) is a dirty ignitor and carbon on the burnpot.


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## Chris04626 (Oct 24, 2013)

i have one of those my water tank and one going to return on the pellet boiler, that one has a black box on it that has a selection knob that you can turn, he has it set in the middle.

And i have one by the oil boiler


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## Chris04626 (Oct 24, 2013)

How long does it take yours to reach temperature. It was 66 degrees inside i turned the thermostat to 70 and about 45 minutes later its only 69 in here.


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## sinnian (Oct 24, 2013)

Chris04626 said:


> I vacumed the little fine box below the burnpot.
> 
> I have unplugged outdoor sensor for now to see how it goes without it
> 
> ...



Set your max to 170*




Chris04626 said:


> How long does it take yours to reach temperature. It was 66 degrees inside i turned the thermostat to 70 and about 45 minutes later its only 69 in here.



Just as long as it does/did with your oil boiler.


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## ScotL (Oct 24, 2013)

sinnian said:


> Set your max to 170*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yes. same with me. It takes the same amount of time for my house to get up to temperature no matter which boiler I use.


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## Chris04626 (Oct 24, 2013)

sinnian said:


> Set your max to 170*
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Why should it be set at 170?


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## sinnian (Oct 24, 2013)

Because 170* is more than enough to heat your house, thus saving pellets.  Of course the oil man didn't tell you that.  I actually have mine set for 160*, but didn't think you would go for that.  When it gets REAL cold out, like single digits and below, I'll move it up to 170*.


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## Chris04626 (Oct 24, 2013)

i will give that a try, Should feed be at 4 or 3 or does it matter when the Outside sensor is used


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## sinnian (Oct 24, 2013)

Chris04626 said:


> i will give that a try, Should feed be at 4 or 3 or does it matter when the Outside sensor is used



That's a question for ScotL.  I have a Pinnacle pellet boiler.


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## wil lanfear (Oct 24, 2013)

I have my feed rate set at 4.5. I've found that setting the feed rate at lower settings will cause the flame to not wrap itself around the heat exchanger tubes like its suppose to, plus I burned more pellets trying to bring the boiler up to the high limit setting. I have my low limit set at 160*, High set at 180*, 20* differential. If you have more than a 20* differential, if you have a couple zones that call for heat at the same time, the time it takes for the pellet boiler to fire, I would guess that the water temp will drop around 10-15*


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## Chris04626 (Oct 24, 2013)

I only have my one main zone at the moment. How far should the flame go? all the way around all the tubes       Does the Outdoor sensor automatically choose Feed? No mater what you set it at? Do you use the out door sensor?

I have my low at 140 and High now at 170

I set the feed to 4.5 and the flames would wrap around the first 2 tubes kinda hit the third and go down to the first one of the ones that go down towards the ash pan. Then other times it wouldn only hit the first 2


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## Chris04626 (Oct 24, 2013)

How many pellets do you burn a day/week at your settings?


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## wil lanfear (Oct 25, 2013)

Chris04626 said:


> How many pellets do you burn a day/week at your settings?


 The most pellets I've burned in a day is 2.5 bags, around 8.3 ton per year for the past 6 years heating 2200 sq. ft. and DHW all year, summer included for DHW. I dont use the outdoor sensor because using the sensor for DHW in the summer months didn't work out. When my boiler fires to maintain my settings the flame will wrap itself over the upper  tubes and a couple of the lower ones, as the boiler is reaching the high limit setting, the fire will decrease. The feed rate somewhat determines how large the fire is in the burnpot. The feed rate, depending on the length of pellets being used, should be set so as unburned pellets are not being pushed into the ash pan. I found that less pellets will be consumed with a higher feed setting, a lower feed rate results in the boiler running longer with a small flame.


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## Chris04626 (Oct 25, 2013)

im trying to play with the settings to get it running as efficient as it can with the least amount of pellets.     Im burning probably a bag a day right now using it for hot water and a hour or so with the thermostat calling for heat/

My house is roughly 2000 sq ft BUT there is only heat ran to the main floor. None to the 2nd floor. We replaced all windows over the summer from the original 1978 ones lol

What brand of pellets do you use

Right now im using Fire Side Ultras


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## Chris04626 (Oct 25, 2013)

also i read something about dip switches what are these and should they be changed from factory setting?


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## wil lanfear (Oct 25, 2013)

Chris04626 said:


> also i read something about dip switches what are these and should they be changed from factory setting?


  Last spring through this fall I burned Fireside Ultras to heat my DHW usage, I'm now burning Vermont Wood Pellets. The first 3 dip switches, *only these 3 to be concerned with*, control the quanity of pellets fed into the burnpot at start up before ignition. From left to right I have mine set #1 off, #2 on, #3 on, *off is the down position.* I don't know what your factory settings are, I have mine set to feed a smaller amount of pellets into the burnpot prior to ignition, fires quicker with less smoke.


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## Chris04626 (Oct 25, 2013)

im assuming you need to shut the power off to the stove before tkaing the control panel off?  Is your temperature on top accurate? I had mine set at 170 and i went down staiurs and it was  readiung close to 190 but and the thermostat was set to 70 and it was 68 in here. Temp guage on oil boiler was reading 135


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## wil lanfear (Oct 25, 2013)

Chris04626 said:


> im assuming you need to shut the power off to the stove before tkaing the control panel off?  Is your temperature on top accurate? I had mine set at 170 and i went down staiurs and it was  readiung close to 190 but and the thermostat was set to 70 and it was 68 in here. Temp guage on oil boiler was reading 135


 Yes, shut the power off. My pellet boiler and the oil boiler, maybe a 5* difference in the temp guages. If the PB was up to 190* and the OB temp was at 135*, I would be concerned that something is wrong with the flow between the boilers.


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## Chris04626 (Oct 25, 2013)

would the circulator going to the return on the  boiler have anything to do with anything? It has a speed selection on it im guessing. Its set in the middle right now


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## Chris04626 (Oct 25, 2013)

Ok so where are these dip switches located? I took the control panel off and looked at the back of it and i am not finding any switches


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## Former Farmer (Oct 25, 2013)




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## Chris04626 (Oct 25, 2013)

what do you have yours set at?


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## Former Farmer (Oct 25, 2013)

Off,Off,On - I have the finned ignitor.  I have had to replace my burn pot at least once each year since 2009.  I believe my next one will be number 6.  I installed mine in December 2008.  

I am going to try setting mine to Off, On, Off to see if this will help with the amount of smoke upon start-up.


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## Chris04626 (Oct 25, 2013)

yeah i get a  ton of smoke at start up, thats why im trying see if any of these combinations help


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## Former Farmer (Oct 25, 2013)

Do you use bulk or bagged pellets? 

I use mostly bulk.  I do not screen my pellets at all.  I am wondering if sometimes I get more fines and this causes some of the problems with the amount of smoke.  If the fines are plugging the holes in the burnpot and not enough air is able to get through, I believe this would cause more smoke.


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## Chris04626 (Oct 25, 2013)

i use bagged pellets.


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## Chris04626 (Oct 25, 2013)

ok i found it, mine is on the front side of the control panel, if you cut out a piece out they are visible without taking the panel off. Mine are by default    off on on

Any suggestions on what to set them to to try to avoid so much smoke at start up?


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## Former Farmer (Oct 25, 2013)

Looking on the table above, you are already at the lowest setting for the auger run time.   

Maybe someone else will have some suggestions.


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## Chris04626 (Oct 25, 2013)

off off off would be the lowest right?


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## Former Farmer (Oct 25, 2013)

No.   Off, off, off is the program default.  Off, on, on is the program default minus 64 seconds.


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## Chris04626 (Oct 25, 2013)

oh ok gotcha


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## Chris04626 (Oct 26, 2013)

Another issue i seem to have is the temp guage on the pellet boiler seems to be off. I have max set at 170 but it didnt shut off until about 185

Also when my thermostat is calling for heat and the pellet boiler is running the temp guage on the oil boiler is always alot lower than the one on the pellet boiler. Is that normal? Like pellet boiler was showing 185 and oil boiler was a little over 140

Does the speed of the circulator going to retun of pellet boiler effect anything? Right now its on the middle selection.

This thing is frustrating, getting to the point i just wanna have them take it out and sell it and go back to oil. Not knowing if its running correctly is driving me nuts, find myself going down to check on it all through the day when im home. Seems to take a ton of pellets to get it up to temp and seems to cool off quick and fire back up


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## SmokeEater (Oct 27, 2013)

Chris04626 said:


> Ok i had the temp on the boiler at 180, we left the house for a couple hours with no hot water running or heat on, we came home and the boiler temp was back to 140 and the boiler turned back on.  What would of caused it to drop 40 degrees?


Do you have the low temperature setpoint set at 140 degrees F?  If there is no call for heat, the boiler will not go to a high fire condition until it reaches the low setpoint.  Set your deadband closer together by raising the low setpoint knob to a higher setting and closer to the hight temperature setpoint setting.


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## Chris04626 (Oct 27, 2013)

right now i have it changed to at 150 min and 170 high i was running at 140 min and 175 to 185 high


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## Chris04626 (Nov 12, 2013)

ok finally called the dealer about unburned pellets in the ashpan. I cleaned it sunday, empty ashpan, ran fine, wife checked last night no unburned pellets, i get home from today and check and theres probably 10 cups of wasted pellets.      

They told me to check the holes in my burnpot there may be some stuff stuck in them, said to use a small nail to poke them.

Also told me the cover underneath to make sure its snug but not too tight.  Does this make sense?

First he told me its normal for a few pellets to be unburned

Its happening every couple days. i should not have to clean this thing completely every 2 days to keep it running right.


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## SmokeEater (Nov 12, 2013)

Chris04626 said:


> ok finally called the dealer about unburned pellets in the ashpan. I cleaned it sunday, empty ashpan, ran fine, wife checked last night no unburned pellets, i get home from today and check and theres probably 10 cups of wasted pellets.
> 
> They told me to check the holes in my burnpot there may be some stuff stuck in them, said to use a small nail to poke them.
> 
> ...


I have not ever seen a single unburned pellet in my ashpan after burning about 15 tons total.  My feed is set on 4.5 and I have burned mostly Curran's, but have burned some Somersets.


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## Chris04626 (Nov 12, 2013)

ive burned all fireside ultras, i have a hopper full and 2 bags left then ill be using Maine Woods

Not sure whats going on with it and apparently the dealer dont care


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## iceguy4 (Nov 12, 2013)

SmokeEater said:


> ok finally called the dealer about unburned pellets in the ashpan. I cleaned it sunday, empty ashpan, ran fine, wife checked last night no unburned pellets, i get home from today and check and theres probably 10 cups of wasted pellets


Chris,
last year my PB pulled the same crap ...only 2 times. This year it has done it several times. I caught it once, over feeding pellets, just after ignition. this had the tendency to put the fire out.  I have chalked it up to low grade pellets (green Supremes ..I have 9 tons)   My fix...just plumbed a dump zone with 24' of fin tube. PLUS now I have the stove on manual. I'll bet if I was willing, dip switch changes could fix this.
 are you burning a lower grade pellet?


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## iceguy4 (Nov 12, 2013)

Chris04626 said:


> ive burned all fireside ultras, i have a hopper full and 2 bags left then ill be using Maine Woods
> 
> Not sure whats going on with it and apparently the dealer dont care


 

Do you think this is happening during the start up?...I kinda think that's when mine acts up. I also can smell smoke in the house too, obviously only when it act up..   pressure lighter or finned?


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## ScotL (Nov 13, 2013)

The only time that's ever happened to me is during startup, when it doesn't light. But, the only time it doesn't light is when I haven't cleaned it for a long time.
It's not possible to have the cover underneath too tight. You don't want air flow around it. But you don't want to strip the threads either. Are you getting the burner closed tightly with that big red nut? I push just a little on the front of mine as I tighten the nut.
Maybe check with a different Harman dealer? I don't know how the Harman dealers work on warranty issues. If someone bought a stove from a "sub-par" dealer are they stuck with them? What if the dealer they purchased from goes out of business? I'll send you a PM with the name and number of the dealer I bought from just in case.


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## wil lanfear (Nov 13, 2013)

My thoughts on the overfeeding pellets into the ash pan, the amount of pellets fed into the burnpot at startup and the feed rate setting together can cause this. A burnpot 1/2 full at startup will cause slow ignition, lots of smoke, when it finally ignites with all these pellets in the burnpot, when the ESP is satisfied the igniter will shut off and the pellets will start feeding at the feed rate setting, at higher settings causing unburned pellets to be pushed into the ash pan. The least amount of pellets in the burnpot for ignition at startup, the better ignition plus the possible overfeeding pellets into the ash pan. I cannot stress enough  my thoughts about the quanity of pellets fed into the burnpot on startup. ( dip switch settings) This situation could be corrected by lowering the feed rate but...... when a higher demand for heat, the feed rate will not be high enough to meet the demand.


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## Chris04626 (Nov 13, 2013)

iceguy4 said:


> Do you think this is happening during the start up?...I kinda think that's when mine acts up. I also can smell smoke in the house too, obviously only when it act up..   pressure lighter or finned?


Yes i think its a start up issue, i just bought the boiler so id assume it has the newer ingiter in it                    I am burning Fireside Ultras for a few more bags then switching to MWP


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## Chris04626 (Nov 13, 2013)

wil lanfear said:


> My thoughts on the overfeeding pellets into the ash pan, the amount of pellets fed into the burnpot at startup and the feed rate setting together can cause this. A burnpot 1/2 full at startup will cause slow ignition, lots of smoke, when it finally ignites with all these pellets in the burnpot, when the ESP is satisfied the igniter will shut off and the pellets will start feeding at the feed rate setting, at higher settings causing unburned pellets to be pushed into the ash pan. The least amount of pellets in the burnpot for ignition at startup, the better ignition plus the possible overfeeding pellets into the ash pan. I cannot stress enough  my thoughts about the quanity of pellets fed into the burnpot on startup. ( dip switch settings) This situation could be corrected by lowering the feed rate but...... when a higher demand for heat, the feed rate will not be high enough to meet the demand.



My Dip Switches are  OFF ON ON(Factory Default) any ideas on what to try them at?

After a good cleaning it goes about 2 days before it acts up, but should i really need to clean this thing every two days?


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## SmokeEater (Nov 13, 2013)

Chris04626 said:


> My Dip Switches are  OFF ON ON(Factory Default) any ideas on what to try them at?
> 
> After a good cleaning it goes about 2 days before it acts up, but should i really need to clean this thing every two days?


I have an older 105 and it has the 6 rpm auger and the older finned igniter.  The feed setting is on 5 1/2 and I don't see any pellets within an inch of the highest edge of the burnpot which gets cleaned once a week.


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## tieafly (Nov 13, 2013)

My pb105 was installed back in May.  It sat unused for the summer.  I started it in late September and started having issues mid October (2-3 weeks run time).  My dealer has gone over the top to work with me to resolve the issue.  I have watched the system like a hawk and discovered that the smoke smell I was getting in the house was caused by a slow ignition.  I had pellets in the ash pan too.  So the first time they came out my burn pot was replaced because mine had all ready warped.  We fired it up and had ignition in no time, so I continued as before.  Well smoke smell came back and when I would scrape down the burn pot and re-fire I noticed that I was getting a lot of pellets before any ignition.  So again, once it ignited it went with a bit of a poof which caused the spring loaded plate under my hopper to release letting excess pressure out of the boiler and also allowing smoke into the house.  Dealer came back checked more stuff and replaced my ignitor (I have the pressure ignitor).  Then he fired it up and saw my ignition was still very slow.  Told me to run it in manual for the rest of the weekend until he could speak with Harman.  He came back today and changed the dip switch settings at Harmans direction.  So now my settings are off, off, on.  So far so good.

So my unit is heating about 2500 sq ft.  3 different zones.  It is plumbed in series with my oil boiler.  My high temp setting is at 175 and low is 165.  Feed rate is at 4.


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## Pellet_Dog (Nov 14, 2013)

Chris04626 said:


> My Dip Switches are  OFF ON ON(Factory Default) any ideas on what to try them at?



That setting will feed the least amount of pellets during startup from what I can tell from the literature, there is no way to make it feed less unless you change out the auger motor to a slower one like the older 6 RPM version that myself and others have with the finned cartridge ignitions.

Check out this thread, is it similar to the issues you are having?

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...and-consuming-more-pellets-than-usual.117166/


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## wil lanfear (Nov 14, 2013)

The dip switch settings set at off, on, on,(this is where my settings are) minimum amount of pellets at startup, when the auger stops feeding pellets, prior to smoke, look through the glass in the firebox door with a flashlight to see if you can see the level of pellets in the burnpot. When I do this on mine I cannot see any pellets in the burnpot even though I know pellets have been fed into the burnpot, with smoke prior to actual ignition. Also, you need to confirm the ignition type in the boiler, I know its a new boiler but........ I suspect that some of the pb105 boilers being sold may have the finned ignition, depending on the period of time when the dealer received it.

IMHO, in order to find out what is causing the overfeeding that you have, you will have to look through the glass in the firebox door at startup of the boiler to see the quanity of pellets in the burnpot prior to ignition, after ignition, watch to see the quanity of pellets being fed into the burnpot to confirm that pellets are not being pushed into the ashpan due to the feed rate setting. This is going to take a little time so, be patient, report back with your findings.


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## Chris04626 (Nov 14, 2013)

how do i find out what kind of ignitor it has.

When i have watched it before when its running normal theres hardly any pellets i nthere before it fires up, so little you cant see looking through the door.      But when i notice it has fed pelelts into the ashpan and then look into burnpot its fairly full


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## Chris04626 (Nov 14, 2013)

Just give it a good cleaning put in MWP watched it light, went back down a few minutes later and the ignitor light is still on and you can hear it.     Thoughts?


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## wil lanfear (Nov 14, 2013)

Open the firebox door, just above the burnpot cleanout plate held in place by 2 wing bolts, check to see if 2 bolts are present holding the cradle for the finned igniter. If no bolts are visable you have the pressure ignition.

  If you can't see pellets in the burnpot on startup, great, this is good. Now, you need to continue watching the feeding of pellets after ignition to see when the unburned pellets are pushed into the ashpan. I suspect the overfeeding maybe caused by the feed setting. Shorter pellets feed faster than longer pellets, meaning if the pellets being used are short the auger will feed more pellets per revolution. What do you have the feed set on?  If you while watching see pellets being fed  past 1" of the lip of the burnpot on high heat demand, you need to lower the feed rate.


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## Chris04626 (Nov 14, 2013)

i have the feed set at 3.5  dealer told me to put it on 4 and he promised i wouldn't see any more pellets in the ashpan then i would if i stayed at 3.5


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## wil lanfear (Nov 14, 2013)

Chris04626 said:


> Just give it a good cleaning put in MWP watched it light, went back down a few minutes later and the ignitor light is still on and you can hear it.     Thoughts?


 The ESP will turn the igniter off when the exhaust  rises in temp.


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## Chris04626 (Nov 14, 2013)

went down again and theres quite a few pellets in the burnpot partially burned out to the tip and theres a few partial burned in the ashpan


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## moey (Nov 14, 2013)

You have had this such a short time I would start to really complain to the dealer and get them out there. It will be cold soon.. quite cold.. 

You spent a crap load of money on it I would hope a couple courtesy calls are built into the cost.


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## wil lanfear (Nov 14, 2013)

Chris04626 said:


> went down again and theres quite a few pellets in the burnpot partially burned out to the tip and theres a few partial burned in the ashpan


 If this is the case, lower the feed rate a tad, watch to see if it stops the overfeeding, lower it again if needed. The key to resolving this issue is to pull up a chair next to the boiler and watch what is happening or get the dealer out to check it out.


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## Chris04626 (Nov 14, 2013)

should you see alot of smoke coming from the vent outside when its running?


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## iceguy4 (Nov 14, 2013)

wil lanfear said:


> The dip switch settings set at off, on, on,(this is where my settings are) minimum amount of pellets at startup, when the auger stops feeding pellets, prior to smoke, look through the glass in the firebox door with a flashlight to see if you can see the level of pellets in the burnpot. When I do this on mine I cannot see any pellets in the burnpot even though I know pellets have been fed into the burnpot, with smoke prior to actual ignition. Also, you need to confirm the ignition type in the boiler, I know its a new boiler but........ I suspect that some of the pb105 boilers being sold may have the finned ignition, depending on the period of time when the dealer received it.
> 
> IMHO, in order to find out what is causing the overfeeding that you have, you will have to look through the glass in the firebox door at startup of the boiler to see the quanity of pellets in the burnpot prior to ignition, after ignition, watch to see the quanity of pellets being fed into the burnpot to confirm that pellets are not being pushed into the ashpan due to the feed rate setting. This is going to take a little time so, be patient, report back with your findings.


 

I have only caught my stove once.  It seamed to overfeed pellets by running continuously...I interceded and stopped the feed motor with my hand . It only did this a couple of times last year. I'm kinda afraid of messing with the dip switches ( the engineer in me wants to know what each switch does...bla bla). So now... manual is working for me, till its fixed .


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## iceguy4 (Nov 14, 2013)

Chris04626 said:


> should you see alot of smoke coming from the vent outside when its running?


   No.  The only time I see smoke is for a min or so after it lights


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## iceguy4 (Nov 14, 2013)

wil lanfear said:


> If this is the case, lower the feed rate a tad, watch to see if it stops the overfeeding, lower it again if needed. The key to resolving this issue is to pull up a chair next to the boiler and watch what is happening or get the dealer out to check it out.


  I agree 100%  problem is ...it rarely happens when your watching.


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## iceguy4 (Nov 14, 2013)

wil lanfear said:


> Shorter pellets feed faster than longer pellets


  BINGO...Thinking back  this is exactly what has been my problem. Heck ...I'm so cheap , the sawdust I clean out of the auger...I pour them back in the hopper. If I paid for it and it came in the bag, it goes in the hopper.   guess I'll have to re-evaluate that practice


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## Chris04626 (Nov 14, 2013)

these pellets are pretty short, right now i turned it down the feed down to 2.5 we will see what happens


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## Chris04626 (Nov 14, 2013)

ok fire is going so couldn't get a good look but it appears theres alot of partial burned pellets with some unburned mixed in the burnpot


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## Chris04626 (Nov 15, 2013)

It appears im building up alot of Creosote on the back wall, and the heat exchanger tubes, also there is a little wire screen over my vent outside and that was almost clogged up/

Should i take that wire off? Thoughts on whats causing the build up? How do i get it off ive scrapped like heck and dont really seem to be  touching it.


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## ScotL (Nov 15, 2013)

Not an installer myself, so I wouldn't know about that wire screen. I do know that I don't have one and a plugged exhaust is bad. I don't know what purpose that screen is supposed to serve, other than to plug up, restrict your air flow, and make the stove run poorly. Maybe there's a good reason for it. All I know is I don't have it.


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## Chris04626 (Nov 15, 2013)

Not sure if its too keep stuff from blowing into it or what


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## RCCARPS (Nov 15, 2013)

Screen is to keep critters from crawling in (non-burning time).    My screens openings are not that fine, so it has never ever come close to plugging up.   

I would think if yours is plugged your vent cleanings have been neglected or have a major issue with the boiler.


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## Chris04626 (Nov 15, 2013)

This isnt mine, but the end piece is what i have
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a385/krooser/100_0617.jpg        

except mine is angled downward a bit

My install is only a month old


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## Chris04626 (Nov 15, 2013)

called my installer he said same  thign dealer said make sure the holes are not plugged, i shut it off took a nail to each hole again and fired it back up, we will see if this brings anything, i have the feed set at 2 now


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## Pellet_Dog (Nov 15, 2013)

Creosote would be caused by incomplete combustion either from a leaky gasket or poor combustion blower/venting flow (low draft). I believe a member here had creosote problems on his PB105 a year or so ago and it was a bad gasket. Have you or your installer checked the draft as specified in the manual? I believe the specs are no more than .85 inches WC on high speed and .25-.35 inches WC on low speed. You test this by turning the feed knob to test and hooking up a magnehelic or manometer to the bolt hole above the glass.

Here is the link: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/pb105-creosote-problem.57643/


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## Chris04626 (Nov 15, 2013)

yes he tested this when installed


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## sinnian (Nov 15, 2013)

My guess is that "part" of you issue is that you have insufficient draft. You have a pellet boiler not a stove, and should have a significant vertical rise at termination.


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## Chris04626 (Nov 15, 2013)

it rises up from the boiler quite a bit and then straight out the wall


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## sinnian (Nov 15, 2013)

Chris04626 said:


> it rises up from the boiler quite a bit and then straight out the wall



Rise needs to be at termination


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## Chris04626 (Nov 15, 2013)

there was no mention of that in the instructions


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## iceguy4 (Nov 15, 2013)

mine is up 5 feet , then a "t" , then 4 feet straight   out to a down pointing screened end (one inch squares)  works great


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## Chris04626 (Nov 15, 2013)

thats bout what mine is except im longer out


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## wil lanfear (Nov 15, 2013)

I think its quite possible that the issue  that your having is directly with not enough air for good combustion. If the screen on the vent is plugging up after only a month use, it certainly wants me to believe this is where the isue is. Have you removed the cover under the hopper and made sure that the flapper in the intake air is not sticking patially closed or maybe an obstruction? Have you removed the combustion air motor to look for an obstruction? When the Harman reps inspected my boiler as to why I was having a burnpot bubble issue, they adjusted the draft so as the motor runs at full speed as long as fire is in the burnpot. I said," hey, that was adjusted to the spec in the owners manual," the response from them was,"we know but the burnpot needs more air passing through it."


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## Chris04626 (Nov 15, 2013)

i just talked with the dealer and he again mentioned cleaning the esp and also told me to check the combustion fan.     Hopefully i can get it off and back on with no issues


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## iceguy4 (Nov 16, 2013)

Chris04626 said:


> Chris04626 Feeling the Heat Joined: Sep 19, 2008 Messages: 404 Loc: Maine i just talked with the dealer and he again mentioned cleaning the esp


   He said that ... more then likely a dirty esp will trip a code (status lights blinking)  He also said unburned pellets in ash pan is normal too...NOT



Chris04626 said:


> and also told me to check the combustion fan


 
told you???
   Chris..new boiler = warrantee  Apply pressure.    also post your dealers name here.


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## Chris04626 (Nov 16, 2013)

I bought it at Evergreen Home & Hearth in Ellsworth, Maine


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## PassionForFire&Water (Nov 16, 2013)

Chris04626 said:


> I bought it at Evergreen Home & Hearth in Ellsworth, Maine


 
Hi Chris, I'm following this tread since a while and I also did see your tread in the boiler room.
I second IceGuy's opinion.

I don't know the law in Maine, but I would write a certified letter to your installer, telling him what is not working properly and giving him x-number of days to solve it.
If he does not step up you take it to the next level, in Mass that would be SCC, up to $7,000.

I assume you are probably for around or more then $10,000 into this pellet boiler endeavor.
If you pay that much you may expect something that does the job for you.

Don't delay this any longer.

Just my 2 cents.

Good luck!


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## Chris04626 (Nov 16, 2013)

any tips to clean the combustion blower, i have that off and its covered, the blades in behind the blades on the play in stick cresotle i have been scrubbing but i dunno if it will ever come clean.  Thoughts on how to clean it?


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## iceguy4 (Nov 16, 2013)

Chris04626 said:


> any tips to clean the combustion blower, i have that off and its covered, the blades in behind the blades on the play in stick cresotle i have been scrubbing but i dunno if it will ever come clean.  Thoughts on how to clean it?


   first thing I would do is take of the impeller (allen wrench needed) depending on how thick, I would use anything from gasoline to a propane torch..(not at same time).creosote..NOT my experience.   mine has always cleaned nicely with a wire brush (once removed)


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## Chris04626 (Nov 16, 2013)

i got it clean put it back together went to put it on and i had the motor part put back on wrong, so i try and take it off to turn it and one of the nuts is stuck on just keeps turning. So i just put it back on like that, not sure f it maters or not. We will see if it runs any better now, if not i will call the dealer again Monday


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## Chris04626 (Nov 17, 2013)

Ran overnight without any unburned pellets in the ashpan, there is some ash build up in the pot that i will scrape out next time i notice the fire off.

Any tips on being able to get that nutt off if and when i need to give it a another deep clean


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## Chris04626 (Nov 20, 2013)

The Boiler has been running great since cleaning the combustion fan no unburned pellets, no partial burned pellets, The ash is very fine, unlike the thicker chunky stuff i was getting before.


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## Chris04626 (Dec 12, 2013)

My boiler has been running fine, since we have been down to 15 degrees and lower we are down to 63 in here. Whats going on? I have MAx set to 185 and low set to 160 and feed 5

cleaned ashpan, and fines areas and scraped heating tubes with wire brush?

Also my feeder has developed a squeal it will squal every time it turns

The boiler is still getting to its max temp and shutting off, but temp in house isnt rising or getting anywhere close to set point like it has been doing


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## sinnian (Dec 13, 2013)

Set the max to 200-220, if it is like mine ~ that is the shut off point, not what the boiler "wants" to go to.  On mine, the boiler wants to go to the minimum, which I just bumped mine up to 170 for this cold spell, I'll go back down to 160 after.

How many square feet are you trying to heat?  If I remember correctly it isn't much ~ which could be your problem.


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## Chris04626 (Dec 13, 2013)

My max only goes to 185  which its set at

Min i have set a 160 right now.       I have 1800 square feet but only have heat ran to the downstairs no heat ran to second story,

Its been keeping it at 70 degrees easily that we had the thermostat set to, but since temps dropped she cant get over 63/64         I figured it was duty but i vacummed and scraped the tubes, but its not climbing back.


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## moey (Dec 13, 2013)

Chris04626 said:


> My max only goes to 185  which its set at
> 
> Min i have set a 160 right now.       I have 1800 square feet but only have heat ran to the downstairs no heat ran to second story,
> 
> Its been keeping it at 70 degrees easily that we had the thermostat set to, but since temps dropped she cant get over 63/64         I figured it was duty but i vacummed and scraped the tubes, but its not climbing back.



If your upstairs is open to the downstairs your still heating it youll need some high baseboard temps to account for it.


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## PassionForFire&Water (Dec 13, 2013)

pellet boiler output insufficient in combination with not enough lineal feet of base board


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## SmokeEater (Dec 13, 2013)

Tonight it is currently -6 and going down to a forecast -13 with strong NW winds.  My PB105 is doing just fine keeping the 3000 sq. ft. home at a nice temp.  The cellar I have set at 75 and is heated only by a 18,000 btu/hr modine, main floor thermostat is at 72 until it auto sets back to 68 at 9:30.  The temp is 72.  I put a bag in the hopper at about 7 this morning and another at about noon.  Two more at 3:00.  When I returned at 7:30 there was still about a bag remaining in the hopper when I put another bag in.  I should be ok until 7 tomorrow morning.  So I'll burn the maximum today that I have burned in two years.  The panel is set for 185 and 160.  I did not see the needle below 180 today. Thinking that I would have burned about 15 gallons of fossil at $3.70 per gallon for the same warmth or over $55.  The pellets were about $25.


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## Chris04626 (Dec 14, 2013)

I have mine set at 10 and 185 as well with a 4.5 feed


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