# Harman p43 problems, help!!!



## D-mac02 (Mar 8, 2017)

Hey guys, I have been having a few problems with my Harman p43. This is the 4th winter I have burned with it and at the beginning of this season (I think) or towards the end of last season I replaced the igniter. So about 2 months ago it wouldn't light worth a crap so I had a spare one so I changed it. But now it's not lighting very well again. It seems after I give it a good cleaning which includes cleaning and brushing sides, esp, exhaust pipe, scraping the burn pot, taking a drill bit and making sure the holes are cleaned, taking out the igniter and cleaning and blowing it off it doesn't want to start. It will take and just push pellets off the end. So I either have to light it or go thru the cycle again. But after it runs that first time it lights almost every time after. I have tried everything. Changing dip switch combos, the low voltage adjustment and it still does it. It's not like I'm burning crap pellets. I just finished using up my okie platinums and I'm using blazer Douglas fits right now. So any one have any idea what the problem could be? Combustion blower going again? Gaskets bad? I did notice that if the hopper is full and I open the lid it doesn't change the flame, but if it's like half way down it effects the flame when I open it. It has me puzzled and it's my only source of heat and I have a 1 year old so I kinda need it.


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## alternativeheat (Mar 9, 2017)

It sounds possible that you could have ash built up deeper down inside the igniter chamber that needs blowing or digging out. Barring that, it is possible that you could have a second igniter failure , especially where you remove it so often, thus handling it. I'm going on year 5 and have never had the igniter out of my P61, burning 4 tons a year in the colder winters. For the record, Harman recommends banging on the burn pot exterior each time you scrape the pot and that is sufficient to knock the ash off the igniter. That's all I've ever done for my igniter.  But I do clean the ash out of the compartment under the burn pot ( so called igniter compartment) about every two weeks. Ash in that compartment has always been my slow or no start issue if to have one. At least two people that I know of have had to chase ash out of that compartment deeper than you can reach with a finger, either with an attachment on an ash vac or use a bottle brush to clear ash deep down in that chamber.

A full hopper has a lot of air resistance compared with a half full hopper or near empty one. When my hopper is near empty for filling and I open and close the top it can blow live coals out of the burn pot, that won't happen with a full hopper. I think if you had a bad combustion blower you would have and inconsistent burn, not  so much start up issues.

The only reason you need to reset dip switches if you have retained the original board is if you/anyone put in the wrong replacement ESP.  Note: I did edit this post because had misdirected about wire colors on an igniter when it is the ESP that would be in issue over wire colors of red vs black.

If you have people living in your house who can't tolerate cold conditions or you don't like a cold house ( who does lol) just switch the stove to manual mode and let it run. No need to dramatize the situation, just flip a switch, done deal till you figure out your inconsistent starting issue. Suggestion:  Keep some starting gel on hand. You might burn an extra bag or two of pellets while you figure things out but nobody will be cold.


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## bogieb (Mar 9, 2017)

I agree with Alternativeheat. There is most likely a blockage of air. I thought my P61a igniter was going in the middle of last season so ordered a new one. I have always made sure to get the ash dam back by the intake, as well as clean out the rest of the igniter area so knew that wasn't the issue . While trying to figure out how to uninstall the old igniter and checking out the wiring behind the stove, I finally got tired of the OAK's flex pipe being in my way so removed it and found a partial blockage of FOD right at the stove intake pipe. Removed the FOD, reinstalled the flex pipe and tried the stove out;I still have a brand new back up igniter .

I go thru 4.5 - 7 tons per year (2 stoves, but main floor only uses 1.5-2 tons), have had the P61a for 4 years, the P43 for 2 years and have never changed igniters. I run on thermostat for the main, and room temp in the basement so they start and shut down a lot.

After getting the stove clean, the first light usually takes longer than subsequent lights. a bit of ash (carbon) actually facilitates lighting. That being said, it shouldn't be pushing pellets into the ash pan before it even lights.


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## gfreek (Mar 9, 2017)

alternativeheat said:


> If you have people living in your house who can't tolerate cold conditions or you don't like a cold house ( who does lol) just switch the stove to manual mode and let it run. No need to dramatize the situation, just flip a switch, done deal till you figure out your inconsistent starting issue. Suggestion: Keep some starting gel on hand. You might burn an extra bag or two of pellets while you figure things out but nobody will be cold.


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## UpStateNY (Mar 9, 2017)

Turn Feed Rate down to 1 before starting stove.  This step is in your Harman Instructions manual and printed by the controls. 

I have only replaced the igniter once after  8 years of use  and have never taken it out to clean it.  I clean igniter with paint brush and vacuum.

Drill bit really?  I have never done this. Sounds like drill bit could damage the igniter or damage  wire to igniter. 

Worse case scenario is use Propane torch to start pellets.


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## corkman (Mar 9, 2017)

alternativeheat said:


> It sounds possible that you could have ash built up deeper down inside the igniter chamber that needs blowing or digging out. Barring that, it is possible that you could have a second igniter failure , especially where you remove it so often, thus handling it. I'm going on year 5 and have never had the igniter out of my P61, burning 4 tons a year in the colder winters. For the record, Harman recommends banging on the burn pot exterior each time you scrape the pot and that is sufficient to knock the ash off the igniter. That's all I've ever done for my igniter. But I do clean the ash out of the compartment under the burn pot ( so called igniter compartment) about every two weeks. Ash in that compartment has always been my slow or no start issue if to have one. At least two people that I know of have had to chase ash out of that compartment deeper than you can reach with a finger, either with an attachment on an ash vac or use a bottle brush to clear ash deep down in that chamber.
> 
> A full hopper has a lot of air resistance compared with a half full hopper or near empty one. When my hopper is near empty for filling and I open and close the top it can blow live coals out of the burn pot, that won't happen with a full hopper. I think if you had a bad combustion blower you would have and inconsistent burn, not so much start up issues.
> 
> The only reason you need to reset dip switches if you have retained the original board is if you put in the wrong igniter, otherwise the stove ran fine right ? So there are two igniters possible, a red wire igniter and a black wire igniter, change them out like for like and you don't need to touch a dip switch.. Mix them up and you do need to change dip switches. What color were the wires of your original igniter ? And what color are the wires on the replacement ?


Just to clarity for op.i think alternative is referring to the ESP when he's talking about red or black wires and not the igniter. Different color wires for the ignter.


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## alternativeheat (Mar 9, 2017)

corkman said:


> Just to clarity for op.i think alternative is referring to the ESP when he's talking about red or black wires and not the igniter. Different color wires for the ignter.


Oop ! Yes you're right, thank you corkman. I'm going to edit that post so it doesn't confuse anyone else but again thanks for pointing that out.


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## Tonyray (Mar 9, 2017)

alternativeheat said:


> Oop ! Yes you're right, thank you corkman, I'm going to edit that post so it doesn't confuse anyone else but again thanks for pointing that out.


blue/yellow wires for my P61A igniter..


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## bogieb (Mar 10, 2017)

UpStateNY said:


> Turn Feed Rate down to 1 before starting stove.  This step is in your Harman Instructions manual and printed by the controls.
> 
> .



My manual says to have the feed rate at 4, although my P43 is usually set at 3 because the pellets I have been using are on the small end of the spectrum. Maybe newer stoves are different?


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## bags (Mar 10, 2017)

UpStateNY said:


> Turn Feed Rate down to 1 before starting stove.  This step is in your Harman Instructions manual and printed by the controls.
> 
> I have only replaced the igniter once after  8 years of use  and have never taken it out to clean it.  I clean igniter with paint brush and vacuum.
> 
> ...



I don't think the OP is drilling anything. Many use a drill bit the size of the holes on the burn pot just to poke them and knock out any build up or ash that might obstruct them.


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## Tonyray (Mar 10, 2017)

bags said:


> I don't think the OP is drilling anything. Many use a drill bit the size of the holes on the burn pot just to poke them and knock out any build up or ash that might obstruct them.


I use toothpicks...


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## alternativeheat (Mar 10, 2017)

It's been a long time since I've had to clear burn pot holes, pretty much since I stopped burning Oakie DF and LG pellets ( either could cause a glaze to form , though both were pretty low ash). I've been burning TSC pellets pretty much all winter this year and not had to clear them at all. I'm drawing a blank as to what I used to clean them, guess that's just another sign of turning 67 next month LOL ! But what I do remember is I just pushed what ever it was through just enough to clear the holes . Guess it must have been a small drill bit but I was concerned not to wreck the igniter element. I have not cleared the holes all this winter and have been burning since the end of Sept. I cleaned the stove today, just a quickie clean job but I wanted it done before the cold comes in overnight tonight. I checked the burn pot holes, still clear.


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## Tonyray (Mar 10, 2017)

alternativeheat said:


> It's been a long time since I've had to clear burn pot holes, pretty much since I stopped burning Oakie DF and LG pellets ( either could cause a glaze to form , though both were pretty low ash). I've been burning TSC pellets pretty much all winter this year and not had to clear them at all. I'm drawing a blank as to what I used to clean them, guess that's just another sign of turning 67 next month LOL ! But what I do remember is I just pushed what ever it was through just enough to clear the holes . Guess it must have been a small drill bit but I was concerned not to wreck the igniter element. I have not cleared the holes all this winter and have been burning since the end of Sept. I cleaned the stove today, just a quickie clean job but I wanted it done before the cold comes in overnight tonight. I checked the burn pot holes, still clear.


funny u should mention the Okie firs...
I noticed that in burning firs, okie, blazers etc, being such a dense pellet, in room/auto mode [during shoulder season anyways] I would have a lot of  half burned pellets in the burnpot after the flames went completly out.   I think firs needed to be in the super hot envirornment all the time meaning a constant burning...say during a very cold spell where room auto will not shut down during said cold spell.
I think they take a bit longer to completley turn into ash therefore having the reputation for longer burn times than other pellets..[ which is a good thing]
could be reason for the glazing?.. not burning long/steady/un-interupted  during *shoulder season.*.?
[which also seems to make glass a bit dirtier with many other pellets..]


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## alternativeheat (Mar 11, 2017)

"could be reason for the glazing?.. not burning long/steady/un-interupted during *shoulder season.*.?"

They ( DF) also seem to sort of form together, almost mold to one another in the low burn state, like there is a lot of resin in them that forms clumps of a sort of clinker when cold ( stove off).. I think their chemical makeup likes that hot burn you mention, and burn to completion. They aren't an ideal shoulder season pellet, IMO.

I've been quite happy with the $4.79 a bag TSC pellets this season.


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## Tonyray (Mar 11, 2017)

agree,,,,,


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## bogieb (Mar 11, 2017)

bags said:


> I don't think the OP is drilling anything. Many use a drill bit the size of the holes on the burn pot just to poke them and knock out any build up or ash that might obstruct them.





Tonyray said:


> I use toothpicks...



I use an Allen wrench.


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## bags (Mar 11, 2017)

I just looked into my pellet stove tool cleaning tote and I also have a small allen wrench in my stash for the holes. This is my third burning season and I've only stuck that allen wrench or drill bit in those holes once. If you scrape the pot regularly and clean on schedule or close the holes won't clog up or at least mine never have even when I did the unnecessary hole proding the one time. I guess much on that hole clogging would have to do with certain pellets or conditions.

The drill bit or allen wrench trick I learned here as I assume the OP read it as well. Basically just find something that fits the holes and make sure they are clear to rule that out for air flow or igniter issues. In my stoves I can look and see they are clear pretty easily as is....


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## scajjr2 (Mar 11, 2017)

I too use an allen wrench to clean out the holes, though I've never found one plugged shut.

Got up at 6 this morning, it was 6 outside, 74 in the house. 

Sam


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## alternativeheat (Mar 11, 2017)

scajjr2 said:


> I too use an allen wrench to clean out the holes, though I've never found one plugged shut.
> 
> Got up at 6 this morning, it was 6 outside, 74 in the house.
> 
> Sam


14 out here this morning and blowing 25mph, the house was 73 when I got up. .


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## bogieb (Mar 11, 2017)

5* when I got up this morning. Wind chill of -14 (according to the TV - for the next town over). House at 70 - just where I like it.


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## Tails1 (Mar 11, 2017)

I had turned off my pellet stove yesterday as we were using the woodstove which went out in the night. House was still 69-70 this morning.


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