# Auger won't turn - Harman XXV



## newpelletstove (Sep 23, 2012)

Hello, I have read the FAQ about this subject, and I understand that many things I could do to try to troubleshoot the problem - testing the pressure switch, etc.

But I want to ask - I tried to start my Harman XXV, now 4 years old, for the season, and auger won't turn or even try to turn.  (I tried it both by starting the stove, and by the test setting.)  I can (slowly) turn the chain drive by hand, so I don't think it's bound up.  The pressure tube to the pressure switch is in place, and the wiring is in place.  I looked at the front door gasketing, and it may be a little bit flat - not sure if that's letting it leak.  The top door gasketing, and the feed chamber gasket (up inside) look okay.  The stove ran fine in the spring, so I didn't expect this problem now.  Just wondering if after 4 years problems are common with these Harmans, and if there is a usual cause.

Thanks, Bill in Upstate NY


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## MSmith66 (Sep 23, 2012)

newpelletstove said:


> Hello, I have read the FAQ about this subject, and I understand that many things I could do to try to troubleshoot the problem - testing the pressure switch, etc.
> 
> But I want to ask - I tried to start my Harman XXV, now 4 years old, for the season, and auger won't turn or even try to turn. (I tried it both by starting the stove, and by the test setting.) I can (slowly) turn the chain drive by hand, so I don't think it's bound up. The pressure tube to the pressure switch is in place, and the wiring is in place. I looked at the front door gasketing, and it may be a little bit flat - not sure if that's letting it leak. The top door gasketing, and the feed chamber gasket (up inside) look okay. The stove ran fine in the spring, so I didn't expect this problem now. Just wondering if after 4 years problems are common with these Harmans, and if there is a usual cause.
> 
> Thanks, Bill in Upstate NY


Bill have you looked in the feeder box on the right side of the stove, you will need to remove the side panel. It is possible it is full and there is no room for the slider to move, there for the motor will not turn.  Try that and get back with us.


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## smwilliamson (Sep 23, 2012)

Could your vent be clogged? Clean er out.


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## DAKSY (Sep 23, 2012)

Did you try putting AC directly to the motor? That will tell you if it's any good...


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## swalz (Sep 23, 2012)

Check the tubing going to the pressure switch to make sure it is not cracked, mine did the same thing and was the tube leaking.


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## newpelletstove (Sep 23, 2012)

Thank you Msmith. Smwilliamson, and DAKSY, for responding.

1) I cleaned out the feeder box this summer - it is completely empty (and it was almost empty before I cleaned it).

2) My vent is very tall (2 stories) with a couple of bends in it. I have it swept every year, and this coming Thursday will be this year’s sweeping. There’s a chance that over the summer some critters built a home in it - on Thursday I should know if that happened. I do notice that when I have the combustion blower going, the little air flapper on the back doesn’t open. So maybe there is a clog in the vent. Thanks !!

3) I haven’t yet checked out the auger motor with AC - thanks for the suggestion.

4) Another thread today suggests checking door gaskets with a dollar bill - I did that and the gaskets showed to be good.

My next step is to see how that cleaning goes, and if I can, to try some power to the auger motor.

Bill


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## AndrewChurchill (Sep 24, 2012)

Sometimes the air intake flap gets stuck.  You might want to push it open with your fingers to make sure it swings freely.


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## newpelletstove (Sep 24, 2012)

swalz said:


> Check the tubing going to the pressure switch to make sure it is not cracked, mine did the same thing and was the tube leaking.


 
Thanks for the suggestion swalz.  I have looked at the tube from one end to the other and don't see anything wrong - no cracks, and it looks fully installed on both ends.


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## newpelletstove (Sep 24, 2012)

AndrewChurchill said:


> Sometimes the air intake flap gets stuck. You might want to push it open with your fingers to make sure it swings freely.


 
Thanks Andrew. I had pushed it open, and it's free.

I'm really wondering if something isn't in my vent pipe.  I might take a side door off of my exhaust area and see if I get anything blowing out.


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## newpelletstove (Sep 24, 2012)

Problem solved.

I have one of those rectangular adapters on the back of my stove that allows me to have a vertical vent pipe.  Well, that adapter was plugged with soot.

I think the reason is that a few days ago I tapped on my vertical pipe (on two floors), naively thinking that I might loosen a bit of soot that I could remove when I took out the combustion fan for the annual cleaning.  Well, whatever soot I loosened never got as far as the combustion fan - it got hung up in that adapter, starting at the bottom where it turns.

So tonight I took off the side plate on the adapter and saw the soot.  I cleaned and vaccumed it out.  Then I put everything back together, plugged the stove in and put it in test mode, and voila, the auger motor now turns with the other motors.  So the pressure switch did its job.

It's too late this evening to start the stove up, but later this week I hope to start it up for the first time this season.

Thanks to everybody who weighed in to help me.  Smwilliamson, you were right - it was the vent.

Bill


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## smwilliamson (Sep 25, 2012)

newpelletstove said:


> Problem solved.
> 
> I have one of those rectangular adapters on the back of my stove that allows me to have a vertical vent pipe. Well, that adapter was plugged with soot.
> 
> ...


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## directorbud (Oct 10, 2016)

Just tried to fire my Harmon P68 for the first time this year to take the chill off, lights came on but the auger wouldn't run.  I was ready to call the repair shop but decided to check the forums, saw a post that said if the blower motor isn't running the auger won't run, it dawned on me that no fans were running, took the ash pan out and the fan was jammed, took the cover off and out came a bird, tried again, still jammed and out came another bird, not sure how they got in, I replace the wire screen in the pipe but she is running fine now, really like the sharing on the forums, saved me a lot of money!!


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## Lake Girl (Oct 10, 2016)

directorbud said:


> Just tried to fire my Harmon P68 for the first time this year to take the chill off, lights came on but the auger wouldn't run.  I was ready to call the repair shop but decided to check the forums, saw a post that said if the blower motor isn't running the auger won't run, it dawned on me that no fans were running, took the ash pan out and the fan was jammed, took the cover off and out came a bird, tried again, still jammed and out came another bird, not sure how they got in, I replace the wire screen in the pipe but she is running fine now, really like the sharing on the forums, saved me a lot of money!!


Two birds, aren't you lucky!   Check screens on both venting  and OAK as one of them must have failed.


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## smwilliamson (Oct 18, 2016)

You almost killed two birds with one stove. Sorry couldn't resist.


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