XXV newly installled 09/07 problem

[masterswimmer]

Tough night to be posting a problem like this. But here goes anyway......

September, 07 I had my Harmon XXV installed. It's been running flawlessly. I've gone through approx. 1.5 tons of pellets so far. Not excessive IMO. I regularly clean the burn pot, ash pan and vacuum the insides.

I did all the above today. Turned off the stove for about an hour to allow the glass to cool. Cleaned it too.

Turned everything back on. I keep the settings as follows:

Room Temp (1/2 way)
Automatic
Approx. 3 auger speed
Approx. 74-75 degree room temp

After vacuuming and prepping everything for a nice night of pellet heat, I turned the 'off' switch to Room Temp to restart the stove.

The stove is in my basement, so there was no need to go down to check everything. It's always been a very easy cleanup and startup.

Well tonight, after about 4 hours and ready to go to bed, I went down to 'top off' the pellets. Lo and behold, the stove never turned back on. The ash pan was completely full of unburned pellets. The firepot was obviously full of unburned pellets. I'm perplexed as to the problem at hand.

I tried the test mode. Nothing happened.
I unplugged the power cord for about 10 minutes to just allow everything to reset. Re-plugged it in and the auger continued to feed pellets. I cleaned out the unburned pellets from the burn pot and restarted everything as usual. Unfortunately the usual didn't happen and we still have no fire.

The digital control panel seems to be working. No blinking lights.

At this time the stove is going to remain unplugged until I can get some resolution from the installer (only been about 3-4 months). Problem #2, it's Sunday now (stove company is closed Sunday). Tomorrow is New Years Eve. And Tuesday is New Years Day. I'm figuring without someones expertise from my favorite Hearth.com site, I'm going to be stoveless at least until Wednesday (when I can at least reach them to set up an appointment).

Is there anyone out here who can offer me any assistance? I hate to use the term 'desperate' when life and limb are not at risk, so I'm reaching out for a solution.

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and continues with a happy and healthy new year.

Thanks in advance for any help,
Russ

 

[razor]

Bad Ignitor ?
Leave the burnpot about half full, turn on stove and try to light it with a propane torch.

 

[pegdot]

Shouldn't the stove have sensed that it had no fire and shut the pellet feed off?

I'd light it manually and keep a close eye on it if you need the heat but I wouldn't trust it too far until you get some more answers here or from the dealer.

I'm not familiar with your stove but mine will occasionally fail to light for some reason but when it does it shuts itself off way before it feeds enough pellets to overflow the burn pot.

 

[cantman]

Bad or disconnected ESP?? Maybe stuck at the electrical resistance for "proof of flame" and not allowing the
ignitor to engage. It'll feed pellets and will overflow burnpot. I'm no expert / just my $.02

 

[GVA]

Turn the stove on and check to see if the burnpot heats up.
Check for excessive fines under the burnpot (tap the burnpot to help shake fines off of ignitor)
Make sure the switch is set to auto, not manual
If you need, yes light it with a torch.........

 

[masterswimmer]

Thanks guys. I'll try the propane torch as ignition source for the time being (and keep a very close eye on it).

Anybody know if this is a common occurrence with Harmon XXV's after only 4 months? I also thought the feed auger would have sensed a 'no burn situation' and shut down. But to have a completely filled, unburned ash pot of pellets, scared me.

I'll keep everyone posted.

Thanks again, and happy new year to all,
Russ

 

[samandlillie]

Only once in 1.5 years did my XXV not light. After cleaning in the igniter area, it worked fine. Yes, light it manually and get some heat. It is still under warranty.
Wayne in Nova Scotia

 

[pete324rocket]

I have a different stove but its easy to put the burnpot back in its holder after cleaning it so that the ignitor hole is not lined up although at first glance it appears that way-would cause the problems you describe.

 

[John H]

Did you take the plate under the burn pot off and clean all the ashes out? (this is where the igniter is located)Also make sure that the bottom holes in the burn pot are open?

John

 

[Anne]

Russ, I wish I could offer help toward a solution. But I did want to post that our XXV also didn't ignite once and the auger kept feeding and a bunch of pellets overflowed into the ash bin before we realized it was out. In our case we were lucky as it ignited after we turned it off and ran test mode. That XXV has since been replaced due to another issue. Good luck I hope you ahve it fixed soon.

 

[masterswimmer]

Thank you everyone for the input. Being new years weekend (Sunday specifically), we had no viable options. I took the advice of the people I actually trust most......ALL OF YOU!! I used a propane torch to light the burn pot. It has burned continuously since then. I'll be calling them tomorrow (1/2/08) to see what warranty they'll honor. I've been burning it at a very low room temp to try to maintain the flame. I don't want it to go out and not reignite. All the problems with Harmon have had me very concerned about their pending service.

I have not taken apart the plate under the burn pot yet. I've only burned I'd say a ton and a half of pellets and figured it should go longer than that. Maybe I'm wrong. But at this point, turning it off to cool and then relight might not be the best course of action.

One more night and hopefully tomorrow I'll have a resolution.

Thanks again to everyone for your input. We'd have been fireless without you......on a long new years weekend

Updates to follow.........

Russ

 

[GVA]

Flip the ignitor switch to manual and the stove should not shut down completely