Allen wrench?

[Robert Tee]

New Harmon XXV installed 6 days ago. Enjoying thus far.
I'm still a newbie to pellet stoves, a a bit confused on some things.
A few questions, if I may.

1. Running on Auto/ Room temp mode. Distribution blower rarely shuts off, even when stove is relatively cool.
Is this normal? Also, I'm not sure I understand logic of how to set distribution blower per the manual. Is there a recommended sweet spot setting?
2. Flame size quite variable. Manual suggests flame size of approximately 6 " as rule of thumb. Flame may easily reach top of burn chamber and spread along heat exchanger when stove is called upon to first provide heat, and remain that high for a while. A bit later, will settle down to approx. 6-8 inches, or so. And subsequently, smaller than that. Adjusting feed rate has affected this pattern very little.
3. About to do my first weekly cleaning. Have left the stove off while at work today so ashes will be cool when I get home. Is this what most folks do? Harmon's recommendation to poke Allen wrench through burn pot holes is clear enough, however no Allen wrench was provided to me. What size Allen wrench is correct for this job?

Thanks for your assistance.

Robert

 

[womaus]

New Harmon XXV installed 6 days ago. Enjoying thus far.
I'm still a newbie to pellet stoves, a a bit confused on some things.
A few questions, if I may.

1. Running on Auto/ Room temp mode. Distribution blower rarely shuts off, even when stove is relatively cool.
Is this normal? Also, I'm not sure I understand logic of how to set distribution blower per the manual. Is there a recommended sweet spot setting?

This guy explains it nicely...watch it a few times sitting in front of the control panel. There will eventually be an "aha" moment.

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2. Flame size quite variable. Manual suggests flame size of approximately 6 " as rule of thumb. Flame may easily reach top of burn chamber and spread along heat exchanger when stove is called upon to first provide heat, and remain that high for a while. A bit later, will settle down to approx. 6-8 inches, or so. And subsequently, smaller than that. Adjusting feed rate has affected this pattern very little.

I'm looking forward to someone more knowledgeable coming in than I to answer this one. I expect though it is due to the calls for activity from the thermostat.

3. About to do my first weekly cleaning. Have left the stove off while at work today so ashes will be cool when I get home. Is this what most folks do? Harmon's recommendation to poke Allen wrench through burn pot holes is clear enough, however no Allen wrench was provided to me. What size Allen wrench is correct for this job?

The stove is easier to clean when cold, or just warm. Safer I bet to do it cold...but some people run theirs 24/7 through the worse part of the winter.

The burn pot / chamber has perforations...you just need to poke something that will fit into the holes. I use a stiff wire brush for the initial cleaning in that area, then a quick poke with dental type tools. Be careful not to poke in too far (more than 3/8"?) so as to not damage the igniter.

Scrape the sides and base too of that area...get rid of the clinkers.

Thanks for your assistance.

Robert

 

[jackman]

Welcome Robert. What you describe all sounds normal. I keep the feed rate at 3.5 on my stove. Generally you don't need to change it. Too high a setting will result in unburned pellets dropping off the burn pot. The distribution blower speed will not shut off if the room temp probe is calling for heat. I scrape my burn pot clean every time I add a bag without shutting down the stove. I use a bent nail to clean out the holes in the burn pot when I do shut down the stove.

Be sure to also read this thread: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/how-your-harman-works-what-your-manual-doesnt-tell-you.91030/

 

[rcook430]

I run mine mostly in stove temp mode just because of where my stove is in relation to where we spend most of out time so I can't help you a lot but I will do my best. The fan distribution fan will not shut off until the stove is satified it is cooled off. As far as what to set you distribution fan on is mostly personal preference. And regarding the allen wrench I just got one that was a little smaller than the holes. Depending on quality of pellets the holes on mine only need cleaning after about 1/2 ton burnt and then it is only the ones toward the rear of the stove (the ones you cant really see ). Also after one week all that mine gets cleaned is I take a paint brush and brush off the fine ash on the heat exchanger and walls of the inside of the stove. It's a Harman so it doesn't need cleaning very often if using quality pellets. But your experience may vary as other variables come into play like set up of stove and how you burn it, slow fires versus ran on high all the time.

 

[DMKNLD]

I've used .32 and .40 caliber gun bore cleaning brushes on the fire pot holes in my Quad - available inexpensively at Walmart* or any gun shop. Not sure if that coincides with the Harman fire pot hole sizes or not.

The gun bore brushes clean the fire pot holes out great, with the only problem being they are small and our cats always seem to love batting them around the floor and under the cabinets, down into the heating vents, etc when I'm stove cleaning.

So now I just leave an allen wrench set - the ones that come in the rubber holder - with my stove cleaning stuff, which works just as well. I believe the 3/16" and 5/16" wrenches are the corresponding sizes, and the wrench set is too heavy for the cats to abscond with ! DK