Harman 52i not working properly--low heat, runs dirty, excess ash

[GeHmTS]

The Patriot defense suck. They are going to have to do much better job if they expect to win the big one.

 

[heat seeker]

I thought the game was over when the Patriots were running out the clock. I came back and Baltimore had the ball and throwing a hell marry pass. Message to self, "never walk away until the time runs out."

"It ain't over until it's over!" - Yogi Berra

 

[woodmakesheat]

and the oak screen removed.

I'll give you credit for one thing - you're gonna stick to your guns even knowing that the screen, as pictured, couldn't possibly be causing enough of a restriction to mean anything. Now inside the OAK tube might be a 10 foot long, 1" flex tube twisted into a knot, and I also don't like the intake being at the same height or above the exhaust. But I will not be conceding that a large mesh screen should be removed no matter how many times it's repeated. I do wonder what the talk of Harman's sometimes being sensitive to OAKs and the talk of damper adjustments and vacuum measurements is all about. It kind of fits into the Englander "OAK MUST be used" instructions - it seems stoves are optimized at the engineering level one way or the other.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

I'll give you credit for one thing - you're gonna stick to your guns even knowing that the screen, as pictured, couldn't possibly be causing enough of a restriction to mean anything. Now inside the OAK tube might be a 10 foot long, 1" flex tube twisted into a knot, and I also don't like the intake being at the same height or above the exhaust. But I will not be conceding that a large mesh screen should be removed no matter how many times it's repeated. I do wonder what the talk of Harman's sometimes being sensitive to OAKs and the talk of damper adjustments and vacuum measurements is all about. It kind of fits into the Englander "OAK MUST be used" instructions - it seems stoves are optimized at the engineering level one way or the other.

The Harman draft adjustment is to make allowances for the differences in the house hold voltage at the actual install location. Likewise the damper adjustments are used to tune the stove to the particular vent system is has attached. Your damper is called LBA the other feed trim is called LFF or something like that that is used to fine tune the Fuel/Air (Oxygen but it isn't quite that at times) ratio.

Not all stoves are overblown either.

Yes they are set to comply with regulations more than anything else these days. You might want to know that Harman strongly recommends the use of an OAK as well.

It is also mandatory under certain conditions for all stoves.

Anything in the air flow path will degrade the stoves ability to burn correctly, they basically operate on a very fine edge. When they tip they really can be infuriating. I hope you never find out how infuriating they can be.

 

[woodmakesheat]

The Harman draft adjustment is to make allowances for the differences in the house hold voltage at the actual install location. Likewise the damper adjustments are used to tune the stove to the particular vent system is has attached. Your damper is called LBA the other feed trim is called LFF or something like that is used to fine tune the Fuel/Air (Oxygen but it isn't quite that at times) ratio.

Thanks for the explanation. I have played with the LBA/LFF adjustments on mine and was glad that I was able to follow the "minimum path lengths are best" in my setup as factory settings worked best. I realize each stove needs to be dialed in and that the O/P unit seems either to not be dialed in or has a factory defect.

Not all stoves are overblown either.
Yes they are set to comply with regulations more than anything else these days. You might want to know that Harman strongly recommends the use of an OAK as well.
It is also mandatory under certain conditions for all stoves.

I agree that OAKs are always a good thing. I would like to note that Harman has found an exception to EPA requirements and most of their stoves are not EPA certified. All they say is that they comply with a 35:1 air/fuel ratio and point to some other specification that allows the exemption from EPA certification. This is why they only list input ratings which confuses people into thinking that the rated input number is the output rating. No emissions are listed either. This kind of implies that they are overblown for the sake of meeting said exemption - at least that's how I read it.

I hope you never find out how infuriating they can be.

I have had a few moments. For instance I left an ash dump flap on one side of the stove not slid all the way in and woke up to a stove with a lot of ash on the window the day after a cleaning. The mess was biased to one side of the stove. Just today I figured out why it was so dramatic - the intake air was bypassing the burn pot by passing through the ash drawer and up the side of the combustion chamber.

On another day I grabbed some loose bags of pellets at the box store (yes, they were under overhang) to try out and one bag must've been wet and it made black puff inside the combustion chamber and throughout the exhaust - what a mess - I got that crap all over me while tapping the vertical outside.

Once when I emptied the "T" cleanout I accidentally let that crap blow all over the place. I went inside and noted a lazy flame and a hint of smoke. Hmmmm, could it be? I went outside and wiped the ash off of the fine mesh on the OAK inlet and I could even hear the difference right away!! lol. So that's advice - if you have a fine mesh screen, vacuum or at least wipe it once in a while.

And I've learned that a tall yellow lazy flame after 10 or more days since a cleaning means "clean me now".

 

[F4jock]

Soooooo. What happened to the OP??

 

[Harman Lover 007]

After 156 posts, is that a question that really needs to be asked?

 

[alternativeheat]

Soooooo. What happened to the OP??

I figure it was either a total success and he isn't the type to report back the facts. Or it was a total failure and has looked for other means of repair or just bailed on pellet heat all together. Some people aren't into fellowship ? I.E. I don't know.

 

[F4jock]

After 156 posts, is that a question that really needs to be asked?

OP was on the thread today.