Harman Ignitor

[Harman Lover 007]

Just got done cleaning my Harman Accentra insert after five weeks burn. Took about forty-five minutes. More ash than last time but nothing blocked or excessive. Timed restart from pellet feed start to flame: One hundred and seven seconds.

Smokin' fast.....

 

[F4jock]

Smokin' fast.....

Yeah. Surprised me even. Ignite times have been much faster and more consistent since I replaced the igniter with the fifteen-fin model. Also, my high-temp ceramic wire-nut trick for installation seems to be working fine. Three months and looking good!

 

[Tonyray]

Just cleaned my rig today..
I use a Can of compressed Air and point the thin red sprayer at the Igniter.. loosend bit of ash [after I pulled quite a bit out with fingers.
Note to self: : make sure the Exhaust fan is running when you do this...

Pretty sure my "feed to Blastoff" time will be pretty much same as always..

 

[Tonyray]

ok.... harman P61A.
After feed started:
Sparks flying at 1: 30 seconds.
hot Emebers smoldering at 4 minutes/with smoke starting to fill burn pot.
Full flame burst at 4: 30 seconds...Exhaust kicks on.
Using Energex Hardwoods.
Stove bought new last winter.
15 fin Igniter.

 

[F4jock]

ok.... harman P61A.
After feed started:
Sparks flying at 1: 30 seconds.
hot Emebers smoldering at 4 minutes/with smoke starting to fill burn pot.
Full flame burst at 4: 30 seconds...Exhaust kicks on.
Using Energex Hardwoods.
Stove bought new last winter.
15 fin Igniter.

Interesting. Is the igniter clean? In my case spark comes within ten seconds of the end of feed and flame approx twenty to thirty later.

 

[Tonyray]

Interesting. Is the igniter clean? In my case spark comes within ten seconds of the end of feed and flame approx twenty to thirty later.

yes.. cleaned it out today..
pulled all the ash out then blew the igniter with compressed air...
.
Your time is awfully friggin fast.. faster than most stove owners here..
thankfully speed[ or lack of] of 1st start pellets burning is not really an issue or problem.
my flame starting around 4/half minutes or more I think is more the norm than not from what I have read
in the past here.. that's some crazy stove and I have the same one.lol
btw:
when I timed this, I was NOT directly looking in the stove but about 10 feet away so I timed it when I started seeing sparks but I;m sure underneath the pellets it prob started sooner than 1 min/30 seconds. either way I still think that is a more prevelant time than not...but, may be wrong.

 

[F4jock]

yes.. cleaned it out today..
pulled all the ash out then blew the igniter with compressed air...
.
Your time is awfully friggin fast.. faster than most stove owners here..
thankfully speed[ or lack of] of 1st start pellets burning is not really an issue or problem.
my flame starting around 4/half minutes or more I think is more the norm than not from what I have read
in the past here.. that's some crazy stove and I have the same one.lol

Yeah. I can't explain it. Only three variables I can think of. 1) I have my combustion blower voltage maxed. 2) Pellets. I'm using Lignetics. 3) My board is 2007 / 8 original. Of course chimney height is about twenty feet. Four-inch flue. Half-a**ed OAK. Other than that. . . . .

 

[Harman Lover 007]

Yeah. I can't explain it. Only three variables I can think of. 1) I have my combustion blower voltage maxed. 2) Pellets. I'm using Lignetics. 3) My board is 2007 / 8 original. Of course chimney height is about twenty feet. Four-inch flue. Half-a**ed OAK. Other than that. . . . .

So as stated earlier in this thread, your Accentra insert has the fastest start cycle of any Harman stove. Default -64 seconds. Couple that with a smaller burn pot than the P61a and that will make a noticeable difference.

 

[Tonyray]

So as stated earlier in this thread, your Accentra insert has the fastest start cycle of any Harman stove. Default -64 seconds. Couple that with a smaller burn pot than the P61a and that will make a noticeable difference.

That sounds very logical and prob is the reason..smaller burn pot, less pellets etc..

 

[OK_Bill]

I'm a new Accentra owner as of 7 days ago. Time to light-off around 4 min. Henry County premium hard wood pellets.

I must admit I don't see how the igniter works when it doesn't have direct contact with the pellets. Looks like the igniter is just beneath the burn pots lower plate - where there's a hole pattern in the plate.

It's a fantastic stove.

 

[FSG63]

26 minute start time for Harman Accentra 52i, manufactured July 2013, Dec 2013 install, Vermont softwood pellets, running on auto start. Today room temp was reached, stove shut down, upon restart burn pot filled but no ignition, stove shut down. Took plate off bottom of burn pot and vacuumed chamber, blew out ignitor with canned air, and checked all holes in burnpot ( they were all clear). On the next startup stove was drawing 2.8 amps (340 Watts) before ignition and 3.15 amps (380 Watts) before ignition when the feed motor was turning. Took 26 minutes to start. Right now stove is drawing 1.3 - 1.8 amps (160-220 Watts) Last winter took (im guessing 5-7 minutes to start.

This heating season have more long start times +- 20min, than short 5-7 min start times. Have also had many ( over a dozen) of of failed start attempts (pellets feeding but no ignition) and stove shuts off. Using same pellets as last year. I did not remove and clean ESP on last cleaning Stove is running now and giving 5 blinks.

Someone prior mentioned new burnpot design. The only difference from last year is the date of manufacture of the pellets. I almost think a majority of the false starts occur when I turn room temp to 63 degrees from 68 or 70 degree setting. Many times the stove will shut off but then not relight.

Any one have any ideas?

 

[dhall28]

do you have any dark black soot on the glass?

 

[FSG63]

Yes there is dark black soot, mostly at the bottom of the glass. This soot is much more difficult to clean, than the rest of the glass.

 

[kinsmanstoves]

u have me a bit confused... I loosen the 2 wing-nut type fastners, remove the cover plate, and use fingers to remove the dried black ash..
why do u remove the 5/16 bolts? or does your rig have different attach hardware...
BTW: good idea about lower feed rate to Ignite...
I know sometimes mine takes a good 10 minutes or more..

You seem to lost something in your transfer of information. As for my "rig" I am a Harman dealer and have many "rigs".

Eric

 

[Tonyray]

You seem to lost something in your transfer of information. As for my "rig" I am a Harman dealer and have many "rigs".

Eric

to clean the igniter compartment, I loosen the 2 wingnuts and remove the compartment cover..
I was asking about why you would loosen or remove the 5/16 bolts that hold the Igniter assembly..
[ other than to replace the Igniter]..

 

[kinsmanstoves]

The ignitor is finned and in a cradle located under holes on the burn assembly. The ignitor will collect fly ash. The only and easiest way to remove all that ash is to do as I described.

Eric

 

[tiger]

Mine varies a lot.... 6 to 15 minutes. But it always starts -- so far.

 

[Tonyray]

The ignitor is finned and in a cradle located under holes on the burn assembly. The ignitor will collect fly ash. The only and easiest way to remove all that ash is to do as I described.

Eric

ok.. understand..
I usually blast it with compressed air but I may try your way once after the canned air to see if it get's it all or not. good test huh..?

 

[Harman Lover 007]

26 minute start time for Harman Accentra 52i, manufactured July 2013, Dec 2013 install, Vermont softwood pellets, running on auto start. Today room temp was reached, stove shut down, upon restart burn pot filled but no ignition, stove shut down. Took plate off bottom of burn pot and vacuumed chamber, blew out ignitor with canned air, and checked all holes in burnpot ( they were all clear). On the next startup stove was drawing 2.8 amps (340 Watts) before ignition and 3.15 amps (380 Watts) before ignition when the feed motor was turning. Took 26 minutes to start. Right now stove is drawing 1.3 - 1.8 amps (160-220 Watts) Last winter took (im guessing 5-7 minutes to start.

This heating season have more long start times +- 20min, than short 5-7 min start times. Have also had many ( over a dozen) of of failed start attempts (pellets feeding but no ignition) and stove shuts off. Using same pellets as last year. I did not remove and clean ESP on last cleaning Stove is running now and giving 5 blinks.

Someone prior mentioned new burnpot design. The only difference from last year is the date of manufacture of the pellets. I almost think a majority of the false starts occur when I turn room temp to 63 degrees from 68 or 70 degree setting. Many times the stove will shut off but then not relight.

Any one have any ideas?

5 blinks is "failed to start within 36 minute time frame". If you have a full burnpot then I would start by making sure your igniter is attached in the cradle properly. You describe the current draw but is the burnpot getting hot enough to ignite the pellets?

 

[dhall28]

Yes there is dark black soot, mostly at the bottom of the glass. This soot is much more difficult to clean, than the rest of the glass.

black soot equals air flow problem, fix the air air flow and the black soot will go away, should only have light tan to dark brown ash, never black soot. also your slow start/no start issue will be greatly helped if not entirely fixed by better ariflow.

 

[FSG63]

5 blinks is "failed to start within 36 minute time frame". If you have a full burnpot then I would start by making sure your igniter is attached in the cradle properly. You describe the current draw but is the burnpot getting hot enough to ignite the pellets?

I don't know how to check the the burnpot to see if it is getting hot. I've been curious as to how the ignition happens. Do the pellets get heated from the burnpot, or are the pellets heated by the air that flows by the ignitor. When the stove starts quickly, it seems as though the ignition takes place near the auger, but the ignitor is a distance away from the auger. On slow start +- 20 minutes, its hard to tell where the heat may be coming from.

 

[FSG63]

black soot equals air flow problem, fix the air air flow and the black soot will go away, should only have light tan to dark brown ash, never black soot. also your slow start/no start issue will be greatly helped if not entirely fixed by better ariflow.

Chimney (22 feet of 4" dia Stainless Steel liner) was cleaned, The fire does not appear to be lazy, and the sparks are flying up, mostly in front of the medallion panel, disappearing up at the top of the fire chamber (above medallion). There are black soot "streaks" at the bottom of the glass. I do have outside air to the fireplace but it is currently blocked off. Other than that I don't know how to check airflow.

 

[F4jock]

I don't know how to check the the burnpot to see if it is getting hot. I've been curious as to how the ignition happens. Do the pellets get heated from the burnpot, or are the pellets heated by the air that flows by the ignitor. When the stove starts quickly, it seems as though the ignition takes place near the auger, but the ignitor is a distance away from the auger. On slow start +- 20 minutes, its hard to tell where the heat may be coming from.

The igniter sits up close to the lip of the burnpot, at least in my model. I can watch air heat ripples after the auger stops it's first fill cycle. If worse comes to worse I can open the door and hold my hand over the pot to feel the heat. Can also watch pellet fragments move over that area.

 

[F4jock]

Chimney (22 feet of 4" dia Stainless Steel liner) was cleaned, The fire does not appear to be lazy, and the sparks are flying up, mostly in front of the medallion panel, disappearing up at the top of the fire chamber (above medallion). There are black soot "streaks" at the bottom of the glass. I do have outside air to the fireplace but it is currently blocked off. Other than that I don't know how to check airflow.

Sounds like good movement to me. Try opening the outside air.

 

[RKS130]

Question about Harman Accentra insert Ignitor:
I've noticed that after my "Ignitor" switch lights up (red ligh), it takes a long time (5-10mins) before I actially see sparks and the pellets lighting up.
Is that normal? Or sign of any trouble with the ignitor?
Its a new stove - barely 2months.

My Accentra FS has flame in 4 to 6 minutes max. This is its 4th season and going strong. On the expert and welcomed advice of Eric Kinsman, a season or so ago, when I do a deep clean, I loosen the two hex headed screws holding the ignitor in place and give it some soft raps to shake off soot/ash. No worries here.

EDIT: Hadn't read the entire post. I see that Eric had already weighed in with his insight. Sorry for the duplication - at least I credited the advice