Harman PF-100 flame shape and behavior

[exoilburner]

I have seen a few forum posts that had a problem with the PF100 flapper plate in the outside air connection, sticking. Would not matter if you had outside air hooked up or not it would still restrict the airflow through the burnpot. If I remember correctly the problem was corrosion on the pivot ears of the flapper plate or one of the ears might have had a bur not cleaned off the plate at mfr. I believe the fix was to clean up the ear and put a small drop of oil on both pivot points. Then make sure the plate would swing freely

In the picture the arrow is pointing at the flapper (damper) plate.

 

[exoilburner]

Have you removed your upper and lower baffle plates and removed the pile of flyash below the heat exchanger? Also check the flyash build-up in your vent pipe, and combustion blower blades. Check the combustion blower plate sealing overlap and make sure it is clean and seated completely. It is easy to get the sealing plate cocked instead of seated properly. See the install manual maintenance section.

That's on dirty girl!

Yep. You are correct. Miss Piggy. This was after 1 Ton of premium red fir pellets run thru it. Took the picture before cleaning the fire box and heat exchanger.

 

[mlerley]

I have seen a few forum posts that had a problem with the PF100 flapper plate in the outside air connection, sticking. Would not matter if you had outside air hooked up or not it would still restrict the airflow through the burnpot. If I remember correctly the problem was corrosion on the pivot ears of the flapper plate or one of the ears might have had a bur not cleaned off the plate at mfr. I believe the fix was to clean up the ear and put a small drop of oil on both pivot points. Then make sure the plate would swing freely

In the picture the arrow is pointing at the flapper (damper) plate.

This is interesting. I'm out of town this week but I'll take a look at that when I return home.

I called the dealer this morning and he asked if I had the flame guide in place. I honestly don't know. I don't remember seeing it anywhere... can anybody tell from my video if it looks like it's there? He also said he'd order a new low fuel sensor. Hopefully that'll fix that problem.

 

[Ejectr]

What is a flame guide...where is it and what does it look like?

 

[exoilburner]

What is a flame guide...where is it and what does it look like?

This is out of an old Harman PF100 Install manual.

 

[Ejectr]

Hmmm....This is rather confusing. Did they replace the flame guide with the fire brick? where's the fire brick in the picture?

 

[exoilburner]

Hmmm....This is rather confusing. Did they replace the flame guide with the fire brick? where's the fire brick in the picture?

No, I don't think they replaced the flame guide. I think those parts should all be in there (at least in mine they are). The Fire Brick and its mounting bracket sits above the flame guide and pretty much covers the top of the flame guide. If you look at your burnpot from the side you can only see a flame guide tab underneath the fire brick bracket. They are bent down to hold the flame guide from sliding out. (check the diag. in the other post)

I have a Harman check list the installers used to verify some items after they finish the install. I got a copy and I think Harman got the other copy. It has hand marked checks made by the installers for each item. The flame guide is on that list so maybe it is something that is easy for the installers to miss.

 

[mlerley]

Update

I'm back from my week away and have spent some quality time with the stove. I'm honestly not sure if I have a flame guide or not; all the diagrams are very confusing to me. Anyways I determined that the main reason it wasn't working well at ALL while I was gone is that it wasn't feeding much of anything. I pulled the hose off the fitting in the hopper and sucked on it; the pressure switch seems to work ok. I gave it some suction and then pinched and ziptied it for now and the unit worked better than it ever has. Heated the house up very quickly. So now I'm wondering if a) my pressure switch is faulty (e.g. not sensitive enough) or b) I don't have enough draft. I have no idea what to do about (b). The air inlet flapper is wide open and as far as I can tell the stove is working fine, although even with the feeder feeding correctly my flame is still vertical. The dealer didn't seem to think that was a big deal, and now that it has run the way it's supposed to, I'm less concerned about it as it seems to be working pretty well. I'm concerned about the pressure switch issue though -- what is it really for? Is it just a safety thing? If so, what is it protecting against? The stove won't overfire itself, and the combustion motor runs constantly -- is it a double-check that the combustion motor is working? I don't have a problem bypassing it but if it's a safety hazard, I don't want to do it that way. I'm calling the dealer next to see what they have to say.

 

[Skippydo]

The combustion fan will be on 24/7 normal
I do not have and outside air inlet installed to my unit, and it runs fine
This is my 4th year of burn for my whole house, no other help with the propane furanace.
Use 7/8 ton. Large house.
Love the heat
Enjoy the heat, as long as everything is operating fine, have peace of mind.
You will be able to sleep better at night.
There are other interesting things to think about at night!!

 

[Ejectr]

It seems sealing up the gap between my adapter and furnace made a LARGE difference in my flame angle. Before it was going straight up. Now it is angled toward the exchanger at a very good angle where it is supposed to be. Guess that was affecting the draft a lot.