Harmans Squeaky Augar

[sarajamesct]

Just wanted to let you know: We purchased our Harman last year. Last week it started making loud squeaking noises.. We dug out the carbon in the pot, we gentley wiggled the augar back and forth with a screwdriver,, still made the noise...
Finally today a service rep came and he didn't know what it could be (or so he said) and made a phone call to the company.. Now,, here is what they never tell you when you buy it, which may be the reason they send out a card at the end of the year telling you to have it cleaned by them.
It doesn't matter how well you are at keeping it cleaned ( as we did) because,,, you have to take the back panel off,,,on the right side, now look for a wingnut,,,undo that and you will see like a metal slider,,it will be filled with ash and dust, especially after a winters use... vacuum that out, put the back, back on The squeak will be gone as was 130.00 service charge from my wallet.... When I questioned the charge, I was told, because he had to clean it,, so it quickly became a cleaning fee, even though he did not vacuum out the entire stove.. (We had done it anyways before he arrived)....
So if you're having a problem with the augar,, try this before you call a service tech.
We do like the stove very much, does a great job with heating our home.....

 

[newf lover]

I think you are talking about the fines box. They do mention that in the manual. I clean mine out every month or so in the winter. I agree with you that when you buy it, most don't even mention that as part of the cleaning. That was lousy of the service rep to charge you a cleaning fee for that. He should have cleaned the whole stove. Did you clean the combustion blowers and the ESP probe? That should be done at year end. If you didn't, and he charged you to clean out the fines box, I would be pissed. He should have checked the stove to see if you missed anything.

 

[sarajamesct]

I think you are talking about the fines box. They do mention that in the manual. I clean mine out every month or so in the winter. I agree with you that when you buy it, most don't even mention that as part of the cleaning. That was lousy of the service rep to charge you a cleaning fee for that. He should have cleaned the whole stove. Did you clean the combustion blowers and the ESP probe? That should be done at year end. If you didn't, and he charged you to clean out the fines box, I would be pissed. He should have checked the stove to see if you missed anything.

That was the only thing he cleaned and yes I knew and cleaned everything but that.. I never knew I would have to be a mechanic to clean this stove.. It is a good one, except for that little bump....

 

[Defiant]

What model Harman do you have?

 

[subsailor]

I've had my stove since 2009 and never knew about the fines box until I joined this forum. I never knew about stove mode manual either.

 

[m159267]

I just performed my season-end cleaning on my P38 which is the only time I ever clean my fines box. I remove at best 2-3 thimbles worth of fines. Has never been an issue.

 

[Hardy_Boy]

I empty mine out once a year as well, never seen much in there to speak of. What sort of pellets are you burning? Sounds like whatever you are using are chock-O-block full of fines. Like others have said as well...the fines thing is in the manual as well.

 

[mepellet]

This is covered in the manual that came with my stove.......

Pays to read it!

 

[gbreda]

you have to take the back panel off,,,on the right side, now look for a wingnut,,,undo that and you will see like a metal slider,,it will be filled with ash and dust, especially after a winters use...

Part of monthly cleaning. Have never seen ash in there, only fines.

 

[Hoot23]

Part of my monthly cleaning also. Never any ash, a few pellets and fines. My auger was squeaking when the stove was burning on really low. Called my dealer right away. He told me that it was the carbon that had built up on the end of the auger. He told me to crank it up to 85 and let it burn for 15 minutes. It hasn't squeaked since.

 

[Defiant]

I pulled my auger on an accentra I used to burn and ground the end of it (amazing how the carbon builds up on the tip). Fines box should be checked in the final cleaning, it varies year to year, some folks play around with the feed knob most Harmans should be set at 3 or 4. If you set it less you are crunching pellets and feeding the fine box.

 

[smwilliamson]

Just wanted to let you know: We purchased our Harman last year. Last week it started making loud squeaking noises.. We dug out the carbon in the pot, we gentley wiggled the augar back and forth with a screwdriver,, still made the noise...
Finally today a service rep came and he didn't know what it could be (or so he said) and made a phone call to the company.. Now,, here is what they never tell you when you buy it, which may be the reason they send out a card at the end of the year telling you to have it cleaned by them.
It doesn't matter how well you are at keeping it cleaned ( as we did) because,,, you have to take the back panel off,,,on the right side, now look for a wingnut,,,undo that and you will see like a metal slider,,it will be filled with ash and dust, especially after a winters use... vacuum that out, put the back, back on The squeak will be gone as was 130.00 service charge from my wallet.... When I questioned the charge, I was told, because he had to clean it,, so it quickly became a cleaning fee, even though he did not vacuum out the entire stove.. (We had done it anyways before he arrived)....
So if you're having a problem with the augar,, try this before you call a service tech.
We do like the stove very much, does a great job with heating our home.....

Sour grapes...why did you call the dealer? Sounds like they fixed the issue and now you know. You could have saved money by actually reading your manual. You cannot have it both ways.

we gentley wiggled the augar back and forth with a screwdriver

Classic....your stove will be broken by next year.

Finally today a service rep came and he didn't know what it could be...made a phone call to the company

So the tech had to call home to find out why it was squeaking? Get another tech...then again $130 isn't a bad price for a service call but there are about 5 things I'm guessing he overlooked. Your squeak will return.

What model is your stove?

 

[lessoil]

Just wanted to let you know: We purchased our Harman last year. Last week it started making loud squeaking noises.. We dug out the carbon in the pot, we gentley wiggled the augar back and forth with a screwdriver,, still made the noise...
Finally today a service rep came and he didn't know what it could be (or so he said) and made a phone call to the company.. Now,, here is what they never tell you when you buy it, which may be the reason they send out a card at the end of the year telling you to have it cleaned by them.
It doesn't matter how well you are at keeping it cleaned ( as we did) because,,, you have to take the back panel off,,,on the right side, now look for a wingnut,,,undo that and you will see like a metal slider,,it will be filled with ash and dust, especially after a winters use... vacuum that out, put the back, back on The squeak will be gone as was 130.00 service charge from my wallet.... When I questioned the charge, I was told, because he had to clean it,, so it quickly became a cleaning fee, even though he did not vacuum out the entire stove.. (We had done it anyways before he arrived)....
So if you're having a problem with the augar,, try this before you call a service tech.
We do like the stove very much, does a great job with heating our home.....

I am not sure our book talks about the "Fines Box". Bought it in 2008. I found out about it at a Harman seminar hosted by the dealer. We had a loud squeal happen whenever the auger ran. Traced it to the fines box. Cleaning did not help. There is a bushing in there that I sprayed with WD40. The squeal stopped immediately. We are also happy with the stove. Saving $700-$800/yr and warmer too.

 

[Crane Stoves]

sounds just like the nightmare i have from the sears rep who came out to look at my washing machine (which stopped draining), he took off the front lower panel and behind that is a big filter catch which clicks open to dump of anything in it (in my case it was filled with everything from coins to elastic hair thingies of my daughters), he dumped it in the trash and put the cover back on only to tell me that instead of the $80.00 fee to come and diagnose the problem he wrote up a $130.00 "cleaning fee" at which point i ordered him off the property before my rage ended his life LOL.

I mailed a check for $80.00 to sears and never heard from that service man again... I think the problem lies in the fact that the "service man" is probably a sub contractor of the store and the place they make their big money is charging their own fee's for servicing as opposed to "inspection" for the store.... you should call the store you bought the stove from and raise hell by telling them if you knew he was going to charge a crazy cleaning fee for 3 minutes of work to empty the "fines" area then you would have asked him to leave as soon as he diagnosed the issue! In my case if i knew i was going to be charged $50 for a man reaching his arm out and tapping it on my trash barrel i would have kicked the filter out of his hand before he could dump it and say GTFO my house! LOL

 

[smwilliamson]

A plumber is called to fix a blocked pipe. He arrives and the woman of the house explains the situation.

The plumber listens carefully and then heads over to a chase in the wall where the pipes are hidden. He pulls out a rather large hammer and whacks one of the pipes.

"All set.", says the plumber and hands the woman a bill for $235.00

"$235.00!", says the woman, "but you were only here for 2 minutes!"

"Yes, I know",says the plumber, "but it took me a life time of training to know what was wrong and how to fix it."

 

[Crane Stoves]

A plumber is called to fix a blocked pipe. He arrives and the woman of the house explains the situation.

The plumber listens carefully and then heads over to a chase in the wall where the pipes are hidden. He pulls out a rather large hammer and whacks one of the pipes.

"All set.", says the plumber and hands the woman a bill for $235.00

"$235.00!", says the woman, "but you were only here for 2 minutes!"

"Yes, I know",says the plumber, "but it took me a life time of training to know what was wrong and how to fix it."

Mehhh.... i dont like that plumber he sounds like another man i know of below....

Jessep: You want answers?
Kaffee (Tom Cruise): I think I'm entitled to them.
Jessep: You want answers?
Kaffee: I want the truth!
Jessep: You can't handle the truth! Son, we live in a world that has walls. And those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinberg? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago and you curse the Marines. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know: that Santiago's death, while tragic, probably saved lives. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives...You don't want the truth. Because deep down, in places you don't talk about at parties, you want me on that wall. You need me on that wall.
We use words like honor, code, loyalty...we use these words as the backbone to a life spent defending something. You use 'em as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom I provide, then questions the manner in which I provide it! I'd rather you just said thank you and went on your way. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a weapon and stand a post. Either way, I don't give a damn what you think you're entitled to!
Kaffee: Did you order the code red?
Jessep: (quietly) I did the job you sent me to do.
Kaffee: Did you order the code red?
Jessep: You're goddamn right I did!!

 

[Lousyweather]

If the stove is a year or two old, the fact that you need to clean the fines box IS in the manual. If I knew which model you had, I could even tell you which page. That being said, its not the dealers' or Harman's fault you didnt read your manual. This certainly isnt a warrantee issue, and the service isnt covered under warrantee. The $135 isnt bad for a cleaning fee either.
Dont feel bad, MANY folks neglect to read the manual.....but thats what its for. Had you read it, and done what it said, you would likely not have gotten the squeel. Harman even makes their manuals free of charge on the web, at Harmanstoves.com.......

 

[kinsmanstoves]

Harman does not cover a service call of any type. Read your owners manual. It covers certain parts for certain periods of time.

Eric

 

[Crane Stoves]

this just shows you that auto feed stokers are not less work then the good old fashion warmth of a conventional iron horse. I had a few years experience with several stokers and by the time i was done finding good pellets, loading hoppers every day, fixing electronic/mechanical issues, adjusting things to a tee for good burn, cleaning out fine ash every week, (waiting for the stove to cool to empty ash pans is just ridiculous, so at least i did not follow that dumb ass guideline they all seem to have).... i was doing cartwheels accross my lawn when i finally got to start using conventional stoves again! dont mean to be a party pooper, just giving my experience with them.

 

[Defiant]

i was doing cartwheels accross my lawn

Next trip down, when I gather more of your familys history I want to see this, the cameras will be rolling

 

[Crane Stoves]

see what.... the combustion when i pull out the ash pan? cant be done if you have to open the front door (only undersliders without that stupid locking mechanism)... ill show ya a trick

 

[Defiant]

see what.... the combustion when i pull out the ash pan? cant be done if you have to open the front door (only undersliders without that stupid locking mechanism)... ill show ya a trick

I wanna see you do cartwheels.

 

[Crane Stoves]

hahaha, back in the day i could 360 flips (id prolly brake a hip trying it now) LOL