Harmon Accentra problems

[GVA]

Gosh, if it were only that simple. I've been to the store in person at least 6 times in the past 2 months, a 70 mile roundtrip each time. Also, I've called at least 40 times in the past 2 months about this problem. They are dropping the ball here, not me. They could care less my 2-year-old warrantied stove doesn't work, they have my money. I'm spending my money doing their job. In my experience of this politically-correct world, if you so much as mouth one word of disgruntlement in public, it gets you arrested, or at least a police escort off the property. your mileage may vary.

call harman for the esp or try another dealer and get it shipped to you
you might have to bite the bullet and pay for it but someone out there has one

They all have one...... it's called take one out of your display models and swap it for the customers...........And keep the customer happy.

 

[noheat]

GVA, again thanks. But I really believe at this point that my dealer has absolutely no interest in keeping this customer happy. Thay have had ample opportunity to make this right, and they haven't. This is bad business practice taking place here. If you have a telephone number for Harmon, I'd sure appreciate it. I see one published nowhere, and the dealer and service rep refuse to give me one. My hands are tied on this thing, short of getting an attorney involved. I will be writing my state attorney general's office about warranties and what is included/excluded in my state. I believe I am at that point.

 

[SJohndro]

GVA, again thanks. But I really believe at this point that my dealer has absolutely no interest in keeping this customer happy. Thay have had ample opportunity to make this right, and they haven't. This is bad business practice taking place here. If you have a telephone number for Harmon, I'd sure appreciate it. I see one published nowhere, and the dealer and service rep refuse to give me one. My hands are tied on this thing, short of getting an attorney involved. I will be writing my state attorney general's office about warranties and what is included/excluded in my state. I believe I am at that point.

Found this number on www.searchbug.com. Also, this number can be found here as well: (broken link removed to http://www.harmanstoves.com/doc/business_profile.pdf)

Harman Stove CO
352 Mountain House Road, Halifax, PA 17032
http://www.harmanstoves.com

(717) 362-9080

Give it a try!

 

[noheat]

Thanks for all the suggestions. The latest is that I installed a new esp at noon today. Stove ran fine in auto mode until 5 PM and then went out with a status 6 code again. It is going back to dealer. With all due respect, this is a lemon. Will keep you posted as to what dealer is willing to do, considering stove is only 2 years old with a gold warranty still in effect.

 

[richg]

write a letter to Dane Harman telling him of the problems you are having with the stove and the dealer. The dealers are all independent business and it will not go over well that one of them is messing with a customer.

 

[lewisma]

Hi there,

I've got a similar -- very similar -- problem with my Accentra-2. The fire keeps going out. It worked wonderfully for one season. I only went through about 3/4 ton. This season I fired it up and it seemed to work fine for two days or so, then the fire went out. No status codes beyond the 6-blink (a half hour or more after the fire had gone out). What happens is this: Turn the stove on, the ignitor works wonderfully, big beautiful blaze. Then after 5 to 15 minutes, the flames noticeably diminish -- maybe to half what they were. Everything still working though. Over the next 2 to 5 hours or so, the flame is gone, the status light for the pellet feed turns on and off as before, but no pellets drop. When the stove is cool and you run the feed test, it works perfectly. If you run the feed test immediately after turning the stove off, while the stove is still hot, it doesn't work.

I've had the ESP probe replaced, and the low draft pressure switch replaced. Same symptoms. One thing worth noting -- when I run in stove temp mode, the fire last a few hours before going out. I tried it today in room temp mode, and the fire went out in 1/2 hour. My dealer is cooperating.

I think that the circuit board (the ESP control board) is behind this problem. It's just a hunch. But it appears that when the stove reaches a certain temperature, it tries to regulate the draft or feed rate or whatever it does, but something is turned off and doesn't turn back on the way it should. It probably is not the installed venting or somesuch, because if there was a problem with that, then why would it flame so wonderfully for a good 5 minutes+, and continue a fire for several hours after?

firestarter, any resolution to your problem? You're undoubtedly aware of this, but your 3 year warranty states that Harman will repair or replace. So legally that is binding. I agree that it's incredibly annoying, as this is not an inexpensive stove. But it seems that Harman stands behind their products with such a generous warranty. Hope all ended okay. My dealer will call up Harman today and ask for recommendation. I'll report what they have to say.

 

[noheat]

To update this saga, I retrieved my stove from dealer on Saturday, and they indicated that it was the low pressure sensor after all. It turns out that after using all the available sensors they had in stock ( I believe 5 in all) they called Harman and Harman admitted there was a bad lot of sensors out in circulation. Why they did not let people know this is a good question. So, the dealer took one out of a working floor model and put it into my stove, and it has worked correctly ever since. When they gave me a replacement pressure sensor back a couple months ago, I mentioned it didn't look the same as the one that came out of my stove, but, I am just a stupid customer, what would I know? At least they fixed it for free. Of course, I had to get it out of the house and onto the pickup by myself and back again. Thanks and a tip o' the hat to an 80hp Johnny Deere with a Koyker front-end loader for making that a 2-handed job. With respect to lewisma, I run my stove pretty much exclusively in auto mode, so I cannot really address your issue. Try a new pressure sensor, they are easy to install, and you will learn something about your stove.

 

[HV14]

Finally, somebody else having problems with an accentra. Just thought I'd offer some information you'd like to know. Background: I bought the stove 10/2005...to date I have replaced 6 igniters (waiting for the 7th), esp probe and computer board. I have had 2 companies diagnose the stove with no problems. When it works, it's awesome. It heats my small cottage as primary heat. Good warrenties are supposed to stand for the quality of the product. Had this been an automobile I would have been able to enact the lemon law and get a new one. The original dealer no longer deals with Harmon, but honors the warrenty. They won't buy it back from me nor give me a decent credit towards another stove. Harman has since been sold to another company. The factory as some of you know, will adamantly divert customer service to the dealer. Their site has boasted about a good research and development team, but when asked to speak with them, the factory says nobody is here to help you, call the dealer. I've emailed Dane Harman, been hung up on twice by the factory and spoke with the new company customer service rep. The new company chose to keep all personnel on staff...big disoppointment. I called 4 reputable pellet stove dealers in the country for technical advice to no avail and stumped everyone. The igniter lasts only 2 months. I've checked output voltage at the outlet at all times of the day: good. I've checked all continuity of wiring: good. I removed the outside intake at a suggestion that cold and condensation from the outside air have caused the degradation of the igniter: no change. I clean the stove as needed but no longer than every 2 weeks, keeping the igniter holes and chamber immaculate...also all vents and back of the stove: no change. I have never burned anything but premium pellets from stove dealers: no change. I only burn 1 ton of pellets per season. Harman once told me they have gotten a bad batch of igniters which most dealers have confirmed. It's unlikely I have received all of them! Nobody has any suggestions anymore. I have not had a problem with the auger but still holding my breath. Harman stoves while good when Dane Harman cared about building his business has increasingly angered many of the customers who thought they were getting a top notch product. Customer service is appauling with absolutely no recourse. My dilemna: Can't consciously sell it to another without disclosing the problems. Warrenty runs out this October. Total cost with chimney was $3500. Great idea turned sour: auto-ignition, accurate room temp, antique stove look, and wood burning aroma all overshadowed by coming home to an ice cold home with 3 small children and wasting pellets by continuous burning in manual mode until igniters arrive...what crap! Latest igniter order is backordered with no arrival date in sight according to Harman. Any takers to one-up me on this horrendous story?

 

[noheat]

Well, certainly your story is disturbing, I can imagine your frustration. This is just my opinion, but I'm beginning to perceive that maybe the quality is dropping for outsourced parts. I think this does not bode well for the stoves out there in circulation, and the longevity of the product in the market. I really wish I had known all this a few years ago, we might have made a different purchase. Keep us updated. Good luck.