Harmon insert dismal performance.

[corkman]

How is it installed?Is there a block off plate in the chimney,sealed?Does the flue pipe go to top of chimney?

Stick your head behind the stove and take s peek up the chimney. You should not be able to see up the chimney. You’re pipe should running up the chimney thru a piece of sheet metal that would have been installed in place of the damper. If no block off plate at least you’ll be able to see how far up the chimney the pipe goes.

 

[corkman]

Has the stove been running like this ever since you got it back from the dealer or is this just recent. Make sure all you’re gaskets are good(dollar bill)..unplug the stove and clean out the chamber under the burn pot and check to make sure the fines box cover is seated and secured correctly. You mentioned in your original post that dealer thought it was an issue with the blower. Did he replace it eight new or just service the old one. It could be a bad combustion blower if all of the above checks out. Post all the pictures you can. Pics tell a thousand words. You have a proven heater there but something isn’t right

 

[Mt Bob]

You may need an exhaust probe if it only does a low burn.

 

[alternativeheat]

It looks like it's not just a low burn but a lazy one too. It appears to not be getting enough air to me.
I too have had some issues when there is too much ash in the igniter chamber. Most notably slow start or mis fired start and fire leaning forward . But it never got dirty enough to cause a lazy orange flame, I clean it before that happens.

I think he said back in the beginning that the stove has never put out heat since they moved in and the stove was already there. IE, they didn't install it. I'd still run a brush up and out that vent just to be sure it's not clogged with what ever ( ash, birds nest, what ever, I had a racoon in my chimney once in a down time back when burning coal !!).

 

[Sako7STW]

Alternativeheat is correct. The stove was in the house when we bought it. It has never done a good job IMO. It quit feeding pellets is why we called the dealer in. He found some sensor wasn't being met so it wouldn't turn on the auger. Then it was very noisy and he said that wasn't right either and it turned out to be the exaust blower. At least if I remember right, that's the one he replaced

 

[fmsm]

What pellets are you burning? Have you checked for obstructions? Oak in the garage is not safe. Are all the panels installed correctly?

 

[RKBAGUY]

Let me toss in a couple of ideas based on recent experiences with a p35 insert.

I'd first check to be sure the gaskets are all in good condition, and that the stove seats and locks down properly. If you have air creep, that will affect the burn.

If your pellets are from different manufacturers, that could be one reason. Also, if they're old and have perhaps absorbed moisture from sitting, they won't burn as hot as fresh dry pellets.

Is your air intake blocked by anything? Get your vacuum nozzle up in there and make sure there's nothing constricting the inbound airflow. Same if you have an OAK to be sure it's not blocked.

That's all I've got for now. HTH.

Sent from my HTC 10 using Tapatalk

 

[Sako7STW]

I am assuming but OAK that is a Outside Air Kit?

So tonight I took it apart again and cleaned the air supply chamber under the flame pot. I then reconnected the OAK(?). There was a buildup a little farther back in the intake that I vacuumed out that I had not seen in the past. The flames are now going up instead of out and have some blue at the base. Much hotter flames. It is putting out more heat. Not enough to make the room cozy warm but atleast tolerable. Still no comparison to the St.Croix upstares.

The pellets I am using is a pine pellet and not a high grade. I have some high grade red fir pellets that burn with alot less ash, but don't put out the heat. The pellets I am using are made a mile from my house and the lumber yard is actually the Harmon dealer. The pellets burn great in my St. Croix upstairs so I think they are suitable. Plus I get them for $3.05 a bag.

Like I said. Big improvement. I think we need to concentrate on getting house better insulated and I will look into cleaning the chimney on my next set of days off.

So what feed rate do most of you set yours at?

Thanks for all the help and sugestions so far all

 

[alternativeheat]

Set your feed rate at 4 and forget it exists.

You know that when the room reaches the temp set in room Temp mode or at least the sensor senses it is at or near that temp the stove cuts back it's flame/feed accordingly. Your St Croix probably doesn't work that way. To avoid that activity run the stove in Stove Temp mode ( mode dial down vs up), igniter switch on and try the temp dial around setting 5 or a little above. See what you get from that and adjust accordingly.

 

[bogieb]

Take a picture of your settings so we can see how you run it.

Yeah, that flame looks lazy so air flow or gaskets might be an issue.

That thing should give you plenty of hot air, just as your St. Croix does.

 

[rickwai]

Did you check the intake flapper on the where the fresh air hooks up? I have seen then stick shut. It allows enough air to burn but burns lazy and dirty. You definitely have a "lack of air issue" Just need to figure out if it is on the incoming or outgoing side.

 

[alternativeheat]

You guys are addressing his old picture. He needs to maybe post a new one since he cleaned the ash out from the igniter chamber and states there is an improvement.

 

[Sako7STW]

I will try to take a picture tonight. Good ol shift work!

 

[Peterfield]

I will try to take a picture tonight. Good ol shift work!

The fact that you found some buildup of ash you hadn't noticed before suggests there is more ash deposits to be addressed in the flue path. You've heard of Occum's Razor, in that the simplest solution is usually the best solution. Either hire a chimney sweep or do it yourself, but I think if you thoroughly clean the flue from top to bottom, your stove should put out plenty of heat. That stove should be blowing you out of the room when fully cranked up.

 

[Peterfield]

https://slickdeals.net/f/10980267-g...-cleaning-system-31-85-amazon-hd-wal-mart?v=1


$31.85 on Amazon, Walmart and Home Depot.

 

[bogieb]

You guys are addressing his old picture. He needs to maybe post a new one since he cleaned the ash out from the igniter chamber and states there is an improvement.

I thought he said that further work had not produced noticeable result (or at least not much) sorry, I'll just butt out.

 

[Sako7STW]

Here are some pictures from last night. Heat was much better. In fact plenty hot. But I went through a full bag of pellets in 12 hours. Is that normal?

 

[Husky]

Try running the stove in stove temp. This will burn at a constant rate no matter what temp the room is. I run in this mode once the weather get real cold. It should pump out the heat at a constant temp depending on what the feed rate is set at it. When outside temps are in the teens I will run stove temp at a feed rate of 5 to 5 !/2. This will produce heat that you can't stand in front of or you'll burn your bottom.

 

[JRemington]

That flame looks very lazy. Also I see black on your glass. And is that last picture a build up in your burn pot?

 

[Harmanizer]

That stove is not getting enough air.Soot and a lazy flame.Air leak or blockage?We need more info.

 

[JRemington]

I would test the WCI pressure in the firebox. If I didn't have a gauge I'd unhook the air intake and see if that was the problem and check the damper for proper operation. I can't remember if the exhaust liner had been checked for blockage. There's a blockage somewhere.

 

[Sako7STW]

We already know that the seal on the glass leaks and I plan on trying to replace it on my next set of days off.

The picture of the ash is what's in the ash pan. Someone asked me what the ash looked like so I snapped a picture.

I am really wondering about the intake air dampner that someone mentioned above. I have never looked at it. I didn't know it had one. My St. Croix upstairs I spent a good amount of time on getting it adjusted.

 

[JRemington]

And has anyone pulled the liner connector of the stove flue. It could be plugged with ash. It was stated the stove would stop feeding pellets. It could have tripped the vacuum switch which would shut off the auger

 

[Sako7STW]

Yes. We did that when the dealer took it out to clean it.

 

[Sako7STW]

Is there anyone that could possibly post a couple of pictures of what my flame SHOULD look like? Give me a reference of what to try for.