Help with Harman P68

[THE ROOSTER]

Put it in room temp & manual, set it on 75* for 4-6 hours and see what it does...

 

[alternativeheat]

Put it in room temp & manual, set it on 75* for 4-6 hours and see what it does...

Ya, or stove temp auto up around level 6 fan on high, feed rate 4.5, lets see if this thing can ramp up.

 

[luv2bwrm]

It does if he changed it to something different and didn't change the dipswitch setting.

What speed is the convection fan set to ?

High in Stove Mode

 

[alternativeheat]

High in Stove Mode

Is it blowing ?

 

[luv2bwrm]

Ya, or stove temp auto up around level 6 fan on high, feed rate 4.5, lets see if this thing can ramp up.

Ok it was easier to set this level first since it was almost there anyway.

Was on:
Auto Stove Mode/High fan On 5 Feed Rate: 4 these were the settings I described earlier.

Then set on:
Auto Stove Mode/High fan Moved to 6 Feed Rate: Moved to 5

The stove did the same cycle as described earlier but this time the times were two minutes appx. shorter:
2-3" low flame with 3+" ash line, starts feeding pellets for 4minutes with steady increase in flame (very high like it should run in Stove Mode for level6 temp) with 1" ash line, then when it hits it's highest, flame steadily goes down for the next 4 minutes until cycle begins all over again.

It looks like the old stove when it finally reaches flame level/heat output for 6temp level but then because its not being feed pellets, the flame/embers steadily go down until it hits the 8 minute mark, then the cycle begins again. That's the best I can come up with.

I still don't know about the ESP wire/ dipswitch setting that Harman Lover 007 ask about earlier, but I've not seen the stove apart to feel comfortable checking that, so it will have to wait till we can get to that and see what color it is.

Just changed it to the Room Mode/ Temp & Manual setting as suggested by The Rooster. So we'll see what that does.
Thanks for all your suggestions.

 

[luv2bwrm]

Is it blowing ?

Yes.

 

[alternativeheat]

Ok it was easier to set this level first since it was almost there anyway.

Was on:
Auto Stove Mode/High fan On 5 Feed Rate: 4 these were the settings I described earlier.

Then set on:
Auto Stove Mode/High fan Moved to 6 Feed Rate: Moved to 5

The stove did the same cycle as described earlier but this time the times were two minutes appx. shorter:
2-3" low flame with 3+" ash line, starts feeding pellets for 4minutes with steady increase in flame (very high like it should run in Stove Mode for level6 temp) with 1" ash line, then when it hits it's highest, flame steadily goes down for the next 4 minutes until cycle begins all over again.

It looks like the old stove when it finally reaches flame level/heat output for 6temp level but then because its not being feed pellets, the flame/embers steadily go down until it hits the 8 minute mark, then the cycle begins again. That's the best I can come up with.

I still don't know about the ESP wire/ dipswitch setting that Harman Lover 007 ask about earlier, but I've not seen the stove apart to feel comfortable checking that, so it will have to wait till we can get to that and see what color it is.

Just changed it to the Room Mode/ Temp & Manual setting as suggested by The Rooster. So we'll see what that does.
Thanks for all your suggestions.

Hmm, well ya know the flame is supposed to ramp up and down some ? It runs that way to satisfy the ESP temp to someplace between 300 and 500 deg stack temps depending on settings.. Well the next question, at these settings is the stove getting hot ? At level 6 that sucker should be ready to cook an egg on top and bail heat off the sides in 20 or 30 minutes or so. The ash line sounds excessive if it's three inches wide. What pellets are you burning ?

 

[luv2bwrm]

Hmm, well ya know the flame is supposed to ramp up and down. It runs that way to satisfy the ESP temp to someplace between 300 and 500 deg stack temps depending on settings.. Well the next question, at these settings is the stove getting hot ? At level 6 that sucker should be ready to cook an egg on top and bail heat off the sides in 20 or 30 minutes or so. The ash line sounds excessive if it's three inches wide. What pellets are you burning ?

Yes the stove is getting Hot, but it only stays that way for a few minutes when its in that upward cycle. Also, that's just it, the ash line changes as it goes thru that cycle. I know it has to cycle up and down to maintain that esp exhaust number that the tech. had talked to me about, but it definitely didn't do that this past season to the excess it is now. It didn't cycle up and down like it is now every 8 to 10 minutes. The stove had a consistent flame level for the Temp Setting I had it on & feed the pellets on a consistent basis to keep that level of flame. Not this feed for 4 or 5 minutes then off till the flame burns down, then feed it some more. I'm new to this Pellet Stove forum/ information and I don't know very many technical things about these stoves, but it just doesn't make sense to me how its running now. To me it's not being very efficient with either the pellets or heat output.

I'm certainly not an expert on pellets either. : ) The bag in there now is Green Gold. Since it was our first season last year I just tried to get what I thought burned well in the stove. The bad part about it is the demand for them this Spring was so high that I was just glad to get anything when we could. I've tried buying more this fall, but up our way they are starting this out of stock thing again now. But I truly believe it has nothing to do with the pellets, it's something going on with the stove. I just don't understand how nothing showed up on his machine, but I don't really know what all that machine tells them either. I'm just going by how it ran this past season & now. I have appreciated everyone's input.

I have it in Room Mode/ High Fan, Manual setting, 75degrees Pellet Feed 4 now like suggested, so I'll let it go like that for a few more hours and post what happens.

 

[bags]

Are those the same pellets you used last year? Some pellets do not produce the heat others do and burn entirely different. I know nothing about that brand of pellets but use the search bar here and look them up. You might see others had a similar problem. I don't know.

 

[alternativeheat]

Yes the stove is getting Hot, but it only stays that way for a few minutes when its in that upward cycle. Also, that's just it, the ash line changes as it goes thru that cycle. I know it has to cycle up and down to maintain that esp exhaust number that the tech. had talked to me about, but it definitely didn't do that this past season to the excess it is now. It didn't cycle up and down like it is now every 8 to 10 minutes. The stove had a consistent flame level for the Temp Setting I had it on & feed the pellets on a consistent basis to keep that level of flame. Not this feed for 4 or 5 minutes then off till the flame burns down, then feed it some more. I'm new to this Pellet Stove forum/ information and I don't know very many technical things about these stoves, but it just doesn't make sense to me how its running now. To me it's not being very efficient with either the pellets or heat output.

I'm certainly not an expert on pellets either. : ) The bag in there now is Green Gold. Since it was our first season last year I just tried to get what I thought burned well in the stove. The bad part about it is the demand for them this Spring was so high that I was just glad to get anything when we could. I've tried buying more this fall, but up our way they are starting this out of stock thing again now. But I truly believe it has nothing to do with the pellets, it's something going on with the stove. I just don't understand how nothing showed up on his machine, but I don't really know what all that machine tells them either. I'm just going by how it ran this past season & now. I have appreciated everyone's input.

I have it in Room Mode/ High Fan, Manual setting, 75degrees Pellet Feed 4 now like suggested, so I'll let it go like that for a few more hours and post what happens.

Ok that's fine, we can wait for results.

Greene Gold is a premium grade Hardwood pellet, .37% or less ash, 8500 BTU more or less. That's advertised, who knows if they really are good, anyones guess till we hear otherwise. Now, and this may not be the case, but I can say that in my P61 generally hardwood pellets burns with a lower flame than some softwoods do, especially lower end softwood. High end softwoods level that playing field a bit. I'm not saying that is what is going on, it's just some information. You could pick up a couple of bags of something different and see how the stove responds since the tech thought the stove was fine. I also would be curious about that ESP swap and the dip switch situation.

 

[luv2bwrm]

Are those the same pellets you used last year? Some pellets do not produce the heat others do and burn entirely different. I know nothing about that brand of pellets but use the search bar here and look them up. You might see others had a similar problem. I don't know.

Thanks for that information, I'll use the search bar & try to see what I can find out.
Yes this ton of pellets is new, but I started out with the same as I had burned late winter/spring of this year and it doesn't seem to be the pellets, but the cycling way down of the stove. I do know what you mean about brands of pellets and getting to know the difference between each of them as far as heat output & ash amounts. We generally have O'Malleys , TSC brand or Natures Own available in our area.

 

[newf lover]

I know someone else mentioned this, but it is really, really strange you had broken fan blades and had to have the ESP replaced. What the heck was the technician doing? I've had mine 7 years and can't imagine how that could happen without outside intervention. Stupid thing, but I assume he cleaned out the fines box on the side? Make sure it was put back correctly. I messed up one time and my stove behaved like what you're describing.

 

[bags]

Excellent point on the fines box newf lover. I forgot to mention that. Good catch! And It does seem odd the fan blades were busted up. HUH? Odd. They are pretty secure and out of the way. I don't see how they could get damaged unless it was an odd defect some how.

 

[Luv2burnPellets]

The only way I can see the paddle blades getting busted is by having some kind of tool or vacuum tool touching them while spinning under power! This could not happen any other way, and would make a big noise. Or someone trying to remove or replace the guard while the blades are spinning under power.

 

[bogieb]

The only way I can see the paddle blades getting busted is by having some kind of tool or vacuum tool touching them while spinning under power! This could not happen any other way, and would make a big noise. Or someone trying to remove or replace the guard while the blades are spinning under power.

That is what I was thinking. Almost like when the dealer serviced the stove maybe there was an oops - and then he just said it was broken and needed replaced, not how it got broken. Maybe not, but really, really odd.

 

[Harman Lover 007]

Too many people with their fingers in this one......luv2bwrm...how are you making out?

 

[alternativeheat]

Too many people with their fingers in this one......luv2bwrm...how are you making out?

That's what happens when you give a line of advice and then evaporate, LOL

 

[Harman Lover 007]

That's what happens when you give a line of advice and then evaporate, LOL

Whatever you say......there's enough conflicting advice in this thread so I'll just "evaporate".

 

[alternativeheat]

Whatever you say......there's enough conflicting advice in this thread so I'll just "evaporate".

No Harman Lover !! I'm sure you were busy, that was just a poke, don't be offended ! That's why I put the LOL in there. If anything we all want to know more ourselves.

 

[F4jock]

No Harman Lover !! I'm sure you were busy, that was just a poke, don't be offended ! That's why I put the LOL in there. If anything we all want to know more ourselves.

Interesting. I went over the suggestions and I don't see conflicting advice but in my five or six years of Harman experience all of these are possible causes of the pronlem. My last suggestion is that Luv2bwarm has to take the bull by the horns and start somewhere. Fiddling with the controls is apparently not gonna solve this. Make yourself a checklist, start with the easiest suggestion and have at it. One thing I would NOT do is allow the particular company that worked on your stove to have at it again. Fan blades don't just break and ESPs don't typically go bad in a year. I'm an Engineer thus I'm big into cause and effect. I'd start with the ESP as things were apparently OK until that was messed with but it's your stove and your choice. Best of luck!

 

[alternativeheat]

Interesting. I went over the suggestions and I don't see conflicting advice but in my five or six years of Harman experience all of these are possible causes. My last suggestion is that Luv2bwarm has to take the bull by the horns and start somewhere. Fiddling with the controls is apparently not gonna solve this. Make yourself a checklist, start with the easiest suggestion and have at it. One thing I would NOT do is allow the particular company that worked on your stove to have at it again. Fan blades don't just break and ESPs don't typically go bad in a year. Best of luck!

I've seen more times on here that included in a Harman repair tech visit is an ESP, kind of like oh we will just do that too while we are here. And I just have to wonder if all these ESP's really went bad or is it like the early days with oxygen sensors in cars, people just put them in because. Or todays cars and spark plugs that should run 100,000 miles easy but at 20,000 the mechanic says you need new ones.

I can't say much about the fan blade except that seems odd.

 

[Harman Lover 007]

I always try to take the same approach when offering to help someone with their Harman. I don't have answers to some of the questions I asked yesterday particularly the ESP wire color. His stove is just a year old. It is likely he has a digital CB so his ESP wires would be red. If they replaced his ESP with a black wire without changing a dip switch, that "could" present a problem. Sounds ESP related to me but more info is needed. Others jump in, as well intentioned as they are, and ask more questions and offer more advice and things get bogged down.

 

[F4jock]

I always try to take the same approach when offering to help someone with their Harman. I don't have answers to some of the questions I asked yesterday particularly the ESP wire color. His stove is just a year old. It is likely he has a digital CB so his ESP wires would be red. If they replaced his ESP with a black wire without changing a dip switch, that "could" present a problem. Sounds ESP related to me but more info is needed. Others jump in, as well intentioned as they are, and ask more questions and offer more advice and things get bogged down.

I agree about the ESP. Gotta start somewhere and there is enough info for the owner to dig in and start troubleshooting no matter where they choose to, but as I said, I'm big on cause and effect so I'd start there. No matter. Problem won't fix itself.

 

[luv2bwrm]

That's what happens when you give a line of advice and then evaporate, LOL

Sorry I'm just replying back to everyone, but my family needed to be feed last night......lol, so I had to stop my obsessive watching of the P68! : ) Plus we woke up to no electric at 4am! What a way to start the day!

Seriously, I did think the same thing about the fan blades. I would have thought we would have heard an awful noise when it was trying to run with those blades broke. But oh well. Also, the ESP sensor or what ever that is called was never mentioned until he came back, but with me not really knowing the workings of the stove parts, I have to rely on those that know. Hence, why I joined this group : ) and my wanting to figure out why the stove is not working like it did!

So here's what I set it at: Room Temp Mode Auto Fan High Temp@ 75 Feed Rate @5
I let it run in this for a couple hours It starts the same cycle as before, it starts feeding pellets for about 41/2 minutes as the flame has steadily gotten higher/hotter, it stops feeding pellets, then starts on its down ward loss of flame which lasts another 41/2 minutes till the flame is only around 2to3". Then the cycle starts over again.


I also set it in: Room Temp Mode Manual Fan High Temp@75 Feed Rate @5
As before I let it run in this setting for a few hours, here's what I got:
The same cycle as before, it starts feeding pellets for about 5 minutes as the flame steadily gets higher/hotter, then pellets stop & the downward cycle begins and last 5 minutes. I will say this setting does get a more aggressive & hotter flame and once its up there, it is more like how the stove was working in the past. But when the flame goes down it also looks like its ready to do out before it starts the cycle all over again.

I know that there has to be a up/down cycle because of the exhaust temps etc (which is what the store owner told me last week when he came here) .... but to me this is too much to the extreme and I know I was a little obsessive last season (our first) with watching the stove burn. (didn't want to admit that to him) but when I say I know that the stove didn't do this believe me I do.
Thanks so much for all your replies!

Also when I can let the stove go out later this afternoon, hopefully we can check the ESP wires.

 

[luv2bwrm]

Too many people with their fingers in this one......luv2bwrm...how are you making out?

Gave you a long reply to digest! lol Thanks for asking.