We were having a little trouble with the pressure igniter on our Harman boiler the last month or so -- it fired up OK when the unit was hot, but after sitting without a fire for several hours it would struggle to light the pellets. The result was that a few unburned/partly burned pellets would drop into the ash pan, where they'd smolder for several hours and let smoke into the house after the boiler shut off.
I kept the burnpot fastidiously clean, which helped until it didn't help anymore. Finally, I called my Harman guy, Gary Propst in Beaver Dam, Wis.
The first thing he told me was to clean the filter on the air pump for the pressure igniter. That was easy, because it doesn't have a filter. He also suggested I remove the igniter tube and make sure the air passage into the burnpot was clear.
That was the answer. The socket where the igniter tube mounts had a layer of fine, very white ash in it. I cleaned it out with a dental pick and blew it out with compressed air. I suspect that airborne dust had been sucked into the igniter system, burned in the igniter tube and the resulting ash was gradually layered into the air passage.
I also checked the business end of the igniter passage, where the heated air ignites the pellets in the burnpot. In the process, I made a discovery -- unlike the finned igniter, which heats the pellets from below the burnpot grate, the pressure igniter delivers its heat through a small opening just to the right of the auger. The opening faces downward, so it's not obviously visible -- I just scratched around with my pick until I found it.
A shout-out to Gary for providing prompt, helpful advice more than five years after the sale.
I kept the burnpot fastidiously clean, which helped until it didn't help anymore. Finally, I called my Harman guy, Gary Propst in Beaver Dam, Wis.
The first thing he told me was to clean the filter on the air pump for the pressure igniter. That was easy, because it doesn't have a filter. He also suggested I remove the igniter tube and make sure the air passage into the burnpot was clear.
That was the answer. The socket where the igniter tube mounts had a layer of fine, very white ash in it. I cleaned it out with a dental pick and blew it out with compressed air. I suspect that airborne dust had been sucked into the igniter system, burned in the igniter tube and the resulting ash was gradually layered into the air passage.
I also checked the business end of the igniter passage, where the heated air ignites the pellets in the burnpot. In the process, I made a discovery -- unlike the finned igniter, which heats the pellets from below the burnpot grate, the pressure igniter delivers its heat through a small opening just to the right of the auger. The opening faces downward, so it's not obviously visible -- I just scratched around with my pick until I found it.
A shout-out to Gary for providing prompt, helpful advice more than five years after the sale.
