Need advice on buying an older Harman stove

[Tim_M]

I just tried a test burn, and things didn't work out too well. The blowers seemed to work fine, but the feed motor would only run for a few seconds at a time. It seemed to start up randomly, every 3 or 4 minutes and run for maybe 3 or 4 seconds before stopping. It began doing this immediately after pressing the start button, before I even lit the pellets in the burn pot. Also, when I pressed the shut down button, the blowers stopped immediately, with no cool down period (could be because the stove never did get to operating temp?) So I'm guessing the ESP probe needs to be replaced, or there's a problem with the board. Any thoughts?

 

[smwilliamson]

Pressing buttons? I do not have buttons on mine. I have control dials. Hmmm. I'll dig into it and get back to you.

 

[lmjr]

I just tried a test burn, and things didn't work out too well. The blowers seemed to work fine, but the feed motor would only run for a few seconds at a time. It seemed to start up randomly, every 3 or 4 minutes and run for maybe 3 or 4 seconds before stopping. It began doing this immediately after pressing the start button, before I even lit the pellets in the burn pot. Also, when I pressed the shut down button, the blowers stopped immediately, with no cool down period (could be because the stove never did get to operating temp?) So I'm guessing the ESP probe needs to be replaced, or there's a problem with the board. Any thoughts?

Auger gearbox could have a bad cog or two...look to see if motor still spins while auger doesn't turn.

If you have access to VOM or DMM (Volt-Ohm-Meter or Digital Multi Meter) you could watch voltage at auger motor.

That would tell you when it's on and if it is at full voltage...shows when and what control boards is sending to the motor.

 

[Tim_M]

I'm pretty sure the motor isn't spinning at all, except during those short intervals, so I don't think it would be the gears. Also, I previously tested it using the method suggested in one of the earlier posts above, by connecting power directly to the motor, and it seemed to work fine. One reason I'm thinking the ESP could be at fault is that the prongs on the end of the ESP that the wire plug connects to are slightly bent.

 

[Lousyweather]

Control Board likely, ESP maybe.