New Harman Accentra 52i not burning well

[gfreek]

Not good. You are not using the 4 in brush to clean where the ESP is , correct ? It may bend the ESP..I use a super soft brush..

 

[SWelsch]

Thanks for the reply. Had a professional cleaning about 6 weeks ago. Look pretty comprehensive to me but I've only had the stove for a little over a year and this is the first time that I've noticed that issue. Still puts out some pretty good heat

 

[gfreek]

There should be an edge of ash

 

[SWelsch]

Yes, I'm aware of that one inch rule. So I dialed distribution fan back maybe 1/16 of an inch and amazingly enough clean-burning. Weird but the stove is happy now and so am I

 

[Icemanxxxv]

I’m fairly new to my Accentra 52i, but I have figured out with the pellets I burn after 1 ton I’m doing a full level 3 clean. Symptoms leading up to the required level 3 cleaning are deep yellow flame pattern unburned pellets dropping off burn pot and poor heat out put. I’ve got the level 3 cleaning process time down to just over an hour not including getting the vacuum out and putting everything away when I’m done. After a level 3 cleaning she rocks on!


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[bags]

Just got home, turned up the distribution fan and this is how the burn pot looks. Not very pretty. Thoughts?

Looks like you are not getting enough air to burn for combustion. I'd start with a thorough clean. ESP, fines box, vent pipe, stove, etc;

 

[SWelsch]

Did a full cleaning about five weeks ago, I agree probably not enough air when the distribution fan is maxed out for it to burn appropriately. The smallest adjustment backwards on the distribution fan seems to resolve the issue though

 

[Ssyko]

How many bags of pellets went through it in 5 weeks? Quite a few im betting!

 

[Peterfield]

Did a full cleaning about five weeks ago, I agree probably not enough air when the distribution fan is maxed out for it to burn appropriately. The smallest adjustment backwards on the distribution fan seems to resolve the issue though

My first thought when I saw the picture was to loosen the screws in front of the burnpot and remove any ash you find in there. I'm betting that will allow more air under the pellets and improve your flame and heat.

 

[SWelsch]

First of all I do appreciate all the responses thank you very much. Probably burned 35 bags of pellets in the last 5 weeks and tomorrow I will be cleaning out that area under the pot where the igniter is to see if we can get a little more air flow through there

 

[Ssyko]

First of all I do appreciate all the responses thank you very much. Probably burned 35 bags of pellets in the last 5 weeks and tomorrow I will be cleaning out that area under the pot where the igniter is to see if we can get a little more air flow through there

while you do that. I would pull your combustion blower and give that a good cleaning along with the housing it is mounted to.

 

[rickwai]

Is that during ignition or has the stove been firing awhile?

 

[Peterfield]

FWIW, my 52i wouldn't light off after 15 minutes of trying so I shut it down and when I opened the door, there was a burnt wood smell. I let it cool and did a clean out with my fingers under the burnpot. Lot of ash there and I also made sure to give the burnpot several raps on the side with a heavy metal scraper and I could see more ash dropping out of that area. I refastened the plate, fired the stove up and it only took five minutes until flame on.

 

[SWelsch]

The clean out under the burn pot was absolutely packed. Clean that out and it works perfectly. Thanks for all the input guys

 

[NHcpa]

I bought my Accentra insert in 2014 and some times after a deep clean the stove will timeout on the igniter. I start on manual / feed 3 that I believe helps to alleviate pellet over flow while trying to start. This said, I clean the chimney each time after 1T burn and also clean out fines box (pia). Glad you found a solution.

 

[Smokey59]

I have an Accentra 52i insert and it throws great heat. I have noticed it is very sooty, black soot everywhere. I clean it every Sunday and it hasn't changed the soot issue. I had the stove professionally cleaned by the installers and they mentioned the black soot also, but did not suggestion any solutions.

It does how ever start much easier once its been deep cleaned with blower removed and cleaned. If its not scraped daily it doesn't want to start very well.

 

[THE ROOSTER]

I have an Accentra 52i insert and it throws great heat. I have noticed it is very sooty, black soot everywhere. I clean it every Sunday and it hasn't changed the soot issue. I had the stove professionally cleaned by the installers and they mentioned the black soot also, but did not suggestion any solutions.

It does how ever start much easier once its been deep cleaned with blower removed and cleaned. If its not scraped daily it doesn't want to start very well.

I clean below the burn pot before every fire & only pull my stove out to clean exhaust pipe once a year, I learned, after owning the stove for 2-3 years, that you have to take a rubber mallet or the handle of a screw driver & tap/hit on the exhaust pipe to get all the ash out of the pipe! Just removing the stove DOES NOT get all the ash out of the pipe!

 

[Connecticut Yankee]

I have an Accentra 52i insert and it throws great heat. I have noticed it is very sooty, black soot everywhere. . . .

I am a newbie to pellet stoves, but when I complained about soot in another thread, the suggestion that has worked for me was to open the damper a bit, to get more air into the burn chamber. My stove is a different brand, however, so not sure how to do that on a Harman.

 

[fmsm]

I am a newbie to pellet stoves, but when I complained about soot in another thread, the suggestion that has worked for me was to open the damper a bit, to get more air into the burn chamber. My stove is a different brand, however, so not sure how to do that on a Harman.

Harman’s Are controlled by a computer chip. There is however a small white plastic screw on the control panel for small adjustments. I believe a dealer can make bigger adjustments when installing and putting a gauge on the burn.

 

[bogieb]

I have an Accentra 52i insert and it throws great heat. I have noticed it is very sooty, black soot everywhere. I clean it every Sunday and it hasn't changed the soot issue. I had the stove professionally cleaned by the installers and they mentioned the black soot also, but did not suggestion any solutions.

It does how ever start much easier once its been deep cleaned with blower removed and cleaned. If its not scraped daily it doesn't want to start very well.

It could be the pellets. I just ran some Stove Chows thru both stoves, and they throw a black soot even though the stoves are running fine. I remember that issue when I ran FSU's a couple of years ago too. Didn't cause any issues even running several tons thru, just looks different than the usual gray ash.

 

[Smokey59]

It could be the pellets. I just ran some Stove Chows thru both stoves, and they throw a black soot even though the stoves are running fine. I remember that issue when I ran FSU's a couple of years ago too. Didn't cause any issues even running several tons thru, just looks different than the usual gray ash.

I usually buy 3 tons of the low ash pellets from WoodPellets.com (Clean Fire Pacific) and then supplement if needed with the Home Depot crap (Stow Chow) since its only a mile down the road. I haven't notice much of a difference in heat output but the soot does seem to build up a bit quicker with those Home Depot pellets. I have a call into the Harman dealer to see if there is any type of adjustment they suggest.

 

[Zeus]

I have an Accentra 52i insert and it throws great heat. I have noticed it is very sooty, black soot everywhere. I clean it every Sunday and it hasn't changed the soot issue. I had the stove professionally cleaned by the installers and they mentioned the black soot also, but did not suggestion any solutions.

It does how ever start much easier once its been deep cleaned with blower removed and cleaned. If its not scraped daily it doesn't want to start very well.

Try having a tech come and check things for you it could possibly be the combustion blower not performing as well as it should. When you clean the stove see if their is any play in the motor shaft spin it see if it makes any poor sounds

 

[Peterfield]

FWIW, my 52i wouldn't light off after 15 minutes of trying so I shut it down and when I opened the door, there was a burnt wood smell. I let it cool and did a clean out with my fingers under the burnpot. Lot of ash there and I also made sure to give the burnpot several raps on the side with a heavy metal scraper and I could see more ash dropping out of that area. I refastened the plate, fired the stove up and it only took five minutes until flame on.

Been there, done that (more than once).