New P43 question regarding creosote buildup

[Ahoragi]

Just got this brand new Harmen this past July and super thrilled to have it running and keeping my wife warm but not happy about this creosote build up on the inside and glass being stained. Stove was professionally installed but does not have OAK yet. We run it on feed rate 4, room temp, and 75 degrees. Thermostat in the room shows that is ignites at 71 degrees and shuts down once reaching 75, which takes about a half hour. It gets about a half inch to an inch of build up on edge of pot after a half day of burning. We burn a full bag in about two days.

I had a castle serenity at our old house and it burned anything flawlessly with zero creosote but we ran that full time, not in temp mode.

Could this be bad pellets or low temp issue?

Tractor Supply allowed me to exchange the remaining 55 of 100 bags to the other brand they are currently carrying.

(we burn firewood downstairs if that has any effect on air flow)

 

[shtrdave]

I don't see any creosote, I see ash it look the same as my P43. Creosote is usually a thick and somewhat glossy black sticky substance, you have dry ashy powder.

 

[Ahoragi]

I don't see any creosote, I see ash it look the same as my P43. Creosote is usually a thick and somewhat glossy black sticky substance, you have dry ashy powder.

Look at the auger in the pot, it has some stuck on it. There is black sticky substance on the side walls, it does not vacuum off with the ash. This slowly built up with use. The stove glass gets coated dark yellow substance that takes ash/water mix and heavy scrubbing to get it off. The old Serenty stove glass would just wipe off with a paper towel and water.

 

[Ssyko]

Its pretty rare to get creosote in a pellet stove.

 

[Ssyko]

Not a good clean burn then if the window is sooting up fast. Have you made any adjustments to the fire

 

[Ahoragi]

Not a good clean burn then if the window is sooting up fast. What pellets do you burn?

You probably can't see the pictures but they were Green Supreme pellets from Tractor Supply. We have burned their pellets for 7 years, whatever brand they were carrying at the time. Not a single issue but some brands burned hotter than the others. The Castle burned anything like it was paper. This is my first year with the new Harman so maybe I am doing something wrong. We are burning them in Temp mode set for 75 degrees which we never used on the Castle (burned at low mode with all windows open )

 

[Ssyko]

Are they 100% softwood, maybe try a bag of hardwood and fire it up hot and open the windows for a bit to burn it all off. Im thinking its some binder additive in the pellets. If it is you will need to burn it hot now and then to keep it cleaner

 

[Ssyko]

Ok took a while but i got the pics now

 

[Ssyko]

Im not a Harman guy either so i should keep quiet 🤪. But it sounds like its not getting a clean burn. Im sure some Harman Guru’s will be along soon

 

[Washed-Up]

Doesn’t look horrible but if you’re concerned try running it on stove temp 4 and 4 for an hour or 2 a week…seems to work in my P61A…also check the flapper on the air intake to make sure it moves freely…I removed mine entirely just as a precaution

 

[bogieb]

The only time I get creosote is when my stove short cycles (only burns a short time). I cannot run really good pellets in my basement stove because they heat up the area too fast, the stove shuts down and it makes a mess in it and the exhaust. (I didn't' have that issue before I insulated the basement and put in a floating floor- it is all about running time)

If I read your post correctly, the stove is only on about 1/2 hour, which may not be long enough to get everything warm enough to avoid creosote formation. there are a couple of fixes you could try and see if it helps.

• Turn down the feed rate down to 2 or 3. That will force the stove to run longer before the air temp is reached.
• I assume you are using the room temp probe for the stove. You could hook up an external thermostat in another room - that room will take longer to warm up, so the stove will run longer. I have the thermostat for my P43, which is about 1/2 way down the length of the house. I keep the 'stat set at 68* and it will turn the stove on when that room gets to 67, and shut it down at 69.

BTW, I actually run my P43 using both of those methods when the temps are fairly mild (above 5* and not too windy). It has nothing to do with creosote (I don't get any in that stove), it has everything to do with comfort. If I have the feed rate at 4, the living room will get to 80* while my office is still getting to 69*. I can't abide that. At a feed rate of 2, the LR temp only gets to about 75*, as the heat has time to circulate. It keeps the entirety of the main floor a more consistent temp.

 

[rickwai]

Try a couple bags of different pellets to rule fuel out without changing your settings. If you get he same result then fuel is not the issue and we can help from there.

 

[Ahoragi]

Doesn’t look horrible but if you’re concerned try running it on stove temp 4 and 4 for an hour or 2 a week…seems to work in my P61A…also check the flapper on the air intake to make sure it moves freely…I removed mine entirely just as a precaution

Flapper checked out. I did a full cleaning which I believe is to vacuum inside the flapper and also remove the wingnut and panel on back right side to get in there. That was full of pellet dust. Ran the stove for a good two hours on high heat and it seemed to cut down on the sticky stuff. House became the Sahara desert though, lol.

The only time I get creosote is when my stove short cycles (only burns a short time). I cannot run really good pellets in my basement stove because they heat up the area too fast, the stove shuts down and it makes a mess in it and the exhaust. (I didn't' have that issue before I insulated the basement and put in a floating floor- it is all about running time)

If I read your post correctly, the stove is only on about 1/2 hour, which may not be long enough to get everything warm enough to avoid creosote formation. there are a couple of fixes you could try and see if it helps.

• Turn down the feed rate down to 2 or 3. That will force the stove to run longer before the air temp is reached.
• I assume you are using the room temp probe for the stove. You could hook up an external thermostat in another room - that room will take longer to warm up, so the stove will run longer. I have the thermostat for my P43, which is about 1/2 way down the length of the house. I keep the 'stat set at 68* and it will turn the stove on when that room gets to 67, and shut it down at 69.

BTW, I actually run my P43 using both of those methods when the temps are fairly mild (above 5* and not too windy). It has nothing to do with creosote (I don't get any in that stove), it has everything to do with comfort. If I have the feed rate at 4, the living room will get to 80* while my office is still getting to 69*. I can't abide that. At a feed rate of 2, the LR temp only gets to about 75*, as the heat has time to circulate. It keeps the entirety of the main floor a more consistent temp.

Try a couple bags of different pellets to rule fuel out without changing your settings. If you get he same result then fuel is not the issue and we can help from there.

So I am not exactly sure what's going on since we had a big temp drop lately, been in the teens all week, so the stove has been running longer to keep the house warmer. We did use the other brand of pellets that tractor supply let us swap for and they surely burn a lot hotter as I can barely leave my face in front of the blower while doing the daily burn pot scrape. No more black build up on the walls or in the burn pot and the pellet ash is less and looking normal.

I will look into an external thermo. I do not have any knowledge of them so I gotta research a bit.

bobieg, we use a fan in the far end of the hallway to push the cold air towards the heated living room. The upstairs seems to be pretty close in temps but bedroom slightly cooler, as we like while sleeping.

Everything seems to be running good now. I appreciate all the comments and assistance in this matter. Love this forum.