Too many clinkers?

[Ocelot]

Those covers are strange and have me curious. I did some google image searches for P68 covers and saw nothing at all like that. Even videos of disassembly and repair of the P series I watched for my own had only the regular solid covers on the P43 and P68. You have me curious!

Ray

 

[anon_ymous]

Those covers are strange and have me curious. I did some google image searches for P68 covers and saw nothing at all like that. Even videos of disassembly and repair of the P series I watched for my own had only the regular solid covers on the P43 and P68. You have me curious!

Ray

Me too! Stay tuned... I'm going to make a serious effort at figuring this out next Monday...

 

[mtnbiker727]

I spoke with the previous owner, and it seems to be just stuck. I'll try with an oil filter wrench.

That said, I still need to purchase a brush. Am I going to be able to clean the chimney, if my pellet stove pipe is 3", with an adapter that leads to a 6" stack, inside a [maybe?] 30ft masonry chimney? Can I get into the 6" pipe from the bottom?

You can buy something like this at Lowes or Home Depot or probably our local hardware store for your 3 inch pipe:
Amazon product ASIN B009YMV5FE

Does your chimney go to the basement? Check for a cleanout door, something like this:

In an old masonry chimney with a square clay pipe, you can clean it with something like this:

If it's a round pipe inside, you can get round 6 inch brushes like the 3" one I already linked above.

You run the brush up and down from the roof. Then collect all the ash at the cleanout door at the bottom.

 

[anon_ymous]

You can buy something like this at Lowes or Home Depot or probably our local hardware store for your 3 inch pipe:
Amazon product ASIN B009YMV5FE

Thanks! That brush seems perfect—but with one caveat: our roof is HIGH, sloped, and there's no easy access; I'll watch the chimney sweep when he comes next spring, but I suspect it's unlikely I'd be able to safely clean the chimney from top down myself :/

Since pellet stoves don't produce that much creosote, do you think it would be possible for me to have the chimney cleaned every X years, if I clean the 3" pellet stove pipe up to the 6" adaptor? Or should I just get a small 3" flue brush and stick with cleaning the opening behind the combustion blower through to the pipe, since the chimney sweep is going to have to push the soot down through the pellet stove pipe to the cap to exit it, anyway?

By the way, where are you guys getting the Rutland glass cleaner? It's sold out on Amazon.

 

[Washed-Up]

Stoner invisible glass works well too, cheap at Costco

 

[Mt Bob]

They are not covers,they are some form of heat shields/deflectors. And appear custom made.

Not Harman.
perhaps for a wood stove that used to be there.

 

[anon_ymous]

They are not covers,they are some form of heat shields/deflectors. And appear custom made.

Not Harman.
perhaps for a wood stove that used to be there.

Does not having the covers on affect the efficiency of the stove? I wrote the previous owner to inquire whether he took them by accident.

 

[Mt Bob]

I see no way they are "covers for that stove.Look at pictures on the net of the back of a P68,

 

[Ssyko]

They are vent shields for the back of a stove, just might not be for that particular stove.

 

[mtnbiker727]

By the way, where are you guys getting the Rutland glass cleaner? It's sold out on Amazon.

I almost made a comment about roof accessibility... My 3 inch pipe gets caked in ash, like 1/16 inch all the way around. I brush it out at least once midway through the heating season to maintain airflow. I can't really speak for your chimney... that's going to depend on a lot of things.

The glass cleaner came from the pellet stove dealer. I'm sure there are other products that work just fine too.

 

[Ssyko]

I use greased lightning and water to clean my glass

 

[anon_ymous]

I almost made a comment about roof accessibility... My 3 inch pipe gets caked in ash, like 1/16 inch all the way around. I brush it out at least once midway through the heating season to maintain airflow. I can't really speak for your chimney... that's going to depend on a lot of things.

The glass cleaner came from the pellet stove dealer. I'm sure there are other products that work just fine too.

Well, I'm nervous about using an oil filter wrench to get the bottom of the stovepipe open to clean it, because we're living sufficiently far from the company who services the Harmans that they won't come out until spring, except for an [expensive] emergency call. The previous owner said that he took a look at it and there wasn't any build up/the chimney didn't need sweeping, but I have my doubts.

The company that does the service told me that if there's a serious issue with creosote in the chimney, the stove will just shut down. So, though I may be losing efficiency, I think I'll leave taking off the cap until spring.

I cleaned the [very dirty] ESP sensor and ran the test to determine the optimal feed limit. I followed the instructions in the manual, but the burn line seems unaffected when I increase it from 4 to 6,

"With the unit burning in “AUTO”, turn to “Constant Burn” and put the fan on “H”. Set the Temperature Dial to #7."

Is it possible that someone previously changed a dip switch on the board that would override the feed limit dial?

Perhaps another question for the service person who comes in spring...?

 

[Mt Bob]

It's possible,not likely, in my opinion. Note that the "ash line" is never constant on a Harman,in my experience. it changes with what the room temp AND exhaust probe "see", no matter what mode or setting.

 

[anon_ymous]

It's possible,not likely, in my opinion. Note that the "ash line" is never constant on a Harman,in my experience. it changes with what the room temp AND exhaust probe "see", no matter what mode or setting.

Is it possible that something is broken? Look how far back the ash line is:

 

[Mt Bob]

You cannot "judge" the "ash line" when the stove is in a low burn state, as in that picture. Only when it has been running on hi, high flames, for quite a while. Maybe we should start over. When you start your stove, or crank up the temperatrure, do you get tall big flames, after a while, like in mntnbiker or washed up signature pictures?

 

[anon_ymous]

You cannot "judge" the "ash line" when the stove is in a low burn state, as in that picture. Only when it has been running on hi, high flames, for quite a while. Maybe we should start over. When you start your stove, or crank up the temperatrure, do you get tall big flames, after a while, like in mntnbiker or washed up signature pictures?

Thanks! Yes, I do. But when I had the stove to max on manual, the ash line didn't budge, except maybe a tiny bit!

It seems like a long-shot, but could this have anything to do with the fact that the covers for the back of the stove are missing?

 

[Mt Bob]

The 2 Harmans I am very familiar with,Accentra and P68, don't hit a small ash line/ pot full of burning pellets, till after 1/2 to 1 hour. If your flames are nice and high,and heat is good, I would not worry about it.But,if you think you have issues,replace the exhaust probe first. and see what happens. The proper back covers can be seen in this video I will post. But even if they are not there,I do not see how it would affect the running of the unit. You can see the split bottoms, and the upper cover.

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[mtnbiker727]

Thanks! Yes, I do. But when I had the stove to max on manual, the ash line didn't budge, except maybe a tiny bit!

What are you trying to accomplish by "moving" the ash line?

This time of year, we're running the stove for a couple hours in the morning and a couple hours in the evening. Before I fire it up, I scrape the burnpot. I pull the big fluffy ash chunks towards me so they fall into the ash pan below, and I scrape the bottom and sides of the burnpot pretty hard back into the bottom of the burn pot. Lately I've been too lazy to put the poker into the little holes, but they've been clear of hard ash, so it isn't necessary.

Since I'm running Room Temp Manual, there are 2+ inches of fluffy ash accumulating on the burnpot, because after the first 20 minutes or so it's basically an idle burn.

When it's going to be highs in the 20s, I will let it run pretty much day and night, only shutting down a couple times a week to scrape the burnpot and maybe once a week to clean it. The ash will build up in the burnpot, but it doesn't really matter.

You can scrape the burnpot when it's running. The dealer told me to crack the door open for a little bit, which stops the pellet feed, and the fire will get fairly low so you can scrape it. I found that smoke comes out into the house when I do that, so I wouldn't recommend it, unless a little bit of smoke doesn't bother you or your wife.

 

[mtnbiker727]

When you light your stove, after 20-30 minutes or so, the flames should look like this, very sharp, and violent, like the fiery furnace in the Bible. They should be very sharp and narrow flames from the very beginning of your fire, almost like a bunch of individual torches.

When I start to see the flames get lazier, where they start waving around a little bit, I know it's time to start thinking about cleaning the stove, and/or the stove pipe.

If the flames start to look like a Christmas card fireplace, then you really need to do a deep clean, otherwise you're wasting pellets and not getting the heat you should be out of your stove.

If you've got flames like I describe, the condition of your ash line doesn't really matter.

Oh, and the pellet feed rate number is the MAXIMUM feed the stove will allow. If the stove doesn't need the amount of pellets the #4 setting allows to maintain the heat setting you've set it, it won't feed at #4 rate, it'll feed something less, based on what the ESP tells it to do.

 

[anon_ymous]

When you light your stove, after 20-30 minutes or so, the flames should look like this, very sharp, and violent, like the fiery furnace in the Bible. They should be very sharp and narrow flames from the very beginning of your fire, almost like a bunch of individual torches.

When I start to see the flames get lazier, where they start waving around a little bit, I know it's time to start thinking about cleaning the stove, and/or the stove pipe.

If the flames start to look like a Christmas card fireplace, then you really need to do a deep clean, otherwise you're wasting pellets and not getting the heat you should be out of your stove.

If you've got flames like I describe, the condition of your ash line doesn't really matter.

Oh, and the pellet feed rate number is the MAXIMUM feed the stove will allow. If the stove doesn't need the amount of pellets the #4 setting allows to maintain the heat setting you've set it, it won't feed at #4 rate, it'll feed something less, based on what the ESP tells it to do.

View attachment 286847

Thx Yea, we're in Southern Ontario, so winter begun a while ago :/

Just wanting to optimize my stove. And now a little concerned that the stove may not be getting what it needs for the ESP to run it at room temp properly, if the ash line doesn't budge when I run a test on manual.

I only stop the stove completely once/week for cleaning, but I'm fairly certain the last time, the flames looked pretty good—although, perhaps not at Biblical proportions... No matter; we will make do, for the moment—in spring, the maintenance tech will be in our area and we'll get things perfect for next heating season.

 

[maraakate]

I think you may be over thinking it (and I fully empathize i have the same problem lol). If the stove is clean, flame pattern is active and you are getting good heat just stay on top of your cleaning schedule and you should be fine.

I dont own a Harman but I have noticed that because pellets aren't a consistent size by any means the flame pattern can rise and fall a bit. If it looks like what it's supposed to on average then ur fine and can stop worrying and enjoy the heat.

 

[anon_ymous]

I think you may be over thinking it (and I fully empathize i have the same problem lol). If the stove is clean, flame pattern is active and you are getting good heat just stay on top of your cleaning schedule and you should be fine.

I dont own a Harman but I have noticed that because pellets aren't a consistent size by any means the flame pattern can rise and fall a bit. If it looks like what it's supposed to on average then ur fine and can stop worrying and enjoy the heat.

Not overthinking! Ash line should move when stove set to max on manual, and it doesn't. Will discuss with Harman tech when they come next spring.

 

[anon_ymous]

See this thread for my step-by-step instructions of how to clean a P68: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/pellet-stove-cleaning-advice.185764/#post-2493547

Is the combustion fan supposed to be running continually in "test" mode? Mine seems to be cycling and / or intermittent.

 

[mtnbiker727]

Is the combustion fan supposed to be running continually in "test" mode? Mine seems to be cycling and / or intermittent.

The combustion fan is the internal fan (behind the ash bucket) that blows all the time a fire is lit to keep the fire going and expel the smoke. The distribution fan is the fan that blows across the heat exchanger on top of the stove to push heat out into the room.

When I run test mode, the distribution fan goes on and off, but the combustion fan stays on until I turn the dial out of test mode and close both doors.

 

[anon_ymous]

The combustion fan is the internal fan (behind the ash bucket) that blows all the time a fire is lit to keep the fire going and expel the smoke. The distribution fan is the fan that blows across the heat exchanger on top of the stove to push heat out into the room.

When I run test mode, the distribution fan goes on and off, but the combustion fan stays on until I turn the dial out of test mode and close both doors.

Yep. The combustion fan—the one behind the ash bucket—was running intermittently today in test mode while I was cleaning the stove. That's a problem, correct?