Troubleshooting Harman p68 not auto igniting

[sbuck]

Purchased a home built in 2002 with a Harman p68 pellet stove. Can't get it to auto-ignite. It goes through several ignition cycles for about 30 minutes before status light blinks 5 times indicating failed ignition. Feeling the burn pot afterwards it's warm but not so hot you can't touch it.

Here's what I've done so far:

• Sweeped the chimney
• Vacuumed all the ash out of the stove. Made sure all the holes above the ignitor are clear, burn pot is clear.
• Pulled out the ignitor and cleaned all the ash in there. Tested the ohms on the ignitor and it was within spec. Despite this, ordered and installed a new ignitor just in case.
• Replaced the two gaskets on the door (one by the seal and one behind the glass).
• When I manually ignite the stove it seems to work well - at least as far as I know. I have experience with wood stoves but this is my first pellet stove.

Based on research, two thoughts I have are:

• Air/draft issues - what do I need to do/check for here?
• Could there possibly be something wrong with the circuit board?

Any suggestions and tips on things to troubleshoot next are greatly appreciated!

 

[jackman]

I'd try a different pellet. But before that I'd just start the stove manually with a torch and burn all the pellets in the hopper.

 

[bogieb]

Make sure the plate under the igniter is flush and tight. Ensure there is no partial obstruction at the air intake. Did you clean out the fines box at the back of the stove - also make sure that plate is placed on correctly. Any of those issues will disturb the airflow to the firepot enough that it won't heat up the pellets enough to light, but most likely let it run once you manually lit it.

 

[sbuck]

Update: Pulled out the ignitor to take a closer look at the cradle and make sure it was installed correctly. Fiddled a bit with the metal piece that holds the ignitor in and goes flush with the burn pot - discovered a small gap I was able to close up better and now it ignites. Amazing such a small gap made the difference.

Thanks everyone for the input.