harman p61-2a lazy flame

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turbosporsche

Member
Dec 31, 2012
137
Shelton,ct
After cleaning the stove the flame was strong but over time like within a day the flame becomes lazy. Is it the. Combustion blower on the way out or maybe my OAK to small. I also noticed when I open the hopper the flame gets better . I included two vids.



 
How old of stove?
 
Stove was manufactured in 07. Got it used this year. Last 3 years it was not used.
 
Have you done a gasket test? Dollar bill in the doors
 
Have you done a gasket test? Dollar bill in the doors
Ya seams tight. I notice that when I slightly loosen the latch the flame gets better. Could it be that the door closes two tight . Seems like the stove is kinda starving for air. As when I open the hopper lid the flame gets better
 
Ya seams tight. I notice that when I slightly loosen the latch the flame gets better. Could it be that the door closes two tight . Seems like the stove is kinda starving for air. As when I open the hopper lid the flame gets better

You questioned your OAK size in your original post. Do you have an atypical setup? That should be a 2 3/8" on the back of the stove to a "whatever" you are using, typically 3" aluminum flex pipe.
 
An air leak in the wrong area will keep the air from going properly through the pot. Checked the feeder fines cover to make sure its on correctly and tight. Check the exhaust termination for blockage. These are things that have troubled owners in the last week.
 
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An air leak in the wrong area will keep the air from going properly through the pot. Checked the feeder fines cover to make sure its on correctly and tight. Check the exhaust termination for blockage. These are things that have troubled owners in the last week.

That feeder fines cover has solved at least 3 problems this week with similar burn issues.
 
You questioned your OAK size in your original post. Do you have an atypical setup? That should be a 2 3/8" on the back of the stove to a "whatever" you are using, typically 3" aluminum flex pipe.
I'm using harman pipe but had an englander befor so I was able to slip the harman oak pipe over the englander pipe. I even disconnected the two to see if that's what is was but nothing changed.
 
I'm using harman pipe but had an englander befor so I was able to slip the harman oak pipe over the englander pipe. I even disconnected the two to see if that's what is was but nothing changed.
I hope its just that feeder fines cover being off by a tiny bit... ez fixes are awesome... better than a blower going.
 


Here's the stove running
 
From the video the flame does not look too bad, but it's not ultra clear to tell. If this is your first season is it possible you're not used to the flame on the P61? A true lazy flame will have black tips and be smokey, is yours doing this? There is also the voltage adjust on the control board. With a little screwdriver you can increase the voltage to the motor a little bit and increase the speed just a little. may be just enough for you.

Other things. A crack in a weld that opens when the stove heats up will allow air in creating a lazy flame. Have you checked the fresh air back draft damper door and that is swings freely? Could be the blower motor slowing down as bearings heat up. Is inside the burn pot clean behind the clean out door where the ignitor is? Ash door and front door leak as other have mentioned? Just listing whatever I can think of.
 
From the video the flame does not look too bad, but it's not ultra clear to tell. If this is your first season is it possible you're not used to the flame on the P61? A true lazy flame will have black tips and be smokey, is yours doing this? There is also the voltage adjust on the control board. With a little screwdriver you can increase the voltage to the motor a little bit and increase the speed just a little. may be just enough for you.

Other things. A crack in a weld that opens when the stove heats up will allow air in creating a lazy flame. Have you checked the fresh air back draft damper door and that is swings freely? Could be the blower motor slowing down as bearings heat up. Is inside the burn pot clean behind the clean out door where the ignitor is? Ash door and front door leak as other have mentioned? Just listing whatever I can think of.

Can u take a video of what a flame should look like when going good
 
Make sure you scrape the burn pot real good, you need to run your fingers over it to feel where the carbon is.you can't always see it. Then make sure all the air holes are open , scrape the sides real well also make sure you have zero carbon build up. I didn't think your flame look that bad.
 
Can u take a video of what a flame should look like when going good
Here is a video of my flame. I had just scraped out the burn pot ash so the pot was clean - always burns better with no ash in pot. When there is some ash flame is lazier. I also turned the stove up to get a decent flame so the video is on a temp rise. Hope it helps.

 
Looks absolutely fine to me.

If there's ash in the pot, it's gonna make bit a bit lazier, and if not removed will eventually squish the flame back against the flame guide.

You have the Harman tool, I assume. If your ash is the type that has a tendency to build up on the lip, scrape that chit off. It takes literally 5 seconds at most, and it's very satisfying. Don't let OCD set in though.
 
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