harman tl300 problems (please help)

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fishinfreak

New Member
Feb 14, 2012
4
ny
I bought a tl300 last summer.I have only used it about 10 times this winter and it has less then 1 cord of wood through it.It has a brand new liner kit and all double wall pipe inside.I have had problems burning it since day one. I installed outside air to the stove in hopes that it would help, but it made no difference. The first problem I have is I have had to tighten the damper ramp adjustment screw 3 times so far. Everytime I burn the stove with the damper open to start a fire the handle on the side goes completely loose when I close it and send it to reburn. It will not tighten up until the reburn startes to draft fairly well, but as soon as it cools down it goes loose again. Sometimes I have a very hard time even getting the reburn to go. How I know it goes is the big whooshing sound I hear in the stove. Then sometimes it goes away and doesn't draft anymore. And I have to do it over and over again. I have this problem every time I go to reload the stove especially if it has been burning for more than a day or two.
Now the next problem I have is I went to clean my stove the other day and I found the shoe brick split clean in half with the half of it falling back into the stove. When I pulled it out I could see creosote drips all in the back of the combustion package. I called the dealer and they are sending someone out tomorrow to fix the damper and take a look at what happened to the reburn chamber. The stove is six months old, and they said there may be a chance the shoe brick won't be covered because it is a brick. They will have to see what happened and take pictures for Harman. Has anyone experienced this problem or have any advice? All my wood is well seasoned so I know that is not the problem. The chimney runs up the center of the house and is well above the roof so I know that is not the problem. thanks jt
 
Hi, welcome to the forums!

Hopefully the dealer can fix your damper problem. As for the re-burn stalling out, that is a common problem with these stoves. Often it is due to the stove not being hot enough and/or not a deep enough coal bed. The other factor is your air setting - how fast and how far you shut it back - or shutting the bypass damper too soon. Sometimes using smaller-sized wood can help, too. It can take a lot of experimenting to get a technique that works for you.

How big is the flue in your chimney? EDIT - sorry, missed the part where you said liner kit.
What kind of wood and how well-seasoned?
 
I believe the wood is oak and ash I am new to wood burning so I am not sure.My main concern is the busted shoe brick and the creasole in the reburn chamber.Also thanks for the welcome I am glad to find this forum.
 
Did your wood seller tell you the wood was seasoned? Likely the problem with the creosote and reburn issues. Almost impossible to buy seasoned wood. At least a year split and stacked in the open, two+ years for oak.

Hopefully your dealer can help with the rest. Harman customer service hasn't gotten many compliments lately... https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/89730/
 
Fishinfreak - Send me a PM and let me know where you are located in NY. Also, send me your phone number and a good time to get ahold of you.

Thanks.
 
fishinfreak said:
I bought a tl300 last summer.I have only used it about 10 times this winter and it has less then 1 cord of wood through it.It has a brand new liner kit and all double wall pipe inside.I have had problems burning it since day one. I installed outside air to the stove in hopes that it would help, but it made no difference. The first problem I have is I have had to tighten the damper ramp adjustment screw 3 times so far. Everytime I burn the stove with the damper open to start a fire the handle on the side goes completely loose when I close it and send it to reburn. It will not tighten up until the reburn startes to draft fairly well, but as soon as it cools down it goes loose again. Sometimes I have a very hard time even getting the reburn to go. How I know it goes is the big whooshing sound I hear in the stove. Then sometimes it goes away and doesn't draft anymore. And I have to do it over and over again. I have this problem every time I go to reload the stove especially if it has been burning for more than a day or two.
Now the next problem I have is I went to clean my stove the other day and I found the shoe brick split clean in half with the half of it falling back into the stove. When I pulled it out I could see creosote drips all in the back of the combustion package. I called the dealer and they are sending someone out tomorrow to fix the damper and take a look at what happened to the reburn chamber. The stove is six months old, and they said there may be a chance the shoe brick won't be covered because it is a brick. They will have to see what happened and take pictures for Harman. Has anyone experienced this problem or have any advice? All my wood is well seasoned so I know that is not the problem. The chimney runs up the center of the house and is well above the roof so I know that is not the problem. thanks jt
Click to expand...

I am not sure about the handle issue but the afterburner requires at least 4 inches of coal to ignite properly. I have had a bunch of issues talk to your dealer and see what he will do hopefully they are a decent honest dealer and will back you. Harman themselves in my experience has been totally usless at customer service and the dealer not much better. I have an outside air kit and it works great and improved my burn times drastically with this stove. I can say it is a solid stove though I have had issues with it they where fixed eventually and now it performs like new. Thebroken brick that sounds like an over fire to me I am not saying it is but that is what causes the center brick to crack usually.

Good luck
Pete
 
Yes the seller told me it was seasoned but i don't know if it really is.But why would shoe brick break clean in half.I will see what the dealer has to say tomorrow they have been great so far.
 
Sounds like wet wood gunned up your afterburner and probably lit off and damaged the brick.
 
fishinfreak said:
Yes the seller told me it was seasoned but i don't know if it really is.But why would shoe brick break clean in half.I will see what the dealer has to say tomorrow they have been great so far.
Click to expand...

I am guessing the main problem, as far as creosote and not getting a good secondary burn, is the wood is not dry enough. Most sellers have a very low standard in what they call seasoned - quite often it is wood that has been down for some time but not cut/split/stacked. For this stove to run best you want wood c/s/s about a year - almost impossible to get from a dealer without paying a real premium. If you can't find drier wood, try getting some hardwood pallets or scrap lumber or dry branch wood to mix in, and maybe split the wood you have into smaller splits.

My shoe brick split in half after about two years, but others have had it break sooner. Overfiring and/or hitting it with logs will weaken it, but my impression is that it is not a sturdy piece that will last many years. If they do not replace your shoe brick and you don't want to buy a new one, you can try cementing it back together with furnace cement, or even burn with the broken brick in place as long as the two halves fit snugly together (I did that for some time with no problem).

The other piece you want to be careful of is the fragile afterburner behind the shoe brick. You'll want to clean the ash out of it at the end of the season, but be careful not to put a vacuum right up against it or it may be easily damaged. (Also take care when cleaning the chimney, as the AB can be damaged/dirtied in that process as well).

I think with better wood you will have much better luck with the stove!
 
Sounds to me like allot of your issues with getting the secondary burn activated is related to the shoe brick being broken and un-seasoned wood. Once those issues are solved if an issue still exists it may be related to chimney height and the amount of draft you are getting. As for your damper ramp adjustment keep coming loose is something else that you would want your dealer to take a look at.
This could cause an over-fire especially if it opens up with nobody around.

As to ways the shoe-brick can crack.
a) Hit with something, aka piece of wood or a poker
b) Over-fire
c) Cracked when they put the bricks into your stove
d) Cracked during installation

As to if it is covered or not will depend on the dealer.
Like most stove manufactures Harman does all its servicing through the dealer.
 
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