Harman P68 dirty glass?

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Glenn Jefferson

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Oct 25, 2012
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This is my first year with a pellet stove, and I seem to be having to clean the front glass on my P68 more often than I would expect. Does anyone else know how often they have to clean the glass on this stove? Is there anything that could cause the glass to get dirty more often than normal? I clean the stove often, scrap the pot etc etc. The top half of the glass gets dirty and the bottom stays clean. Once the stove cools down I can simply clean the glass with the glass cleaner but it is a PIA because the stove has to cool down to do this. I'm burning decent grade pellets (Maine Woods), In a few more bags I will be switching over to Turman's which should be cleaner pellets if that may help.

I didn't know if anyone had the same problem or knew of any tips to prevent this.

Thanks
Glenn
 
Glenn Jefferson said:
This is my first year with a pellet stove, and I seem to be having to clean the front glass on my P68 more often than I would expect. Does anyone else know how often they have to clean the glass on this stove? Is there anything that could cause the glass to get dirty more often than normal? I clean the stove often, scrap the pot etc etc. The top half of the glass gets dirty and the bottom stays clean. Once the stove cools down I can simply clean the glass with the glass cleaner but it is a PIA because the stove has to cool down to do this. I'm burning decent grade pellets (Maine Woods), In a few more bags I will be switching over to Turman's which should be cleaner pellets if that may help.

I didn't know if anyone had the same problem or knew of any tips to prevent this.

Thanks
Glenn
Click to expand...

Cleaning frequency All depends on what you think is dirty. I wipe mine down with a dry paper towel twice a week while it is running and a wet paper towel during the weekly cleaning. I just like a really clear glass window though. Likely clearer than most people. How quickly it gets dirty depends on how you are running it. If running in room temp manual and it is in maint burn for long periods the glass will dirty up rather quickly.

The bottom will stay cleaner because of the airway.

Take a pic and upload it and let us know how many bags it has been since you last cleaned the glass. Then we can help you out more.
 
Your glass will get dirty quicker when the stove is starting up a lot, like in the spring and fall. I've gone 2 weeks without cleaning mine this time of year.
 
I will try and take a pictur. I cleaned the glass yesterday afternoon and have just about burnt through a bag. I never thought to wipe the glass while it is warm. I just didn't know if there could be something wrong or something i could do to prevent this. It is running on room mode where it is going into a low maint burn but never fully shutting down so maybe when it has to kick in and fire up a big flame again could be part of the issue?
 
All,

Below is a photo of the inside of my glass after about 30 hours of burning which consumed about 1.25 of a bag of pellets.

Thanks
Glenn
 

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I also just learned that my stove is missing the three fire bricks that are supposed to be behind the burn pot. i don't know if this would change how the air flows through the stove but hopefully that might be the problem.
 
Can also depend on what type of pellets you burn. I just cleaned my stove yesterday. And the first time in 2weeks since I cleaned the glass. My glass just gets white around the sides and top. With a little dark spot in the bottom right corner. I don't like dirty glass either. My sister has a 68 and every time I go over you can barely see the flame. Bugs the chit outta me.
 
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If you're on a low burn the glass will get dirty faster.1.25 bags in 30+ hours sounds like a low burn rate.Type of pellets can also make a big difference.
 
Top left part of my glass gets dirty in a day, then it gradually spreads from there. It would probably take 5+ days for it to look like yours.

I burn a pretty good pellet apparently.
 
I'm burning through my last bag of Maine Woods pellets now and will switch over to "Turmans" I'm hoping the dirty glass will go away with the new pellets, but if it doesn't does anyone have any suggestions on what might be causing my glass to get as dirty as it has been getting? The inside of the stove is clean and I just went through it a couple of weeks ago and gave it a good cleaning and it didn't make a difference. The only thing i can think of is the pellet has to be causing this.

-Glenn
 
Glenn Jefferson said:
All,

Below is a photo of the inside of my glass after about 30 hours of burning which consumed about 1.25 of a bag of pellets.

Thanks
Glenn
Click to expand...

Something isn't right. I've gone 2 weeks before and mine hasn't looked that bad.
 
Glenn Jefferson said:
I'm burning through my last bag of Maine Woods pellets now and will switch over to "Turmans" I'm hoping the dirty glass will go away with the new pellets, but if it doesn't does anyone have any suggestions on what might be causing my glass to get as dirty as it has been getting? The inside of the stove is clean and I just went through it a couple of weeks ago and gave it a good cleaning and it didn't make a difference. The only thing i can think of is the pellet has to be causing this.

-Glenn
Click to expand...

I'm thinking your air wash isn't working/is plugged. I don't believe the MWP's are your problem because that's what I burn.
 
How old is the stove?
 
With a P68 only using that many pellets a day it is normal for it to look like that. I have a P61 and it looks like that after a few days of only burning a bag a day. When it gets colder and the stove is hot enough for the distibution fan to stay on constantly you will see better results. I burn Somersets and Turman and they will both due this so its not the pellet. In the past ive used a few bags of other brands and the glass got twice as dirty. Use the Turmans and wipe the glass with a dry cloth when you scrape the pot and wait for colder weather.
 
boosted3g said:
With a P68 only using that many pellets a day it is normal for it to look like that. I have a P61 and it looks like that after a few days of only burning a bag a day. When it gets colder and the stove is hot enough for the distibution fan to stay on constantly you will see better results. I burn Somersets and Turman and they will both due this so its not the pellet. In the past ive used a few bags of other brands and the glass got twice as dirty. Use the Turmans and wipe the glass with a dry cloth when you scrape the pot and wait for colder weather.
Click to expand...

The distribution fan shouldn't have any bearing on the amount of ash buildup on the glass.
 
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It lets you know that the stove is above an idle. This big of a stove can heat quite on a maintenance burn. When the distribution fan kicks on there was a call for heat and the stove operates above a maintenance burn.
 
OK. I thought you were inferring that the distribution blower somehow helped keep the glass clean. All I know is, I've never seen my glass that dirty in a week, let alone 30 hours no matter what kind of pellets I was burning or what mode I was burning in regardless of the outside temps. I guess I'm lucky.
 
Glenn, you need to get the firebrick replaced pronto. Keeps heat from getting to your fuel hopper and bounces some heat to the front, may help with the glass.
 
Looks like ash sticking to the glass. Rub it off while running with a dry towel, takes 10 seconds. When it cold for cleaning try some Rutland glass cleaner/conditioner this may help with ash sticking. Truman's will probably help too.
 
All,

I forgot to mention I did replace the fire bricks on Wednesday and it didn't make a difference. I'm going through my last bag of Maine Woods today so tomorrow i should be able to clean the glass and burn some Turmans and see if this helps.
 
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