Smoke in the hopper

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Bxpellet

Feeling the Heat
Nov 1, 2007
427
Bronx, NY
The other night I notice smoke in the hopper, I shut the stove down called the store where I porchased it, they asked if all motors were running everthing seem to be OK, I gave the stove a good cleaning, vaccummed evrthing ran a brush threw the vent, nothing was blocked, went back to my New englang pellets , today my wife notice smoke agian, I just installed the fresh air vent, would that have anything to do with it, Stove is a Harman Advance with a up and out vent set up, stove is runninng at a low setting in stove mode, Stove is new I burned 12 bags so far, Could there be a short in the blower and it kicks off every now and then?
 
are there any trouble code light indications of failures. was the stove adjusted for draft was the draft tested and recorded in you manual? to set the stove up properly it must be draft tested and the adjustment screw rotated to zero it in There is a place in your manual where the initial draft results should be recorded this info is also used for trouble shooting in the future if problems develop Its not a safety issue but a fine tuning efficiency issue
 
I was looking at that in the manual, Sounds like that might be the problem. I will call the store and get someone out here,

Thanks
 
That is not an option but a requirement to properly install your stove a magnaholic type draft gage hooks into an interface under a panel
using the draft gage the screw is adjusted one issue id not all homes have a full 110 to every electrical outlet or 15 amps the pellet stove is also adjusted to fine tune the amps or watts comming into the stove using the adjustment screw and the draft gage Every Harman dealer should know this and record it in the manual. If you dealer does not have the draft gage
magnholic or what it is called, then forget diagnostic repairs from them

just thinking every joint in your pellet vent should be sealed with RTV caulking if not you could be getting a vacume leak causing smoke in your burn pot again s check your manual it will confirm this then check you seams in your vent
 
All seams where sealed at install, I disconnected fresh air last night no problems. Do you think when I connect the fresh air, it changes the draft, causing the smoke,

I will check all seams in the daylight, I will keep you posted , Thanks
 
Yes you could cause a problem if the outside air hose is too long, or the draft was setup without this hose connected..
Also make sure the insulation disc is removed from the wall thimble.
 
The stove ran without the fresh air for a couple of weeks, I just put it in a couple a days ago, Hose is less the 20" long, after a few days that's when I noticed the smoke, only two times. stove has been running on low for about 10 days, the hose goes threw the sheet rock and is attached to the Harman fresh air cap, I am cunfused what insulation disc? is the the pivoting flap in stove intake
 
There is insulation in the cap for those installs that don't use the fresh air intake.
It should be removed prior to using the intake.
It happened here before someone described it as a filter.......But it is not...
 
GVA Thanks, appreciate the help

I read the thread,I think they have the optional fresh air intake, I just used the flex pipe and stainless cap, I looked in the manual, it does not show a filter in the diagram,I looked into the intake , just a flap, put my fingers inside did not feel anything on either side.

I also seal the end going into the stove with silver tape thinking a tight seal would be better, but I removed last night, it ran all night so far so good, my be it needs a mixture off air. I did the install so it was never tested for draft, I have my Father in law on smoke detail today, lets see what happens I will keep you posted.
 
Almost 20 feet of flex may be choking the fresh air to the stove because of the length. Because you have only noticed it when on a low burn, I'd venture to say the combustion is also running on a lower speed at that point and having a difficult time pulling enough fresh air into the stove. Outside air is only required in mobile home installations or very air tight applications. If you have neither, unless there is a way to shorten the flex for introduction of outside air, I would suggest running the stove without it.
 
It's It's thooossse 3D 3D glasssses thattt makke everryythinng a littttlle harddd to reeaadddd :p
 
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