Harman 52i Install; Let me Get This Right

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It stops 100% if I even slightly open the door or the hopper. I'm assuming no one's found a fix? It's annoying when it happens.
 
Don't have a Harman, but you could have gotten the rumble for two grand less. ;lol Happens with my Englander 25-PDVC too.
 
To me that sounds like a choked engine. Like a poorly tuned carb. I don't know why it would be reverberating so much with an insulated flue. Another telling part is when you open the door it goes away immediately.

I don't have an outside air kit on mine. Initially I had vibration issues from something behind the combustion blower and it seems from the cradle frame against the hearth.

Have you tried running the unit without OAK connected? If that does works you may need to adjust your OAK somehow to get more air.

Sorry to hear about the combustion fans dying early how long is the warranty? What symptoms were there?
 
Here are my thoughts;

1.) When I installed mine I used leftover 4" intake for the oak as opposed to the 3" the manual calls for. I need to replace with 3", and have been told to run it at least 6' up into the chimney.

2.) I've read that the draft needs to be set with a gauge to I believe between -25 and -35 (page 27 in the manual. I have not been able to find this port, but haven't made it a big priority yet. My "rumble" problem is more persistent at idle, or low draft.

...So I think I have enough air, maybe too much.

I don't know how long the warranty is. It started making a "hum" whenever it was on. I knew it had to be the combustion motor after listening to it for a while because that was the only thing running. It had bad bearings, and besides the noise the stove worked fine when in use, right up to the day I replaced it.
 
Ok, so I can't find the draft meter bolt hole location. Seems there's 2 different install manuals for the 52i???

It states "The head of the Draft bolt can be accessed from inside the firebox
on the left hand side."

...anyone have a picture of where that is?
 
Here are my thoughts;

1.) When I installed mine I used leftover 4" intake for the oak as opposed to the 3" the manual calls for. I need to replace with 3", and have been told to run it at least 6' up into the chimney.

2.) I've read that the draft needs to be set with a gauge to I believe between -25 and -35 (page 27 in the manual. I have not been able to find this port, but haven't made it a big priority yet. My "rumble" problem is more persistent at idle, or low draft.

...So I think I have enough air, maybe too much.

I don't know how long the warranty is. It started making a "hum" whenever it was on. I knew it had to be the combustion motor after listening to it for a while because that was the only thing running. It had bad bearings, and besides the noise the stove worked fine when in use, right up to the day I replaced it.


I am no expert it was just a thought. Perhaps it is the other end is there any obstruction? That points to the back draft door opening and closing.

Does smoke come in your house(more than you think would) when you open the door?

Either way it looks like you are on the right track with the heliometrics stuff. I am not sure where the opening is.
 
The bolt in question is located in the front left corner looking at the stove. It is under the ash pan, believe it is a 3/8" coarse bolt-9/16" head.
 
I am no expert it was just a thought. Perhaps it is the other end is there any obstruction? That points to the back draft door opening and closing.

Does smoke come in your house(more than you think would) when you open the door?

No obstruction, cleaned regularly flu and all. No smoke has ever backed into the room, door or hopper open. I've even accidentally left the hopper open one night and had no issues. I read when cleaning to put in "test" to draw up any soot. Works great.

The bolt in question is located in the front left corner looking at the stove. It is under the ash pan, believe it is a 3/8" coarse bolt-9/16" head.

Is this on the inside of the stove, like open the door to get to it, or behind the bottom "molding?" that you have to remove to pull the stove out? Any chance you have a picture, cause I'm feeling stupid/blind at the moment....


Thanks guys!
 
No obstruction, cleaned regularly flu and all. No smoke has ever backed into the room, door or hopper open. I've even accidentally left the hopper open one night and had no issues. I read when cleaning to put in "test" to draw up any soot. Works great.



Is this on the inside of the stove, like open the door to get to it, or behind the bottom "molding?" that you have to remove to pull the stove out? Any chance you have a picture, cause I'm feeling stupid/blind at the moment....


Thanks guys!
Open the door and remove the ash pan. See bolt in stove floor
 
Open the door and remove the ash pan. See bolt in stove floor

Do you run the test with the door open?

Edit: I just re-read the instructions, I see the door needs to be closed. What am I supposed to do, look at the gauge through the glass? That seems like a bad design. All the appliances I've ever worked on (gas) had the port on the outside.
 
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Remove cast trim at bottom of stove and somehow get the adapter at the end of the hose into the test port. Door closed while running in test mode. I've never done it myself. I just picked up a used accentra insert and saw where it was while pulling stove apart. I'd love to see a pic or 2 of what people use as an adapter to do this. I may be at my dealer today snd if so I will ask
 
Remove cast trim at bottom of stove and somehow get the adapter at the end of the hose into the test port. Door closed while running in test mode. I've never done it myself. I just picked up a used accentra insert and saw where it was while pulling stove apart. I'd love to see a pic or 2 of what people use as an adapter to do this. I may be at my dealer today snd if so I will ask

I pulled the trim, it's currently running so I didn't remove the ash pan. I don't see why removing trim would have anything to do with it? I see nothing. I'm thinking once I remove the pan I might, but I'm still not understanding the procedure for this test.
 
I pulled the trim, it's currently running so I didn't remove the ash pan. I don't see why removing trim would have anything to do with it? I see nothing. I'm thinking once I remove the pan I might, but I'm still not understanding the procedure for this test.
Yes it's under the pan
 
Sorry to bring up my old thread, wanted to post some things after having the stove for 2 or so years.

1.) It seems the rumble that I had before is gone. I've had the stove running for a week or so now, haven't heard it once. I did two things so I'm not sure what the fix was. I cleaned the flu for the first time (and it needed it more than I thought it would), and I changed out the leftover 4" SS flu that I used for the outside air intake for a 3" piece of white PVC that just goes 4' or so past the stove and into the chimney above the insulation / top plate. No more rumble. I f it comes back, I'll know it's from cleaning the flu.

2.) Last year I replaced the combustion blower under warranty, and go figure, when I start the stove up this year the combustion blower is pretty loud again. I'm A.) hoping it's still under warranty, and B.) getting them to come replace it this time. It didn't take that long to replace last year, but now it's just the principal. I JUST changed it, I bet this one's not even a year old.

Edit: 3.) I connected it to the thermostat that used to go to the oil boiler. Hopefully save some pellets and it's really nice being able to hit the thermostat for more heat, instead of bending down to play with the knob to find the sweet spot. I don't think I've opened the side panel on the stove unless to turn it off. Plus, no more forgetting to turn the stove down at night, and it's warm when I get up in the morning.


Has anyone else had there combustion motor's bearings go out that fast? I mean, I don't even think I've got a full year out of this one ~ 3-4 months of run time last season?
 
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I had the combustion blower bearings squeal within two months of installation. Dealer came out and swapped out the blower and problem solved.
 
I had the combustion blower bearings squeal within two months of installation. Dealer came out and swapped out the blower and problem solved.

Thanks, at least I know I'm not crazy. I wonder if they just use crap bearings, or maybe the heat gets to them? I looked it up, I installed this blower in Jan of this year. I could of waited for the warranty guy, but he was 3 weeks out. If I can't get it replaced, I'm going to change the bearings with something heavy duty.

On another note, I added something else to my post up top that I did to the stove as well. Connected it to the the thermostat. So far, I really like it. This way if I forget to turn the stove down at night, I'm not out of pellets in the morning. My hopes are that it will save some pellets this year.
 
Thanks, at least I know I'm not crazy. I wonder if they just use crap bearings, or maybe the heat gets to them? I looked it up, I installed this blower in Jan of this year. I could of waited for the warranty guy, but he was 3 weeks out. If I can't get it replaced, I'm going to change the bearings with something heavy duty.

On another note, I added something else to my post up top that I did to the stove as well. Connected it to the the thermostat. So far, I really like it. This way if I forget to turn the stove down at night, I'm not out of pellets in the morning. My hopes are that it will save some pellets this year.

FWIW, the replacement combustion blower has been running fine for two years. It's an easy install so if you're comfortable doing that, remove the blower and bring it to the dealer for replacement.
 
FWIW, the replacement combustion blower has been running fine for two years. It's an easy install so if you're comfortable doing that, remove the blower and bring it to the dealer for replacement.

Well...as per the post above, I did replace the blower already. I bought this stove the beginning of 2014, and the first combustion blower went out Dec of last year (2015). I contacted the dealer, and they were 3 weeks out for repairs, so I removed the blower, exchanged it with them and replaced it myself (no cost, under warranty). Now this combustion blower bearings are going again. The blower itself works fine.
 
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Well sorry about your problem,but,in my opinion,is rare.Even with harman suppliers of the motor,I really cannot say anything bad,mostly very high quality,from what I have seen,but problems of this sort seem to rear there head mostly in fireplace installs.Depending on design/airflow,basement-foundation,you may have a moisture thing happening,affecting the brgs/and seals.Have never put brgs in a harman combustion motor,but have at least one in parts box,if you want me to take it apart and measure brgs,let me know.
 
Well sorry about your problem,but,in my opinion,is rare.Even with harman suppliers of the motor,I really cannot say anything bad,mostly very high quality,from what I have seen,but problems of this sort seem to rear there head mostly in fireplace installs.Depending on design/airflow,basement-foundation,you may have a moisture thing happening,affecting the brgs/and seals.Have never put brgs in a harman combustion motor,but have at least one in parts box,if you want me to take it apart and measure brgs,let me know.

I appreciate your offer, may take you up on it depending on what the dealer does. I agree about everything being top notch, nothing else with the stove has been an issue. Flawless. I also thought maybe a moisture problem, but I have the top plate sealed with heavy roxul insulation over top. And the combustion blower is the only thing to go, both distribution fans are perfect. No surface rust on anything, not damp at all.

I'm really hoping I'm just unlucky and it's a fluke. I shouldn't have to change the bearings, but at some point the dealer isn't going to cover it anymore (she was pretty skeptical on the phone today). I'm not even 100% they'll stand behind this.

Except for the higher than acceptable hum, the stove runs perfect.
 
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I appreciate your offer, may take you up on it depending on what the dealer does. I agree about everything being top notch, nothing else with the stove has been an issue. Flawless. I also thought maybe a moisture problem, but I have the top plate sealed with heavy roxul insulation over top. And the combustion blower is the only thing to go, both distribution fans are perfect. No surface rust on anything, not damp at all.

I'm really hoping I'm just unlucky and it's a fluke. I shouldn't have to change the bearings, but at some point the dealer isn't going to cover it anymore (she was pretty skeptical on the phone today). I'm not even 100% they'll stand behind this.

Except for the higher than acceptable hum, the stove runs perfect.
Do not want to go there,my accentra is very quiet,BUT my austroflamm is extremely quiet,but much older!LOL
 
Do not want to go there,my accentra is very quiet,BUT my austroflamm is extremely quiet,but much older!LOL

Well, my insert used to be quiet:) The pictures that I posted in the install are of it directly next to the TV, and we don't have any issues at all. Sometimes I turn the distribution blower down some, but other than the stray pellet getting crunched everything is (was) very quiet.
 
Well....no such dice. They won't stand behind the stove, won't stand behind the combustion blower:( So now I'm in for either a replacement motor, or replacing the bearings.

Funny, Amazon sells the same combustion blower with a 1 year warranty.

I thought there was a thread somewhere on here about replacing the bearings?
 
I got a new oem replacement blower from ebay for $78.00 shipped. Will still replace the bearings from the other motor, that way I can swap when needed.

bob bare - any idea on the size of those bearings? Or anyone?, I swear I saw a thread when I was going through this last year....
 
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