The pellets turd to a thick glue like substance between the slideplate and the auger and the auger builds up a half inch of carbon on it all the way around. I have tried all different pellets using outside air and no outside air. I have run it hot and cool. I have taken everything apart and cleaned and resealed but it still cloggs up right around Jan feb??
Harmon p38 gets clogged
- Thread starter pbaehr
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Xena
Minister of Fire
Xena said:
I have often said my P-38 looks more like a toilet bowl than a pellet stove but his seems to be the real McCoy.
pbaehr said:
your P38 is in the process of "gumming up"....how old is it? most of these have been covered under warrantee......there are threads here pertaining to it:
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/50345/
ole vferdman cleaned and modified his own unit, but most of these sticky stoves have been covered under warrantee.....did I ask the age?
It's about 5 or 6 years old but started after the frist year. I calleed different dealers and got the runaround about cold air and no cold air different pellerts and low temps. Had a few guys come out nothing but bs.
pbaehr said:
well, still might be covered.....the 'started long time ago" argument wont work, but if its 5-6 years old, the stove body was covered at that time for 6 years.......it sounds to me like a gummy stove, and they are usually covered. Vferdman's fix might work.....verdict still out on that......he seems happy with it though........we add airtubes to every gummy stove we rebuild, and as of yet, havent had any re-gum........i dont know how many we've done....maybe 30 or more?
Ladderlieu
New Member
Anyone have an idea what might cause this? I'm on year two of my XXV and have never seen anything like that, and hope I don't.
Ladderlieu said:
noone seems to know for sure......it's rare, doesnt happen to everyone with a certain model, and no common denominator has ever been found to indicate a certain issue.....
summit
Minister of Fire
you need a feeder crossover tube kit: part # 1-00-67900
this resolves the gummy stove.
Vferdman's fix appears to work and follow the same principle, but it is not an approved fix by the mfg co, or any ul tests, so that may complicate things for you should you ever run into any significant issue.
this resolves the gummy stove.
Vferdman's fix appears to work and follow the same principle, but it is not an approved fix by the mfg co, or any ul tests, so that may complicate things for you should you ever run into any significant issue.
it APPEARS to solve the issue, but in addition to putting the rube in, you'll also need to THROUGHLY clean the inside of the feed mechanism of gunk......long, dirty procedure, but do-able. If you arent somewhat handy, hire someone. Still.....SHOULD BE COVERED UNDER WARRANTEE!
smwilliamson
The Stove Guy
Lousyweather said:
The gummy stove in the feeder mechanism has to do with burn back or deposit from unburnt gases. Have you cleaned out the fine box? If you have excessive fine in the feeder tube where the auger is and are running a very hot stove you can get residual burn back (slow burn) back towards the feeder assembly. Likewise, running the stove for extended periods on low settings can lead to gas deposits. Very tough to fix once it has set in and it gets worse...then stops feeding. The entire feeder assembly needs to be removed from the stove and dipped into hot water to dissolve the creosote resin, then put back together. About a 12 hr job if you know what you are doing. I've done it over a two day period as everything needs to dry. Essentially the entire stove needs to be unassembled, cleaned and reassembled. Additionally, there is a modification with an air tube which can be added to help with the unburnt gases but the mod will void the warranty. The stove may be covered under warranty if it is less than 5 years old. If you are anywhere in southern New England I'd be happy to look at it for you while I'm on the road.
smwilliamson said:
I dont agree with all of this. First of all, the addition of the air tube DOES NOT void the warrantee if done correctly, in fact, its sanctioned by Harman.
I agree it takes quite alot of time to "fix" the gummy issue....not 12 hours, bbut certain stoves are easier than others....the "P" series is easier than the Accentra and XXV's, and it really isnt a job I would want to do in a customer's home....VERY messy. You can either do what smwilliamson says, remove and clean the mechanism, or, you can replace the feeder weldment...we've done both. If you opt to clean it, its quite messy and alot of work, whereas, if you replace the weldment, its somewhat messy and alot of work...yuck
smwilliamson
The Stove Guy
Lousyweather said:
If you do the modification WRONG the warranty could be voided. That is what I meant to say. Sorry. If you are pulling a stove out of the house, cleaning or replacing the hull of the stove I'd be curious to see how much time is consumed. All in, with set up and clean up its 12 hrs...more if you remove the stove off location. Maybe less downtime with two people but still a strong 6 hour day. I don't know, maybe you have it down to 9 hrs...that not really the point I guess. I will agree you can replace the weldment but that's an EXPENSIVE PART! And there is nothing wrong with the old one except that it is dirty...in most cases.
smwilliamson said:
Eh, i stock the feeder weldment, and its not that expensive, considering the time and effort to thoroughly clean the old one out.....the worst replacements are the XXV's and Acccentra's, and they are about a 4-6 hour, one man job. When we remove the unit, we generally remove the tailpiece (3 bolts and the stove is free from the pipe), this allows us to easily re-install without messing around with pipe...a new tailpiece gasket, 3 bolts and you are good to go. The only time we sometimes clean a weldment is if the stove is out of warrantee, and the customer wants to save as much cash as possible, but, in reality, they dont save much, as it takes time to soak and brush the thing....MUCH easier to replace the weldment.....if you PM me, I can tell you what the cost is on that part, SM!
SidecarFlip
Minister of Fire
Sounds to me like a trip to the scrap yard and a new unit is in order. Way too much grief. Send 'er to China. :cheese:
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