Harman XXV Distribution Blower

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jgruetz3

New Member
Dec 19, 2010
8
Connecticut
I was refilling my Harman XXV stove with pellets and realized that the distribution blower was not blowing as high as it should be. The distribution light in the control panel is on, the stove is in stove temp mode. Everything is running fine with the exception of the distribution blower. The air is coming out as a trickle. Could it be the distribution blower just needs to be cleaned out and if so how do I go about that? Or could it be a blown fuse?

Also anybody else having ignitor issues with the XXV? We bought ours in March 2008 and have had the ignitor replaced at least 3 times each season. My warranty is set to expire in March and don't want to be paying the dealer to come out and fix it. Is this an easy job to do oneself?

Thanks
 
Check your igniter position... Stove temp mode igniter in manual the blower will not kick on unless it is set over 6. I run either stove temp igniter in auto or room temp igniter to manual. Both settings run the same as far as the auti igniter are conserned.
 
Have you pulled the ESP & cleaned it? Your distribution blower problems can be caused by a dirty ESP.
Harman had a bad run of ignitors & your issues probably helped to clear some of the "iffy"
ones out of the back up inventory.
They've changed suppliers & gone from a 13 fin to a 15 fin design & the problems seem
to be minimal, altho we still see them fail.
Changing an ignitor is not rocket science & after you do it the first time you'll see that.
Remove the shroudson the rear of the stove so you can
see where the wiring goes thru to the burnpot
Loosen the thumb screws under the burn pot to remove the cover plate.
Access to the ignitor is thru that cavity.
Above to opening, on the outside of the pot, there are two screws that you remove
to release the ignitor bracket. Gently pull the assembly out thru
the opening til you see the spade connectors.
Disconnect them & then remove ignitor from the bracket.
Install the new one in the bracket, reconnect the spades & attach the screws.
In order to get MOST of the wiring out of the ignitor cavity,
you'll hafta pull the wiring from the rear.
While you have the back open you might as well pull the ESP & clean it.
You'll see two wires going to the exhaust pipe that's part of the stove.
There's a 1/4" zip screw holding the ESP bracket to the pipe.
Remove the screw & pull the ESP straight out. Clean it with Windex or
white vinegar on a paper towel. DO NOT USE ABRASIVES like ScotchBrite,
or you may damage the probe.
Reinstall the probe & test the unit. If it works correctly, re-install the rear shrouds.
HTH
 
I thought it was worth a shot... Where do you normally set your blower speed, in the middle somewhere?
 
Check your igniter position... Stove temp mode igniter in manual the blower will not kick on unless it is set over 6. I run either stove temp igniter in auto or room temp igniter to manual. Both settings run the same as far as the auti igniter are conserned.

I have been running room temp with igniter in auto since I purchased in January. For my info, please explain the reason for switching to manual. Thanks.
 
slclem said:
Check your igniter position... Stove temp mode igniter in manual the blower will not kick on unless it is set over 6. I run either stove temp igniter in auto or room temp igniter to manual. Both settings run the same as far as the auti igniter are conserned.

I have been running room temp with igniter in auto since I purchased in January. For my info, please explain the reason for switching to manual. Thanks.
running room temp with it on manual the stove will not shut down< when it reaches the room temp it will go idle and keep a very minimal fire until the stove call for more heat....in auto the stove will shut down when it reaches temp then have to re-ignite again (manual mode prolongs the igniter)
 
I cleaned the ESP with white vinegar and the distribution blower has not turned on. With the back off I can see that the dist. blower is not even on. Could it be a blown fuse? If so what size and how do I go about changing it?
 
HEMI said:
....in auto the stove will shut down when it reaches temp then have to re-ignite again (manual mode prolongs the igniter)
well...not quite. It shuts down if it can't match the heat load on the house with its minimum possible burn rate. If the house continues to get warmer when the stove is running at idle speed, then it'll shut down.
 
cac4 said:
HEMI said:
....in auto the stove will shut down when it reaches temp then have to re-ignite again (manual mode prolongs the igniter)
well...not quite. It shuts down if it can't match the heat load on the house with its minimum possible burn rate. If the house continues to get warmer when the stove is running at idle speed, then it'll shut down.
that may be true, but how can the house temp get hotter at idle when the dist blower isnt on when at idle?....just askin because i know that my p43 blower doesnt operate when the stove is idle
 
There's always heat coming out of the stove if there is a fire, blower or no.
The house could be heating up from any number of sources...idle setting fire could be more than what is required, all by itself. (weather changes, outside temp goes up...heat load goes down.). Then there could be heat from cooking...a large number of people in the house...someone turned on the furnace/boiler. Whatever it is, if the computer detects that the temp is above its set point, and continues to rise while the stove is on idle for some period of time (I don't know the exact algorithm), then it will shut down. It doesn't simply cut-off the moment it hits its set point, like my furnace does.
 
Does the stove have a “high/low†switch to control the room air (distribution) blower? I have a XXV and my switch is located on the inside of the control panel recess and marked “high/lowâ€
You may have mistakenly bumped the "high/low" switch and now it's running in "low" mode.
 
I replaced the 6A/250volt fuse and the dist. blower still hasn't turned on. I'm going to assume it's crapped out on me. My neighbor told me that you're not suppsed to have the blower on high for more than 45 min. Has anybody else heard anything like that?
 
jgruetz3 said:
I replaced the 6A/250volt fuse and the dist. blower still hasn't turned on. I'm going to assume it's crapped out on me. My neighbor told me that you're not suppsed to have the blower on high for more than 45 min. Has anybody else heard anything like that?

That's a crock of doo-doo. The stove is designed to run wherever you have it set as long there are pellets in the hopper that can feed into the burnpot.
 
jgruetz3 said:
I replaced the 6A/250volt fuse and the dist. blower still hasn't turned on. I'm going to assume it's crapped out on me. My neighbor told me that you're not suppsed to have the blower on high for more than 45 min. Has anybody else heard anything like that?

FWIW, fuse out, you wont have any lights on at the circuitboard. Your issue is a bad ESP or a bad circuitboard........the ESP is the cheaper DIY fix, but you can also replace the curcuitboard DIY as well, its just about 3-4x more than the ESP.

EDIT: I would suggest first independently powering the blower to see if it isnt faulty itself.......make a pigtal, disconnect it from the wiring harness, plug it into the wall....should run on high. If not, then its the blower.......more $ than the ESP, probable a bit less than the circuitboard.
 
DAKSY said:
jgruetz3 said:
I replaced the 6A/250volt fuse and the dist. blower still hasn't turned on. I'm going to assume it's crapped out on me. My neighbor told me that you're not suppsed to have the blower on high for more than 45 min. Has anybody else heard anything like that?

That's a crock of doo-doo. The stove is designed to run wherever you have it set as long there are pellets in the hopper that can feed into the burnpot.

Yeah, mines on "High" 24/7....no issues here.
 
Same thing happened to me last year........distrobution blower stopped working......thought it was burnt out.......pulled out stove (Accentra Insert) removed blower and found out it was gummed up with hair, etc, whatever.......I hadnt cleaned this in a couple of years......applied power to it out of stove, gave fan a helping push and it started........cleaned it and still did the same thing......ordered new blower, end of problem.....now I clean it real well every year.......
 
Had to replace my dist. fan this year on 2 year old harman after running tonnage in my signature.
 
I have an XXV and love it! I am getting it ready for the season. I want to clean and lube the distribution blower motor. Can someone tell me how to get to it? Is it accessed from beneath the stove? Your wisdom is appreciated!
 
Mike in PA said:
I have an XXV and love it! I am getting it ready for the season. I want to clean and lube the distribution blower motor. Can someone tell me how to get to it? Is it accessed from beneath the stove? Your wisdom is appreciated!

Mike- the distribution blower is in fact accessed from below.......its isnt "lube-able" though
 
Hi Pyro Extraordinaire - Thank you for your reply. Also, thank you for letting me know the motor is not lube-able. I would still like to get the assembly out in my hands so I can clean it thoroughly. I bought this wonderful stove last year used (DOM JAN.2006). The previous owner said he never had any problems with it and did not get it serviced annually. I cleaned it really well before I used it last season but could not figure out how to get the distribution blower out to clean it. I burned about 3 tons through it last season. The stove performed wonderfully! I removed the 2 screws underneath (the stove) that appeared to hold the distribution blower assembly in place however, nothing seemed to "come loose". So I thought I better ask if anybody has been there done this. I know there's more to it. I just need further instruction on how to get the assembly out. I couldn't find anything on the Internet. I was looking for illustrations. Can you help point me in the right direction? I really appreciate it!
 
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