Harman TL200 AFterburner issue, could use some advice

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Vtmtns

New Member
Dec 11, 2011
8
Vermont
Hello, I am new to forum and to my two new woodstoves. I recently purchased a new home that came with a VT castings Aspen, and a Harman TL200. I live in the mountains of Vermont and it gets cold, so I am heating primarily with wood this winter. This is my first burn season with these stoves and I could use some advice. I have read up on the TL200 and have searched this forum for some answers. I feel I have a pretty good grasp on the burn process for the TL200.

My issue is this: the other day I noticed a piece of insulation board had fallen down out of the afterburner and was sticking halfway out of the the afterburner on top of the shoe brick(in the back of the stove where the secondary air holes are) and it was cracked in half. Now I noticed it while the stove was running so I couldn't remove it, however, I also noticed that I could not seem to keep the afterburner lit. With a fresh load that had caught, when the damper was closed the afterburner window would show it igniting and glow orange, then after a few minutes it would go dark.

I went to the Harman dealer and they called Harman and I was told that while this insulation board isn't a saftey issue, it will cause the stove to run less efficiently and may cause the gases to bypass the afterburner (which would make sense seeing as how I can't seem to keep the afterburner lit) I am waiting for them to tell me if they can order that piece of insulation board and to tell me if I can install it myself; one of the dealers seems to think the afterburner package is non-servicable while the other seems to think I can take it apart.

I spoke with the previous owners and they told me they installed a new combustion package (or afterburner I guess) last year prior to the burn season. It looks to me as if they may have over-fired the stove and caused damage to the afterburner.

Any advice on where to go from here or my options would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
 
Vtmtns said:
Hello, I am new to forum and to my two new woodstoves. I recently purchased a new home that came with a VT castings Aspen, and a Harman TL200. I live in the mountains of Vermont and it gets cold, so I am heating primarily with wood this winter. This is my first burn season with these stoves and I could use some advice. I have read up on the TL200 and have searched this forum for some answers. I feel I have a pretty good grasp on the burn process for the TL200.

My issue is this: the other day I noticed a piece of insulation board had fallen down out of the afterburner and was sticking halfway out of the the afterburner on top of the shoe brick(in the back of the stove where the secondary air holes are) and it was cracked in half. Now I noticed it while the stove was running so I couldn't remove it, however, I also noticed that I could not seem to keep the afterburner lit. With a fresh load that had caught, when the damper was closed the afterburner window would show it igniting and glow orange, then after a few minutes it would go dark.

I went to the Harman dealer and they called Harman and I was told that while this insulation board isn't a saftey issue, it will cause the stove to run less efficiently and may cause the gases to bypass the afterburner (which would make sense seeing as how I can't seem to keep the afterburner lit) I am waiting for them to tell me if they can order that piece of insulation board and to tell me if I can install it myself; one of the dealers seems to think the afterburner package is non-servicable while the other seems to think I can take it apart.

I spoke with the previous owners and they told me they installed a new combustion package (or afterburner I guess) last year prior to the burn season. It looks to me as if they may have over-fired the stove and caused damage to the afterburner.

Any advice on where to go from here or my options would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Welcome to the forum.. Posting pics will make it easier for the people here to help you..

Ray
 
Thanks Ray, don't have a digital camera or I would. I already pulled the insulation board out, but maybe if I can borrow a camera I can put a pic up but it will basically just show the back of my burn box. Anyway, just hoping someone knows something about these stoves. Thanks
 
Not sure how it compares to the Oakwood, but on my stove the AB piece slides in and out the back of the stove (after the rear panel is removed). As to the dealer that says the part is not serviceable, do you mean trying to repair the part, or just replace it? I think you would need to buy the whole AB unit, not just a piece of it. But in theory I suppose you could repair it - the pieces are just screwed together, but are pretty fragile.

I am wondering how it broke. Maybe from chimney cleaning, or poking a vacuum in there?
 
Because you are new to the stove, bite the bullet and get it fixed properly with a new afterburner package. Then you should be confident the stove is working properly as you learn how to use it. Also, if the air is not flowing properly, it will not be burning properly, wasting wood, and possibly creating creosote.

Those afterburner parts are real fragile, so be careful with them as you work with them. Keep the old one, you may be able to rebuild it, and keep it for later use. If you keep that stove around, you will probably need another one anyway in the future.

Good luck, and welcome to the forum.
 
Thanks guys,
not sure how it broke, and its weird; its just this piece of insulation board, rectangular in shape about 8 inches long and 4 high, and it looks like it fell out of the inside of the afterburner. Doesn't look like it screws into anything as it is a fragile asbestos type material, almost looks like it was attached with some sort of adhesive. when I feel up into the afterburner there is this red clay like substance that falls out into little pieces that I assume must have been what was adhereing this board to the inside of the afterburner.

The dealer said the board is the afterburner... not sure they have a clue what they are talking about. If I can simply buy a new piece of this material and fix the afterburner that would be my choice as I have little to no cash right now, but nobody (including Harman or the dealer) seem to know anything about this.

Anybody out there with any experience fixing an afterburner? And if I have to buy the complete afterburner package is it safe to burn in the mean time, I know most people will not want to answer that one? And does anybody know what all I should make sure to order?
 
Also, does anyone know how much I should expect to pay for the afterburner package if necessary? Thanks again for all the help with this. I can only assume the previous owner must have been running this stove pretty hot to have a brand new afterburner crap out in one year...
 
Its just shy of 300 bucks. Call ahead to the harman dealers they don't usually stock the part.
 
Vtmtns said:
And if I have to buy the complete afterburner package is it safe to burn in the mean time, I know most people will not want to answer that one? And does anybody know what all I should make sure to order?
Click to expand...

It should be safe to burn, but you may have trouble with creosote. With the bypass closed, you will not get secondary combustion with a failed afterburner, and get a very dirty, smoky burn. With bypass open (and air set low), you will burn hotter and cleaner but still very inefficiently. Make sure to monitor your temps so you don't overfire.

Assuming the AB comes out the back of the stove, you may want to try to remove it to see what shape its in. I'm guessing even if you can partially fix it, its not long for this world. If your local dealer is no help, the one in Hampton Falls NH (Home & Hearth) is pretty helpful.
 
Thanks guys, I am pu;;ing the afterburner apart right now, at least I think that is what I'm doing, much more comfartable with a car engine, lol. I will let you all know how this turns out. I do really appreciate the advice. I wish I had paid alittle more attention to what my old man was doing with the woodstove growing up. In the Corps I would have just stuck a phosphorous(sp I am a Jarhead afterall:)) grenade in it by now and be roasting marshmellows.
 
I wouldn't burn it without the AB in the back and the damper closed. You can get away with the damper open. But I'd worry about warping the metal back there.
 
Dill said:
I wouldn't burn it without the AB in the back and the damper closed. You can get away with the damper open. But I'd worry about warping the metal back there.
Click to expand...

Hmmmmm. .....I'm thinking if that metal can handle AB heat, I'm guessing it wouldn't get that hot w/o the AB in place.
No?
Really a non-issue. I wouldn't burn with the damper closed unless a working AB was installed.
 
Well good news, I think... I pulled the afterburner weldment (as the mauel calls it, basically the big heavy cast piece in the back of the burn box that has the afterburner window on it) off and it looks like the piece of insulation board that fell off isn't part of the afterburner, but actually came off the back of the faceplate (or afterburner weldment) the afterburner itself looks great (as it should for being replaced last year). The back of the faceplate has these arms that look like they are designed o hold the insulation board in place and they have corroded off. it looks like I can clean the mating surface up and just replace it and use some sort of adhesive. The purpose of it just looks like it is insulation to keep the faceplate from warping due to the heat of the afterburner.

I called the dealer, and once again they had no clue what I was talking about but they are going to look into getting a part number... The good news is this looks like a relativel easy fix. I will keep you all posted.
 
Troutchaser said:
Dill said:
I wouldn't burn it without the AB in the back and the damper closed. You can get away with the damper open. But I'd worry about warping the metal back there.
Click to expand...

Hmmmmm. .....I'm thinking if that metal can handle AB heat, I'm guessing it wouldn't get that hot w/o the AB in place.
No?
Really a non-issue. I wouldn't burn with the damper closed unless a working AB was installed.
Click to expand...
The back of my oakwood which holds the AB in place is actually quite thin metal compared to the rest of the stove. Since it usually has 2 -3 inchs of drywall type material in front of it when the AB is installed. I'm guessing it doesn't take much direct heat.
 
Vtmtns said:
Well good news, I think... I pulled the afterburner weldment (as the mauel calls it, basically the big heavy cast piece in the back of the burn box that has the afterburner window on it) off and it looks like the piece of insulation board that fell off isn't part of the afterburner, but actually came off the back of the faceplate (or afterburner weldment) the afterburner itself looks great (as it should for being replaced last year). The back of the faceplate has these arms that look like they are designed o hold the insulation board in place and they have corroded off. it looks like I can clean the mating surface up and just replace it and use some sort of adhesive. The purpose of it just looks like it is insulation to keep the faceplate from warping due to the heat of the afterburner.

I called the dealer, and once again they had no clue what I was talking about but they are going to look into getting a part number... The good news is this looks like a relativel easy fix. I will keep you all posted.
Click to expand...

Could it be a gasket of sort?
 
Dill said:
Troutchaser said:
Dill said:
I wouldn't burn it without the AB in the back and the damper closed. You can get away with the damper open. But I'd worry about warping the metal back there.
Click to expand...

Hmmmmm. .....I'm thinking if that metal can handle AB heat, I'm guessing it wouldn't get that hot w/o the AB in place.
No?
Really a non-issue. I wouldn't burn with the damper closed unless a working AB was installed.
Click to expand...
The back of my oakwood which holds the AB in place is actually quite thin metal compared to the rest of the stove. Since it usually has 2 -3 inchs of drywall type material in front of it when the AB is installed. I'm guessing it doesn't take much direct heat.
Click to expand...

Sounds like yet another place to stick a thermometer! :)
 
Update, well I ran the stove for about 10 hours and have some news. After removing that piece of insulation board that fell off the back of the afterburner faceplate that was blocking the opening to the afterburner the stove ran like a champ. Had no problem getting the afternburner to light and run great (I still don't know how some of you guys are getting such long burn times, from almost a full load I burn to coals in about 2.5 hours at low air setting) . However, I now see why that piece of insulation was on the back of the faceplate (the big piece of cast iron on the back wall of the burn box that has the afterburner window on it), once the stove got going real well I noticed that the cast iron on the faceplate was starting to glow a little red. This could be why I'm getting such short burn times, lol. I'm still waiting for the dealer to get back with me to tell me if I can order that piece of insulation cause I'd rather not see the faceplate melt (although it is a very thick piece of cast). Thaks to everyone for your advice and thoughts, I will update on what I hear from dealer, if anyone has replaced this before please let me know how you ordered the part. Thanks.
 
I bought my oakwood used. It is 3 years old and when I fired it up this year the afterburner wouldn't ignite. I talked to a dealer and they told me to vacuum the top of the ab by removing the stove pipe and coming in from the top however i didn't see this being very beneficial because I couldn't the vacuum nozzle down in where I needed to. The ab is too brittle to try and cram a vacuum nozzle down in around it. What I did was removed the back panel and carefully removed the afterburner. I then cleaned the whole back of the stove out and took the ab and shook it gently to get all the crap and soot out of it. I got half a coal shovel full of dirt out of the ab. I then carefully reinstalled the ab making sure the vents on the bottom were lined up. This solved my problem. The ab ignites every time now. I hope this helps someone. I was having trouble finding any information on cleaning the ab.
 
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