2 out of 3 motors work?

[Lucerry]

Hi,

I have a Harman Accentra 2 stove....came with the house when we bought it. It's been great when it works and a complete pain in the ass when it doesn't! However, I still say it's the best thing about the house....

Anyway, last week I plugged it back in and turned it on for the first time. I had dumped an entire bag of pellets into the hopper, and ran it as I would normally all last winter when starting from scratch. I turned the feed rate knob to TEST and waited for the burn pot to fill with pellets.

Both the combustion motor and distribution motor and fans started running. But. The feed motor light didn't turn on in the panel, and the feed motor didn't start running. No pellets came out, and when I looked at the back of the stove, I could see that the motor wasn't running at all.

I have tested the seals of the doors and that's not a problem. I have thoroughly cleaned it inside and out. I have pulled out the pressure tube and it isn't clogged. When cleaning, there was some damp ash/soot in the bottom by the ESP probe, but that seems to be cleaned out now. (I think the dampness can be attributed to the 6 inches of rain we got last week).

So, could the dampness be causing any problems?

Doesn't seem like it's the fuse as the other lights come on and the other motors run correctly.

Any thoughts/suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Justin M]

Hi,

I have a Harman Accentra 2 stove....came with the house when we bought it. It's been great when it works and a complete pain in the ass when it doesn't! However, I still say it's the best thing about the house....

Anyway, last week I plugged it back in and turned it on for the first time. I had dumped an entire bag of pellets into the hopper, and ran it as I would normally all last winter when starting from scratch. I turned the feed rate knob to TEST and waited for the burn pot to fill with pellets.

Both the combustion motor and distribution motor and fans started running. But. The feed motor light didn't turn on in the panel, and the feed motor didn't start running. No pellets came out, and when I looked at the back of the stove, I could see that the motor wasn't running at all.

I have tested the seals of the doors and that's not a problem. I have thoroughly cleaned it inside and out. I have pulled out the pressure tube and it isn't clogged. When cleaning, there was some damp ash/soot in the bottom by the ESP probe, but that seems to be cleaned out now. (I think the dampness can be attributed to the 6 inches of rain we got last week).

So, could the dampness be causing any problems?

Doesn't seem like it's the fuse as the other lights come on and the other motors run correctly.

Any thoughts/suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

Check the hopper lid switch. It won't let the auger feed with the door open.

 

[Lucerry]

Hopper lid switch....can you give me any further info on this? It's not referenced in the manual I have and while I can find the option for ordering a replacement part online, I can't seem to find a reference to where on the stove this is. Thanks!

 

[Justin M]

Hopper lid switch....can you give me any further info on this? It's not referenced in the manual I have and while I can find the option for ordering a replacement part online, I can't seem to find a reference to where on the stove this is. Thanks!

 

[Lucerry]

I take it that's the inside of your hopper? My stove doesn't have that switch (and never has had).

 

[Justin M]

Yes, this is on an Accentra insert. By Accentra 2 do you mean a 52i? Those may be different.

 

[jackman]

Mine does not have that switch either. It may be something Harman added in newer models.

 

[Zeus]

No hopper switch on the newer accentra it was on the older models not sure which ones though

 

[rona]

Hi,

I have a Harman Accentra 2 stove....came with the house when we bought it. It's been great when it works and a complete pain in the ass when it doesn't! However, I still say it's the best thing about the house....

Anyway, last week I plugged it back in and turned it on for the first time. I had dumped an entire bag of pellets into the hopper, and ran it as I would normally all last winter when starting from scratch. I turned the feed rate knob to TEST and waited for the burn pot to fill with pellets.

Both the combustion motor and distribution motor and fans started running. But. The feed motor light didn't turn on in the panel, and the feed motor didn't start running. No pellets came out, and when I looked at the back of the stove, I could see that the motor wasn't running at all.

I have tested the seals of the doors and that's not a problem. I have thoroughly cleaned it inside and out. I have pulled out the pressure tube and it isn't clogged. When cleaning, there was some damp ash/soot in the bottom by the ESP probe, but that seems to be cleaned out now. (I think the dampness can be attributed to the 6 inches of rain we got last week).

So, could the dampness be causing any problems?

Doesn't seem like it's the fuse as the other lights come on and the other motors run correctly.

Any thoughts/suggestions?

Thanks in advance!

You should be able to remove the motor by removing a couple nuts and a set screw. You can add a couple connectors to a cord and after hooking them to the motor plug the corn in. It should run. If it does then while you got things apart pull the auger out to check for swelled pellets jamming the auger.

 

[Lucerry]

Ok, so we replaced the differential switch with a brand new one and still no luck. We have determined that the auger motor runs fine on it's own by bypassing the pressure switch. So we could continue to bypass the pressure switch, but that means the ignitor wouldn't work, I believe.

Now, the small rubber hose that connects to the differential switch....I checked that for cracks or holes, and it seems fine. I re-inserted it into where it came from. Is that other end supposed to connect to anything though? Just seems to feed into the inside of the stove body.

Any help is much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[rona]

Ok, so we replaced the differential switch with a brand new one and still no luck. We have determined that the auger motor runs fine on it's own by bypassing the pressure switch. So we could continue to bypass the pressure switch, but that means the ignitor wouldn't work, I believe.

Now, the small rubber hose that connects to the differential switch....I checked that for cracks or holes, and it seems fine. I re-inserted it into where it came from. Is that other end supposed to connect to anything though? Just seems to feed into the inside of the stove body.

Any help is much appreciated. Thanks!

Not sure if this will help but there is a fines box with a large wing nut on the outside of it. It holds the slide that opens and closes on the bottom of the hopper. Make sure that slide hasn't slipped out of position as that will prevent the auger motor to turn. I found this problem on a Harman PC 45 and it was a real puzzle for a while.

 

[Lucerry]

Not sure if this will help but there is a fines box with a large wing nut on the outside of it. It holds the slide that opens and closes on the bottom of the hopper. Make sure that slide hasn't slipped out of position as that will prevent the auger motor to turn. I found this problem on a Harman PC 45 and it was a real puzzle for a while.

I have cleaned that box out, and checked the slide.

We replaced the differential switch. Tried it..still no luck. We then bypassed that switch, and viola, the stove started! However, we quickly learned that there was another problem as smoke started seeping from the back vent pipe and all around the entire stove.

We removed the back pipe and lo and behold it was completely plugged! Seems as though the 6 inches of rain we received a week ago caused some buildup in the pipe and that was why there wasn't enough air flow! We've never experienced a problem like that! Cleaned that pipe out, reattached everything, and bingo. Now, on the last day of nice weather in New England, my pellet stove is fixed!

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[ChandlerR]

I'm glad you figured it out. That's kinda scary having a plugged exhaust vent. I'm assuming that there was a buildup of soot on the pipes and the rain and moisture caused it to become soggy and it all dropped to the bottom where it built up enough to plug the pipe.
I do a Spring cleaning when I'm done with the stove but I also do a Fall re-cleaning before I fire the stove up for the first time. I start with the exhaust piping and I have found it easier to actually remove the pipe and clean it in the driveway. I understand that it won't be feasible if you have an insert but it's very important that your venting is squeaky clean before you tackle the rest of the stove, no matter how you have to do it.

 

[rona]

I have cleaned that box out, and checked the slide.

We replaced the differential switch. Tried it..still no luck. We then bypassed that switch, and viola, the stove started! However, we quickly learned that there was another problem as smoke started seeping from the back vent pipe and all around the entire stove.

We removed the back pipe and lo and behold it was completely plugged! Seems as though the 6 inches of rain we received a week ago caused some buildup in the pipe and that was why there wasn't enough air flow! We've never experienced a problem like that! Cleaned that pipe out, reattached everything, and bingo. Now, on the last day of nice weather in New England, my pellet stove is fixed!

Thanks for the suggestions.

Birds will often build a nest in small places. I have seen wrens do that before usually in the spring when it gets warm. It happened to a friend of mine in Illinois a few years ago. and it happened to me once before that. After that I plugged the exh pipe and left a note in the hopper to remind myself. Normally we look at the simple things first and in some cases there is a wire mesh screen built in the endcap that will keep the birds out but when it gets real cold it can frost over. Glad you found the problem now rather then in the middle of winter.