Harman Accentra 52i

[LauraRDH]

Ok folks I am new to this website and to pellet stoves so please excuse me if I sound like I don't have a clue...that being said I have done a good bit of research and still don't think I can figure this problem out!

My husband and I installed a brand new Accentra 52i 2 wks ago and when we hooked it up it worked beautifully...for a couple days. After a couple of days we started noticing that when we woke up in the am the stove was off and the house was cold. we thought we just needed to adjust settings, clean, etc. but haven't had any luck in that regard for the last week. It occured to us that the problem began around when we ran out of the complimentary bags of pellets that came with the stove and we had just bought our first ton of pellets and thought maybe they were damp. The pellets we purchased were from the same dealer and the same brand that they had given us when we bought our stove so we knew it wasn't just the brand of pellet. That brings us to today when we went out and bought a brand new ton of pellets from a different supplier that are supposed to be great according to friends and coworkers who have been using pellet stoves for years. Well...after a very thorough cleaning(again) we got all the old pellets out and put the new ones in. No change. The stove ignites just fine and pushes pellets like it is supposed to but once it gets lit it will only burn for a few minutes before going out. The pellets never make it within an inch of the burn box edge...the closest they get is 2 or 3 inches away and then they slowly burn back toward the auger and then it goes out. nothing changes this. We have systematically changed settings one at a time with no change to the problem. Any ideas?

 

[Trickyrick]

Are you getting any blinking on the control board?

If so, how many blinks?

Can you get it started and when you se it nearly go out turn the feed setting to test and see if it starts feeding again? If it is hot and won't feed I would suspect motor issues.

Sounds horrible but we got a bad motor on ours and within 4 weeks of instal had to have them out to put 2 new auger motors in. I suspect they got a bad batch.

The next thing to look at is possibly a bad vacuume switch. But usually that won't even let you start up.

Assuming your thermister didn't get dammage?

You have tried manual mode and same thing?

 

[LauraRDH]

yes to the blinks. we had the 6 blink error code showing up every day and that was what made us think the pellets were damp and not burning properly. The motor feeds fine on test and the auger seems to function properly. It's as though the stove isn't "telling" it to feed enough pellets. Even when the max feed is turned up all the way it doesn't feed enough. We have tried running on manual and constant burn...The stove won't even keep burning in the fireplace mode.

 

[Trickyrick]

Ok 6 blink is incomplete or improper burn...

Does it throw the error then stop feeding. If so esp issue

Does it not feed and then throw the error. If so auger motor over heating or going bad.

 

[LauraRDH]

when it started it threw the code first but sometimes it stops feeding and there is no code. We pulled the stove and the exhaust probe and it was a bit dirty so we cleaned it this morning but nothing changed...it's very frustrating. we are actually wondering if there may be a problem with the control board at this point.

 

[Big papa]

when it started it threw the code first but sometimes it stops feeding and there is no code. We pulled the stove and the exhaust probe and it was a bit dirty so we cleaned it this morning but nothing changed...it's very frustrating. we are actually wondering if there may be a problem with the control board at this point.

If it's under warranty call the dealer you shouldn't have to do anything but enjoy your stove 2weeks into ownership

 

[Ctcarl]

If it's under warranty call the dealer you shouldn't have to do anything but enjoy your stove 2weeks into ownership

+^^^^1.Call your dealer. Let them handle it.

 

[LauraRDH]

well we've had a breakthrough. Just a little bit ago while trying to get the stove to burn properly and looking everything over we may have accidentally fixed it. we had let the stove go out and unplugged it for a little while; when we plugged it back in and started it up on constant burn it was doing the same as before meaning it fed pellets and ignited and ran for a few minutes and then slowly started to burn down into the pot. It was about to go out again and my husband walked over to look into it and opened the hopper to make sure it still had pellets. As soon as he opened it it fed more pellets and the flame came up. Obviously you aren't supposed to burn with the hopper open so after a minute or two of staring at each other wondering what happened we closed it up. It has been functioning properly ever since. So here's what we think might have happened after figuring for a little while. When the stove was burning poorly with the damp pellets the rubber hosing that leads from the burn box to the pressure switch may have gotten clogged with some sort of dirt or ash. When the hopper was opened maybe the air flow/pressure changed and the clog dislodged? Anybody know if this is possible? I'm not getting too excited because maybe overnight the stove won't behave but I am cautiously optomistic.

 

[Big papa]

well we've had a breakthrough. Just a little bit ago while trying to get the stove to burn properly and looking everything over we may have accidentally fixed it. we had let the stove go out and unplugged it for a little while; when we plugged it back in and started it up on constant burn it was doing the same as before meaning it fed pellets and ignited and ran for a few minutes and then slowly started to burn down into the pot. It was about to go out again and my husband walked over to look into it and opened the hopper to make sure it still had pellets. As soon as he opened it it fed more pellets and the flame came up. Obviously you aren't supposed to burn with the hopper open so after a minute or two of staring at each other wondering what happened we closed it up. It has been functioning properly ever since. So here's what we think might have happened after figuring for a little while. When the stove was burning poorly with the damp pellets the rubber hosing that leads from the burn box to the pressure switch may have gotten clogged with some sort of dirt or ash. When the hopper was opened maybe the air flow/pressure changed and the clog dislodged? Anybody know if this is possible? I'm not getting too excited because maybe overnight the stove won't behave but I am cautiously optomistic.

I would definitely let the dealer take a look at and make sure everything is up to par.you don't want to have these issues when it gets cold and will give you some peace knowing what is actually going on.the accentra is one of the best stoves on the market if mine was having issues"not working perfectly" my dealer would be the first person I called.

 

[Ctcarl]

well we've had a breakthrough. Just a little bit ago while trying to get the stove to burn properly and looking everything over we may have accidentally fixed it. we had let the stove go out and unplugged it for a little while; when we plugged it back in and started it up on constant burn it was doing the same as before meaning it fed pellets and ignited and ran for a few minutes and then slowly started to burn down into the pot. It was about to go out again and my husband walked over to look into it and opened the hopper to make sure it still had pellets. As soon as he opened it it fed more pellets and the flame came up. Obviously you aren't supposed to burn with the hopper open so after a minute or two of staring at each other wondering what happened we closed it up. It has been functioning properly ever since. So here's what we think might have happened after figuring for a little while. When the stove was burning poorly with the damp pellets the rubber hosing that leads from the burn box to the pressure switch may have gotten clogged with some sort of dirt or ash. When the hopper was opened maybe the air flow/pressure changed and the clog dislodged? Anybody know if this is possible? I'm not getting too excited because maybe overnight the stove won't behave but I am cautiously optomistic.

I would say call the dealer as well.you want piece of mind also after the one year you loose a bit of your warranty.things to make sure.the top lid is closed properly(no pellets in the seam).again call the dealer I be safe.good luck