Harman Accentra insert blower

[Jwciv]

Hi all - I have a Harman Accentra insert, bought used and on my third season. I usually run this only during the day and shut it off each night. Sometimes when it's off the blower can be heard starting but just for a split second. It may happen a couple times, a few minutes apart, then won't hear it for hours or days. Any thoughts?
Thanks

 

[Lake Girl]

Which blower - combustion or convection? Fault with ESP probe? When was the last time you cleaned the probe? Unplug when working on the stove...

 

[bags]

If it kicks on after it's turned off and not running it could be a pot switch. Do a search on that here and read up on it. With it off rotate the control knobs back and forth numerous times. This might get them to maintain better contact on your CB / control board. This could be happening because of age and/or worn pot switches which is what operates the adjustment dials on your CB.

How old was the stove when you bought it three years ago? There are threads here about what you are experiencing so search them out and read up to see if it may apply to your situation.

 

[F4jock]

Household current surge? Do you have a surge protector or a UPS?

 

[bags]

Household current surge? Do you have a surge protector or a UPS?

Very good point! A better place to start depending on the true age of the stove. Definitely step # 1 with checking the surge or UPS possibly having a little hitch in the giddy up.

 

[Jwciv]

Which blower - combustion or convection? Fault with ESP probe? When was the last time you cleaned the probe? Unplug when working on the stove...

Pretty sure it's combustion. The ESP probe was just cleaned about 2 weeks ago, it seems to get caked up rather quickly and is certainly not easy access.

 

[F4jock]

Pretty sure it's combustion. The ESP probe was just cleaned about 2 weeks ago, it seems to get caked up rather quickly and is certainly not easy access.

If it cakes quickly you have a pellet problem as well.

 

[bags]

Welcome to the forum! What is your stove doing now? Let F4 help since he has the same unit and is more familiar. Answer his questions and he can walk you thru it all. He may ask some stuff you feel isn't what is going on but do as he or others request so they can eliminate things and get to the real issue. Good Luck!

 

[Lake Girl]

What is the exhaust set-up - liner up chimney or ? The probe caking up could mean a pellet problem or a cleaning problem ... when was the last time you pulled the insert and cleaned interior exhaust pathways and exhaust venting?

What type of pellets are you using?

 

[Jwciv]

If it kicks on after it's turned off and not running it could be a pot switch. Do a search on that here and read up on it. With it off rotate the control knobs back and forth numerous times. This might get them to maintain better contact on your CB / control board. This could be happening because of age and/or worn pot switches which is what operates the adjustment dials on your CB.

How old was the stove when you bought it three years ago? There are threads here about what you are experiencing so search them out and read up to see if it may apply to your situation.

I will do a better search and read up on it thanks, will also give the dials a work out. I'm not sure how old it was when I bought it, can I tell from a serial number?

 

[Jwciv]

Household current surge? Do you have a surge protector or a UPS?

Good point, I do run anywhere from 110 v to 130v, I will put a surge protector in place

 

[Lake Girl]

I will do a better search and read up on it thanks, will also give the dials a work out. I'm not sure how old it was when I bought it, can I tell from a serial number?

Should be a Warnock Hersey label, usually on the back, that will give you the date. Serial number dating would likely have to be through Harman...

 

[F4jock]

Good point, I do run anywhere from 110 v to 130v, I will put a surge protector in place

A UPS will actually help as well. It'll smooth out the curent perturbations. Check Harmsn's site go recommended units. As well, Harman has a toll free number and should be able to help with the serial number / age. You want the third option I think: "Other."

 

[Jwciv]

What is the exhaust set-up - liner up chimney or ? The probe caking up could mean a pellet problem or a cleaning problem ... when was the last time you pulled the insert and cleaned interior exhaust pathways and exhaust venting?

What type of pellets are you using?

Exhaust is stainless liner up to top of old brick chimney, about a 25' run. Just did a full stove clean out about 2 weeks ago, had a 3 blink status light so I pulled it out to clean the ESP probe and then cleaned the whole stove while it was out. Did not clean the liner.
I had burned green team supreme the past two winters, good heat and very little ash. This year I'm burning Fireside which seem to burn faster (much wider/deeper ash line on the burn pot), and produce more ash

 

[Jwciv]

Will check serial and call Harman. Will also put a surge suppressor in line and give it a few days and see.
Thank you all for the input/feedback.

 

[F4jock]

Will check serial and call Harman. Will also put a surge suppressor in line and give it a few days and see.
Thank you all for the input/feedback.

Surge supressor, though necessary, won't attenuate the voltage spikes. UPS will. A cheap supressor won't help and may even hurt. As I said above, UPS is the best route. Harman has three recommendations ranging from 20 bucks to several hundred.

 

[tjnamtiw]

Good point, I do run anywhere from 110 v to 130v, I will put a surge protector in place

A surge protector is NOT going to protect you from the normal VOLTAGE variations between those extremes. It's meant to protect from much higher spikes. If you are worried about voltage variations you need a voltage regulator > http://smile.amazon.com/APC-LE1200-...egulator&pebp=1422289923761&peasin=B00009RA60

I use these as they have both regulation and spike protection. In my area, frequent drops in our electrical supply happen. When the power is restored, the voltage goes quite high until all the loads on the line are connected back, which pulls the voltage back to normal. No telling how many times my TV's and other electronics have been saved.

 

[Lake Girl]

UPS may help but the damage may have already been done if totally unprotected til now. Work through the suggestions here, search the forum for more and pull out the manual (but you probably didn't get one because it was used). Go over wiring - we did have someone that had a wire broken at the combustion motor itself - not the connectors. Intermittent connections can do odd things ...

Revised manual so may have changed from your particular year - will try to find one that may be more appropriate
http://hearthnhome.com/downloads/installmanuals/accentra_insert.pdf

Keep us posted...

 

[Tim_M]

Mine does the same thing. It's the pot switch on the Stove Temp / Room Temp dial. Mine's OK except when it's set to Room Temp low, or to that side of the Off setting. I ordered a couple new switches online from Brunners - I think they were $5 each - but haven't tried to replace the bad one yet. I'm waiting til the end of heating season and then thought I'd take the board out and see how hard it looks. My soldering skills are a bit suspect.

 

[Jwciv]

If it cakes quickly you have a pellet problem as well.

Pellet problem...bad quality, or the way The stove is burning them?I bought the Fireside ultra this year, IMO they do not burn as well as the green team supreme I had last year

 

[Jwciv]

A surge protector is NOT going to protect you from the normal VOLTAGE variations between those extremes. It's meant to protect from much higher spikes. If you are worried about voltage variations you need a voltage regulator > http://smile.amazon.com/APC-LE1200-Automatic-Voltage-Regulator/dp/B00009RA60/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1422289925&sr=8-1&keywords=voltage regulator&pebp=1422289923761&peasin=B00009RA60

I use these as they have both regulation and spike protection...

Thanks, very reasonable investment to protect the stove

 

[Jwciv]

UPS may help but the damage may have already been done if totally unprotected til now. Work through the suggestions here, search the forum for more and pull out the manual (but you probably didn't get one because it was used). Go over wiring - we did have someone that had a wire broken at the combustion motor itself - not the connectors. Intermittent connections can do odd things ...

Revised manual so may have changed from your particular year - will try to find one that may be more appropriate
http://hearthnhome.com/downloads/installmanuals/accentra_insert.pdf

Keep us posted...

Thankfully the original owner had the manual. Will continue to search and read/learn. We are in the middle of a major snowstorm here in northeast MA, so I have been running the stove continuously, will have to wait until the weekend to shut it off and see if the issue is still happening.