Harman Dealer Experience/Help-Warranty Work

[jayrho]

I am looking for feedback on my situation. I have a Harman P68...manuf. date Feb 2009, install Nov 2009

A month ago, plugged her in and put her in "TEST". Combustion fan on, Distro fan on, no feed motor. Verified that the auger was not jammed.

Moved her to room temp. Manually added pellets to the burn pot since the feed motor did not run. She ignited fine, but still no motor. The vac/pressure switch tested fine with multimeter. Bypassed power to motor and she spun.

Called the dealer to come out. Took 2 weeks for a tech to come out. He did all the tests that I did. The last thing he did was plug in the Harman diagnostic tool and stared at it a bit. His conclusion was that the control panel was malfunctioning. He took the panel with him and said that we would call Harman to order a new one.

Again...2 weeks and the part is "still on order". Realistically, how long does it take to process a warranty claim with Harman and to receive replacement parts? Why would the dealer not stock parts?

 

[Shane]

They should stock parts, I used to have my guys carry them around on the van with them. Board, blowers, snap discs, gaskets and auger motors for any brand we sold. Unfortunately alot of people operate as more of a pass through entity and order whats needed as needed. Our store was like that for many years and its one of the changes that we made that positively affected our sales and customer service. As for the time frame getting the part; in the busy season we could see wait time of up to 4 weeks for parts. Again this was another reason to have inventory and order again before we were actually out.

 

[kinsmanstoves]

Blocked venting, air leak or hopper lid switch.

I would bet $50 it is not a board.

Eric

 

[jayrho]

[email protected][/email]]Blocked venting, air leak or hopper lid switch.

I would bet $50 it is not a board.

Eric

Venting is fine. No hopper lid switch on my model.

An air leak, isn't that picked up with the differential switch? Doesn't the differential switch also supply/control power to the igniter?

 

[lbcynya]

It's almost a crime he took the control board with him... What if it was dead of winter and this was your only source of heat?

Thanks for posting this - From now on, no way I'll let someone in my house unless they have a pressure switch, comb blower, igniter and a control board.

 

[jayrho]

It's almost a crime he took the control board with him... What if it was dead of winter and this was your only source of heat?

Thanks for posting this - From now on, no way I'll let someone in my house unless they have a pressure switch, comb blower, igniter and a control board.

Funny that you say this...yes this is our only heat source

 

[Delta-T]

[email protected][/email]]Blocked venting, air leak or hopper lid switch.

I would bet $50 it is not a board.

Eric

I'm gonna say "hopper muffler" thingy.

 

[jayrho]

[email protected][/email]]Blocked venting, air leak or hopper lid switch.

I would bet $50 it is not a board.

Eric

I'm gonna say "hopper muffler" thingy.

I took that off and blew out all the fines...i recommend safety glasses for anyone that does this on their stove

I also had my husband suck on the tube to try to engage the feed motor...no luck. This was all when we still had the control panel.

 

[gfreek]

I'm sure others will chime in. I would think they would have a board, overnight ship it, or take one off a showroom/in stock model. What if the board is not the problem after 2 week wait. I'd call the dealer and complain. If no satisfaction, call Harman or HHT, if you can get thru or post on Harman Facebook page. That gets their attention....

 

[jayrho]

I'm sure others will chime in. I would think they would have a board, overnight ship it, or take one off a showroom/in stock model. What if the board is not the problem after 2 week wait. I'd call the dealer and complain. If no satisfaction, call Harman or HHT, if you can get thru or post on Harman Facebook page. That gets their attention....

I am on facebook. It took a few posts to get a response. Still not status on the part order. Anyone have a Harman/HHT phone number?

 

[lbcynya]

[email protected][/email]]Blocked venting, air leak or hopper lid switch.

I would bet $50 it is not a board.

Eric

I'm gonna say "hopper muffler" thingy.

So, if that's blocked the auger won't turn? It needs air curculating through the pressure switch contantly?

 

[76brian]

I am on facebook. It took a few posts to get a response. Still not status on the part order. Anyone have a Harman/HHT phone number?

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=phone+number+for+harman+stoves

 

[Delta-T]

[email protected][/email]]Blocked venting, air leak or hopper lid switch.

I would bet $50 it is not a board.

Eric

I'm gonna say "hopper muffler" thingy.

So, if that's blocked the auger won't turn? It needs air curculating through the pressure switch contantly?

not "circulating", but the muffler is where it reads the vac pressure from. if its blocked, no suction, vac switch opens, auger stops turning.

 

[lbcynya]

[email protected][/email]]Blocked venting, air leak or hopper lid switch.

I would bet $50 it is not a board.

Eric

I'm gonna say "hopper muffler" thingy.

So, if that's blocked the auger won't turn? It needs air curculating through the pressure switch contantly?

not "circulating", but the muffler is where it reads the vac pressure from. if its blocked, no suction, vac switch opens, auger stops turning.

Doh, I was thinking backwards... I type faster than I think, sometimes.

Thanks for the reply.

 

[kcellwood]

I have a P68 installed this year that was manufactured early 2011 and it came with a hopper lid switch. I also had issues during the first burn. I found that the backdraft damper on the combustion air intake was sticking. There was a piece of welding slag holding the damper closed. I was able to take a file and remove this.

 

[gfreek]

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=phone+number+for+harman+stoves

Like that link. Hope they are open today or Friday... Interesting how this works out. Too bad they took the darn board....

 

[MarkF48]

Control board for a P68 shows as on back order from this seller.....

http://www.stove-parts-unlimited.com/Harman_Circuit_Board_Control_Panel_Most_Models_p/1-00-05886.htm

Wonder if your service guy is in the same boat.

 

[jayrho]

I am on facebook. It took a few posts to get a response. Still not status on the part order. Anyone have a Harman/HHT phone number?

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=phone+number+for+harman+stoves[/quote

HA...been there, done that. Maybe I should have asked whether anyone had a phone number with more that one switch...always busy.

 

[imacman]

.....Called the dealer to come out. Took 2 weeks for a tech to come out. He did all the tests that I did. .........He took the panel with him and said that we would call Harman to order a new one........

I would call the dealer immediately and get your control panel back from him so you can try getting it fixed yourself.....he doesn't need the old board to order one from Harman.

I would also call Harman directly and file a complaint.

 

[jayrho]

.....Called the dealer to come out. Took 2 weeks for a tech to come out. He did all the tests that I did. .........He took the panel with him and said that we would call Harman to order a new one........

I would call the dealer immediately and get your control panel back from him so you can try getting it fixed yourself.....he doesn't need the old board to order one from Harman.

I would also call Harman directly and file a complaint.

So far no luck getting through to Harman via phone, facebook, and email. Off to the dealer to get the panel back. I think I chose poorly on the dealer in which I purchased by stove.

 

[PJPellet]

.....Called the dealer to come out. Took 2 weeks for a tech to come out. He did all the tests that I did. .........He took the panel with him and said that we would call Harman to order a new one........

I would call the dealer immediately and get your control panel back from him so you can try getting it fixed yourself.....he doesn't need the old board to order one from Harman.

I would also call Harman directly and file a complaint.

I agree, get that board back. Even if the board is bad, which we don't know, it never should have left your house like it did. Keep us posted and Good Luck!

 

[lbcynya]

.....Called the dealer to come out. Took 2 weeks for a tech to come out. He did all the tests that I did. .........He took the panel with him and said that we would call Harman to order a new one........

I would call the dealer immediately and get your control panel back from him so you can try getting it fixed yourself.....he doesn't need the old board to order one from Harman.

I would also call Harman directly and file a complaint.

So far no luck getting through to Harman via phone, facebook, and email. Off to the dealer to get the panel back. I think I chose poorly on the dealer in which I purchased by stove.

Call first. I would bet that they sent it back for an exchange... This would be unorthodox, but taking the panel in the first place is, well, unconventional.

 

[kinsmanstoves]

I am still waving that $50 in the air.

Eric

 

[kinsmanstoves]

[email protected][/email]]Blocked venting, air leak or hopper lid switch.

I would bet $50 it is not a board.

Eric

Venting is fine. No hopper lid switch on my model.

An air leak, isn't that picked up with the differential switch? Doesn't the differential switch also supply/control power to the igniter?

What does your fine venting consist of? adapter, 3x24, cap? or a tee two or three elbows and a horizontal run of 25' or so?

Eric

 

[thedude110]

In the interest of others who are in the process of buying stoves or looking for service dealers, I would do two things:

1. Lodge a complaint with the BBB. If the dealer is honest, the complaint will be dismissed as groundless. If the dealer isn't honest, they deserve the investigation.

2. Write reviews of the dealer all over the web. Name them here, hit Yelp, go to google places, yahoo local, everywhere.

One of my great frustrations when buying a stove was the lack of reviews of various dealers on the web -- we went with someone who "felt" trustworthy over someone who didn't, and it turned out great. But we need to share our experiences as consumers to help others who will be in our position in the future.

(FWIW, we bought from Mainline Heating and Supply in Ashford, CT. So far, they've provided us with top-notch service).