harman invincible low heat - manual anyone?

[debskamp]

Hi there,

I have a used Harman invincible; it burns nice but absolutely no heat. Well, a little bit but it's lukewarm at best. Any suggestions? I have it on room temp around 7. That thing has just too many controls. Does anyone have a PDF of the manual?

Thanks!

 

[imacman]

If nobody on the forum has one that they can send you, contact Harman and ask for one. I seem to remember that one of the members on here got one from them last winter.

 

[djarseneault]

The Harmans all work the same as far as the temp dial, room/stove temp dial and feed adjuster. If you can't get the specific manual for your stove, look at the "esp control" section of any of their newer stove manuals.
If you have low heat output the stope probably needs a new exhaust sensing probe (ESP)

 

[debskamp]

Thanks to you both!

I got a manual for a new stove that is similar. But I've had no luck troubleshooting the stove. The one local dealer will not service a stove that was not purchased from them.

Does anyone have any suggestions how to troubleshoot? Or where to purchase parts?

Thanks!

 

[debskamp]

I've looked at the other postings regarding the harman and thought it might help to give some details.

This is a 1992 invincible, it does not specify T or RS. I am running it on room temp; there is no ESP attached. We do have the problem that the stove will not turn off as others have posted on here.

The control panel is very basic - there is no status light, no DDM, the feed adjuster is a rod knob, there is no H/L for the distribution blower, and no TEST setting.

The problem we are having is that the fire burns, and the distribution blower blows well, but the air it blows is lukewarm at best. So I am wondering if it's the combustion blower. I checked around to see how to access and clean this but our stove is so old I don't know if it's behind the ashpan or the burn pot?

Let me know what you all think... Thanks!!

 

[debskamp]

Ok well leave me alone long enough and I'll figure it out. I guess stove temp mode does exactly what it supposed to: it's to give a large "viewing" fire without providing heat, and the stove will not turn off automatically. Doh!

Putting it in room temp mode - I'll have to order the room sensor probe. I'm guessing it has the ESP (I didn't realize the difference between the ESP and room sensor probe). Wouldn't be surprised if that doesn't work - this thing is pretty old.

 

[djarseneault]

I've looked at the other postings regarding the harman and thought it might help to give some details.

This is a 1992 invincible, it does not specify T or RS. I am running it on room temp; there is no ESP attached. We do have the problem that the stove will not turn off as others have posted on here.

The control panel is very basic - there is no status light, no DDM, the feed adjuster is a rod knob, there is no H/L for the distribution blower, and no TEST setting.

The problem we are having is that the fire burns, and the distribution blower blows well, but the air it blows is lukewarm at best. So I am wondering if it's the combustion blower. I checked around to see how to access and clean this but our stove is so old I don't know if it's behind the ashpan or the burn pot?

Let me know what you all think... Thanks!!

You have an Invincible T. (mechanical feed adjuster) The t model does not work with a room probe, it works with a regular thermostat.The reason it won't shut down is that stove has an "enhancement card" or should have one that prevents the feed motor from being turned off. It is a safety feature to prevent "burn back". The way you shut that stove off is to turn the feed adjuster all the way closed and once the fire is out unplug the stove. Or you can run it out of fuel and unplug it when the fire is out.
If you have low heat output it probable needs a new exhaust probe. (assuming you have the feed adjusted properly and the fire is tall and bright and the flame is not lazy)

 

[debskamp]

Hi there, thanks for posting. Yes, I did also come upon a section in the P61 manual about shutting down the stove by adjusting the feed to 0. Thanks for the explanation. Burn back, bad.

I cleaned out the whole thing (my gosh what a pain on the T model, took me only 4 hours). Needed a sledgehammer to break the burning pot loose, it was so baked. So all clean. Verified that combustion and distribution blowers work. The flame burns much taller and moving better than before.

I tried to run it in thermostat mode but the distribution blower/feed motor would not come on with the stove temp set to 2 (door instructions say to set it to 1 or 2 when in thermostat mode). When I adjusted the stove temp to 7, the feed motor came on. Even though the flames were high, the distribution blower did not come on. I do not have a thermostat attached though. Will this model run in thermostat mode without a thermostat attached? It seems later models are able to run in room temp mode without the room sensor probe.

I switched it to stove temp mode on 7, and it's burning pretty warm, good flame but still blowing relatively cold air. Distribution/combustion blowers are on, feed motor comes on and off. So that's pretty much the same as before (I erroneously stated I was running it in room temp mode -- it's never worked in thermostat mode). From what I read in the P61, stove temp mode in manual (which is all this model has) is only to have a big viewing fire, with moderate heat. That's pretty much what it's doing right now.

Thanks so much! Going to clean the soot of my face now

 

[djarseneault]

Hi there, thanks for posting. Yes, I did also come upon a section in the P61 manual about shutting down the stove by adjusting the feed to 0. Thanks for the explanation. Burn back, bad.

I cleaned out the whole thing (my gosh what a pain on the T model, took me only 4 hours). Needed a sledgehammer to break the burning pot loose, it was so baked. So all clean. Verified that combustion and distribution blowers work. The flame burns much taller and moving better than before.

I tried to run it in thermostat mode but the distribution blower/feed motor would not come on with the stove temp set to 2 (door instructions say to set it to 1 or 2 when in thermostat mode). When I adjusted the stove temp to 7, the feed motor came on. Even though the flames were high, the distribution blower did not come on. I do not have a thermostat attached though. Will this model run in thermostat mode without a thermostat attached? It seems later models are able to run in room temp mode without the room sensor probe.

I switched it to stove temp mode on 7, and it's burning pretty warm, good flame but still blowing relatively cold air. Distribution/combustion blowers are on, feed motor comes on and off. So that's pretty much the same as before (I erroneously stated I was running it in room temp mode -- it's never worked in thermostat mode). From what I read in the P61, stove temp mode in manual (which is all this model has) is only to have a big viewing fire, with moderate heat. That's pretty much what it's doing right now.

Thanks so much! Going to clean the soot of my face now

Your stove has no "manual" mode. That is only on the newer, self igniting Harmans. Manual mode refers to the ignitor switch that you do not have. If you are not getting heat and have a big fire, something is wrong. Usually it is the heat exchanger that is blocked because most people don't know where to clean. There are 4 verticle passages (2 on each side)that are accessed from out side of the stove at the top of the pedestal. There is an L shaped cover plate that must be removed to get to each pair of passages.

 

[rap69ri]

I have the manual for that stove at home. If it's not in digital format I'll convert it and send it to you later this evening.

 

[debskamp]

Thanks to you both for posting. Parrot head, I will look for the L shaped plate; I indeed did not find that.

Do you know if the stove can run in thermostat mode without a thermostat? Just curious if that may have contributed. I'll get a thermostat today anyhow.

 

[djarseneault]

Thanks to you both for posting. Parrot head, I will look for the L shaped plate; I indeed did not find that.

Do you know if the stove can run in thermostat mode without a thermostat? Just curious if that may have contributed. I'll get a thermostat today anyhow.

I think without the thermostat it would just idle (in therm. mode). L plates are under main body (1 per side) and attach to the pedestal and the main body w/ three bolts (3/8" hex head)

 

[debskamp]

Thanks Parrothead! I did find the heat exchangers and will clean them this weekend. But, the good news is, I spoke with Harman customer service, and they were very nice and helpful. They were even willing to call the local dealer to convince them to come out to help me. They emailed me the manual (which I posted on the forum in a separate post for other people). The T will not work in thermostat mode without a thermostat attached. This model is sold with a thermostat. Customer service recommended I buy a cheap, simple thermostat, like 10 dollar Honeywell. I did that, hooked it up, and voila, the stove works great now.

Note: to distinguish the T from the RS - if you are in front of the stove, if the control panel is on the left, it's T. If it's on the right, it's an RS (to remember "right side").

Thanks for all your help!