Harman PC 45 Lazy fire

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bioheat

New Member
Jan 5, 2017
17
Ohio
Hello Fellow pellet burners, i have a three year old Harman pc 45 starting to act up? been having a lazy flame lots of soot and even more then normal smoke going out the pipe. so far i changed all rope gasket seals top door and bottom door and still the same problem. i checked dust door to make sure it was secure. im running as i type this its making enough heat but something not right. im burning somerset pellets and am in room temp mode with only on 3 auger setting as any faster i have pellets not burnt dropping in ash pan and even yet they are not burning up like normal. any ideas? thank you in advance!!
 
Check under the burn pot for ash clogging the air intake. Even if you regularly clean that area out, some ash can get pushed back and block the air flow.

Do you have an OAK (outside air kit) attached? If so, make sure it is clear from the outside screen all the way thru.
 
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I would start troubleshooting by doing a deep clean.
 
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I would do a deep clean and pull the exhaust probe and brush all the way from fan to the outside and the vent cap. Clean that e fan and check the backside of it for fur and dust bunnies. Your getting a vacuum otherwise the stove would not feed.
Good Luck and try stay warm. Still -14 here
 
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Do what is mentioned above and report back. You are not getting enough air into the firebox it sounds. Have you cleaned out under the burn pot where you unscrew two thumb screws and remove the little plate where the igniter is? What about the fines box at the rear of the stove?

Where are you in Ohio? If you have a PC45 it is older than 3 years because they quite making them years ago. Unless you scored a leftover. I know there were some for sale in Brooksville, IN a few years ago.....

Have you done the dollar bill test to make sure the ash pan and firebox doors are getting a tight seal although you said you replaced the rope gaskets?
 
I forgot about the fines box lid as bags mentioned. Many have had issue with it.
One can use a BBQ lighter with a long flame around the door gaskets to see if there still a possible leak.
Still trying to figure out what bags is trying to describe about igniter as the 45 has a pressure ignitor that gets accessed form the rear:)
 
Do what is mentioned above and report back. You are not getting enough air into the firebox it sounds. Have you cleaned out under the burn pot where you unscrew two thumb screws and remove the little plate where the igniter is? What about the fines box at the rear of the stove?

Where are you in Ohio? If you have a PC45 it is older than 3 years because they quite making them years ago. Unless you scored a leftover. I know there were some for sale in Brooksville, IN a few years ago.....

Have you done the dollar bill test to make sure the ash pan and firebox doors are getting a tight seal although you said you replaced the rope gaskets?
Yeah i replaced both rope gaskets as it failed the dollar bill test before lol. it yeah was four ago i bought the stove was the last year it was made as i was told. working on a deep clean funny thing is the stove worked good before i cleaned it this all started right after i cleaned it so makes me wonder if its the esp acting up? ill report back after my deep clean and thanks!
 
well after a deep deep clean im up and running with a normal burn!!! i had the stove completely cleaned just before i relight the stove yesterday right? well the stove was down for two weeks and figured i was good to go on lighting WELL found the problem on this second deep clean it was a mouse nest in the flue!!! im surprised the stove even ran at all!!!! im embarrassed to even admit this too you seasoned pellets burners lol but the advice for a deep clean found the problem so THANKS for all your help!!!! feeling the heat again lol
 
Glad you figured it out and are back in business!
 
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I hope the furry little bum felt the burn too:)
 
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well after a deep deep clean im up and running with a normal burn!!! i had the stove completely cleaned just before i relight the stove yesterday right? well the stove was down for two weeks and figured i was good to go on lighting WELL found the problem on this second deep clean it was a mouse nest in the flue!!! im surprised the stove even ran at all!!!! im embarrassed to even admit this too you seasoned pellets burners lol but the advice for a deep clean found the problem so THANKS for all your help!!!! feeling the heat again lol

We all learn something when a solution is found.
 
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well after a deep deep clean im up and running with a normal burn!!! i had the stove completely cleaned just before i relight the stove yesterday right? well the stove was down for two weeks and figured i was good to go on lighting WELL found the problem on this second deep clean it was a mouse nest in the flue!!! im surprised the stove even ran at all!!!! im embarrassed to even admit this too you seasoned pellets burners lol but the advice for a deep clean found the problem so THANKS for all your help!!!! feeling the heat again lol
I would laugh,but have seen mice and pakrats build huge nest overnight.Also,I am not a believer in the dollar bill test,some styles,weaves of gasket do not close that tight.
 
I had mice build a nest in the air box on my Yamaha Majesty overnight and the days run down the freeway was short as the oil got sucked out and seized the engine. I let most of the rodent family eat vast amounts of lead or zinc phosphide or whatever
 
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I had mice build a nest in the air box on my Yamaha Majesty overnight and the days run down the freeway was short as the oil got sucked out and seized the engine. I let most of the rodent family eat vast amounts of lead or zinc phosphide or whatever
Yep I have cleaned many hundreds of mice nests out of cars/trucks,just recently had to remove and throw away the headliner from my winter astro van.PS,mice like jap vehicles much more because the wiring harness looms,and insulation,is soy based,not petroleum.
 
Yep I have cleaned many hundreds of mice nests out of cars/trucks,just recently had to remove and throw away the headliner from my winter astro van.PS,mice like jap vehicles much more because the wiring harness looms,and insulation,is soy based,not petroleum.
ahh learn something new everyday i didnt know that :)
 
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Incomplete burn is from to much fuel and not enough air. Just like running the mower and forgetting to turn off the choke. 90% of the time it is restricted air. From my experience 99% of restricted air is from dirty exhaust path in the stove or venting. Very rarely have I found it to be a restriction in incoming air or a gasket issue. The gaskets are the last thing I look at. 90% of the stove service calls I gone on do not require parts, they just need cleaned. I service mostly Harmans.
 
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Incomplete burn is from to much fuel and not enough air. Just like running the mower and forgetting to turn off the choke. 90% of the time it is restricted air. From my experience 99% of restricted air is from dirty exhaust path in the stove or venting. Very rarely have I found it to be a restriction in incoming air or a gasket issue. The gaskets are the last thing I look at. 90% of the stove service calls I gone on do not require parts, they just need cleaned. I service mostly Harmans.

Reminds me of that article posted a while back about a pellet stove technician that summarized his repair calls over a five year period by saying that regardless of the brand of stove, 68% of all service call problems were solved by a complete cleaning.
 
well after a deep deep clean im up and running with a normal burn!!! i had the stove completely cleaned just before i relight the stove yesterday right? well the stove was down for two weeks and figured i was good to go on lighting WELL found the problem on this second deep clean it was a mouse nest in the flue!!! im surprised the stove even ran at all!!!! im embarrassed to even admit this too you seasoned pellets burners lol but the advice for a deep clean found the problem so THANKS for all your help!!!! feeling the heat again lol


The question I would be asking now is how did they get in there as I thought the exhaust had a screen over the end. Mine does anyhow, a very coarse one.
 
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Mice can get in almost anywhere. Then when you fire the stove the nest blow up against the screen and stops it up.