hi i have a 2006 accentra that smokes through the vents not all the time. i replaced the docking gasket . I run the stove on room temperature manual. Any ideas?
intermittent smoke from harman accentra
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womaus
Feeling the Heat
Sounds like an Accentra Insert?
Exhaust pipes are clean? Been brushed out, blown out recently?
Inside of stove been cleaned, panels pulled, scraped?
OAK installed?
womaus
Feeling the Heat
Just professionally installed? I'd be on the phone with the installer pronto.
What "vent" is the smoke coming out of?
Is there an OAK involved?
Smokes out of which vent exactly? The exhaust vent? Distribution Blower? <<< no smoke should ever come from there.
Welcome David! Put your stove in your signature line too with your avatar. I recently noticed smoke coming from my exhaust vent after the last per ton clean I did. I was interrupted before I was 100% done the came home later and fired up the stove. Noticed a decent amount of smoke outside and like an idiot I did not have the firebox door closed completely and I had forgotten to put the flame guide back on.
Closed the door and placed the guide and after a couple of minutes no more smoke.
That said, You mentioned you replaced the rope gasket. Was it the proper diameter? Have you done the dollar bill test to check it is sealing well? Smoke out of the exhaust assuming that's what you are speaking of means your stove exhaust and venting could be dirty and / or you have an air leak somewhere Like I did without my door completely closed and sealed. Did you do your ash pan door seal too?
How does your flame look? If it is lazy your leaking air some where which could also cause the smoke. What brand of pellets are you using? Anything different there?
Give some more details please. Is your Accentra an insert or free standing? The more info you provide the better answers you'll get.
Welcome David! Put your stove in your signature line too with your avatar. I recently noticed smoke coming from my exhaust vent after the last per ton clean I did. I was interrupted before I was 100% done the came home later and fired up the stove. Noticed a decent amount of smoke outside and like an idiot I did not have the firebox door closed completely and I had forgotten to put the flame guide back on.
Closed the door and placed the guide and after a couple of minutes no more smoke.
That said, You mentioned you replaced the rope gasket. Was it the proper diameter? Have you done the dollar bill test to check it is sealing well? Smoke out of the exhaust assuming that's what you are speaking of means your stove exhaust and venting could be dirty and / or you have an air leak somewhere Like I did without my door completely closed and sealed. Did you do your ash pan door seal too?
How does your flame look? If it is lazy your leaking air some where which could also cause the smoke. What brand of pellets are you using? Anything different there?
Give some more details please. Is your Accentra an insert or free standing? The more info you provide the better answers you'll get.
OK, Sorry you posted some answers just before while I was hunting and pecking.
If you paid a "professional" installer you should not be dealing with issues but some "pros" just say they are. Did you buy the stove from the same guy that installed it? Tell us about this smoke and where it is.
How is your insert vented? Is your chimney lined or did the guy just go up into it so far? Maybe he didn't get the exhaust sealed right or such. Did he put in a block off plate?
Is the smoke inside the house or coming out of your chimney?
If you paid a "professional" installer you should not be dealing with issues but some "pros" just say they are. Did you buy the stove from the same guy that installed it? Tell us about this smoke and where it is.
How is your insert vented? Is your chimney lined or did the guy just go up into it so far? Maybe he didn't get the exhaust sealed right or such. Did he put in a block off plate?
Is the smoke inside the house or coming out of your chimney?
stove came with house had it moved from upstairs to the downstairs apartment called the local dealer to have stove moved the wanted a chimney guy come and clean and inspect that was all done paid a lot . have had issues with stove from get go called the local dealer next day after install because stove did not work after being treated very poorly by store manager he sent the same two that did move they said auger motor was bad so they replaced they also said docking gasket was no good but did not have one so i replaced it. still not working so i found another company they came out and found a dead bat in auger i asked about smoke he said you might get a little on start up it no has been running since 12/28 no lazy flame heating well the gaskets were all checked told to be ok i just am getting a little smoke from the sides and from the blower vent i will attach pictures
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alternativeheat
Minister of Fire
I ran my liner 23 ft up to the top, couldn't get past a certain point about three times on the way up. It took backing off, twisting the whole roll of liner, feed some more, oops still won't go, twist, push, here it goes to the next stop. Even pulled it back out at one point. By far the worst part of the install was getting the liner up the chimney but we did it, just my little wife and I. I was determined is all and the stove heated the house that night.. We went from burning coal in the morning to pellet that night. I don't care to repeat it any time soon, not at 65 yo.
So your professional guys couldn't get it to the top and just gave up . Perfect.
And FWIW it's easier to go from the top down, I just fall off ladders so I wasn't doing that. A couple of days later my son came by with a 40 ft ladder and put the topper on.
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womaus
Feeling the Heat
This kind of situation is why I was determined to do my own installation. That and the quote of $500 for parts, $500 for labor. Actually, a bit more, I believe it was quoted out as $1150. Cost me well less than $200 for the vent kit, then no more than another $100 for paint, silicone tape, OAK setup, other incidentals. And I was sure that the installation was to code, without taking any shortcuts. Safe, and saved a bunch of money. And had a ton of fun on this forum doing it.
I'd be sure to have the recommended (or double the recommended) smoke and CO detectors installed and verified as working before you start to heavily use this stove. And I'd talk to a building inspector to see if the installation has met all code requirements.
womaus
Feeling the Heat
And reading through once more...
Accentra Insert, I'm betting there is no OAK in play. It's going to want to pull combustion air from somewhere, if the stove isn't vented correctly through the chimney I can see how it could cause problems.
This should be your manual:
http://downloads.hearthnhome.com/installManuals/Accentra_Insert.pdf
There are a few installation scenarios shown, not all show the need to extend all the way up the chimney.
This thread will be a good read. I hope you are able to get it resolved.
I was considering an Accentra Insert, but decided on the Free Standing model installed on the same wall as the fireplace, about 6 feet to the right of it.
Accentra Insert, I'm betting there is no OAK in play. It's going to want to pull combustion air from somewhere, if the stove isn't vented correctly through the chimney I can see how it could cause problems.
This should be your manual:
http://downloads.hearthnhome.com/installManuals/Accentra_Insert.pdf
There are a few installation scenarios shown, not all show the need to extend all the way up the chimney.
This thread will be a good read. I hope you are able to get it resolved.
I was considering an Accentra Insert, but decided on the Free Standing model installed on the same wall as the fireplace, about 6 feet to the right of it.
I would not rule out a poor installation at this point. If they did not get the exhaust vent up the chimney very far then your combustion blower could be sucking some exhaust back down. It sounds like they might not have done a block off plate to close off the rest of the chimney around what pipe they ran.
Just throwing out possibilities. BUT, a pellet stove should not smoke when operating properly. It will exhaust an about clear hot exhaust when burning but there isn't smoke you should be able to see except maybe for a bit when it is first starting the fire.
Another thing is maybe they didn't clean as well as they said. If the unit had dead bats etc; it could really need a good going over. I would recommend you research here about cleaning your stove. Use the search bar and check it out. You need to cover yourself and try to do your own cleaning and maintenance if you are able. That's your best defense and money savings. It really is pretty easy. We see often here where these so called "pros" aren't worth a dime.
Many Harman types here and Accentra insert owners too. They are stoves and very dependable IF set up properly and with minimal cleaning etc;
I would get these jack wagons back out there and make them do it right. I would not pay them until things are good. I have seen myself many goof balls here selling and installing stoves and they have slim to no clue as to what they are doing. I stayed away from them in buying and no way would they install mine. I installed my stoves and it is fairly easy if you are even slightly mechanically incline. Not knocking anyone but many gals here have installed and work on their own too. Snowy Rivers is a whiz and build her own controls etc;
Can you be more exact? The picture doesn't show smoke. Your flame looks ok but low and that can be OK if it is now ramped up. Are you saying smoke is coming out of where the room distribution blower air comes out? The vents on the front where the warm air blows out?
If it's there then maybe something else climbed or some debris got in the air exchanger tubes and is back in there smoldering. Shine a flash light in and see if you see anything.
Just throwing out possibilities. BUT, a pellet stove should not smoke when operating properly. It will exhaust an about clear hot exhaust when burning but there isn't smoke you should be able to see except maybe for a bit when it is first starting the fire.
Another thing is maybe they didn't clean as well as they said. If the unit had dead bats etc; it could really need a good going over. I would recommend you research here about cleaning your stove. Use the search bar and check it out. You need to cover yourself and try to do your own cleaning and maintenance if you are able. That's your best defense and money savings. It really is pretty easy. We see often here where these so called "pros" aren't worth a dime.
Many Harman types here and Accentra insert owners too. They are stoves and very dependable IF set up properly and with minimal cleaning etc;
I would get these jack wagons back out there and make them do it right. I would not pay them until things are good. I have seen myself many goof balls here selling and installing stoves and they have slim to no clue as to what they are doing. I stayed away from them in buying and no way would they install mine. I installed my stoves and it is fairly easy if you are even slightly mechanically incline. Not knocking anyone but many gals here have installed and work on their own too. Snowy Rivers is a whiz and build her own controls etc;
Can you be more exact? The picture doesn't show smoke. Your flame looks ok but low and that can be OK if it is now ramped up. Are you saying smoke is coming out of where the room distribution blower air comes out? The vents on the front where the warm air blows out?
If it's there then maybe something else climbed or some debris got in the air exchanger tubes and is back in there smoldering. Shine a flash light in and see if you see anything.
alternativeheat
Minister of Fire
I've seen and had a minor leak at the pipe install point, that all it needed was sealing. Occasionally and especially in a low burn you could get a whiff of smoke ( on start up too). What happens is some smoke lingers in the cabinet and then the convection fan picks it up and blows it into the room. it's usually pretty faint but noticeable, never enough to set off an alarm. Just a thought.
thank you to all that replied i will clean the stove per my manual and check a few things i did notice today alot of ash in pot and glass was covered in soot and ash first time that has happened
thank you all that replied i will clean stove and check the vent pipe. what is the dollar bill test ?
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