Invincible T Not Putting Out Heat

[smadanairb]

New motor, new distribution fan, new ESP (just this week), four hours of cleaning all the air chambers, using Vermont Wood Pellets STILL the bloody HEAT is WEAK! I've have the stove for three years. the first year was great, the second year was good, this year is bad. The only way to get the flame tight is to prop open the hopper door with a pellet. Otherwise, the flame is lazy and doesn't burn the pellets for all get out. My wife has had it with the stove and wants an automatic feed Okefen boiler for $18k! Any suggestions why this oldie but goodie Harman isn't heating up?

Thanks
Brian

 

[SXIPro]

Is your glass getting really dirty too? Now, when you say you spent four hours cleaning the air chambers....there is one chamber on the right hand side that runs horizontal into the back of the stove. Are you sure you are getting the brush all the way back? It happened to me one year where I got this build up in there, almost like a 'plug' and I had the same thing happening that you do. I could get the brush pretty far back, and thought for sure I was cleaning the whole deal. I finally gave the brush some VERY hard shoves and it popped through something. I pulled out a hunk of carbon that looked like a nickel. After that the stove could 'breathe' properly again, and all was well.

 

[Harman Lover 007]

As SXIpro says there are two channels, one on each side that are a b#^*h to clean. Inside the firebox take the two panels with the funky wing nuts off. You need to shove a long wire brush up those channels and be sure they aren't blocked. The Harman brush is about two feet long. Do you have one of these? Do you know where I mean?

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

As SXIpro says there are two channels, one on each side that are a b#^*h to clean. Inside the firebox take the two panels with the funky wing nuts off. You need to shove a long wire brush up those channels and be sure they aren't blocked. The Harman brush is about two feet long. Do you have one of these? Do you know where I mean?

Ah, stove torture devices .

 

[Defiant]

Check you gaskets after the torture

 

[ironpony]

the passage on the right takes about a 30 inch brush. Also under the ash pot, open the door and that one is about twelve inches deep. Did you remove the combustion blower and clean the well it sits in.

 

[smadanairb]

Is your glass getting really dirty too? Now, when you say you spent four hours cleaning the air chambers....there is one chamber on the right hand side that runs horizontal into the back of the stove. Are you sure you are getting the brush all the way back? It happened to me one year where I got this build up in there, almost like a 'plug' and I had the same thing happening that you do. I could get the brush pretty far back, and thought for sure I was cleaning the whole deal. I finally gave the brush some VERY hard shoves and it popped through something. I pulled out a hunk of carbon that looked like a nickel. After that the stove could 'breathe' properly again, and all was well.

The glass is getting dirty, yes. I was using something like a 1-2” diameter bottle brush with the handle firmly stuck into rigid tubing to reach the depths of the chambers. This cleaning device works well for manipulating corners and crevices. I also use the tubing with my shop vac to suck out the nooks and crannies. The chambers I found and cleaned are as follows: Removed the decorative steel plates located on the right/left side of the pedestal stand (I have a stove not an insert). Behind these plates on each side of the stove, I removed a wing nut and small steel plate with gasket and cleaned out this horizontal chamber end-to-end from both sides of the stove. I removed the combustion fan apparatus and cleaned out the combustion chamber which leads into the 3” Duravent flue pipe (all 3” Duravent pieces were also cleaned out). I also spent a considerable amount of time thrusting my cleaning device up into the right/left vertical chambers as accessed from the aforementioned horizontal chamber. I removed the steel plates inside the stove (where the fire burns) and the two fire bricks and vacuumed out the entire fire box. I also took a toothbrush to each paddle of the combustion fan hamster wheel and distribution fan paddles as well. Word of note: there is an 1/8” diameter hole forming in the metal in between the tip of the auger and burn pot. It’s big enough that a pellet can fall into the hole.Is this a long term performance issue?


In total, I cleaned a horizontal air chamber (that was chock full of carbon!), two vertical air chambers, the combustion fan air chamber, the entire firebox and burn pot assembly, the paddles of both combustion/distribution fan shrouds and the full length of 3” Duravent flue pipe. The 3” Duravent flue pipe behind the stove has two 90 degree bends before reaching the three foot length of straight pipe that penetrates through my exterior wall. On the outside of the house, the Duravent pipe extends straight out from my house by 18” or so. It doesn’t extend vertically up before making another 90 degree bend as some pellet chimney’s do. I don’t like the look of the vertical stack. The 3” Duravent pipe is terminated with a typical horizontal cap. Could the two 90 degree bends inside the home and the straight pipe extension outside the home affect the draw of the stove in the firebox?

 

[smadanairb]

As SXIpro says there are two channels, one on each side that are a b#^*h to clean. Inside the firebox take the two panels with the funky wing nuts off. You need to shove a long wire brush up those channels and be sure they aren't blocked. The Harman brush is about two feet long. Do you have one of these? Do you know where I mean?

The glass is getting dirty, yes. I was using something like a 1-2” diameter bottle brush with the handle firmly stuck into rigid tubing to reach the depths of the chambers. This cleaning device works well for manipulating corners and crevices. I also use the tubing with my shop vac to suck out the nooks and crannies. The chambers I found and cleaned are as follows: Removed the decorative steel plates located on the right/left side of the pedestal stand (I have a stove not an insert). Behind these plates on each side of the stove, I removed a wing nut and small steel plate with gasket and cleaned out this horizontal chamber end-to-end from both sides of the stove. I removed the combustion fan apparatus and cleaned out the combustion chamber which leads into the 3” Duravent flue pipe (all 3” Duravent pieces were also cleaned out). I also spent a considerable amount of time thrusting my cleaning device up into the right/left vertical chambers as accessed from the aforementioned horizontal chamber. I removed the steel plates inside the stove (where the fire burns) and the two fire bricks and vacuumed out the entire fire box. I also took a toothbrush to each paddle of the combustion fan hamster wheel and distribution fan paddles as well. Word of note: there is an 1/8” diameter hole forming in the metal in between the tip of the auger and burn pot. It’s big enough that a pellet can fall into the hole.Is this a long term performance issue?


In total, I cleaned a horizontal air chamber (that was chock full of carbon!), two vertical air chambers, the combustion fan air chamber, the entire firebox and burn pot assembly, the paddles of both combustion/distribution fan shrouds and the full length of 3” Duravent flue pipe. The 3” Duravent flue pipe behind the stove has two 90 degree bends before reaching the three foot length of straight pipe that penetrates through my exterior wall. On the outside of the house, the Duravent pipe extends straight out from my house by 18” or so. It doesn’t extend vertically up before making another 90 degree bend as some pellet chimney’s do. I don’t like the look of the vertical stack. The 3” Duravent pipe is terminated with a typical horizontal cap. Could the two 90 degree bends inside the home and the straight pipe extension outside the home affect the draw of the stove in the firebox?

 

[smadanairb]

Check you gaskets after the torture

I would like to replace both gaskets around the distribution fan and combustion fan, but I can't find them for this stove online or in store. Suggestions?

 

[smadanairb]

the passage on the right takes about a 30 inch brush. Also under the ash pot, open the door and that one is about twelve inches deep. Did you remove the combustion blower and clean the well it sits in.

The glass is getting dirty, yes. I was using something like a 1-2” diameter bottle brush with the handle firmly stuck into rigid tubing to reach the depths of the chambers. This cleaning device works well for manipulating corners and crevices. I also use the tubing with my shop vac to suck out the nooks and crannies. The chambers I found and cleaned are as follows: Removed the decorative steel plates located on the right/left side of the pedestal stand (I have a stove not an insert). Behind these plates on each side of the stove, I removed a wing nut and small steel plate with gasket and cleaned out this horizontal chamber end-to-end from both sides of the stove. I removed the combustion fan apparatus and cleaned out the combustion chamber which leads into the 3” Duravent flue pipe (all 3” Duravent pieces were also cleaned out). I also spent a considerable amount of time thrusting my cleaning device up into the right/left vertical chambers as accessed from the aforementioned horizontal chamber. I removed the steel plates inside the stove (where the fire burns) and the two fire bricks and vacuumed out the entire fire box. I also took a toothbrush to each paddle of the combustion fan hamster wheel and distribution fan paddles as well. Word of note: there is an 1/8” diameter hole forming in the metal in between the tip of the auger and burn pot. It’s big enough that a pellet can fall into the hole.Is this a long term performance issue?


In total, I cleaned a horizontal air chamber (that was chock full of carbon!), two vertical air chambers, the combustion fan air chamber, the entire firebox and burn pot assembly, the paddles of both combustion/distribution fan shrouds and the full length of 3” Duravent flue pipe. The 3” Duravent flue pipe behind the stove has two 90 degree bends before reaching the three foot length of straight pipe that penetrates through my exterior wall. On the outside of the house, the Duravent pipe extends straight out from my house by 18” or so. It doesn’t extend vertically up before making another 90 degree bend as some pellet chimney’s do. I don’t like the look of the vertical stack. The 3” Duravent pipe is terminated with a typical horizontal cap. Could the two 90 degree bends inside the home and the straight pipe extension outside the home affect the draw of the stove in the firebox?

 

[ironpony]

how about the fines box at the back of the auger??

 

[smadanairb]

how about the fines box at the back of the auger??

I vacuumed out all the fines in the hopper and removed the cover within the stove internal workings and did the same.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

About that bolded question on the vent, we need more information as to lengths and orientations but a quick guess is that you are close to the evl limit for 3" pipe. Depends upon the strength of the blower on the stove. However in general all changes in venting will affect the air flow in the stove.

Bad gaskets will also. Eventually leading to additional crud build up in the stove.

Any plates that lead to the internal exhaust paths need to be back as they were, some of those are part of the air flow control.

 

[Don2222]

As SXIpro says there are two channels, one on each side that are a b#^*h to clean. Inside the firebox take the two panels with the funky wing nuts off. You need to shove a long wire brush up those channels and be sure they aren't blocked. The Harman brush is about two feet long. Do you have one of these? Do you know where I mean?

X2, but there is a horizontal chamber across the top of the stove that connects these two vertical chambers. If you do not blow this chamber out with 150 PSI of compressed air the stove runs like crap.

 

[pell it]

Does that stove have a flapper on the air intake?

 

[ironpony]

Does that stove have a flapper on the air intake?

yes one on each side which control airflow.......

 

[smadanairb]

About that bolded question on the vent, we need more information as to lengths and orientations but a quick guess is that you are close to the evl limit for 3" pipe. Depends upon the strength of the blower on the stove. However in general all changes in venting will affect the air flow in the stove.

Bad gaskets will also. Eventually leading to additional crud build up in the stove.

Any plates that lead to the internal exhaust paths need to be back as they were, some of those are part of the air flow control.

There is about a foot of rise through two 90 degree elbows to a length of straight pipe that extends through the wall to the exterior elements. Imagine the adapter out of the stove to a 90 degree elbow to another 90 degree elbow to the straight pipe penetrating out the exterior wall. There is about one foot of straight pipe after the last 90 degree elbow before penetrating the exterior wall. Another 18” – 24” of straight pipe extends out from the house. -Brian

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

There is about a foot of rise through two 90 degree elbows to a length of straight pipe that extends through the wall to the exterior elements. Imagine the adapter out of the stove to a 90 degree elbow to another 90 degree elbow to the straight pipe penetrating out the exterior wall. There is about one foot of straight pipe after the last 90 degree elbow before penetrating the exterior wall. Another 18” – 24” of straight pipe extends out from the house. -Brian

Back to back 90's can be a problem all by themselves. The two 90's have a combined evl of 10 and the three feet of horizontal puts you at an evl of 13 and just 2 shy of the limit for 3" vent, if there are any other even minor air flow issues you will have trouble.

 

[MSmith66]

There are two vertical passages on each side of the stove, have both of them been cleaned? Also on the back of the control board, there is a smaller board connected to the larger board. The wire harness is connected to it. Check the top pin of the harness and the top pin of the smaller board. If they are charred you will have issues.