My Accentra is defective, and I like it that way

[smirnov3]

Howdy.

this rant is about how I gave up and learned to love the bomb (err, dud)

I have an Accentra insert which from day 1 didn't work right, but as a pellet newbie I didn't realize the problem for a couple of years.

you see, the insert's feedrate maxes out at just over 3 lbs an hour. An accentra should be able to do about 5lbs.

The stove works great, and does a good job of heating the house, except in January / February, when it can't keep up. I got into the habit of turning on the oil heat for an hour a day, to make up the differance.

I just thought that the stove's max BTUs were too low, until I sat down & calculated how much pellets it was using and realized something was screwy

But after that, I got to thinking - if the stove ran at 5lbs, I would need to feed it 3 bags of pellets a day, rather than 2, and most days nobody is home to do that in the afternoon to top off the stove.

also, on the really cold days, the heat distribution in the house would be more extreme - the room with the stove would be hotter, while the back bedrooms would see little benefit from the extra fire. but with a touch of oil heat, the temperature in the house is better balanced


so I LIKE my Accentra being a little defective

am I nuts?

 

[cantman]

so I LIKE my Accentra being a little defective

am I nuts?

I suspect that's the same reason my wife puts up with me!

 

[iceman]

if it is broken take it back ... or call get what you paid 4 those things are alotta money ...

in order to use 5lbs an hr it has to be all the way up on stove temp -and let it go for 8 hrs ...

 

[jtakeman]

am I nuts?

I think that may be a forum requirement. Cause we all seem to be at times. geek even has a nut in his avatar.

Anyway, sounds like you adapted to the way the stove runs nicely. Thats all that counts. Being able to make it work for you.

Stay warm
jay

 

[imacman]

......the bomb (err, dud)

I have an Accentra insert which from day 1 didn't work right, but as a pellet newbie I didn't realize the problem for a couple of years.

you see, the insert's feedrate maxes out at just over 3 lbs an hour. An accentra should be able to do about 5lbs.

The stove works great, and does a good job of heating the house, except in January / February,

While it may be easy the way it is to just keep putting pellets in and running it, since you said you had it for a couple of years, is it still under warranty? If so, I'd be getting the thing fixed.

You can still run it at the current feed rate if you want, but you never know when you'll need/want that extra boost of heat, plus not having to use the oil monster.

 

[THE ROOSTER]

so I LIKE my Accentra being a little defective

am I nuts?

I am curious, do you run on stove or room temp??? If I'm guessing I'd say stove temp, because this is sounds just like my Accentra... If you are running on stove temp the next time it gets really cold put it on room temp, and I'll bet you'll burn the extra 2 pounds an hour you are talking about...

 

[maglite67]

Are you letting the stove feed for 1 min on test then times by 60? All pellets are created diffrent some densities are higher even though they are the same size. The right way to test feed rate on a harman is to run test 6 times weigh what comes out then times by 10 that will give you the best result.

 

[LIpelletpig]

I have to agree with the ROOSTER. If you want that stove to pump out some serious HEAT put the stove in room temp and set it for 90*. The stove takes off! I am a usually doing what you do. I run the oil for about an hour in the rooms that are furthest away from the stove. It offsets the temp difference. The last two days its been very cold and I ran the stove with room temp and it kept up like a charm with me going from in/outdoors so it was competing with more then usual as I was doing some work around the house. I also agree that pellets make a difference and keeping the exchangers clean on these accentra insert. Gotta clean them once a week if possible.

 

[erikbrooks]

I've got an XXV as well as the Accentra Insert, and it's interesting to see the differences between the stoves. I agree that you really need to keep the Accentra CLEAN for it to perform efficiently. Remove the plates and get those triangular-shaped exchangers clean [I've found an old paintbrush works best for removing the sooty buildup].

After a good cleaning the stove runs much hotter.

 

[smirnov3]

I run the stove on room temp, and in the past, I have maxed out the temp dial (90, I think), maxed out the feedrate dial and it still burnt 3lbs and change per hour

the rate seems to drop a bit on really cold days (single digits outside), and creep up to the high 3.somethings (pounds, that is) on days where the outside temp is a little warmer (ie above 30).

I have been wondering if there is some issue with the air intake / exhaust, but I can't figure out the mechanics of HOW something like that could work (but that's the only part of the system exposed to the outside)

 

[Souzafone]

Where's the room sensor located?

 

[smirnov3]

Where's the room sensor located?

about 2 feet to one side of the stove, 6" off of the floor. there should be plenty of air flow there

it's not in contact with anything thermally conductive (ie metal)