P-38 auger tip wearing thin.............

[MCPO]

................OK , forum guru`s , here`s one for you. I noticed the auger tip on my Harman P-38 is wearing quite thin. Anyone experience this ever happening to theirs? I`m concerned if this could cause back burn.
The stove was probably made in 2003-2004. Do I have to go to a Harman dealer to get one ? And is it an easy change?
Thanks .

 

[Countryboymo]

I am curious @ how many tons. I don't think it would be too bad to replace but I haven't been inside a harman yet.

 

[MCPO]

From what I can estimate only 15-18 tons of pellets have been thru this stove , but I did read some where that this was not uncommon with Harman stoves made from 98-2006 (or that approxiamate time frame.)

 

[MCPO]

OK, from a safety standpoint , I`m not going to screw around . I`m just going to order a new auger and change it out and be done with it.
I found an old forum thread on this. Read the 3rd (last) post on the old thread.

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/48330/

 

[rickwai]

It is not hard to change. Get all your sheet metal guards off and auger motor. Loosen 2 bolts and if it dont just pull out take a wood stake or dowel and tap it out from the front w/ hammer. empty all pellets first ofcourse.

 

[MCPO]

It is not hard to change. Get all your sheet metal guards off and auger motor. Loosen 2 bolts and if it dont just pull out take a wood stake or dowel and tap it out from the front w/ hammer. empty all pellets first ofcourse.

Thanks. Will do .

 

[ducker]

Gio,
Would you be able to post a pic of what a thin auger tip looks like? I'm trying to picture it and I just can't. It's not like the auger is drilling into anything, just rotating to deliver the pellets from the back hopper to the burn pot.

 

[MCPO]

Gio,
Would you be able to post a pic of what a thin auger tip looks like? I'm trying to picture it and I just can't. It's not like the auger is drilling into anything, just rotating to deliver the pellets from the back hopper to the burn pot.

The auger blade (tip) normally has a dull straight edge similar to a chisel but it immediately thickens. The tip of mine is now sharp and thin and looks a bit ragged, probably from being exposed to the edge of the fire (burned away) Maybe from running it on low for long periods of time or like the other thread indicated , they were defective.

Obviously the auger isn`t a drill. And we all know it delivers pellets into the burn pot.

 

[MCPO]

Gio,
Would you be able to post a pic of what a thin auger tip looks like? I'm trying to picture it and I just can't. It's not like the auger is drilling into anything, just rotating to deliver the pellets from the back hopper to the burn pot.

It`s cold and I`d rather not shut the stove off to take a picture so I`ll describe it in detail. The auger blade (tip) normally has a dull straight edge similar to a chisel but it immediately thickens toward the shaft. The tip of mine is now sharp and thin at the end and looks a bit ragged, probably from being exposed to the edge of the fire (burned away) and possibly from running it on low for long periods of time or like the other thread indicated , they were defective.

Obviously the auger isn`t a drill. And we all know it delivers pellets into the burn pot.

 

[ducker]

ok.. so yea, that's what I thought by your initial description, I just thought it was odd that the tip would be thin. I too run mine on low for long periods of time as well, I haven't seen this happen yet to mine. I'm quite interested in how easily you are able to replace it though. Good luck and let us all know how it goes.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

What are you saying Gio, I have to stop using my auger to drill holes in the ice to check its thickness before we go ice skating?

Lots o heat and crud to help wear that auger out in them burnpots from some of the posted pictures on here.

Burn on.

 

[MCPO]

What are you saying Gio, I have to stop using my auger to drill holes in the ice to check its thickness before we go ice skating?

Lots o heat and crud to help wear that auger out in them burnpots from some of the posted pictures on here.

Burn on.

I ordered it but they said 4 weeks. It`l last till then I suppose. Mine has never sqeaked so consequently I`ve rarely ever cleaned the tip/edge.
Could be the crud on it just burned away and took some of the metal away with it.
I had thoughts of removing it and have a welder build an edge back up on it and then grind it to spec`s but a new one at $137 isn`t gonna break me. This stove don`t owe me a dime. I only paid $400 4-5 yrs ago and I got 37 bags of dry creek thrown in with it.

 

[MCPO]

ok.. so yea, that's what I thought by your initial description, I just thought it was odd that the tip would be thin. I too run mine on low for long periods of time as well, I haven't seen this happen yet to mine. I'm quite interested in how easily you are able to replace it though. Good luck and let us all know how it goes.

Thanks, I`ll report back in a few weeks when/if it arrives.