I am new to this forum,my first post was a few months back(difficult install).I purchased a floor model pc-45 and from the day it was installed july2 it has been a problem.I told my dealer I was only going to be burning pellets.In october I tried to fire the machine up to see how well it worked, (the installer never lit the machine the day of the install). The machine barely worked,which I came to find out the pellet pot and pellet inlet ring were not installed.They came out and installed the burn pot and inlet ring and changed the dip switches to 1,2,7,8 in the on position.He lit the stove it seemed better so he shut it down and left.A week or so later I lit the stove,there was smoke pouring out the back,so again he came out,siliconed where the unit connects to the exhaust.Next light by me,machine squeeling like a tea kettle,fire for 5 minutes then machine and fire shut down.Installer comes out does draft reading high60,low50? Silicones the whole hopper,no more squeel.Machine running at 72 feed rate of 4 room temp.The thing only stays on for about 5 minutes a pop,nice fire,dwindles in five minutes then nothing.Distribution blower only comes on for a few minutes most of the time and sometimes not at all.Is this normal?I bought this unit because it was supposed to be pretty trouble free and would burn anything. I am burning Barefoot pellets and the dealer is now telling me it might be my pellets why the machine is acting up,and to run my machine in stove mode.Went to dealer got new bag of pellets yesterday,new room sensor and ran on stove tem..it sucked up half the hopper of pellets in a couple hours,went back to room temp.My stove burns horrible with black soot all over the bricks(I clean this thing once a week) while at the dealers I asked how often his stove was cleaned and he said it wasn't cleaned YET...My stove is FILTHY after just a week and when I pulled the exhaust outside I got about a cup of black soot...he said it wont start a fire the chimney sweep will take care of all the soot..it been running a month and black already,when am i going to have to get the exhaust cleaned? Every month? I paid a fortune for this thing and it isnt even keeping my house warm.I have a VERY small row home in Philadelphia.My temps in the upstairs are at 58 degrees? Shouldn't there be some fire there other than on ignition? I go from large fire upon ignition to nothing in the span of 5 minutes? Isn't there a low fire present to keep the ignitor from working overtime? Please help,I am really disgusted at this point with this machine and the Dealer,Lisa
pc-45 problem
- Thread starter weezel8666
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summit
Minister of Fire
sounds like an airflow issue... 2 things: 1st is the air intake flapper might be stuck closed, or something otherwise restricting air flow into the stove. The flapper can get stuck if smoke backs up, making it sticky w/ residue. Another helpfull item would be a crossover tube (retail $11, takes about 10 minutes to install) but this would not itself be a reason for the stove to work so poorly. One other component could just be the ESP probe not giving a correct reading, thus not allowing the stove to recognize a started fire and making it shut down prematurly.... are you getting any status light blinks on the control board when this thing acts up? I doubt it is your pelles causing the issue, Barefoots are very good pellets.... one last thing... dip switches 1,2,7,8 are on? How about #5? find out if it has a "red wire" or "black wire" esp probe... if it is RED then the #5 dipswitch MUST BE set to on or the stove will crap out on you and go into shutdown EVERY TIME you try to use it. If it is a black probe w/ #5 set to on, it will also crap out on you.
I was getting a 6 blink status,incomplete combustion.cleaned the whole thing yesterday even esp probe no more blinks just poor performance.
krooser
Minister of Fire
krooser
Minister of Fire
krooser
Minister of Fire
newf lover
Minister of Fire
Sounds like while you may have a dirty stove, it's because something isn't functioning correctly. It never worked properly. Sounds like your dealer is either a moron, or is trying to pull one over on you. It's not normal and if he thinks it is, he doesn't know what he's doing. The fact that your distribution motor doesn't stay on is indicative something is wrong. Also, shouldn't be sucking up pellets like that, and it certainly shouldn't be all sooty. Since it's a new stove, even though it's a floor model, and never worked properly, they should get their butts out there and fix it.
I almost forgot to mention that my stoves makes ALOT of noise.There are lound snaps,and when the ignitor is on it sometimes sounds like it is vibrating. When the distribution fan kicks on sometimes there is also a strange noise similar to a leaf stuck in an air vent...like a loud hum vibrate? I have to keep the volume on my tv way up? Are the noises normal? At the dealers there was a p43 running and I couldn't even hear it...Thanks in advance for all input....
newf lover
Minister of Fire
Not getting any replies here. Why don't you shoot a PM to poconoman who owns a PC-45? Maybe he'll have some advice, or at least can tell you what it's supposed to be doing for you.
thanks newf lover,I will send him a message.. I asked the dealer if I could pay the money they gave me as a discount and get a new machine instead of the floor model and he said no....really getting upset here...status 6 blink again today (i leave 3 small dogs at home with this thing while i'm at work).Any one have any idea who I could talk to at Harman?
poconoman
Member
Received your email. My first thought is poor installation, not enough draft, piping too restrictive or worst case, a lemon. HOPEFULLY, the dealer can get this corrected. If not, get your money back and get something else.
Harman's are great machines BUT have poor customer service. I've been lucky. Runs flawlessly......so far.
Harman's are great machines BUT have poor customer service. I've been lucky. Runs flawlessly......so far.
poconoman
Member
I'll throw my hat in this ring for a second. There a chance that the burnpot is just not seated well allowing too much air to escape around the pellets. The other thing I can think of is...floor model...people love to touch the floor models, and put stuff into them (adults and their kids). I would not rule out something obstructing the feeder, preventing it from getting to temp (hence the 6 blinks). Noises and rattles from the motors can usually be addressed by just tightening some nuts and bolts, just put your hand on the suspect motor to see if it quiets down. What kind of pellets are you burning? What is you feed adjuster set to? I am going to go back and look at your previous post to see if theres anything in your install that raises a flag to me. good luck.
I removethe burnpot every week and scrape it because there is so much soot,even if it is burned a couple times. The stove is vented straight up the back of the house beside the alley. It goes up to about 4 feet above the roof. It was installed by the dealer. I has an outside air intake. The pipe coming off the stove is 3" going into 4" and straight up. I will try to get pics soon
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