Installed a pf 100 last month fired it up ran great for 3 days no problems at all.Wife called while at work said stove went out in middle of night got home checked it out had the 6 blink status.Called dealer said to change esp probe I changed the esp probe refired stove ran 10 hrs shut down again in middle of night this happened 4 nights in a row.I then reset stove at breaker box and presto it ran for 3 weeks no problems what so ever.Then you guessed it started getting the 6 blink status again this week and this happens after stove has ran for 12 to 15 hours always shuts down in the middle of the night.I have checked and double checked every thing cleaned the stove top to bottom did this did that and for the life of me I cannot figure this thing out.How it can run 3 wks no problems then start getting the 6 blink again.I do notice alot of carbon build up in the burnpot after 24 hrs of burn time but even after scraping it all clean it doesn't matter.My venting is a 45 on top of the adapter with 2' straight with a 90 with 8' horz with a T and 6' horz to termination with a horz cap.This is within the specs according to the manual.Called dealer again yesterday they inturn called harmon, harmon says sounds like pellets are bridging up in the hopper making stove go out thats bs because after a reset I never touch the pellets and they feed just fine.If that aint it they said probably a air leak.I wish I could get some answers from somebody that knows what the heck is going on!!So anybody that has any ideas or suggestions I would appreciate any feedback.And 1 other thing can somebody tell me what the 4 dip switches do and in what order??Thanks
Pf 100 dreaded 6 blink status!!!!Helpppppp
- Thread starter Iluvwinter
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I know this may sound stupid, but if the unit is new and it doesn't work correctly, with unburned pellets building up in the fire-pot, and Harmon saying it may be an air leak (in the combustion area?), it is time for the dealer to honor the warantee and make a service call. Many dealers are selling these furnaces and stoves as if they were simple wood stoves of yesterday - you just set it, add pellets, and forget it - when it is obvious they are far from that. Hope you bought from a good dealer, and good luck.
j00fek
Feeling the Heat
exoilburner
Feeling the Heat
Iluvwinter,
Been a while since the last post but here's my two cents. I have been running a PF100 for about 10 months. Started having the problem you described and here's what I discovered.
Before turning in for the night I turn the PF100 thermostat down to minimum 60. I noticed when the furnace shut down it was over night the same as you. Took a while to figure it out but the first thing I tried one morning was (with the furnace still off) I put the FEED ADJUSTER to TEST and listened to see if I could hear pellets dropping when the auger was turning. I could not hear them drop which told me my pellets must be bridging in the hopper. I then shoved my hand down into the pellets as far as possible and wiggled my hand around. Put the FEED ADJUSTER in TEST again and then could hear pellets dropping when the auger was turning.
After thinking about the times this problem happened in the past I remembered it was when I had filled the hopper with 4 bags of pellets which probably packed them down (160 lbs) and encouraged the bridging in the hopper. I waxed the inside of the hopper to make it more slick but it did not help. So now I do not completely fill the hopper before turning in for the night. Probably the lower thermostat setting causing a slow pellet feed and the full hopper is the worst case scenario for pellet bridging.
Hope this helps.
Been a while since the last post but here's my two cents. I have been running a PF100 for about 10 months. Started having the problem you described and here's what I discovered.
Before turning in for the night I turn the PF100 thermostat down to minimum 60. I noticed when the furnace shut down it was over night the same as you. Took a while to figure it out but the first thing I tried one morning was (with the furnace still off) I put the FEED ADJUSTER to TEST and listened to see if I could hear pellets dropping when the auger was turning. I could not hear them drop which told me my pellets must be bridging in the hopper. I then shoved my hand down into the pellets as far as possible and wiggled my hand around. Put the FEED ADJUSTER in TEST again and then could hear pellets dropping when the auger was turning.
After thinking about the times this problem happened in the past I remembered it was when I had filled the hopper with 4 bags of pellets which probably packed them down (160 lbs) and encouraged the bridging in the hopper. I waxed the inside of the hopper to make it more slick but it did not help. So now I do not completely fill the hopper before turning in for the night. Probably the lower thermostat setting causing a slow pellet feed and the full hopper is the worst case scenario for pellet bridging.
Hope this helps.
GVA
Minister of Fire
Still the pf100 guy's hang out in the boiler room........Go figure....Iluvwinter said:
that's alot of horizontal run, even though the manual says it's ok....
Have you run a brush through the pipe?
Cleaned the comb blower?
Fresh air or no fresh air?
GVA
Minister of Fire
This is my third season with the PF 100. When it runs good it is very, very good when it goes out it drive me crazy. On 1-10-09 my furnace kept going out and I got the 6 blinks. I have had this occur each year since I bought the furnace. Sometimes three times a year and others like this year many more. The dealer has seemed to try to help but I don't think they know either. Each time the 6 blinks occur I go to trouble shooting in the manual and nothing seems to match except the draft issue. This year as the temperature dropped it seemd the problem got worse. I have cleaned the stove, emptied the hopper, checked everything, rechecked it again and just about gone mad. After turning the oil furnace back on and planning to see the dealer Monday about a replacement, which I know would be a battle, I decided on Sunday to try one more thing. On the control board is a small white dot. I am not looking at the control board right now but I think it it to the right of the ignitor light. That white dot is actually a little adjustment screw for the draft. Sunday at noon I cranked this adjustment to the max. Since then the stove has worked fine. It may be too soon to tell but that is why I came to this forum to see what everyone else knows. Harmon seems to make a very good product but this problem is more widespread than just my stove and the Harmon website is a marketing only site. I do not know why the draft has a low adjustment and wish I could learn more about the setting and why it is factory set at low and any advantages low has over high. Other than that I agree with others the thermostat is off but I have it set to a mark that corresponds with 72 and don't touch it. I did put a setback thermostat in series as a simple on off switch so I can set the heat back at night and when we are all working. Good Luck and if anyone knows more about the draft settings please chime in. Thanks
I was having a rich burn with my PF100...new install this winter. I also got a couple of 6 light alerts. I replaced the circuit board with the latest version (has a small integrated chip instead of removable larger chip). I also have a vent with outer limit on the spec (but still within). The dealer told me to crank the draft screw to the max as well. Since I did that, the furnace burns much better and I have not had any problems with errors...although I am going through a lot of pellets.
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