Replacement Harman ignitor lasted less then a month!!

[amick780]

Replaced my XXV ignitor less then a month ago and it is dead again. There has to be a better solution to these things. Love the stove but what a pain to the you know what dealing with this crap!!

 

[lecomte38]

I found that a butane torch works to "assist" the ignitor but I do not run on the room thermostat so it only goes out for cleaning.

 

[THE ROOSTER]

I wonder if you might have some type of volotage problem...

 

[Lance1]

Heater elements in general need some sort of load on them otherwise they burn up.
Check if the element fits tight in the sleeve when it's hot and is not extending out of the load sleeve.

Personally have have used a little charcoal starter and a flame for faster startups for years now.

 

[imacman]

Replaced my XXV ignitor less then a month ago and it is dead again.....

For a stove that comes with the "reputation" of being god's gift to pellet burning, this is totally unacceptable, IMO.

And for people to suggest that you have to assist the start-up with charcoal lighter fluid or a butane torch in a stove that costs what Harman's do is ludicrous....the reason for the electric ignitor is so you DON'T have to do things like that.

Is the stove still under warranty?

 

[Bkins]

Replaced my XXV ignitor less then a month ago and it is dead again.....

For a stove that comes with the "reputation" of being god's gift to pellet burning, this is totally unacceptable, IMO.

And for people to suggest that you have to assist the start-up with charcoal lighter fluid or a butane torch in a stove that costs what Harman's do is ludicrous....the reason for the electric ignitor is so you DON'T have to do things like that.

Is the stove still under warranty?

I couldn't agree with you more. Yes, there may be some instances where some oddball things go on to cause a igniter to burn out early, but 1 MONTH??

I have a Harman insert with manual light and to me its a PIA. My other stove is a auto model and on top of not wasteing pellets to keep it burning it just nice to set and forget. I have my eye out for another used insert that has auto ignite. The fact that Harman's seem to have some problems would give me pause to get another Harman. A lot of the early Mt Vernon AE's have the same problem so maybe it is just stove specific.

David

 

[imacman]

The fact that Harman's seem to have some problems would give me pause to get another Harman. A lot of the early Mt Vernon AE's have the same problem so maybe it is just stove specific.

David

Bkins, I seem to remember recent posts that Harman has had bad ignitors....Sounds like a HARMAN problem, not just that model.

Just as a point of information on buying another stove with auto ignite, I recently sold my Astoria. It was an '05 model, and is an on-off stove when used with a 'stat. I NEVER replaced the original ignitor, and when I sold it, it still had the same one.

As a matter of fact, I was worried about the ignitor burning out, so I bought a brand new one last year. Well, needless to say, I still have it, and it's been listed on the "for sale" forum for 2 months....nobody needs it.

 

[mnkywrnch]

Mac I think what he meant by stove specific was the Mt vernon Ae's are made by Quadrafire,but I do agree 1 month on an ignitor is crazy, I have a friend that owns a 4 year old enviro with the origanal ignitor,the most problems with ignitors seem to be with harman and quad.

 

[Bkins]

My Quadrafire Mt Vernon, non AE, has the original igniter in it and its 4 years old. I do have a spare just in case. I guess I was trying to say that certain models of stoves seem to be hard on igniters. Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned a brand name.

David

 

[imacman]

Mac I think what he meant by stove specific was the Mt vernon Ae's are made by Quadrafire,but I do agree 1 month on an ignitor is crazy, I have a friend that owns a 4 year old enviro with the origanal ignitor,the most problems with ignitors seem to be with harman and quad.

Yep mnkywrnch, I was "confused"...LOL.....I've edited my post...thanks!

 

[tonyd]

Second year with the Harmon Accentra and no problems yet..If all the owners with Harmons, that are running without problems chimed in, they would probably fill the forum. Until you get your problem resolved, mix in a small amount of PURELL hand sanitizer into the pellets. Works great. Hths

 

[LIpelletpig]

My second year with accentra insert as well and no problems with the ignitor. That being said I rarely run my stove on room temp, I am 98% stove temp! If I do run the stove on room temp I put it in manual vs. auto ignite. That prevents it from going out. I rather see a very little flame then to see it go out and on all the time especially in the shoulder months where temps are above 50. Usually I'll just shut it down if it's over 50 degrees and sunny..

 

[Wood Heat Stoves]

adjust swing of t-stat so it comes on less often