2007 Harman XXV - Need help troubleshooting

[Jaycotay902]

Hi All. I live in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Winters coming and I just picked up a used 2007 Harman XXV. The lady was giving it away and it looked to be in decent shape. It came with the house she bought. She used it for a few years but said she had some issues with it not shutting off when they turned it off, as well as it starting up at night when they did not want it too.. I've never owned a Harmon before so I'm looking for some feedback.

Since picking this one up, without seeing the history she described first hand, I am noticing some issues though. When running the Test settings - the feed auger, combustion & distribution blowers all work. However when I try to start the stove, I set it to manual ignite (automatic ignite doesn't seem to be working) and set the mode to Stove Temp (with dial somewhere between L & H) and Feed Adjuster to 4 as well as setting the temp dial to about 80 degrees. Upon lighting the pellets manually, the only thing that I can see running is the combustion blower. The auger doesn't run and the distribution blower does not blow any heat. The only lights that are on on the control board during this are: Power, Status and Combustion. They are all solid (the status is not flashing)

In attempt to start, I had the burn pot about 1/3 full and dumped about 2 tablespoons of lighter gel on to light. The fire was burning but nothing crazy (small to medium flame) The combustion blower was definitely working. I tried a few times with the same result.

Could it be that i'm not using enough fluid to get a good flame going or does this sound like an issue with the control board? Based on some forums I've read through, I removed and cleaned the ESP probe however it wasn't very dirty to begin with. I also checked the vacuum switch and line and they seemed ok. Hoping someone here may have some ideas. I'm ok with buying a new control board but don't want to if its something simpler.

Would appreciate any insight. Thanks!

 

[Bioburner]

It can be a real chore sometimes to get the stove to temp before the ESP senses enough fire to start the feed system.
The stove starting up on its own and not shutting down is probably a bad pot switch. Been there done that on a couple stoves and had to replace the switches. Harman does not offer that service and wants to sell you another board. About $250 in the US. An errant ESP can also mess with your attempts to start the stove.
Maybe someone with that same stove can give better details on a manual start but on my PC45s its a about a cup of pellets+ and I get a pretty good fire and I sometimes see that the fire is dying down will hit the test feature to feed some more fuel. Takes some time to get the stove warm enough before the room fan comes on.
If it has a auto igniter you should test the igniter to see if its good with a continuity tester after disconnecting from the board.

Have you downloaded a manual?
Good luck

 

[Jaycotay902]

Thanks for the reply. I haven't been able to get a good fire going. The fire at max has about a 2.5" - 3" flame. Everything looks well cleaned. I have removed the combustion blower and cleaned as well as cleaned the exhaust pathway as well as burn pot/heat exchanger etc. The door gaskets seem to be good. I did the dollar bill test and it presses it in pretty tight, (enough that you need to give a good tug to remove it.) If I cover the air intake with my hand, I could get the flame to shoot upto about to about 4". When I first attempted to start I couldn't get the feed auger or dist. blower to kick in however after messing with the fire, the feed actually began to run at setting 4.

It currently has the top vent chimney accessory attached to it. Perhaps it's somewhat plugged. Im not sure how to clean it. It has a peice on the side (3x5) that looks like it can be removed. Could the pellets I'm using cause poor flame at startup? My pellets are 3 years old and were still sealed but stored in my basement on concrete floor which is unfinished. I'm also testing the unit outside on the back of my trailer. I haven't yet brought it inside. for testing I have it setup with a 4 foot length of pipe running up from the top vent accessory which would make the flue from the exhaust run a total length of about 6-7 feet. Do I need to have it connected into my actual chimney to get a good flame or should I be able to get a decent flame going with my makeshift setup?

One last question, on stove mode with temp set to max, and feed to 4, how long after a good flame has been going before the distribution blower should kick in?

Appreciate the insight. I was told the control board may be bad in this unit. But I'm not so sure. Everything runs I test mode. And the feed auger and combustion blower seem to work in Stove mode. My current issues seem to be, either not enough exhaust for good flame to cause the dist. Blower to engage or I am using poor pellets.

 

[Bioburner]

Getting a bag of fresh pellets is a cheap way to test your theory of poor or damp pellets.

The stove operates with a vacuum and forced exhaust so it does not need a pipe for test purposes.

Depending on how cold the air is around the stove it could take up to 15 minutes to get the room fan to come on but the stove should have a pretty good sized flame initially so back to line one about pellets

 

[Jaycotay902]

Thanks Bioburner. I ended up getting a new bag of pellets and after about 10 minutes of trying to get it lit with a good flame, it took right off. I was trying to use just the gel and a lighter but the pellets were only smouldering with a 1" flame after the door was closed. I ended up using a propane torch and roasted them for a few minutes till I got a good strong flame while the door was open. I then closed it and the flames dropped down to about 2" but gradually grew over 2-3 minutes until finally they were about a 10-12" at level 7 on stove mode with feed set at 4. Doesn't seem to be an instant light with this stove. Prior to this one, I owned a parmax europa 75. All I did with it was fill the burn pot to the correct level, dump in some gel and then drop a match and hit power and boom that sucker would draw right away. Are the Harmons typically slower to get the flame going as a rule during startup? I think I could cut the manual time down to about 5 minutes now that I know the correct level to fill it to and also by using propane to speed things up. That said, it's longer than what I've been used to. Another question, I tried the igniter but after about 15 minutes still no sparks or flame. It does get warm and I can see some of the pellets are being burned(turning dark) How long should the auto ignite process take typically. Appreciate all the insight!

 

[Bioburner]

Most startups should be well under 5 minutes. Sounds like the igniter housing needs to be cleaned and its burn pot ports. May need a set of door gaskets to increase the vacuum in stove too which most stoves need after 4 years with the older white non graphited gasket rope.
All these little things add up to a poorly performing stove.
You got one bigger ? out of the way with getting a new bag of pellets and now have a more active bigger fire so your getting closer.