2008 Harmon Accentra insert feed rate

[tammybrian2]

this is a 2008 accentra insert. the feed adjuster over the last couple of years has been an issue. as an example, i can set the feed rate to 4 and the auger will run for 30 seconds, but then i could turn the feed rate down to 2 and it might run for 35 seconds. its like the run times can be all over the place. so i finanlly purchased a new control board. the instructions with the new board show that dipswitches 3,5 and 6 should be ON, all others off. when i turned the stove on, i got three blinks on the panel. which seems to be an issue with the ESP. i pulled the probe out and cleaned it, although it did not appear dirty. that did not help. each time i turned the stove on, i got the three blinks. so i went back to the dipswitches and compared them to the original panel. the original panel had dipswitches 1,2,3 on, 4,5,6,7,8 off.
this got rid of the esp error and the stove is back running again. however...the feed adjuster seems to still be doing the same thing. right now, if i set it to 4, the auger runs for roughly 23 seconds. if i turn it down to 2, it runs for about 26 seconsds. i've turned it up to 6 and it only runs for a few seconds, i think less than 10. if i turn the adjuster to 'test', where i believe that should make it run for a full minute, is only running for 7 seconds. so i'm stumped as to why its doing this. anyone else seen this happen and have any ideas for me? thanks in advance.. Brian

 

[tammybrian2]

also, i always run the stove on 'room temp'

 

[jackman]

Hmmm, I've not put a stopwatch to my stove's antics. I'm thinking your stove may be working normally. I rarely touch the feed rate on my stove which is always set at 3. I would set the feed rate at 3 and forget it for a few days and just see how the stove runs. Hang on to the old board just in case. Hopefully, other forum members will have a better suggestion.

 

[tammybrian2]

i've read in the manual that you should have ash about 1 inch from the edge of the burnpot. no matter how warm or cold it is outside it wont seem to feed enough pellets to make that happen. again, i run it on room temp, and always set at the highest setting, 90 degrees. we keep it that high to keep the living room warm and to get heat towards the back of the house to heat the bedrooms. and since its on room temp, i would turn the feed rate up to produce more heat.

 

[jackman]

So I gather your stove is not putting out as much heat as in years past? I'd start with a deep clean including the entire vent stack all the way to the end. If you have an outside air kit installed make sure that it is clear and pulling air. If all of that has been done I'd try running it on Stove temp mode and keep the feed rate at 3 for a couple of days to see if that changes anything. I'd also try 3 or 4 bags of a different brand of pellets.

 

[tammybrian2]

i give it a complete cleaning at the end of the season and i clean the heat exchangers/empty the ashes every 2.5/3.5 days, depending on how cold it is. after the (average 3 day) cleaning, it puts out a lot of heat, probably as good as the day we installed it. my issue is, i want to be able to control the amount of pellets that are pushed in to the burnpot. on room temp mode, if i want to 'heat everyone out of the house', i want to be able to turn the feed rate up to six so it feeds the maximum amount of pellets. that was how it worked when it was new... but that doesnt seem to happen, with the old board and now the new one. the length of time the auger runs seems to be all over the place.

 

[jackman]

Whenever my stove starts acting hinky I do a deep clean. Maybe the ESP is dirty, flue tube could be caked, or the fines box is full. You might also want to check the door gasket. I'd also check that the auger and motor is turning smoothly.

 

[tammybrian2]

i did take out the esp and clean that as well. it looked pretty clean already, but it did have a one or two small bends/dents in it. i'm wondering if it might need to be replaced. when i put the new circuit board in and set the dipswitches to what the paperwork said, i was getting the three blinks which is an esp issue. but then setting them to what the original board was, that error went away.

 

[tammybrian2]

i found another thread that listed a link to the dipswitch settings of the particular control board i have (3-20-05886F), the settings listed were 00100100. there seems to be an improvment using this. i'll watch it over the next few days and report back.

 

[Harman Lover 007]

i give it a complete cleaning at the end of the season and i clean the heat exchangers/empty the ashes every 2.5/3.5 days, depending on how cold it is. after the (average 3 day) cleaning, it puts out a lot of heat, probably as good as the day we installed it. my issue is, i want to be able to control the amount of pellets that are pushed in to the burnpot. on room temp mode, if i want to 'heat everyone out of the house', i want to be able to turn the feed rate up to six so it feeds the maximum amount of pellets. that was how it worked when it was new... but that doesnt seem to happen, with the old board and now the new one. the length of time the auger runs seems to be all over the place.

With all due respect, I don’t think you understand feed rate in general. If you have your stove on room temp mode set at 70 degrees, turning the feed rate up from 4 to 6 will do absolutely nothing. If you have never done it, please click on the link in my signature. It’s a very helpful primer on Harman operation. From what you are describing, you might still have an issue with your dip switch settings

 

[tammybrian2]

With all due respect, I don’t think you understand feed rate in general. If you have your stove on room temp mode set at 70 degrees, turning the feed rate up from 4 to 6 will do absolutely nothing. If you have never done it, please click on the link in my signature. It’s a very helpful primer on Harman operation. From what you are describing, you might still have an issue with your dip switch settings

well that is entirely possible. we've had the stove since 2008 and the room temp is always set at 90 degrees. (the wife likes a warm house, although when the house thermostat hits about 78, i turn the temp down to 50, and the stove will feed less pellets, distrubution blower will stop and enough pellets are fed to keep the fire going). and while i've never really dug in to how it works like you have (and thank you for all that information by the way!!) , i've just always seen when i turn the feed rate up, more pellets are fed out and vice versa, feed adjuster low, fewer pellets are fed out, (again with room temp at 90). i read your post which now makes me think, whats the purpose of the feed adjuster? if i read correctly, stove temp uses the esp to adjust feed rates, room temp uses the room temp sensor to control feed rate and feed rate is controlled by the esp. thanks again---Brian

 

[camdids]

I have always used the Room Temp setting. Have never needed to push the temp setting above 75. I am using the original Thermostat cable positioned several feet away.
My feed rate is always at 3-4. To get heat down a hall away from the stove to other rooms, I put a small fan on the floor down the hall pointing toward the stove. Amazing how much heat is drawn down there. It also makes the area near the stove really warm.

 

[railfanron]

The feed rate is used to compensate for lower grade pellets or low outdoor air temps. Let's say the stove is in a 450 sq ft room and the feed rate is set at 5 with the thermostat in room temp mode set at 75. The stove will fire up and burn really hot for just a few minutes, achieve the set point and start a shut down. Problem is the room is only half heated. Then in a few minutes it will start the process all over again. The customer then thinks the stove sucks because it's either to hot or too cold. By adjusting the feed rate to match pellet quality, outdoor temp and room size the stove burns longer to achieve the set point and the whole room is heated more evenly. I adjust my feed rate to those parameters in a range from 4 (-20 to -5) ,3.5 (up to about 20), 3 ( up to about 35) and 2.5 above that. This and a long swing temp will heat my 840 sq ft equally and provide a good amount of heat to the rest of the house.
Ron