American Harvest (6039) Owners - Advise

[72Chevelle]

So I've posted before and was asking about wood stoves. Lots of good advice and also lots of confusion. I only have 1 chance at buying something to heat my 28x30 garage. I want to make the right decision, and I need to make one now.
I have the chance to buy an American Harvest model 6039 corn / pellet stove for $500. Already got the guy down from $700, he isn't going lower. Comes with flue / chimney and he's driving it about 100 miles closer to me while visiting family.
I'm wondering how the folks who own this stove like it, and if / or they are fairly reliable. I'm only heating a garage, which according to my calculation is 840 SQ FT.
Will it do the job? Are they easy enough to repair? Parts reasonable?
Reviews online seem good. Always seems to be pros and cons to any stove that have made me over-think this for weeks now.
Thanks!

 

[mustangwagz]

I love mine. 500 bucks, with chimney, delivered....id buy it considering i know how it performs. Parts can be sourced cheaper than USSC sells them. Typically atleast half cheaper. Control board is only thing that ya cant get around paying over 300 bucks for.

Would i buy it for 500 bucks, with the chimney setup, delivered to my house...yes..IF it works as it should and isnt warped above the door.

 

[jbest1]

I am liking mine so far. 2nd season with it and it is keeping us plenty warm. No major problems with it yet. Mine is the early 3 button model with no manual draft( updated the board to the new 4 button)

 

[72Chevelle]

Thanks for the replies guys!
The current owner said he bought it new some years ago. H used it to heat his mothers place but she is elderly and moved her to an assisted living and said the stove has was not used last year. He said he would operate it to show me everything is in good working order before I buy it.
The only issue he said he has ever had with it was a cotter pin sheering off one time. H since repaired it and has never had another issue.
Not sure if it is the 3 button or 4 button, but he said it sits on more of a pedestal and not 4 legs as some of the same model. Not sure if that tells you if its the 3 button or 4?
He sent a picture but it was a bit blurry, he will send more today / tomorrow.
I know a lot goes into consideration as far as how air tight the garage is, but since you all have this unit, do you think it will heat the 30x30 garage good? say 45 degrees?
It is insulated.
Also, if I have to run this stove full tilt to keep it comfortable enough to work, about how many bags of pellets / hour can I expect to go through?
Tanks again

 

[mustangwagz]

insulated garage of that size id say you should be able to attain 45. I attain 74 on single digit nights in a 2 story home thats insulated about as well as my mailbox....

I can go 12/hrs running on medium (number 5 on my 3 button board) with just pellets. add some corn and ya can back it off a little bit and be comfy no issues in my home. Depends how efficent your garage is. thats biggest factor. hell on nights and days that its 40 outside, i can back mine down and run for like 22 hours on a full hopper.

as for sheer pin, did he say on the agitator or auger? Something musta got jammed in there at some point, probably be fine..he said it works..so thats kinda a heads up that nothing is majorly wrong with it. Get a picture of the board, and a picture of the front of it so we can see if its a manual draft model or not. also, under the lid of the hopper, there's a sticker and warning labels and such, at the bottom LH corner will be the MFG date. i just found mine today. mine was made in july of 2005.

 

[mustangwagz]

ohh, PS: ive never ran mine on full tilt...so i cant tell ya about that heat level..but a guy by name of "sidecarflip" runs his on 9 sometimes. you could maybe ask him what kinda usage he gets as for pellets, however his is modified a little bit. We all mod the burn pot a little bit for better, cleaner combustion. Also there's some holes behind the "fiberboard backing board" that ya can plug to help with efficiency.

 

[jbest1]

Which holes behind the fiber board? what do you plug them with?

 

[mustangwagz]

Pull your fiberboard out, but be super careful, its very fragile. behind it you'll see 2 round holes. the one on the right of the stove will lead to the combustion fan chamber. This is for cleaning access. its not a strait shot but can be done. Well anyhow, those holes can be plugged with "Conduit plugs" Metal ones via the hardware store. i think they're 1-1/2 plugs that fit in there? Then simply replace your fiberboard and bingo, a little more efficiency.

 

[jbest1]

Awesome thanks. I am going to give it a try.

 

[SidecarFlip]

I typically run mine wide open and let the T'stat modulate it. Wit a 4 button you can control the PPH delivery from 2.5 pounds per hour all the way to over 6.5

The heated air is hot enough to singe your hair if you get close.

For 500, I'd buy it. I sold my first one after a decade of burning for 500 bucks and it was analog, not digital.

They will do 4-45K btu on factory defaults at HR9 but caqn do way more output by runing the PPH up. Problem is, they get so hot, they start warping the front above the door, which is the hottest spot. Been there ad did that and repaird the issue by welding in a 'L' shaped length of steel inside the firebox, no easy task as the space is tight.

 

[72Chevelle]

The guy sold the stove today.
Im just going to get one of them cheap volganziny pot belly thingys and see what happens.
Tired of researching them and according to most people on this site seem to tink that if you don't spend $10K on a stove then your not going to get anything good.
Thanks for the help anyway!
Lets hope he garage don't burn down!

 

[SidecarFlip]

The guy sold the stove today.
Im just going to get one of them cheap volganziny pot belly thingys and see what happens.
Tired of researching them and according to most people on this site seem to tink that if you don't spend $10K on a stove then your not going to get anything good.
Thanks for the help anyway!
Lets hope he garage don't burn down!

Don't include everyone on this site in that boot. I sure ain't. Me, I want to spend as little as possible and get the biggest bang for my dollar so it's USSC for me (and it rhymes too).


Get yourself 2 55 gallon drums and a Vogelzang double barrel stove kit. That will roast you out for less than 150 bucks.

 

[we7hills]

ohh, PS: ive never ran mine on full tilt...so i cant tell ya about that heat level..but a guy by name of "sidecarflip" runs his on 9 sometimes. you could maybe ask him what kinda usage he gets as for pellets, however his is modified a little bit. We all mod the burn pot a little bit for better, cleaner combustion. Also there's some holes behind the "fiberboard backing board" that ya can plug to help with efficiency.

Mustangwagz,... I am a new 6039 owner,... could you please explain what the "burn pot" mod is, and how it gives cleaner combustion? My burn pot gets caked with carbon build-up on the bottom,... I have to shut the stove down, take it out, soak it, and chip the stuff out with a chisel,... is that normal? Other than that, this unit seems to function perfectly!

 

[FirepotPete]

Mustangwagz,... I am a new 6039 owner,... could you please explain what the "burn pot" mod is, and how it gives cleaner combustion? My burn pot gets caked with carbon build-up on the bottom,... I have to shut the stove down, take it out, soak it, and chip the stuff out with a chisel,... is that normal? Other than that, this unit seems to function perfectly!

Hope wagz replies, haven't seen him in almost a year around here. He has the 3 button control panel and is well versed in it's use.

After thinking some more about the burn pot mod the only thing I can come up with is that some guys added clips to the pot. The clips held the pot in place. Users found that while burning that the carbon would build up in the pot and on the agitator and cause the agitator to lift the pot out of place, bang around and eventually bind the agitator sometimes stripping the gears, so they added the clips to stop this from happening.

I didn't even think about that because I burn clinker style and don't use the agitator anymore but I remember the first year and the noise and binding in my stove was one of the reasons I went clinker style. That and burning 100% corn makes it much more manageable.

 

[we7hills]

Hope wagz replies, haven't seen him in almost a year around here. He has the 3 button control panel and is well versed in it's use.

After thinking some more about the burn pot mod the only thing I can come up with is that some guys added clips to the pot. The clips held the pot in place. Users found that while burning that the carbon would build up in the pot and on the agitator and cause the agitator to lift the pot out of place, bang around and eventually bind the agitator sometimes stripping the gears, so they added the clips to stop this from happening.

I didn't even think about that because I burn clinker style and don't use the agitator anymore but I remember the first year and the noise and binding in my stove was one of the reasons I went clinker style. That and burning 100% corn makes it much more manageable.

Thanks for the info,...

When you have time, could you attach pics of the corn pot you're using? What is the difference other than not using the agitator?
I've been burning my stove for a week now on propellet fuel, and it is becoming a pain in the but to shut it down every 24 hours to clean the carbon out of the bottom of the fire pot,... but if I don't the agitator starts binding and making noise,... I'm afraid I'll end up breaking it if I don't clean it,...

Thanks for all your help,... GO STEELERS!

 

[FirepotPete]

 

[we7hills]

Hmmmmm,...

So the sugars in the corn burn creating clinkers that stick to that wire? You take the wire out, knock the clinker off, and put it (or another one) back in?
How often (realizing that would depend on stove heat range settings)? How often do you have to clean that basket? How often do you have to shut it down for cleaning? Where do you get those baskets? Looks like I could make the wire from 1/8" SS TIG wire. Where do you get the corn? What is the cost of the corn compared to wood? Almost every hardware store, gas station, Tractor supply store near me sells wood pellets,... I've never seen corn for stoves for sale,... Any details you could provide on corn burning would be appreciated,... (Sorry for 20 questions!) Inquiring NUKIE mind!
If I can't find a way to make this pellet burner less labor intensive,... I may have to get rid of it,... too much for wife when I'm out of town! And everyday requires 2 hours without heat for shut down, cool down, cleaning, re-assembly, and re-lighting,... PITA!
I was even thinking of getting another pot and agitator and trying to do a "hot pot" transfer without shutting the stove down completely,... take the carboned pot out, swap with fresh one, clean dirty one at my leisure,...

Thanks, Pete! You're the BEST! (But I still hope the Steelers win,.... you just never know which team is going to show up!)

 

[FirepotPete]

Hmmmmm,...

So the sugars in the corn burn creating clinkers that stick to that wire? You take the wire out, knock the clinker off, and put it (or another one) back in?
How often (realizing that would depend on stove heat range settings)? How often do you have to clean that basket? How often do you have to shut it down for cleaning? Where do you get those baskets? Looks like I could make the wire from 1/8" SS TIG wire. Where do you get the corn? What is the cost of the corn compared to wood? Almost every hardware store, gas station, Tractor supply store near me sells wood pellets,... I've never seen corn for stoves for sale,... Any details you could provide on corn burning would be appreciated,... (Sorry for 20 questions!) Inquiring NUKIE mind!
If I can't find a way to make this pellet burner less labor intensive,... I may have to get rid of it,... too much for wife when I'm out of town! And everyday requires 2 hours without heat for shut down, cool down, cleaning, re-assembly, and re-lighting,... PITA!
I was even thinking of getting another pot and agitator and trying to do a "hot pot" transfer without shutting the stove down completely,... take the carboned pot out, swap with fresh one, clean dirty one at my leisure,...

Thanks, Pete! You're the BEST! (But I still hope the Steelers win,.... you just never know which team is going to show up!)

Yes the sugars bind to the fork. The same sugars that make it hard to run the stove with an agitator. Some folks find it no problem but I never could get it to work good. Even adding oyster shells didn't work with the corn for me.

You should not have to shut down and clean your stove everyday. On average I do pull the clinker everyday while the stove is running. I put the clinker in an ash bucket and put it outside to cool, I have extra forks and put one in right away. Once the other cools down it just falls off with a little wack. But I could go two days for sure and maybe three, depending on the HR setting before pulling the clinker. I shut down every Sunday and do a thorough cleaning. Again I could probably go two weeks if needed. But a clean stove is a happy stove.

A lot of this is going to depend on you getting that stove tweaked in and burning correctly. With just burning decent pellets you should not be getting carbon build up to the extent that you have to shut down the stove everyday. You need to adjust the exhaust to burn hotter, more air. It takes a bit of work but once dialed in you will be happy with the stove.

The clinker pot I and my step-son made. We made a couple of dozen a few years back and sold them all. He no longer works in the same fab shop and no longer has access to the scrap metal and machines to fab them up. I don't have any spares. I do have the dimensions here somewhere as they need to fit just right to get the forks out while running and for the pot to fit properly.

I found that using SS rod didn't pay off. I use just regular 4' 3/16 rod you can get at any hardware store. It actually seems to last as long or longer than the SS rods did. Why? I have no idea, chemistry I guess.

I get corn from a farmer about 12 miles away. Prices here have remained pretty stable the last three years. $110-$120 per ton. I pull under the chute with my pickup, pull the lever and have well over a ton of corn in about 45 seconds. Drive home, back up to the garage, hook up the cornvac system and about four hours later have it all moved into IBC totes and 55 gallon drums for the winter. Depending on the winter I will need at least two tons, sometimes three or a little more. Usually if i get a third ton I will have about half of it left for the next year. It is sealed, no moisture or critters and is just a good as when it came down the chute fresh from the dryer.

You might want to try and use oyster shells in your pellets until you get that exhaust adjusted better. You should be able to find them at any farm supply store, usually by the chicken supplies.

 

[yeejsou]

Not sure if this has been cover yet but i cant seem to find the answer. i put in a new fan blower, auger motor, agitator motor, vacuum switch since i got it. Today it was working fine but all of suddenly everything shut down. my extension surge shut off, I tried to turn it on but my surge kept turning off. i took the plug off the surge extension and put it on a outlet. right when i plug in the outlet, it blew a fuse. i put in a new fuse and same thing happen. i was reading online and it said it might be my conbustion blower/exhaust blower. before i buy a new one would it be that? dont want to waste money on something i dont need to buy. If i plug it back into my extension plug, my surge would trigger and my light would die out. please help

 

[Ssyko]

Take an old lamp cord or extension cord and hook it to each motor directly and plug into the outlet on the surgebar you will find the bad component

 

[ARC]

right when i plug in the outlet, it blew a fuse

Is this for the USSC ABC board or the USSC 4 button board?

If 4 button board:
What fuse did it blow? House fuse in breaker box or one on the stoves motherboard? If one on motherboard it should be labeled and that would tell you what component is shorting. If it is the Power Fuse on the mother board I would start by unplugging the power cord from rear of stove and inspecting the cord for broken or chewed wires. I would then plug that power cord into your surge protector without it being plugged into stove. Would show if you have a internal short in the power cord. The safer way is you could also use a multi meter to check that there is no continuity between the spades on the cord.

If cord is good I would remove both sides from the stove and inspect all wiring for broken wires or shorts. The wiring on the left side of the stove is easily pinched when reinstalling the left side panel as it connects to the motherboard and "hangs" in the way.

It is possible for a component to blow the Power Fuse without blowing the component fuse but more likely that the component fuse would blow if the component was the cause.

If ABC board:
I would still follow the above inspecting all wiring for breaks but the ABC board only has one power fuse and after inspecting all wiring I would follow Ssyko's advice.

 

[SidecarFlip]

I'd say that covers it quite nicely.

 

[yeejsou]

ok. i found the problem. there was a few wires that runs underneath the room fan blower that was melted to the base of the board. i now got all cover up. But this damn stove is giving me such a hard problem. one right after another. After i got everything all cover and up, my auger is now running continuous at full speed. I was reading online and it now said that my circuit board could possible go bad? any help here would be appreciate. thanks. by the way, my stove is the older one with the ABC board

 

[Ssyko]

If your wires shorted, more than likely it let some magic smoke out of the board. Probably shorted the auger triac

 

[SidecarFlip]

New board time, unless you are handy with a mutimeter and can determine which Triac is shorted and can replace it. Your issue is, the board on the 6039 (if it's a 4 button) is it's expensive.