Ash build up question on a Harman 52i

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Jan 20, 2014
94
Mendon, MA
Been running my new Harman 52i insert since Nov 10th. I am running Hamer's Hot Ones pellets and have absolutely no frame of reference for what I should/shouldn't be seeing in the burn put after certain times. Below is a picture of my burn pot after around 13hours of continuous high heat burn. I think the setting was Stove Temp 5 or 6 for a majority of the time with the distribution blower on high. This is also the first burn after doing my first big cleaning.

Does this look like a lot of ash build up that "should" have been pushed out of the pot? Is this exactly what I should be seeing? The "dam" of ash at the front is probably around 1 inch thick from front to back like the manual says. I tend to get the build up in the corners as can be seen in the picture. There are times where the ash in corners kind of clumps a bit, but it doesn't seem to be what people call clinkers. I am still kind of stumped on what those look like sitting in the burn pot. All of that ash is fluffy

2014-01-20 00.48.24.jpg
 
Been running my new Harman 52i insert since Nov 10th. I am running Hamer's Hot Ones pellets and have absolutely no frame of reference for what I should/shouldn't be seeing in the burn put after certain times. Below is a picture of my burn pot after around 13hours of continuous high heat burn. I think the setting was Stove Temp 5 or 6 for a majority of the time with the distribution blower on high. This is also the first burn after doing my first big cleaning.

Does this look like a lot of ash build up that "should" have been pushed out of the pot? Is this exactly what I should be seeing? The "dam" of ash at the front is probably around 1 inch thick from front to back like the manual says. I tend to get the build up in the corners as can be seen in the picture. There are times where the ash in corners kind of clumps a bit, but it doesn't seem to be what people call clinkers. I am still kind of stumped on what those look like sitting in the burn pot. All of that ash is fluffy

View attachment 124637
Doesn't look bad ..
 
Upping the feed rate to put more pellets in the pot and have less places for the ash to settle out?
 
Upping the feed rate to put more pellets in the pot and have less places for the ash to settle out?

+1. This is affectionately referred to as the "ash mustache". If you find a really good pellet, this mustache will take a few days to build up. With the average pellets I have this year, I remove the mustache twice a day to keep everything happy. Can affect the flame pattern which might or might not impact efficiency, so I clean it to make myself feel better.
 
Been running my new Harman 52i insert since Nov 10th. I am running Hamer's Hot Ones pellets and have absolutely no frame of reference for what I should/shouldn't be seeing in the burn put after certain times. Below is a picture of my burn pot after around 13hours of continuous high heat burn. I think the setting was Stove Temp 5 or 6 for a majority of the time with the distribution blower on high. This is also the first burn after doing my first big cleaning.

Does this look like a lot of ash build up that "should" have been pushed out of the pot? Is this exactly what I should be seeing? The "dam" of ash at the front is probably around 1 inch thick from front to back like the manual says. I tend to get the build up in the corners as can be seen in the picture. There are times where the ash in corners kind of clumps a bit, but it doesn't seem to be what people call clinkers. I am still kind of stumped on what those look like sitting in the burn pot. All of that ash is fluffy

View attachment 124637

I am only in my third season so hardly an expert. I don't think the pattern you have shown is any real concern, however, I have found that the arced ash pattern is more likely to occur when there is carbon buildup on the sides of the burn pot. When I see this I power down the stove long enough to give the pot a good scraping (I use a Craftsman Gasket Scraper) and the configuration reverts to straight line for quite a while.
 
My new p35i is at two weeks and does the same thing. I keep my rate at 4 loving it.That's what your scraper is for:)
 
The flame looks a little narrow. When you did your full cleaning, did you remove any carbon buildup that may have been on the flame guide?
I can't tell from the picture if that is ash or carbon on both sides of the flame guide.
 
It was fine earlier, the flame is narrow due to the ash build up. It was all fluffy ash that clears easily and the flame is back to full throttle.
 
My new p35i is at two weeks and does the same thing. I keep my rate at 4 loving it.That's what your scraper is for:)
For you p35i owners there is a new flame guide extender ..I bought my unit last year so I called my dealer and he ordered it and there was no charge due stove stil under warranty
 
I kind of had the same thing going on. The edge of the burn pot doesn't get that high but pretty much the same amount on the sides. I was curious myself to see if this was normal.
 
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