Best tool for cleaning a Harman burn pot

[stovemanken]

My friend John who spent years servicing (but not selling) pellet stoves has a saying:

"90% of pellet stove problems are because the owner failed to adequately clean the stove."

There have been many postings about cleaning Harman burn pots. I would be the first to admit that the tool Harman provides does a good job but not a great job.

The absolute best tool for cleaning a Harman burn pot is a mechanic's prybar. You can find cheap Chinese made prybars of this type at Harbor Freight and other places as well. Since I prefer to buy "Made in America" whenever I can, I use a 17 inch Sears Craftsman curved prybar part number 9-43276. MSRP $14.99.

The 17 inch length keep you far enough away from the stove that you won't get burned, the angle of the tool fits the angle of the burn pot and the chisel point make short work of the carbon.

Try it, you'll like it!

SMK

 

[Hammerjoe]

Thanks for the tip, I will be looking for one.

 

[iceman]

i use a chisel 2in and 1 inch or .5 inch it very easy the head on the chisel goes right through it

 

[FireJumper]

I've never tried it but couldn't you take a grinder to the end of the one Harman provides and just put an edge on it? I would think that would work fairly decent.

 

[iceman]

I've never tried it but couldn't you take a grinder to the end of the one Harman provides and just put an edge on it? I would think that would work fairly decent.

thats a great idea however i think that thing is flemsy

 

[FireJumper]

I don't know.. It's made of 1/8" steel.

 

[minnow]

The Harmon tool bends too easily. I asked this very same question a few weeks back and someone replied that they took a long screwdriver and heated the shank at the right angle to bend it to match the angle of the burn pot. I've also been using a pry bar with limited success in getting the carbon loosened up. I may try grinding down the edge to a sharp angle in the hope that might take the carbon off the bottom and sides.

 

[MrWinkey]

I have a few craftsman screwdrivers just for this. Varying sizes for diff spots. I like the straight ones as it lets me get in to chip away the clinkers better.

Use the Harman tool to knock off any high spots the screwdrivers dont get.

 

[GVA]

The Harmon tool bends too easily. I asked this very same question a few weeks back and someone replied that they took a long screwdriver and heated the shank at the right angle to bend it to match the angle of the burn pot. I've also been using a pry bar with limited success in getting the carbon loosened up. I may try grinding down the edge to a sharp angle in the hope that might take the carbon off the bottom and sides.

I'm guilty...
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/9689/
It's easier if you do sharpen the tip a bit But remember you just want to break the clinkers not move the stove.... I actually broke the tip off the auger when I was a rookie and really trying to break the deposits with the Harman tool.

 

[minnow]

I don't see that particular model of prybar on the Sear site and the item number does not match anything in the pry bar selection. Can you provide any more details ?

 

[FireJumper]

What about something like this.. I would think this would work very well. IDK just a thought...

 

[Xena]

For what harman stoves cost, there's no excuse for them not including
a tool that cuts the mustard. I'd write them about the crappy tool.
Maybe if they hear enough complaints they'll make the thing better.
The one that came with our st croix is a strong piece of steel and does what
it's suppose to.

 

[FireJumper]

Don't get me wrong, the one I have works well BUT I scrape mine down everytime I load the hopper with pellets. Some folks may not do this as often as I do. which would cause more build up in the burn pot giving them a harder time removing the carbon.

 

[minnow]

I don't think that would work Firejumper as the bar doesn't have an good angle on it to get down into the burn pot to get any leverge for scrapping.
The Harmon scraper is a real piece of crap. If they had made the thing just a 1/4" thicker it would not bend like a piece of boiled spaghetti.

 

[Tristan]

Wow!! Seems too excessive. What can I really expect from my new Harman XXV? Is it really going to produce residue in the burn pot that would require me to use a chusel and hammer? I've cleaned my burn pot once a week. I have not yet notice any clunkers or anything remotely requiring a chisel and hammer to clean. Am i missing something? I have tried to really scape dwon the burn pot with a flat head screw dirver and the harman tool, but it seems like just a fine film of residue. Can some one post a picture of a burn pot that would require heavy duty tools to clean. I just want ot have an idea of what can be expected. Thank you.

 

[TedNH]

I have found an amazing difference in the build up between the Energex Premiums that I burned last year and the NewEngland pellets Im burning this year. The Energex created very hard tough build up, while the NE stuff is much lighter.
I too use a prybar, AND I used a 3M abrasive disk on my cordless drill to polish the burn pot. that seemed to help prevent the build up from sticking to the pot.

 

[Tristan]

Again ... Am i missing something? I see no hard buils up in my burn pot. When is this hard burn pot suppose to start developing. I mean #M abrasives on a cordless drill to grind away at the burn pot? What is there am I suppose to grind or chip away at?

 

[TedNH]

Again ... Am i missing something? I see no hard buils up in my burn pot. When is this hard burn pot suppose to start developing. I mean #M abrasives on a cordless drill to grind away at the burn pot? What is there am I suppose to grind or chip away at?

You should have some carbon buildup down near the feed tube. Shut the stove down, open the door, clear out the ash and look down in the bottom of the burnpot. The surface will be caked with hard carbon, not bare metal if you scrape at it you will clean it out in chunks. Dont forget to get the sides of the burn pot also.

 

[Tristan]

Does it really take a chissel and hammer though? Is the burn pot built tough enough to handle such impactful? I will take look tonight.

 

[tinkabranc]

I am using both Energex and NEWP Canadian this season. So far, the little buildup I have seen
is at the very bottom of my burnpot. I clean my XXV once a week so it is quick and easy to scrape.
I have been using both the stove tool and a bent screwdriver which helps scrape at the bottom of the
burnpot where the stove tool is too wide.

 

[TedNH]

Does it really take a chissel and hammer though? Is the burn pot built tough enough to handle such impactful? I will take look tonight.

its 1/8" plate steel. It will be fine. Just dont really beat on it. The clinker buildup will give long before the metal does.

 

[FireJumper]

Tristan you'll notice it more if you don't keep up with it. Like I said before, I scrape mine down evertime I load the hopper and don't seem to have a massive amount of build like some are witnessing here.

 

[exoilburner]

Paint scraper works best for me. I just rotate or change blades when they loose the edge.
There is a small model too.

 

[kdvois]

I have a Harman P-68 and I use what FireJumper sugested for the past 3 years and the tool works great

Doug

 

[mlwschultz]

I also use the 17" automotive prybar from Sears. They cost $14.99. It works great! I also use a set of picks, especially the right angle pick, to keep the holes in the burn pot clear. The Harman tool is pretty useless. Though I've noticed that since we had the auger tube repair on our XXV, the scraping is much easier! No carbon buildup at the end of the auger tube. I've been chipping at it like crazy, after running the stove for a week with no shutdown I just had to do a simple scraping (NEWP pellets).