check this out.. nasty!

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.
summit

summit

Minister of Fire
Aug 22, 2008
1,900
central maine
we picked up this P61 non auto on a trade. I dunno what the guy was doing to it, but (as you can see) I had to resort to a 200,000 btu propane flamethrower to burn the gummy cresote outta it. Needless to say, its gonna need more than a coat of paint and new door gasket... while i'm at it I'm gonna install an auto ignition system and new motors. I've seem pellet stoves messed up, never seen a Harman this dirty. He never cleaned it other than vaccuming out the ashpan w/ a ash vac - I had to pry the ashpan door open with a prybar becuase of the gummed on soot acting as a glue. - I removed the middle and right firebrick so you can see a comparison in the middle pic.
 

Attachments

  • 0627011314a.jpg
    0627011314a.jpg
    145.1 KB · Views: 1,019
  • 0627011312.jpg
    0627011312.jpg
    87.3 KB · Views: 1,018
  • 0627011314.jpg
    0627011314.jpg
    143.7 KB · Views: 1,011
  • 0627011409.jpg
    0627011409.jpg
    120.3 KB · Views: 993
Its amazing he didnt burn his house down.. Don2222 would have started a thread about him. LOL
 
It's amazing the thing worked at all... fines cleanout was so full it took 10 minutes to chisel all the sawdust out... I had to burn, scrape, then burn again 3 times with the propane blowtorch to get all the creosote out. The exh fan was barely turning, and kept getting hung up on soot... after I hit it with the torchm the soot swelled and bound the fan up completely.. had to cut the motor shaft away with a sawzall to remove the blade!
 
summit said:
It's amazing the thing worked at all... fines cleanout was so full it took 10 minutes to chisel all the sawdust out... I had to burn, scrape, then burn again 3 times with the propane blowtorch to get all the creosote out. The exh fan was barely turning, and kept getting hung up on soot... after I hit it with the torchm the soot swelled and bound the fan up completely.. had to cut the motor shaft away with a sawzall to remove the blade!
Click to expand...

Amazing that someone would spend that kind of money and neglect it. The biggest concern would be for your safety. The owner had to of noticed that it was not running like a "Champ".. LOL..

Hey Summit, You said that this was a "Trade". I hope if he bought another Pellet Stove from you, that he either ................
A.) Learned a lesson and is going to keep this one clean, Or
B.) You have made up a Service Contract to keep it clean and operating safely for him..

Wow, Is Still all I can say after looking at those pics......... Wow??.......
 
DexterDay said:
Its amazing he didnt burn his house down.. Don2222 would have started a thread about him. LOL
Click to expand...

That is more proof that pellet stoves do not start fires, humans do !!! LOL

Hope to see the pics after the restoration??
 
I agree Don. Only we can prevent Pellet Stove Fires..

Keep them clean and they will keep your family safe and warm.
 
What do you want to bet the owner will treat the new one the same? Just put pellets in until it doesn't work any more, then buy new one. That's what everyone did when the car ashtray got full, right? Just bought a new car….right! :bug:
 
actually, the owner traded it in for a gas stove. I don't think he'll be able to do this much damage to the gas unit he just bought.
I'll post some more pics as the restoration continues.
 
Don2222 said:
DexterDay said:
Its amazing he didnt burn his house down.. Don2222 would have started a thread about him. LOL
Click to expand...

That is more proof that pellet stoves do not start fires, humans do !!! LOL

Hope to see the pics after the restoration??
Click to expand...

You didnt say Hello!
 
A torch hugh? I usually strip these things down and run a power washer with hot water, works AWESOME. Even on the worst. Yeah, I usually grind the impeller off too, though this customer of mine who works for NASA (really does) gave me a tester of this space age lubricant that will free up any metal. One little drop out of the end of this needle on the cap and any bolt you need to free up is instantly free, but that will not help ya if the set screw is stripped out.

Are you going to have to replace the burn pot and control board to allow for the igniter?
 
YUCKKKKKKKKKKKKK

I have seen some messed up pellet stoves, but that thing is just nasty.

Good luck with the little beastie.

Winter before last I bought a used stove that had been used to heat a green house.

It was dirty, full of critters and in need of some serious cleaning, but nothing like the one you showed in the piccy.

Snowy
 
What a shame!
Hope he doesn't own any pets!
I will show these pictures to our P61 so it knows
that we treat it with respect!!
 
smwilliamson said:
A torch hugh? I usually strip these things down and run a power washer with hot water, works AWESOME. Even on the worst. Yeah, I usually grind the impeller off too, though this customer of mine who works for NASA (really does) gave me a tester of this space age lubricant that will free up any metal. One little drop out of the end of this needle on the cap and any bolt you need to free up is instantly free, but that will not help ya if the set screw is stripped out.

Are you going to have to replace the burn pot and control board to allow for the igniter?
Click to expand...

yup, Harman makes a kit. The feeder is already tapped for igniter access wires, but the burn pot and circuit board and wiring are different. The kit includes all.
 
smwilliamson said:
Look at this accentra...same deal, this is the ash bin, you can imagine the upper firebox. had to break the flame guide to free it from the creosote around the burn pot

2010-07-30%2011.13.27.jpg
Click to expand...

usually when I run into a nasty messy Harman, it's an accentra or advance.. I think becuz people don't take off the panels to access the full run of the heat exchanger regularly. Never (till now) seen a P series so bad, just because there is really nothing to remove to do a cleaning on it. But, where there is a will, there's a way I guess!
 
I don't understand why those harmans don't put out much heat?????????
 
looks to me like that P61 is just breaking in. I have high confidence that summit can breathe new life into her and give her another 20 years of service ability. almost looks like spray foam in there, freaky.
 
I got a call to a house about a Harman that needed cleaning. When I opened the door, I looked inside and could see myself. The inside had so much creosote that in was shiny and about 2" thick even in the ash pan all the way to the termination of the pipe which was 10 ft. A hole was burned into the burn pot. You could not see the inside of the combustion blower. I told the home owner, "SORRY, I won"t even try to clean this". Wish I took pictures.
 
got it cleaned up, put in new motors, coat of paint. I've gotta wait till JUL 22 to put the hopper back on and install the new burnpot, as the auto ignition kit won't be in till then... It's easier to route wires with the hopper off! Some interesting stuff in these pics, best is the pile of welding slag and metal sandblasting grit that came outta the heat exchanger when I tipped the unit upside down to get better access to clean the heat exchanger. This stuff has been in the stove since it was new!! We used to have problems with older Harmans getting this stuff back into the distribution blower after a new install: when you'd tip it on a dolly, it would roll back into the blower and make a helluva racket! Haven't had that problem for the last few yrs, but if anyone out there has got an older one, stick a magnet back on the topside of your heat exchanger and see how much you got, it's tons o' fun to play with!
 

Attachments

  • welding slag (Custom).jpg
    welding slag (Custom).jpg
    102.9 KB · Views: 644
  • painted up (Custom).jpg
    painted up (Custom).jpg
    59.3 KB · Views: 622
  • inside all cleaned up (Custom).jpg
    inside all cleaned up (Custom).jpg
    62.8 KB · Views: 608
  • new motors (Custom).jpg
    new motors (Custom).jpg
    53.9 KB · Views: 611
  • stripped down (Custom).jpg
    stripped down (Custom).jpg
    78.1 KB · Views: 594
  • upside down p61 (Custom).jpg
    upside down p61 (Custom).jpg
    53.3 KB · Views: 641
summit, i just noticed that thing has the ancient "gold door" on it. what is the serial # on that bad boy....I bet it predates nutrasweet.
 
Delta-T said:
summit, i just noticed that thing has the ancient "gold door" on it. what is the serial # on that bad boy....I bet it predates nutrasweet.
Click to expand...

0002486 is the #.... it even has the now defunct microswitch on the feeder arm assy...
 
I may have the "sunrise inset" for that door somewhere's in my warehouse. it would be the preverbal icing on the cake. nice to see one of the "old timers" getting a rebirth...like the phoenix, rising from the ashes.
 
Does that unit have the bypass air tube that goes to the auger tube? Thats the most common cause of Harman stvs getting gummed up. If it does not , its a real easy retro fit
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top Bottom
Back