Creosote within Feeder Body of Harman Accentra Insert

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GeorgeD

New Member
Feb 19, 2006
4
First a little background info.

I bought a new Harman Accentra Insert in the spring of 2004. I had my dealer install it with the outside air option. The Accentra has a welded assembly called the feeder body. Metered pellets enter this "V" shaped space (from the hopper) and pass through to the auger. This weldment is mostly sealed and it interior cannot be directly accessed.

Last January (2005) I noticed that sometimes the hopper would be full of smoke. Some time after that the stove had problems feeding pellets to the burn pot. After much discussions with my dealer, I removed the auger and found that stage three creosote had built up within the feeder body. This sticky creosote was blocking the pellets. When I told my dealer, it was suggested that I try and squirt the stove window cleaner up into the feeder body to loosen this creosote.

I refused to do that. Eventually my dealer called Harman. Apparently Harman was so concerned that they wanted my stove returned to the factory for evaluation. Within two weeks I had a new stove. I've never heard what, if anything, Harman found wrong with the stove.

This year, January 2006, occasionally, I could smell (but not see) smoke when I opened the hopper door. About three weeks ago, the stove started to have pellet feed problems. I called my dealer and scheduled a service call. This morning, the technician found creosote building up in the feeder body weldment.

Two years, two stoves and the exact same problem. Either the stoves have a problem or the stove installation has a problem.

I'm hoping that someone with Accentra Insert experience can shed some light on this problem. I'll keep tabs on this post so feel free to ask questions.

One big question comes to mind. Is it safe to use this stove?

A copy of the Accentra Insert can be found here: (the feeder body weldment is shown on page 33)

http://www.harmanstoves.com/doc/accentrainsertm.pdf
 
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