Harman Accentra 52i vibration sounds

  • 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.

scagger

Member
Oct 4, 2008
72
Central MA
Anyone with a Harman Accentra 52i having issues with vibrating heat exchanger covers? I keep adjusting them, but it happens every time I run it. It really sucks to have a new stove and be as annoying with sounds as my old stove.
 
Are you SURE it's the heat exchangers, and not the hinged side panels? I know my side panels will vibrate if the cast iron bottom cover (that hides the rails) is not properly positioned.
It's hard to imagine that there's a motor in your stove strong enough to vibrate one of those heavy cast heat exchangers.
 
Anyone with a Harman Accentra 52i having issues with vibrating heat exchanger covers? I keep adjusting them, but it happens every time I run it. It really sucks to have a new stove and be as annoying with sounds as my old stove.
Hey scagger, I have had the same problem with mine. Yes, from a previous reply; occasionally there was a vibration from the side doors, but the majority of the noise does come from the heat exchange plates. I bought my stove in late October '22 so I was very disappointed by the noise. What makes it worse for me is that the stove shortage had me buying the stove from out of state rather than local, so the dealers are not wanting to service it as you would expect. Anyway, I can feel a vibration on the outside of the stove that gets worse as the combustion fan RPM rises which would get the plates rattling. Over time, 2-months now, I think the interior fly ash has filled the gaps where the plates cannot move as easily. It is much better, but I hear the vibration occasionally. I am dreading the time that I need to perform the full cleaning that has me removing these plates. Has yours gotten any better?
 
  • Like
Reactions: scagger
Yeah same noises, but it happens mostly on startup as the combustion fan begins to increase in RPM. The doors can also make rattling sounds so most of the time I leave them slightly open. I've cleaned the stove and heat exchanger plates a few times now. It seems to be a little quieter once I do that, but comes back within a day or two. I'm glad to hear that it's not just me with this issue. Drives you nuts doesn't it?
 
Yup your not alone. what I have found is to try and find where its coming from. The doors do rattle but what I did was use some gasket materiel from my quad I had before and just jam it into where you hear it. In my castle I had the heat exchanger would always rattle. I use to use aluminum foil and fill the gaps. Worked liked charm!

we all know that pellet stoves make a lot of sounds. But it does suck After spending all that money.
 
Accentra 52i-TC installed in December 2022. I am experiencing this same issue. There's a certain RPM band in the combustion blower that causes this dull metallic pulsing/rhythmic vibration. Drives me nuts. It goes away once it's hot and through that RPM band, but returns sometimes as the stove modulates the combustion blower speed.

While the side panels will vibrate sometimes too (which could probably be solved with some sort of heat resistant felt tape - they don't get that hot) - the noise I hear continues even if I leave them open.

I also believe it is coming from the cast iron heat exchanger panels and/or the combustion blower motor cover. The latter does not fit tight in its opening - at least when cold. There's about a 2mm gap between the latch that locks the cover in place and the cover itself, thereby allowing it to be vibrate in its recess. Perhaps this is by design to allow for thermal expansion.

Wondering if anyone has worked out a solution to this? Is there any high heat material to isolate the vibration between the cast iron plates and the frame/rail they rest against?