Harman Accentra Insert - Brush won't go all the way in

[btphoto]

Since day 1 for the life of me I can never get the wire brush to go all the way in on the left side. Everything I read and watch says the wire brush must go all the way in on the left side. Does that mean right to the end, so there's hardly any wired handle left? I get mine to go in and there'll be about half the length of the wire left. It seems to just come to a wall. I push as hard as I can and all I'm doing is coiling and bending the wire up inside the vent it seems. I know it's supposed to make the right angle turn somehow, but I just can't seem to get it to do that at all. This will be the 5th or 6th time I'm cleaning it now. The stove still works fine and heats our 2400 sq ft house as well as it did the first day we got it.

What else can I try? I was thinking of attaching the drill to a similar brush that would be able to spin, if I could find one. I'm also afraid of breaking something inside there if I try something a little too aggressive like that.

Any tips and advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Justin M]

I had the same problem. You can read about it in my thread here.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/need-alternative-to-harman-wire-brush.102681/

I ended up buying this brush from Grainger and it works perfectly.
(broken link removed)

 

[btphoto]

I had the same problem. You can read about it in my thread here.
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/need-alternative-to-harman-wire-brush.102681/

I ended up buying this brush from Grainger and it works perfectly.
(broken link removed)

Thanks a bunch! I went ahead and ordered that brush - thanks!

 

[Justin M]

It will still take quiet a bit of effort to get the brush all the way through, but atleast it won't bend on you. When the brush is all the way through you will be able to see the end of it in the right tube if you shine a light down it.

 

[Cincinnati Kid]

Since day 1 for the life of me I can never get the wire brush to go all the way in on the left side. Everything I read and watch says the wire brush must go all the way in on the left side. Does that mean right to the end, so there's hardly any wired handle left? I get mine to go in and there'll be about half the length of the wire left. It seems to just come to a wall. I push as hard as I can and all I'm doing is coiling and bending the wire up inside the vent it seems. I know it's supposed to make the right angle turn somehow, but I just can't seem to get it to do that at all. This will be the 5th or 6th time I'm cleaning it now. The stove still works fine and heats our 2400 sq ft house as well as it did the first day we got it.

What else can I try? I was thinking of attaching the drill to a similar brush that would be able to spin, if I could find one. I'm also afraid of breaking something inside there if I try something a little too aggressive like that.

Any tips and advice would be greatly appreciated.

I have the exact same problem. What I have done over the past few years is I take the hose to my ash vac, take the metal attachment off, and push that in the left side. It goes in all the way to the end rather easily. I turn the vacuum on and move the hose back and forth.

 

[btphoto]

Ok thanks! Not sure if I'll be able to even look down that right tube. It seems awfully low to the ground and blocked in a way that I wouldn't be able to look straight down it, but I'll try for sure/

 

[notch]

Ok thanks! Not sure if I'll be able to even look down that right tube. It seems awfully low to the ground and blocked in a way that I wouldn't be able to look straight down it, but I'll try for sure/

You can see it, just gotta get real low. How low can you go?

You can try to pre-bend the wire handle a little so it kind-of makes an arc. Once you get it in to the point where it stops, grab the wire handle down close to the tube entry with you right hand and close behind your right hand with your left and slowly force it in just an inch or two. That's what I have to do. It'll then make the corner. Once around the corner you can continue to slowly force it in through to the right-side tube junction. The handle will be fully inserted to the loop. I'll then pull it back to almost where it turns the corner, and push it back to the junction a few times.

While the left-side tube doesn't get near the draw of the right, it still need to be brushed so make sure you get it done with one brush or the other.

 

[dhall28]

This discussion came up at the harman factory training when I took it a while back. one of the suggestions was to attach a small but long brush to a drill, its decent size steel there that the flue gasses have to pass through, as long as the brush is fairly small and not aggressive you should not be harming anything, soft/small metal bristles or plastic like those used to clean the flue pipe should work well.

 

[btphoto]

Thanks guys! I thought of the drill idea but was afraid I might break something, but I may just try that as well now.

 

[holstein]

I was having the same issue a while back. On my dealers recommendation, I duct taped a straightened wire coat hanger to the Harman brush to make it more resistant to bending. Problem solved.

 

[sante fe]

Anyone have a picture of this, I have the new 52i and I'm not sure of what you guys are talking about. I have remove the cover along the bottom and clean those passage ways or are you talking about remove fan cover and cleaning the one round exhaust port ?

 

[Justin M]

Anyone have a picture of this, I have the new 52i and I'm not sure of what you guys are talking about. I have remove the cover along the bottom and clean those passage ways or are you talking about remove fan cover and cleaning the one round exhaust port ?

The 52i does not have the exhaust path set up that we are talking about.

 

[Delta-T]

if you've already compressed a lot of material into the left exhaust passage it may be worth your while to push the brush, or a straightened metal coat hanger (with ugly knot constructed at the end) into the passage from the combustion blower access point to loosen the ash clump a bit..then go back in from the front and push...and twist, and push until you can see the brush, not just the clump of ash.

 

[pfmaloney]

Once I get the brush all the way in the tube, I grab the end of the brush with needle nose pliers and are then able to push it that extra distance so that I can see the brush from the other side.