Harman Accentra Insert Corrosion

[jwfrankman]

Hey all, it's been quite some time since I've posted here, as up until now I've had no issues with my Accentra insert pellet stove. I'll attach a couple pics, but I wondered if anyone had any suggestions. I have a call out to the nearest dealer to ask about parts/service, but I'm relatively capable and have done minor servicing of this unit in the past.

Anyway, although I've been diligent with most aspects of periodic maintenance, this seems to have gotten away from me. I first noticed corrosion on the thumbscrews for the temperature probe enclosure, and has gradually worsened over the years, even with oil. Humidity during the off-season is to blame, but aside from plugging the exhaust openings, what can you do?

Yesterday the combustion fan didn't seem to be spinning, so I opened it up and found that the fan blade itself had completely rusted and fallen off inside the fan enclosure. After struggling with the thumbscrews (stupid design IMO), one sheared off and the others' threads are seriously wrecked. As you can see from the pics, the iron plate attached to the motor looks completely disintegrated. Also, I feel like the structure of the enclosure is compromised and not far from starting to crumble.

I can find parts lists online for much of what I'd replace, but I'm not sure how I'd go about replacing the combustion fan chamber itself, or even if that's possible to do. It seems pretty solidly connected to the bulk of the stove, and I can't seem to see any fasteners that would facilitate removal.

Any suggestions? I really hope I haven't made myself an expensive bricked doorstop. :/

Jason

 

[jwfrankman]

<bump>

I've been messing around this weekend and it's looking pretty evident that the combustion housing is a monolithic part of the stove structure, which floors me. I can't be the first to run into this issue, and if that's the case, how can this have been designed this way? I'm going to try to call the mfr tomorrow to see what they can tell me, but I'm not optimistic.

Anyone want an Accentra insert for parts? 😂😩

 

[Mt Bob]

Some serious lack of maintenance there.

 

[jwfrankman]

Some serious lack of maintenance there.

Bob, thanks for the reply. It was actually kept pretty clean, and I had followed Harman's procedures pretty closely over the years. I wasn't over the top, but did all the things in the list.

I imagine the pro I had come out a few times should have mentioned that area, as it never showed up on DIY maintenance procedures.

My bad, I guess...

 

[Mt Bob]

I'm having second thoughts. Did you happen to try and burn some corn at the end of the season,last? Or possibly a strange brand of pellets?

 

[Dataman]

How can you not see that in 1 Ton or End of Season Cleaning? What cleaning do you do?

 

[Tim_M]

I’m guessing your insert is connected to a vertical chimney with no cap at the top to keep out the rain. Or if there is a cap, it’s not doing its job in keeping water from getting down into your stove.

 

[jwfrankman]

I’m guessing your insert is connected to a vertical chimney with no cap at the top to keep out the rain. Or if there is a cap, it’s not doing its job in keeping water from getting down into your stove.

It actually is capped and shoots out horizontally from the side of the house, per Harman specs. I really doubt it's anything other than humidity, as the pipe itself is slightly sloped downward toward the cap for this very reason.