Harman accentra question

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MrRiddler

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Jan 22, 2014
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Hey guys, I just joined this forum!! Looks like a great place for advice!!
Here's my question,
I have had a harman accentra insert for three seasons now and absolutely love it. I keep the setting on auto with a room temp around 70 degrees. I have had no issues with it so far. My question is with the bitter cold were having here in New England is it normal for me to crank the stove temp up to 80 degrees to maintain the house at 70? If I leave the dial set for 70 I notice the house temp drops down to 65 or so. I have about 25 bags in since last cleaning. I'm just curious if this is normal due the extreme cold. Like I said earlier, I have the stove set at 70 and it has maintained 70 just like clockwork until this week. Any input would be greatly appreciated!
I would assume that if I crank it up to the maximum output it would feel like an oven in the house, but I'm not so sure if it will get much warmer than 70.
The stove is hearing a 1600 square foot ranch.
 
Im in my rookie season but, I run my P35i on room temp between 70-75 if I need more heat I just turn the knob up so.. to answer your question seem rather normal hopes this helps ya!!!!

Burn Baby Burn!!!!:cool::cool:
 
Personally I would suggest doing another cleaning, which will make your stove a lot more efficient.

Also move your thermostat wire away from the stove about 4 feet off the floor.
 
I will give it a good cleaning today, and I will crank it up to about 80 degrees to achieve a room temp around 70. It is going to be another cold night here in New England.
I do not have a thermostat wire on the stove, I just have the esp probe controlling the temp.
Also, should I be cleaning the exhaust
Port that goes into the chimney? I haven't read anything about that yet, I have mainly been cleaning the stove itself, which I do a very thorough job of.
Thanks guys for your input so far!!
 
If you've had it 3 seasons and never cleaned the exhaust, I think your a little over due. I clean mine twice a season, beginning and middle of winter. Try running in room temp/ manual. Might help you get closer to your desired temp. Turn it to 75 and let go for awhile with a feed rate of 3.5 to 4. What's your feed rate now?
 
I have my feed rate set at a little past 4. In auto mode the stove adjusts the feed rate on its own.
As for cleaning the exhaust, what exactly should I clean, the port on the stove itself or the box that goes up the chimney? The manual doesn't say much about the exhaust and I don't recall my dealer saying much about it either. I can use a wire brush or a vacuum and hit it the best I can. I'll do that later today.
I am also wondering if my pellet quality may affect the heat output.
Also, in the three seasons I've had this insert I don't recall the temps being this cold in ct. I just feel that the stove should be able to maintain at least 70 degrees with the room dial on 80. Thanks
 
I'm not sure how easy it is to work on an insert. But on myfreestander, I pull the ESP out and clean it. Take the termination cap off outside, and run a lint eater through the pipe from the inside and out. Then I hook up a leaf blower/vac and suck all the ash out. You can go to Lowes or HD and pick everything you need for your vent cleaning. A dirty vent will affect your heat output.

Most definitely the brand of pellets will affect your heat output also. But, your Harman should still be able to keep a set temp. It will just eat more pellets. Try some different pellets. Not sure what you are burning, but there are a lot of folks on here that burn certain pellets in a "polar vortex" because they handle the low temps.
 
I'm a newb as well on my third week with my harman p35i insert and at night I keep it at rtm then during the day I go to manual .last night I cranked her up to 77 and was comfortable.i have researched and it's not hurting the stove in a high temp. I keep my rate at 4. I have never had the need to go pat 80.also I keep my thermostat at 58 and I have a 1800 split leve at keeps the main areas fine.happy burning :)
 
MrRiddler said:
If I leave the dial set for 70 I notice the house temp drops down to 65 or so.
Click to expand...

Put a thermometer next to your room sensing probe and see if it's maintaining temp. The probe doesn't know what temp the rest of the house is.
 
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MrRiddler said:
I will give it a good cleaning today, and I will crank it up to about 80 degrees to achieve a room temp around 70. It is going to be another cold night here in New England.
I do not have a thermostat wire on the stove, I just have the esp probe controlling the temp.
Also, should I be cleaning the exhaust
Port that goes into the chimney? I haven't read anything about that yet, I have mainly been cleaning the stove itself, which I do a very thorough job of.
Thanks guys for your input so far!!
Click to expand...


What mode are you in? You say auto however i assume you mean stove temp auto and not room temp.

If you are in stove temp mode which i expect as you dont have the wire connected the stove does not care about the temp of your room. Its only its trying to maintain a set exhaust temp. So when it gets really cold as long as the ESP is hitting its mark the stove will not get hotter. If you are in stove temp mode you're not using the temperature numbers on the dial, you are using a stove temp 1-7. The temperature numbers are for when the thermostat is connected and the stove is in room temp mode.
 
Ok, so here's what I did. I stripped the stove down and gave it a thorough cleaning. I checked the exhaust and found some soot around the outlet pipe. I started tapping on the pipe and soot started falling by the pound!! I am hoping that I have found part of my efficiency problem!!
I wish I knew three seasons ago that the pipe needed to be cleaned, although I should have known that myself.
I will be looking for a four inch brush with an extension so I can get on the roof and clean that baby out every spring!!
Right now I have the room temp set at 80 degrees! If it gets any higher than 67 I guess I solved the problem. I will post more info when I get a few hours of Burntime!!
 
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MrRiddler said:
Ok, so here's what I did. I stripped the stove down and gave it a thorough cleaning. I checked the exhaust and found some soot around the outlet pipe. I started tapping on the pipe and soot started falling by the pound!! I am hoping that I have found part of my efficiency problem!!
I wish I knew three seasons ago that the pipe needed to be cleaned, although I should have known that myself.
I will be looking for a four inch brush with an extension so I can get on the roof and clean that baby out every spring!!
Right now I have the room temp set at 80 degrees! If it gets any higher than 67 I guess I solved the problem. I will post more info when I get a few hours of Burntime!!
Click to expand...
After having 2 chimney fires on used enviro stove I had for a year and a half.on amazon I got the fiberglass rods that attach by screw 25ft worth.Also got the 4 inch brush. Now cause I had a 2 chimney fires with the old stove I'm gnna do it every ton to be safe.
 
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I was heating the house up nicely when I noticed a green/yellow wire sticking out of the bottom left side of the stove. I shut it down and figured I better find out where it goes. According to the wiring diagram it is a ground wire that attaches to the back of the stove.
Am I correct on this ?
Only thing I can think of is it came off when I pulled the stove out to clean the exhaust pipe.
Anyway, I have attached it back on and fired the stove up again. If that wire doesn't belong attached, please inform me. Thanks guys!
 
Here's an update to my original issue. I cleaned the stove, cleaned the exhaust, but did not clean the distribution fan underneath the stove. I cranked the stove temp dial all the way to seven and cranked the fan dial all the way up. I let the stove run all night wide open hoping to get blasted out of the house. I woke up and my thermometer read 67 degrees. I don't know if I should be happy with that or not, considering it was -1 degree when I woke up.
I also had the feed rate at about 5 as well.
So, should I be getting more heat with that puppy running wide open or am I being picky?? It almost seems to me like the stove has a governor or limiter on it, no matter what I do it won't get much warmer than 67/68 in house with outside temps this low.
Maybe I need to clean the distributor fan now, although the air flow seems pretty good as I can see dust particles being sucked in.
Any input is greatly appreciated!!
Just trying to stay toasty here in Ct!!
 
MrRiddler said:
I was heating the house up nicely when I noticed a green/yellow wire sticking out of the bottom left side of the stove. I shut it down and figured I better find out where it goes. According to the wiring diagram it is a ground wire that attaches to the back of the stove.
Am I correct on this ?
Only thing I can think of is it came off when I pulled the stove out to clean the exhaust pipe.
Anyway, I have attached it back on and fired the stove up again. If that wire doesn't belong attached, please inform me. Thanks guys!
Click to expand...
Yes that is your ground wire and plugs into a spade on the back of the stove:cool:

I run mine on stove temp #3 with feed rate #4 and it seems to do the trick, this way I know how many pellets I will be burning, you can clean your exhaust from the inside by pulling the unit out on rails or 2x4's disconnect the power wires, which include the ground you already discovered and probe wires if they are in the way. You can then run a 4" soft bristled brush on flexible rods all the way to the top. You would be amazed how much stuff will come down. !!! This should be done at least once a year depending on how much you burn:) a good gauge would be after every 2 tons:cool:
 
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I am planning on going to Home Depot or lowes today and getting a lint eater!!
I am going to get a four inch brush but I'm just hoping it fits into the exhaust port that my stove has. It's a box about the size of a pack of cigarettes. Once I get it into the pipe I'm sure the soot will start pouring out. I got half a vacuum canister out yesterday just by tapping on the pipe. I will go with that today, hopefully it will give me some better heating results!! Thanks Justin!!
 
It will fit, I use the same thing. Like I said, the Leaf Blower Trick will benefit you as well.
 
Use some duct tape on the rods and they won't come unscrewed.
 
My dealer told me yesterday that the soot usually accumulates. In the first four feet of the pipe. I'm gonna give it a whirl! Thanks for the help guys!
 
Well guys, I think it have solved my problem. I bought the brush kit and ran it 12 feet up the chimney, a healthy pile of soot poured out. I may need to either buy a few more extensions or get on the roof and hit it from the top.
Next up, the distribution fan. Believe me when I say this, I'm shocked this stove ran at all considering the amount of dirt and lint and anything you can think of, that were clogging the fan blades. I tip my hat to a Harman for making a stove that can still put out some heat even when it's filthy!!
I have her cranked up to 75 on room temp, and it's only been on for an hour and it's almost reached temp!!
This thing is cranking now! It even sounds better!!
I am hoping, (and I'm sure I have) got this thing back to a much needed efficiency!! I went to a cleaning class when I first bought it and I'm a little disappointed because they never mentioned the exhaust, or the fan, in the class. Thanks to all of you guys and gals on this forum I can sleep now! Lol
 
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