Harman Advance-auger motor won't run?

[Harmaniac]

We've been running our Harman Advance for 4 years now and not a single problem. On first season start-up this AM, all lights came on, blower fans, but no auger motor. Never had this problem...any ideas? The feed motor light is even on, but no low rumble sound of the auger motor .
Any ideas well appreciated.
Harmaniac

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Did the stove get a complete cleaning since it was last used and is the flapper inside your exhaust free?

 

[Harmaniac]

Yah, it got the July Mega-cleaning....and the flapper is free....
Was reading in the Harman Manual about a Combustion Motor Fuse...saying that if it is blown, the feeder motor will not operate-don't know if that is the problem or not?

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Yah, it got the July Mega-cleaning....and the flapper is free....
Was reading in the Harman Manual about a Combustion Motor Fuse...saying that if it is blown, the feeder motor will not operate-don't know if that is the problem or not?

If the combustion blower doesn't start the flap won't open and there will be no partial vacuum in the fire box leading to the vacuum switch not closing which prevents the auger from feeding. So a blown combustion blower fuse can indeed stop the auger.

 

[Harmaniac]

So, is this a fix I could tear into, or is this something left to the professionals?
Thanks Smokey for your responses
Harmaniac

 

[lbcynya]

Do you have a hopper lid switch? If so, anything wrong with that will also prevent the auger from feeding.

 

[Harmaniac]

There is no hopper lid switch to my knowledge.
I can feel the pen writing a check to the repairman...........

 

[Delta-T]

do you have an orange cylinder about 1" tall in your hopper? somewhaere along the angles section, you may have to remove some pellets to find it.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

The first thing to check would be to see if the combustion fan turns. If it turns and the flapper moves then the feed issue is caused by other than the combustion fan fuse.

IIRC there is a test switch on that unit that can be used along with your hearing to see if the various things work.

 

[Delta-T]

indeed Smokey...feed adjuster knob has "test" position to power up all the motors. I suspect the orange doo-dad (which for about 1 year, 4 years ago) was doing the job of the hopper lid switch. The doo-dad is connected to the vac sensor and measures the negtive pressure of the hopper. If the doo-dad (technically they call it a muffler, but it muffles nothing) gets full up with sawdust particles, it cannot measure the pressure, so, no auger motor go.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

indeed Smokey...feed adjuster knob has "test" position to power up all the motors. I suspect the orange doo-dad (which for about 1 year, 4 years ago) was doing the job of the hopper lid switch. The doo-dad is connected to the vac sensor and measures the negtive pressure of the hopper. If the doo-dad (technically they call it a muffler, but it muffles nothing) gets full up with sawdust particles, it cannot measure the pressure, so, no auger motor go.

That there doo-dad, is as good a candidate as any, sort of like having the vacuum line plugged then no vacuum switch closing and no auger turning followed by no pellets and no joy .

ETA: This is a number 2 blinking light for a lot of stoves.

 

[kinsmanstoves]

you have a pressure related issue. check the cap and venting to make sure no blockage. check gaskets and door seals including the hopper. Last would be the pressure switch, do not suck from the switch.

Eric

 

[Harmaniac]

There are no blinking lights on the control panel, so I'm baffled about that. I also tried the feed adjuster knob in "test" position to power up all the motors, and still....nothing.

 

[Delta-T]

do you have the orange muffler thingy in your hopper?

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

There are no blinking lights on the control panel, so I'm baffled about that. I also tried the feed adjuster knob in "test" position to power up all the motors, and still....nothing.

What motors powered up?

In other words what is nothing?

 

[smwilliamson]

has anyone tried to power the auger to see if it is bad....everyone always jumps on the vacuum switch....it's never the vacuum switch. I'm guessing corroded impeller set screw or just plain ole fashion auger motor gear box stripped.

 

[Harmaniac]

UPDATE: Service guy came out tonight....after several tries of checking the combustion fan, auger motor, fuse, outdoor venting etc. he became stumped.....made a call to his home company and said to do some bypass to the pressure switch and BINGO...problem solved. So all you guys that said earlier in this post there were vacuum/pressure switch problems you were dead on...Thanks! From now on, I'll always go to hearth.com for answers.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Glad you are up and a running.