harman auger wearing out?

[ivanhoe]

hi,
i've just removed my harman accentra and brought outside to do a outside cleaning with the air hose! i removed the auger to clean the gummy deposit and came upon a wearing out auger tip, ggrr! the edge of the tip is sharp like a knife now, i guess i could grind it back to original thickness but i will probably loose some length. the tip had carbon deposit which was hard to removed. i suppose this is normal. now i got to find a way to clean the gummy stuff in the tube. i will be adding the cross-over air while i have the stove removed. do i have to put silicone on the mounting sleeve of the auger when i put it back on?

 

[AbetterChimneynm]

I had a harman rep tell me in 25 years of making stoves (this was some years back) they have never had a auger go bad. Don't know if this helps.

 

[smwilliamson]

He either has limited experience or is "parroting" a directive from the mother ship to impart the best image....auger tips wear out on some models...often to do with poor air flow OR a stove with air holes directly at the bottom of the burn pot. This is not an isolated incident.

 

[Lousyweather]

yup....Scott is right.....not only can they wear out, but they can gum up....if you have a burnpot with 5 holes by the auger, it'll erode the auger AND the auger tube..........as for the "gummy" issue....check you slide plate....does it have the same "gummy" residue on it? If so, that same residue has been deposited inside the feeder, and your unit is slowly clogging up, eventually to the point where it wont run anymore. Also check the outside edge of the auger tube.....about 6:00 where the auger hits the burnpot....is it worn to the point where there is continuity to the air channel below the burnpot?

 

[MCPO]

yup....Scott is right.....not only can they wear out, but they can gum up....if you have a burnpot with 5 holes by the auger, it'll erode the auger AND the auger tube..........as for the "gummy" issue....check you slide plate....does it have the same "gummy" residue on it? If so, that same residue has been deposited inside the feeder, and your unit is slowly clogging up, eventually to the point where it wont run anymore. Also check the outside edge of the auger tube.....about 6:00 where the auger hits the burnpot....is it worn to the point where there is continuity to the air channel below the burnpot?

I don`t think it`s normal wear and my Harman don`t have the burn pot holes by the auger but I still found a gummy build up in the tube and a burned up/disintegrated auger tip which I replaced during the past winter.
I`d have to say my problems were caused by my burning the stove at idle/low settings for long periods (days) where the flame burns at a lower level closer to the auger tube and tip. At higher settings the increased amount of pellets pushing into the fire isolates and keeps the flame higher and further away.
I think both issues are related and seemingly only a problem with push feeders and how the stove is operated . I can see an advantage in this regards to running the stove on high off a T`stat vs a low constant stove temp.

 

[Lineman30]

hi,
i've just removed my harman accentra and brought outside to do a outside cleaning with the air hose! i removed the auger to clean the gummy deposit and came upon a wearing out auger tip, ggrr! the edge of the tip is sharp like a knife now, i guess i could grind it back to original thickness but i will probably loose some length. the tip had carbon deposit which was hard to removed. i suppose this is normal. now i got to find a way to clean the gummy stuff in the tube. i will be adding the cross-over air while i have the stove removed. do i have to put silicone on the mounting sleeve of the auger when i put it back on?View attachment 73726View attachment 73726View attachment 73725View attachment 73726

My accentra has had the same gummy issues as yours. The cross over tube does help but I still tear down and pull the auger out annually and buff it with a wire wheel and clean the tube up. Just a side not...It calls for silicone to install the brass inserts.....i used JB weld....works much better and stronger than silcone.

 

[ivanhoe]

thx for the info. i had gummy deposit on the auger and inside the tube. i will grind the tip some and see how it operates this winter. my accentra was built in december 2005 if this helps any on the symptoms i'm getting. the holes in the burn pot doesn't go all the way down, i only have 5 rows. burning on low is a possibility! i will apply a little silicone or JB weld if i find some for reassembly . burn pot seems to be OK, no burnt out area at 6:00.

 

[Lousyweather]

its the auger tube that wears out, not the burn pot. Where are you going to use the JB weld? Did you check the slide plate for gumminess?

 

[Lineman30]

thx for the info. i had gummy deposit on the auger and inside the tube. i will grind the tip some and see how it operates this winter. my accentra was built in december 2005 if this helps any on the symptoms i'm getting. the holes in the burn pot doesn't go all the way down, i only have 5 rows. burning on low is a possibility! i will apply a little silicone or JB weld if i find some for reassembly . burn pot seems to be OK, no burnt out area at 6:00.

I'm refering to the brass inserts that comes with the crossover tube kit. I used JB weld to install the inserts. Silcone was to loose...causing the insert to become loose and it moved alot...so it wasnt making a tight seal.

 

[ivanhoe]

I'm refering to the brass inserts that comes with the crossover tube kit. I used JB weld to install the inserts. Silcone was to loose...causing the insert to become loose and it moved alot...so it wasnt making a tight seal.

ok, i got you! the silicone is on the auger sleeve to tube insert and the JBweld is for the cross-over kit fittings!

 

[ivanhoe]

its the auger tube that wears out, not the burn pot. Where are you going to use the JB weld? Did you check the slide plate for gumminess?

i'll double check the tube for wear at 6:00! JBweld is for the cross-over kit fittings. there was gummy residue on the slide plate along with the tube & auger!

 

[smwilliamson]

Yeah...dont use jb weld to seal the auger fitting. That would be bad. I use gorilla glue for the brass crossovers

 

[Don2222]

Hello

How old are the Accentra's that need the cross-over air?

 

[Lousyweather]

Hello

How old are the Accentra's that need the cross-over air?

from later chain drive models to the earliest ultralight models. Subsequent ultralights has the crossover tube factory-installed.

 

[Lousyweather]

i'll double check the tube for wear at 6:00! JBweld is for the cross-over kit fittings. there was gummy residue on the slide plate along with the tube & auger!

gummy slide plate? call your dealer. Also a bit of yellow discoloration in the throat of the hopper as well?

 

[MCPO]

thx for the info. i had gummy deposit on the auger and inside the tube. i will grind the tip some and see how it operates this winter. my accentra was built in december 2005 if this helps any on the symptoms i'm getting. the holes in the burn pot doesn't go all the way down, i only have 5 rows. burning on low is a possibility! i will apply a little silicone or JB weld if i find some for reassembly . burn pot seems to be OK, no burnt out area at 6:00.

Grinding the tip will result in a shorter auger and will probably make the problem worse. The flame would burn closer to the tube when stove is set low.

 

[ivanhoe]

Grinding the tip will result in a shorter auger and will probably make the problem worse. The flame would burn closer to the tube when stove is set low.

leave it the way it is and eventually replace the auger down the road.

 

[Lousyweather]

Grinding the tip will result in a shorter auger and will probably make the problem worse. The flame would burn closer to the tube when stove is set low.

why not replace the auger?

 

[ivanhoe]

gummy slide plate? call your dealer. Also a bit of yellow discoloration in the throat of the hopper as well?

i talked to my 2hr away dealer about the cross-over lit and told me it's a $30.00 part which he doesn't install under the harman warranty! maybe he's not aware of the gummy stove syndrome issue that harman is remedying. is there a bulletin written somewhere so i could show him. by the way, i'm slowly cleaning the evidence away.....doh!

 

[Lousyweather]

the thing is, the GSS (gummy stove syndrome) is a cumulative effect, starting as a film, but eventually gummying up the inside body of the feeder mechanism. It gets so gummy, pellets eventually stick inside, restricting the flow of pellets to the auger, AND gummying to works to a degree that the motors can fail, etc.....cleaning the auger tube and auger wont solve the issue, as you need to clean INSIDE the mechanism......fairly tough to do, and very dirty!

 

[AbetterChimneynm]

I have seen a number of sticky stoves, and i have drilled a number of holes like the TSB says but i have never seen the auger shaft itself go bad

 

[smwilliamson]

You can make your own bypass for about $1.70 in parts. To get rid of the gummy stove you are going to want to empty the hopper, remove the auger and slide plate turn on the unit and blow torch from the hopper down while its running and burn all that stuff out.

Here is a good thread about this issue: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/harman-accentra-gummy-stove-syndrome-solution.45548/#post-906607

 

[Lousyweather]

You can make your own bypass for about $1.70 in parts. To get rid of the gummy stove you are going to want to empty the hopper, remove the auger and slide plate turn on the unit and blow torch from the hopper down while its running and burn all that stuff out.

Here is a good thread about this issue: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/harman-accentra-gummy-stove-syndrome-solution.45548/#post-906607

ermmm.....might work, but please be leery that the gummy stuff IS flammable, first of all, and secondly, so is the wiring, circuitboard, pellets, and anything in close proximity to your stove. I dont reccommend this unless you absolutely know what youre doing! When we repair a gummy unit, we DO NOT do this, rather tear into it and either replace parts, or clean them by other means.......

 

[ivanhoe]

i've been busy hot water cleaning the feeder assembly and will be installing a cross-over kit while i'm in there! i think i caught the gummy in time as there wasn't to much up the tube to feeder area so i might be ok of not doing the blow torch trick. i was using the post mentioned above for reference, good article.

 

[Lineman30]

i've been busy hot water cleaning the feeder assembly and will be installing a cross-over kit while i'm in there! i think i caught the gummy in time as there wasn't to much up the tube to feeder area so i might be ok of not doing the blow torch trick.

Just curious are you leaving the feeder body attached to the stove?