harman heat exchanger buildup?

[mepellet]

First year owning the stove so I guess I am just asking if this is normal ir not. As a part of my weekly cleaning I use a 2" paintbrush and brush the heat exchanger. I don't do any scraping. The picture below is how it currently looks after doing the weekly cleaning a short time ago. There appears to be some sort of buildup. Is that normal? Thanks.

 

[newf lover]

That's normal, depending on the pellet you are burning. When I burned NEWP, that's what mine looked like. I would use a 1" putty knife to get more off. I don't get that much buildup with the Turman and most of it comes off by just using a paintbrush. I would think it would burn more efficiently with less buildup.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

A slightly damp cloth might remove most of that, give it a try.

 

[Defiant]

Use the devil's tail scraper that comes with the stove. It is shaped to fit in the exchanger grooves.

 

[fmsm]

I use a brush attachment on my pellet vac to clean the tubes on my Whitfield. It does a great job.

 

[DAKSY]

Use the devil's tail scraper that comes with the stove. It is shaped to fit in the exchanger grooves.

+1. That's what it's for. We did a test on a floor model (P61A),
where we placed a magnetic thermo over the distribution outlets
prior to scraping the heat exchanger (H/E) & the air temps were about
250°F...I scraped the H/E & the air temps went to 310°F. Get ALL
the buildup off the H/E & you'll be just that much warmer.
YMMV

 

[fmsm]

Use the devil's tail scraper that comes with the stove. It is shaped to fit in the exchanger grooves.

+1. That's what it's for. We did a test on a floor model (P61A),
where we placed a magnetic thermo over the distribution outlets
prior to scraping the heat exchanger (H/E) & the air temps were about
250°F...I scraped the H/E & the air temps went to 310°F. Get ALL
the buildup off the H/E & you'll be just that much warmer.

Any tips other than a putty knife/scraper for a P35i that only has a flat plate?

 

[jmart]

mepellet,
That's what my heat exchangers look like also. When the stove is hot, I use the Harman tool like Defiant mentioned and it takes it right off.

I know you didn't ask but i'd like to add:
When the stove is cooled for cleaning, I vacuum all I can with the brush attachment and then I use an assortment of poly-type
brushes (toilet bowl) to do the final cleaning--. there is a good selection of these out there.
I place the vacuum hose at the opening and the "test mode" function is on when I use the brushes. It does a very nice job!

 

[mepellet]

I haven't used the end of the tool that is shaped for this purpose because I tried once (early on when the stove was brand new and didn't have this amount of buildup) and noticed that about an inch or so from the bottom of the heat exhchanger bends there are some small "clumps" of metal from the heat exchanger. You can't make them out in the original photo so I have uploaded a revise photo below that shows where they are. It almost looks like they may be a result of the bending process to make the accordian shape. Therefore the tool does not fit perfectly in the heat exchanger because of these small protrusions. Perhaps it works well enough though. I will try tonight.

 

[thedak]

1" putty knife and wet cloth.

Get to scraping.

 

[mepellet]

1" putty knife and wet cloth.

Get to scraping.

I am starting to think that this will be a part of my monthly cleaning routine. I have burned just over 2 tons and it might be 1/16" thick in the brown areas. Probably more in the range of 1/32" Looks more in the picture than it actually is.

 

[DAKSY]

1" putty knife and wet cloth.

Get to scraping.

I am starting to think that this will be a part of my monthly cleaning routine. I have burned just over 2 tons and it might be 1/16" thick in the brown areas. Probably more in the range of 1/32" Looks more in the picture than it actually is.

MONTHLY? I scrape mine once or twice WEEKLY.

 

[thedak]

MONTHLY? I scrape mine once or twice WEEKLY.

I bet you're retired..

 

[mepellet]

1" putty knife and wet cloth.

Get to scraping.

I am starting to think that this will be a part of my monthly cleaning routine. I have burned just over 2 tons and it might be 1/16" thick in the brown areas. Probably more in the range of 1/32" Looks more in the picture than it actually is.

MONTHLY? I scrape mine once or twice WEEKLY.

I brush off the heat exchangers each week with a paintbrush. If the harman tool gets everything off (doubt it will because of the bumps) I will use the tool weekly after brushing because it shouldn't take much effort/time. But by no means am I getting in there weekly with a puttty knife and wet cloth weekly let alone twice a week. That's nuts.

 

[DAKSY]

MONTHLY? I scrape mine once or twice WEEKLY.

I bet you're retired..

Nope, work a full time job, & I do side jobs week nights & weekends
for extra $$$ (Divorce will do that to you.)
I'm nearly 60 & want to keep my house as warm as I can.
It takes a whole 30 seconds to scrape the burnpot & the heat exchanger,
so why NOT do it?

 

[mepellet]

MONTHLY? I scrape mine once or twice WEEKLY.

I bet you're retired..

Nope, work a full time job, & I do side jobs week nights & weekends
for extra $$$ (Divorce will do that to you.)
I'm nearly 60 & want to keep my house as warm as I can.
It takes a whole 30 seconds to scrape the burnpot & the heat exchanger,
so why NOT do it?

Ok you are talking about scraping with the tool that came with the stove. Like I said, IF it works good enough for me I will do it weekly. But I was talking about getting in there with a putty knife and wet rag. I won't be doing the putty knife thing weekly. That's for sure. Doesn't effect the heat output enough for me to be doing that much work on my weekly cleanings. I will still just use a paintbrush and brush the heat exchangers.

 

[thedak]

It takes a whole 30 seconds to scrape the burnpot & the heat exchanger,
so why NOT do it?

I keep mine clean that way but I only scrape with a putty knife about twice a month.

 

[pfmaloney]

I bought a detail brush kit from Pep Boys for $5. It includes a stainless steel brush that does a great job cleaning the recessed sections of the heat exchange walls.
The brushes are similiar in size to a tooth brush.

Carrand Grip-Tech Combo Detail Brush Kit
Deluxe Detail Brush Set
Soft Nylon brush for hard to reach areas
Tough Brass for cleaning rush, spark plugs and batteries
Stainless Steel for Body and bumper rust

 

[mepellet]

I bought a detail brush kit from Pep Boys for $5. It includes a stainless steel brush that does a great job cleaning the recessed sections of the heat exchange walls.
The brushes are similiar in size to a tooth brush.

Carrand Grip-Tech Combo Detail Brush Kit
Deluxe Detail Brush Set
Soft Nylon brush for hard to reach areas
Tough Brass for cleaning rush, spark plugs and batteries
Stainless Steel for Body and bumper rust

Thanks for mentioning that. I have a similar brush. Not sure of the bristle material but it is real stiff. Any type of bristle that we should not be using on the inside of a stove? Just don't want to aid in the formation of rust.

 

[thedak]

Thanks for mentioning that. I have a similar brush. Not sure of the bristle material but it is real stiff.

Any type of bristle that we should not be using on the inside of a stove? Just don't want to aid in the formation of rust.

I also use a brass bristle brush on my yearly cleanings.