Harman help

[pete]

I am new to this forum and to pellet stoves. I just recently installed a used Harman Advance. Vents vertically inside seven feet before exiting through wall. I did the install myself and also gave the stove the prescribed cleaning. Ran six bags through it with no problems other than a very noisy feed motor. Awoke to find the stove out and the status light blinking five times. Resetting would not restart stove. When I put it in test mode all lights come on but only the distribution motor cycles on and off but combustion and feed motors will not come on. Could my problem be a fuse or worse the circuit board? Would the esp probe or low draft pressure switch cause the feed and combustion motor from starting.
Thanks
Pete

 

[GVA]

5 blinks should be failure to start..
6 Blinks is the stove ran out of pellets or has incomplete combustion.
I'm throwing this to the top for HB or the other dealers to help.
But while we are waiting.......
Draft switch will only shut down the ignitor and feed motor. but with no combustion blower you will have no draft and thus no ignitor and feed motor.
Just a guess it could be either the comb blower or the board. Easy enough to check, the motors on Harmans are 120vac you could plug the motor to the wall and see if it works if yes I'd lean towards the board.
Or it could be just a loose wire or connection.
The combustion blower should run all the time until the stove is shut down and has cooled to a certain temp..... It is the most worked motor on the stove.
How old an Advance is it? look at the tag on the back does it say "Advance 2"?
oops!
Welcome to the forum and post your location.

 

[pete]

Thanks for the input. I called a Harman dealer up today and he also suggested connecting the motors up to an extension cord. I disconnected both the feed motor and the combustion blower from the units harness and tested them individually. The results were neither would run only hum. I then tested the blower just to see if this method would in fact work and it ran fine. Looks like maybe the noisy feed motor gave up and took the combustion blower with it? I drove from Peterborough Ontario to Ohio ( 7 hrs) to purchase this stove as it was such a great deal guess not. The only markings on the stove say that the test date was June 1999 and Model Advance the serial number GL 000356. Hope to replace both motors soon to see if it solves the problem.
It could turn out to be costly to replace each component at a time to remedy the problem.

 

[GVA]

Not likley that the auger motor would take out the comb blower.
wonderin' though the auger motor would hum but wouldn't turn?
Even the fan blade on the back? If this is the case did you disconnect the chain from the feed motor?
The auger motor when it fails it usually snaps a gear inside but the rotor will still turn just the output shaft will not turn.
On the auger motor take your finger and spin the little white fan it should turn 1-2 turns.
The comb blower take the ashpan off and remove the blower cover..... Spin this fan blade does it turn freely?
Most of the dealers I think have gone to Reno for the trade show but they will most likley visit here the next couple of days. I'll try to help walk you through some of the things to check besides what I've allready mentioned......
Couple of things, the parts for this stove really are not that pricey.... Most motors are about 70 bucks each... control board probably less than $100.
Your stove is one of the older ones it's like the grandfather of the more recent Advance stoves. But still can be repaired and Harry Back, Jim Kelt, and Stovemanken Are the resident Harman GODS, Hopefully they will monitor this while in Reno.

 

[pete]

I will try what you suggested as I didn't remove the chain. Just out of curiosity I priced a new control board and the dealer quoted me $350. Only in Canada EH! If I need parts I may order from the US or cross the border as it would be worth the drive it seems. Will keep you up to date as I try again.
Thanks
pete

 

[pete]

Hi Master of Fire

I did what you suggested and removed the chain and bingo the motor turns. I then took the ash pan out and removed the blower cover. Put power to it and it still would not run so I tried to turn it manually and it was stiff. It freed up and after each time I put power to it the darn thing would stiffen up again. Finally after spinning it the power was able to turn it. My wife noticed one of the flue baffles not quite seated correctly so I removed the flame guide and brick panel and corrected the gap that was created from improper installation. One note when I put the small gear back onto the shaft I noticed about a 1/8 shaft play. I moved the sprocket out a bit to align the chain. Turned the stove on and she now is running and even a little bit quieter than before but I think some of the noise is vibration from the rear shield covers. So far it seems to be running good but its only been 1/2hr. I may in the future still replace the feed motor as that in and out play may not be right. Glad I found this forum and my wife and I thank you for all your help. Is their a good dealerto order parts from, should I require a motor etc in the future, that would ship to Canada? Thanks again
Pete

 

[GVA]

First it's good to hear that it,s back up and running.
For parts you are out of warranty so I'm sure any harman dealer will hook you up and send you parts.
The gear motor......... Well the bronze bushing on the output shaft works it way out of the housing and this allows the shaft to have that in and out play. Not a huge deal but it will allow the spur gear on the inside to wear quickly because the teeth aren't meshed fully and it will fail........ Yes it will fail.. trust me.....
It could last another year but it will probably break on you in the middle of the night or on a weekend and leave you cold.
So I would order one and keep it handy.
I have a spare gear motor here because of it breaking on a saturday at 6PM and there wasn't a dealer around that was open on sunday...

When you removed the chain could you turn the auger by hand? Was it easy?
If you look at the back there is a horseshoe shaped cam and there is a cam follower on the auger sprocket that moves this cam (this cam controls the slide plate)
The point of highest resistance on this is when the cam follower passes the mid point of this cam and starts to close the slide plate, usually on some pellets.
Have you checked the slide plate access cover for excess fines?
This spring pop back in and you'll see more tips on cleaning it and getting it ready for next year.
Until then...
follow this between every 25-50 bags of pellets (broken link removed to http://www.harmanstoves.com/maintenance/advancecleaninginstructions.pdf)
good luck.

 

[pete]

I did remove the access cover when I did the initial cleaning as per the Harman site but I did not remove the slide plate itself. It was about half full of fines. While I had the small sprocket off I pulled the chain and the auger seemed to turn with no problem. I will be getting that spare motor and will keep my eyes peeled for the spring maintenance tips.
Cheers
Pete

 

[mrbean1025]

I don't know if this will help you but I hope it will. I have a Harmon XXV that fails to ignite occasionally because it is not feeding pellets to the auger. I have to physically reach into the hopper with my hand and mix the pellets as though to loosen them enough to go to the auger. They then properly resuting in the ignition. This has become a regular occurence for me mostly after waking in the morning to a very cold home. Good Luck and I will watch to see if you find another fix as it may help with my problem.

 

[pete]

I think the main reason it stopped running was due to the baffles not correctly being seated and allowing ash to build up in the combustion blower area which resulted in the fan binding up. On a different note I tried to adjust the low draft with the use of a gauge as I thought the amount of sparks and blue flame colour may not be correct and that it needed to be turned down. I tried in the test mode but could not hear the fan change speed and the adjustment was already turned fully counter clockwise. The meter went right off the scale. I then put the stove in auto and manual mode and turn the adjustment and in both modes I could hear the motor increase and decrease but the meter still was off the scale. At the base of the flame it looks blue like a natural gas flame and the flame also sparks and throws the odd hot pellet out of the burn pot area. What should the flame look like as I think it should be a bit lazier and not so brisk?