Harman not auto starting or feeding

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Marsha Cook

Member
Nov 17, 2013
78
NH
I am a newbie. Harman 61A was working fine when I left home. Got home five hours later. Stove was out. Was set on auto, so I thought it was warm enough. But it never came back on.

I turned it off, started again. Fed loads of pellets but no fire. Cleaned out excess pellets, started it manually. Now nothing is feeding.

Think I am in trouble but wanted to check with you folks. By the way, I am new but the stove came with the house so I don't know how old it is. Was clean when I got it and has been great until tonight.

Thanks for your thoughts
 
How many blinks on the status light? Could be your feed motor and/ or an igniter. You can check to make sure your pellets aren't bridged in the hopper also.
 
Status light on steady, no blinking. Just put 40# in the hopper! hate the thought of taking them out!
 
It may be build up of ash/scale on the ignitor that needs to be cleaned off (tapping on the burnpot may which may prevent the pellets from igniting. I've had this happen on my XXV where the pellets will feed, but don't ignite. Be sure to unplug the stove before doing this. Unplugging the stove may also reset the control box if something is locked up. Below is a page out of your manual.

[Hearth.com] Harman not auto starting or feeding
 
Hello neighbor

Where are you located?


I worked on an Accentra today with a stuck flapper valve in the air inlet tube. I put the shop vac on blow and blew it into the air inlet tube and then the stove started up fine.

You may want to lube the flapper valve hinge with WD-40.

Also make sure youur ignitor is getting hot when starting up and make sure the area under the burnpot is clear of ash. Please let us know what happened.
 
I am in Sullivan NH, near Keene.

Thanks for your suggestions but they are over my head!

I have emptied the hopper and can find no block. I see the igniter getting red, so I think that is OK. There is no sound of the feeder going so I am going to bet it is my feeder motor.

Real pain as that is my source of heat. My backup propane system is being installed next Thursday !

Any recommendations for repair around Keene?

Thanks
 
I am in Sullivan NH, near Keene.

Thanks for your suggestions but they are over my head!

I have emptied the hopper and can find no block. I see the igniter getting red, so I think that is OK. There is no sound of the feeder going so I am going to bet it is my feeder motor.

Real pain as that is my source of heat. My backup propane system is being installed next Thursday !

Any recommendations for repair around Keene?

Thanks

The feeder motor stops when you open the fire door. If you put the feed rate knob on test, then you can open the fire door and see if the auger is turning.
 
Well, I have no idea what has been going on this evening.

I put it on TEST, all the motors were working. So I took it off test, put it on auto and Voila! It now appears to be working. Something in my poking and prodding must have undone a blockage or maybe TEST did it, but I am getting heat.

Thanks so much for all your suggestions!
 
For future reference....Heartline Stove Shop in Jaffrey 532-4513. Don't know of any closer dealers. I know they do service up in Marlow, not too far from you.
 
If you can locate the part, it's really easy to swap out. Take the back panels off, you'll see the auger motor sitting on the shaft. Unplug the two leads, loosen the bolt that locks it to the shaft and slip it off. It looks intimidating back there. But once you look at everything and see how it works and where it's located, it's pretty easy stuff. Plus it will help down the road identifying future problems if any.
 
Well, I have no idea what has been going on this evening.

I put it on TEST, all the motors were working. So I took it off test, put it on auto and Voila! It now appears to be working. Something in my poking and prodding must have undone a blockage or maybe TEST did it, but I am getting heat.

Thanks so much for all your suggestions!
Put the stove on manual and leave it so the stove will go into idle mode and not try and shut down till you have your backup. A lot of run our stove this way 24/7 most of the winter and save on the igniter.
 
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I am in Sullivan NH, near Keene.

Thanks for your suggestions but they are over my head!

I have emptied the hopper and can find no block. I see the igniter getting red, so I think that is OK. There is no sound of the feeder going so I am going to bet it is my feeder motor.

Real pain as that is my source of heat. My backup propane system is being installed next Thursday !

Any recommendations for repair around Keene?

Thanks
If the ignitor is getting red and the pellets aren't igniting, perhaps the heat from the ignitor isn't getting to the pellets and it may just be the burn pot area needs a bit of cleaning as in my post above. On my XXV I've sometimes taken the cover off where the ignitor is located and either used a soft bristled brush to brush off the ignitor or used an ash vac to clean it out.
 
If you can locate the part, it's really easy to swap out. Take the back panels off, you'll see the auger motor sitting on the shaft. Unplug the two leads, loosen the bolt that locks it to the shaft and slip it off. It looks intimidating back there. But once you look at everything and see how it works and where it's located, it's pretty easy stuff. Plus it will help down the road identifying future problems if any.

Thanks. I am going to give it a look the next time I shut down.
 
Still working great tonight. I will keep it on manual just in case. Good idea.
 
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