Harman p38+ Distribution Motor

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.

breed5577

New Member
Nov 7, 2014
28
Northern, NJ
I notice when my stove is burning hot on cold days that the distribution fan will shut off for a few minutes then restart. I'm wondering if the ESP shuts it off when the stove reaches a certain temp.
 
Once your stove is up to temp to kick the dist. blower on it should remain running. Have you cleaned the ESP? How old is your stove?
 
The stove is 7 year old and very clean. I just upgraded to the new circuit board but the old one did the same. The ESP is new too. It's not like it cycles on and off continually but occasionally the Dist Blower will shut off for just a few minutes. Stange
 
The dist fan could be hitting thermal overload, cooling off then restarting. I assume these fans are thermally protected.

Check for voltage going to the fan if possible when it is occurring. This will help point to if its the dist fan itself, of if the the control board is telling the fan to shut off for some reason.
Given the new board, I would suspect the dist fan itself.
 
Have you blown the dist motor itself out? Dust gets in the windings and blocks the cooling airflow, so the internal overtemp switch opens. When the motor cools off, the switch closes, and the motor runs until it gets too hot again.
Note I refer to the motor itself, not the fan blades.

I use shop air once a year on all my motors, and a noticeable amount of dust comes out. I bought my stove used, and the first time I did the dist blower motor, I got a very large cloud of dust out of it. Good thing I was outdoors!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lake Girl
I think the above two are onto something. I went thru my used PC45 and pulled almost everything apart. The dist. blower was a year old and had been replaced. Seller had the dated receipt. It was working a little off kilter I thought but it worked. It was packed full of dust and junk I was set back by how much junk was in and on it. Once all back together it runs like new. Worth checking out. Not sure how many years people are getting out of the blowers.
 
I agree with all the above. I do blow out the motors with air once a year. The Dist Blower has always run hot. I bet it's close to the end.
 
Hopefully it holds out for you for this cold crap.
 
Hopefully it holds out for you for this cold crap.

Best thing I ever did was size a K&N air filter to the intake side of my dist blower. Got rid of most all the dust issues. Problem is, I still have to clean the filter monthly but it makes life easier for the wife too, things get less dusty. A Fram works too btw. I happen to sell K&N so I run what I sell.
 
Best thing I ever did was size a K&N air filter to the intake side of my dist blower. Got rid of most all the dust issues. Problem is, I still have to clean the filter monthly but it makes life easier for the wife too, things get less dusty. A Fram works too btw. I happen to sell K&N so I run what I sell.
That's a pretty good idea. Does it restrict the air volume much? I run K&N's on my stuff. Got it for about $12 more than OEM replacement on my Duramax. No brainer there.
 
As Sidecar said, you have to maintain the filter to prevent problems. YMMV depending on whether you have pets;lol I have noticed an increase in fur balls for the latest addition which my daughter brought home with her - luckily the distribution blower on the Elena is about half way up the cabinet so these haven't found their way there.
Survival of the cutiest, Silver, rescue survivor!
 

Attachments

  • Christmas 2014 043 (800x533).jpg
    Christmas 2014 043 (800x533).jpg
    37.6 KB · Views: 77
That cat is a dust bunny on paws.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lake Girl
I would pull the fan and get a high pressure air hose to the motor windings pronto. Sunset is a few minutes away.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bags
As Sidecar said, you have to maintain the filter to prevent problems. YMMV depending on whether you have pets;lol I have noticed an increase in fur balls for the latest addition which my daughter brought home with her - luckily the distribution blower on the Elena is about half way up the cabinet so these haven't found their way there.
Survival of the cutiest, Silver, rescue survivor!

Very nice.... we have a number of them in various lengths (of hair) as well as 2 pups, a Lab and a Coon Hound so the K&N is a necessary evil on the air intake and it works really well.

I started out with a Fram from Autozone (after measuring the intake vortex o9n the blower and the space between the intake on the blower and the side wall of the stove and using the Fram website sized a filter according to their dimensions and it worked well but, because it's a dry, pleated paper filter, it oaded up pretty quick and reduced the airflow to the point where the HX was tripping my high limit so, I went with a K&N because the K&N flows way better than the fram ever could. I still have to clean it about twice a month (which involves taking it outside and blowing it off with an air hose and yearly, washing it and reoiling it but it sure cut down on the dust (and the hair blowing around).

Maintenance is still key. You can't install an iar filter on the RA intake and forget about it, don't work that way and, it has to become a part of your cleaning regimen. It certainly cut down on the dust thyat accumulates in the cabinet and on the motors. It will never be a nice atmosphere in the stove cabinet but it's better without the dust being continually sucked in.
 
I would pull the fan and get a high pressure air hose to the motor windings pronto. Sunset is a few minutes away.

+100 on that and it's gonna be a long COLD night in the USA.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.