Harman P43 Cleaning

[Whitenuckler]

I had my P43 installed last Feb and ran it all winter. I have been running it all the time since. In the summer I would start it up for a couple of hours after supper to warm the basement up. I did the normal cleanings in the winter, but then didn't do much if any in the summer except the basics. The ash pan is big so it was only 3/4 full when I cleaned. Note: A member told me the fines box did not need to be cleaned except once a year. I didn't have much in there. One "new" thing I was able to do was clean into where the ESP probe is. Actually, that section is hard for me to get at from the rear. Also new was that I used "TEST" mode with only the combustion blower running. That way I didn't have the distribution fan blowing in my face. I added a control panel with switches and fuses to my unit (will post once it's presentable, it's working good). My vent pipe seems to be hard to take apart, so I did it all from the clean outs. I was not able to use the drill. I think next time I might just drag it through a few times with just the head on a rope. I forgot to do the leaf blower trick, but I can do that anytime. I wanted to remove my combustion wheel and install my spare, but the set screw did not come loose with a normal allen key. I added a dab of WD40 and have since bought a 1/4" hex socket set to try later on the next cleaning. My ash vac is a shopvac with a regular filter and bag filter (as recommended by a member). This site has been invaluable to me since I started researching stoves, and continues to be. I won't explain each picture, but I tried in most cases to take one before and after cleaning.

 

[Washed-Up]

Same way I clean my esp, just pull the front cover where the combustion fan is…

 

[bogieb]

Same way I clean my esp, just pull the front cover where the combustion fan is…

Me too.

I check the fines box to my P43 every 2-3 cleanings because it doesn't fill up very fast. The P61a is usually clean every time because it magically produces them out of the exact same pellets. However, the times I've skipped it on the P61a, I've not had any issues.

 

[shtrdave]

I pull the ESP and then I have a pull through 4" nylon I think, brush, pull it from inside to out a few times and maybe put a cloth over the brush and pull through twice. I can clean the ESP also while it is out,usually lightly with s scotch pad. Depending on your socket fit the bolt is a pain at times to get back in to place, I take a small corner of paper towel and put over the head of the bolt and stick it in the socket.

 

[Whitenuckler]

I pull the ESP and then I have a pull through 4" nylon I think, brush, pull it from inside to out a few times and maybe put a cloth over the brush and pull through twice. I can clean the ESP also while it is out,usually lightly with s scotch pad. Depending on your socket fit the bolt is a pain at times to get back in to place, I take a small corner of paper towel and put over the head of the bolt and stick it in the socket.

My main brush for cleaning is probably like yours. It came as a kit with the screw together rods. I used that for my 4 inch stove pipe. Yes that would probably be perfect to slide through the square part inside the stove. This time around I didn't take my back cover off so I didn't remove the probe. If I had I could have ran the brush through from the front of the stove all the way to my clean out in back. What I did this time was to get a bottle cleaning brush and cable-tie the handle onto a piece of 1/2 pex to extend the handle. The brush is about an inch or so wide and I used it to carefully clean all the way to the back and the probe as well. Then I was able to insert my shop vac hose in very carefully under the probe and all the way to the back. The probe appears to be mounted in the upper part of the "tunnel" so there was enough room. They way you did it is best. I will need to do that myself and clean my blowers. It's hard for me as it's a corner install and I don't want to move the stove out.