Harman P61A Burnpot Ash

[Whimpster]

Hello Folks,

First of all I would like to complement the moderator of this site and all who contribute to the very informative answers to a lot of questions !
This forum has been a great help to me as I'm a first time owner of a pellet stove, model Harman P61-A.
My question is what should I be getting for an ash edge in my burnpot....manual states about an inch of ash at the outer edge,mine seems to be about 3 to 4 inches at times after it's been running for a few hours?
I'm getting good heat burning approx 1 to 1.5 bags every 24 hrs, still playing with settings and learning how the stove works.Any help with settings or tips would be great if you could pass on......I'm just like a new sponge or a kid in a candy store!!

Thanks again,
Whimpster

 

[IIFAST4U]

I don't have a Harmen and I am still new to Pellets. My stove does not get 3" of ash in a week of burning. I know some of the pro's around here will ask which type of pellets are you burning?


Shawn

 

[Whimpster]

Hi Shawn,

I'm using a premium softwood pellet called Eastern Embers made in Nova Scotia Canada.
I'd like to know your secret....(3” of ash in a week of burning) wow!

Ash......less then 0.5%
fines....less then 0.5%
100od no glues or binders.
BTU's rating 8700 per lb.

 

[IIFAST4U]

No secret, Using barefoot premium hardwood pellets. At night we turn it up to medium (3), daytime it's on low (1). Now its getting even warmer here so I may put it on (1) all the time. I know its not the most efficent setting but any higher and its too hot in the house for me.

As for your ash I really cannot help much more than that? did you check your manual and the troubleshooting pages?

Ask your dealer?


Shawn

 

[wwburning]

Hello. What are your settings ie feed rate, temp set, fan speed etc...? Do you have outside air? What is your vent pipe set up ?

 

[Dougsey]

Whimpster, Adjust your feed rate so that you get a minimum of 1" of ash at the front of the burn pot. This is just to prevent unburned pellets from going over the edge. Don't worry if you have more ash when you're burning at less than max.

A feed rate of about 4 should be about right.

 

[Whimpster]

Hello,
Thanks for the fast response my settings are,feed rate is set at 3 the temp set at 75, fan speed in the middle of L and H stove is set to auto and room temp probe is on the floor about 4 feet to the right of stove.
Also getting air from inside of the home no outside air intake and running 4"vent pipe from the stove to the outside of home.
The stove is in a finished basement with and open stairwell to the next living area.
I'll try a feed rating of 4 and see if helps.

Thanks again

 

[mkmh]

Hi Whimpster,

I have P61A as well. It has been a great stove for me. Your ash level on those settings sounds pretty consistent with what I see with mine. I usually scrape the excess ash out once every 24 hours, mainly because I don't like the look of it...and I take the opportunity to scrape out any hard deposits at the same time.
I'd recommend testing teh stove out with the distribution blower on a higher setting and see if the ash accumulates more slowly. When I use a lower feedrate coupled with a higher blower rate it appears that the ash doesn't build up as fast.

The key is that you're getting good heat, so i'm not sure i'd be too worried about the ash.
Enjoy the stove!

 

[Dougsey]

Make sure you're in Stove Temp mode and the temp and blower controls are maxed when you set your feed rate.

From manual:

Setting the feed adjuster # for maximum burn: With the unit
burning in "AUTO", turn to "Stove Mode" and put the fan on "H".
Set the Temperature Dial to #7. Allow the unit to burn for about
30 minutes and check ash on front of burn pot. Fig. 4. If the ash
line is larger than 1", turn the feed adjuster from #4 to #5. Allow
another 30 minutes of burn time and check again. If , at #6
setting, a 1" or less ash bed is not obtainable, it is not a problem.
The 1" ash bed is only a maximum burn rate and at most
normal settings the ash bed will be larger.

My stove almost never runs at the max feed rate... only if the stove has been off and the temp is a few degrees below set point.

 

[wwburning]

I would totally agree with the 3 previous posters. I also have my feed rate @ 4. I also "knock off" the ash and give a little scrape once daily. Be sure to tap the burn pot afew times to also knock any fly ash off the igniter.