Harman p61a help please

[xjarcher]

As above, P61a well cleaned and maintained. As of a week ago my burn times for a bag of pellets is down from 11-12 hours to 8 hours. Same heat output and same pellets we have used for two seasons. Good quality hardwood pellet. Stove looks to be working as normal but feeds really often, no unburned/partially burned pellets. Temps are not cold enough to warrant such speed (usually below zero will. It's 28 today and bag 1 was gone in 8 hours) I have used 1/2 ton in 10 days, normally takes two weeks.
I am wondering if the temp probe is bad? how do I test that? Other things to look at before I spend $$$$ to have the service guy hook the diagnostic module to it.

Thanks!

 

[Lousyweather]

no good way to test the probe......Im guessing you are running in room temp mode? WHen it gets very cold, try running in stove temp, switching back to room temp when its slightly warmer. If you have no partially burned/unburned pellets, the laws of physics apply.....the heat derived from the combustion of the pellets is going somewhere....if not transferred to the room via the heat exchanger, then its being pumped out the exhaust. The only time this tends to happen is when the heat exchanger becomes too dirty.

 

[xjarcher]

no good way to test the probe......Im guessing you are running in room temp mode? WHen it gets very cold, try running in stove temp, switching back to room temp when its slightly warmer. If you have no partially burned/unburned pellets, the laws of physics apply.....the heat derived from the combustion of the pellets is going somewhere....if not transferred to the room via the heat exchanger, then its being pumped out the exhaust. The only time this tends to happen is when the heat exchanger becomes too dirty.

Hmm. Stove isn't excessively dirty, I've burned just under 1 ton since a complete cleaning. The stove is in room temp now. I generally leave it there. Note: I just examined the probe and gave the end a slight squeeze and the stove stopped feeding as if it suddenly discovered what the temp was. ? It's back to operation now. Sounds like it's time for a new temp probe. How much are they?

 

[Lousyweather]

25 bucks or so....

 

[xjarcher]

Called local dealer, $15 for a temp probe. No biggie there. Just for kicks is there any way to test an ESP?

 

[Lousyweather]

other than owning a DDM, no, I do not think so. And 15 bucks is dirt cheap for a Harman room sensing probe.

 

[xjarcher]

Didn't hear me complaining about the price.
I kind of want one of those DDM's wonder where a guy could "find" one of those?

 

[Lousyweather]

Didn't hear me complaining about the price.
I kind of want one of those DDM's wonder where a guy could "find" one of those?

from your friendly local Harman dealer, of course! Around these parts, they go for $350-$400, but maybe your dealer might be cheaper? It is a handy tool to have, unfortunately it is totally useless except on later model year harman stoves........its nice because it tells you what your settings are, circuit board settings, actual ESP temperature, RSP temp, voltage going to combustion fan, etc......but, not cheap.

 

[mepellet]

I'd love to see all the temps but can't see paying more than $100 for it.

 

[xjarcher]

^ ^ ^ ^^^^^ I agree, give you $100 that's plenty enough. I've seen one used. I know someone who could make one if he could get his hands on one for an hour or two.

 

[lbcynya]

^ ^ ^ ^^^^^ I agree, give you $100 that's plenty enough. I've seen one used. I know someone who could make one if he could get his hands on one for an hour or two.

Where abouts are you in W MI? I have a DMM... PM me with your whereabouts.

 

[mepellet]

^ ^ ^ ^^^^^ I agree, give you $100 that's plenty enough. I've seen one used. I know someone who could make one if he could get his hands on one for an hour or two.

Where abouts are you in W MI? I have a DMM... PM me with your whereabouts.

hahaha I almost wrote a post saying that maybe you could lend him yours during the summer.

 

[subsailor]

If you've burned a ton since you last cleaned your heat exchanger, that could be the problem. I see a noticeable difference if I go 2 weeks without cleaning mine.

 

[xjarcher]

I've gone 1.5 ton (extenuating circumstances) before cleaning without any loss of performance. It seems to be behaving much better since I grabbed the temp probe. I think I'll pick up another one this weekend and see if that makes a difference. I'll keep everyone posted. I've had the stove for about 6 years, guess it's time for a new part or two.

 

[Lineman30]

As above, P61a well cleaned and maintained. As of a week ago my burn times for a bag of pellets is down from 11-12 hours to 8 hours. Same heat output and same pellets we have used for two seasons. Good quality hardwood pellet. Stove looks to be working as normal but feeds really often, no unburned/partially burned pellets. Temps are not cold enough to warrant such speed (usually below zero will. It's 28 today and bag 1 was gone in 8 hours) I have used 1/2 ton in 10 days, normally takes two weeks.
I am wondering if the temp probe is bad? how do I test that? Other things to look at before I spend $$$$ to have the service guy hook the diagnostic module to it.

Thanks!

Since the topic is about the room sensor i was wondering does your stove ever shut off when its on room temp? Mine runs all the time even if its 60 degrees outside and 75 inside. I have it set bout 73 or so. the stove is just setting in idle mode. If i barely touch the sensor the stove will shut off. I have mine extented 10ft from the stove and attached behind a chair and about 3 foot off the ground. So is that a sign of a worn out room sensor?

 

[xjarcher]

Since the topic is about the room sensor i was wondering does your stove ever shut off when its on room temp? Mine runs all the time even if its 60 degrees outside and 75 inside. I have it set bout 73 or so. the stove is just setting in idle mode. If i barely touch the sensor the stove will shut off. I have mine extented 10ft from the stove and attached behind a chair and about 3 foot off the ground. So is that a sign of a worn out room sensor?

It doesn't shut off as it's in the basement and it's rather cool down there. If it's really warm 60's ish it will just sit there at idle waiting for an opportunity to get going. I have it about 4 feet away from the stove and also behind a chair. I would take a look at a new sensor. Small price to pay to make sure. I will be doing the same thing. If you are keeping it at 73 and it's 75 it should be at idle. Try opening a window near it and see what happens.

 

[Harman Lover 007]

Since the topic is about the room sensor i was wondering does your stove ever shut off when its on room temp? Mine runs all the time even if its 60 degrees outside and 75 inside. I have it set bout 73 or so. the stove is just setting in idle mode. If i barely touch the sensor the stove will shut off. I have mine extented 10ft from the stove and attached behind a chair and about 3 foot off the ground. So is that a sign of a worn out room sensor?

It doesn't shut off as it's in the basement and it's rather cool down there. If it's really warm 60's ish it will just sit there at idle waiting for an opportunity to get going. I have it about 4 feet away from the stove and also behind a chair. I would take a look at a new sensor. Small price to pay to make sure. I will be doing the same thing. If you are keeping it at 73 and it's 75 it should be at idle. Try opening a window near it and see what happens.

I think you both may have temp probe issues. You are running with the ignitor switch in Auto, correct???

 

[Harman Lover 007]

Sorry...double post...first time for everything.

 

[xjarcher]

Auto ignition here!

 

[Lineman30]

Since the topic is about the room sensor i was wondering does your stove ever shut off when its on room temp? Mine runs all the time even if its 60 degrees outside and 75 inside. I have it set bout 73 or so. the stove is just setting in idle mode. If i barely touch the sensor the stove will shut off. I have mine extented 10ft from the stove and attached behind a chair and about 3 foot off the ground. So is that a sign of a worn out room sensor?

It doesn't shut off as it's in the basement and it's rather cool down there. If it's really warm 60's ish it will just sit there at idle waiting for an opportunity to get going. I have it about 4 feet away from the stove and also behind a chair. I would take a look at a new sensor. Small price to pay to make sure. I will be doing the same thing. If you are keeping it at 73 and it's 75 it should be at idle. Try opening a window near it and see what happens.

I think you both may have temp probe issues. You are running with the ignitor switch in Auto, correct???

Yes i'm also running auto. I bought the stove used and the pervious owner had it lying on the floor to read the temp. So who really knows how its been treated. But would love for it to cycle on warm days rather than idle all day long without needing to rev up for heat.

 

[Harman Lover 007]

Since the topic is about the room sensor i was wondering does your stove ever shut off when its on room temp? Mine runs all the time even if its 60 degrees outside and 75 inside. I have it set bout 73 or so. the stove is just setting in idle mode. If i barely touch the sensor the stove will shut off. I have mine extented 10ft from the stove and attached behind a chair and about 3 foot off the ground. So is that a sign of a worn out room sensor?

It doesn't shut off as it's in the basement and it's rather cool down there. If it's really warm 60's ish it will just sit there at idle waiting for an opportunity to get going. I have it about 4 feet away from the stove and also behind a chair. I would take a look at a new sensor. Small price to pay to make sure. I will be doing the same thing. If you are keeping it at 73 and it's 75 it should be at idle. Try opening a window near it and see what happens.

I think you both may have temp probe issues. You are running with the ignitor switch in Auto, correct???

Yes i'm also running auto. I bought the stove used and the pervious owner had it lying on the floor to read the temp. So who really knows how its been treated. But would love for it to cycle on warm days rather than idle all day long without needing to rev up for heat.

As you both probably know, when a Harman stove reaches the set point in Room Temp Auto on mild days it should throttle back and shut off. On colder days it might not do that since it may call for heat before it can shut down. I'm really suspect of your temp probes....

 

[Lineman30]

It doesn't shut off as it's in the basement and it's rather cool down there. If it's really warm 60's ish it will just sit there at idle waiting for an opportunity to get going. I have it about 4 feet away from the stove and also behind a chair. I would take a look at a new sensor. Small price to pay to make sure. I will be doing the same thing. If you are keeping it at 73 and it's 75 it should be at idle. Try opening a window near it and see what happens.[/quote]

I think you both may have temp probe issues. You are running with the ignitor switch in Auto, correct???[/quote]


Yes i'm also running auto. I bought the stove used and the pervious owner had it lying on the floor to read the temp. So who really knows how its been treated. But would love for it to cycle on warm days rather than idle all day long without needing to rev up for heat.[/quote]

As you both probably know, when a Harman stove reaches the set point in Room Temp Auto on mild days it should throttle back and shut off. On colder days it might not do that since it may call for heat before it can shut down. I'm really suspect of your temp probes....[/quote]


I kinda figuring my probe might be semi bad. But I do know if I put it behind the stove it will shut down. Alot of that is radiant heat coming off the stove. Like I've stated before since I've put the stove in service it's never shut off on room temp auto.

 

[ironpony]

or a possible variation in pellets
I have this same issue this year, with the one ton I am burning now
I have 22 tons of Somersets and all have burned flawlessly
this last ton has used more for the same heat
I verified this by opening another ton and using that, went back to normal usage
I am finishing up the "bad " ton being it is warmer than normal out
no visibly noticable difference in the pellets,flame just usage