Harman P61A starting issue

[jertola]

Yesterday I woke up to a cold house with pellets overflowing on my P61A. It wasn’t super cold so I had been running on room temp mode. I figured the stove was just direty so I went and did a full cleaning on it. I did get the stove to start but it’s struggling. The burn pot was actually starting to drop pellets into the ash pan before a small flame caught on the left side. I had to clear the mound of pellets to keep the flame from choking out because they were completely covering the air holes. Once I cleared the excess pellets and the stove was up and running, everything was normal. I figured maybe the fins of the starter were clogged, so I shut it down and used my air compressor duster to blow out between the fins and tried it again with the same result. I’m going to stop on my way home from work and buy some different pellets but I’ve been running these Greene Teams all season with no issue. Is it possible for the igniter to heat the pellets, but just not get hot enough to light them in time? Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks everyone.

 

[DAKSY]

Check the gasket on your fines box. My P43 exhibited the same problems
& that was the issue. Unfortunately, you have to buy the cover with the gasket as a set.

 

[jertola]

Check the gasket on your fines box. My P43 exhibited the same problems
& that was the issue. Unfortunately, you have to buy the cover with the gasket as a set.

I’ll have to check that when I get home tonight. That would only affect it on start up? Once my stove gets going it runs normal.

 

[DAKSY]

The leak in the gasket seems to interrupt some of the combustion air getting to the burnpot. In my case, the gasket was compromised on the right side but the combustion wasn't happening on the left side of the burnpot...I had to back off on the feed knob to get the ENTIRE pot to ignite before pellets got pushed into the ash pan...

 

[jertola]

The leak in the gasket seems to interrupt some of the combustion air getting to the burnpot. In my case, the gasket was compromised on the right side but the combustion wasn't happening on the left side of the burnpot...I had to back off on the feed knob to get the ENTIRE pot to ignite before pellets got pushed into the ash pan...

Ok thanks

 

[bogieb]

It is also possible that there is a mound of ash at the air intake at the very back under the burn pot. Or, a partial obstruction between the OAK and the burn pot. Also check the cover under the burn pot - if it isn't seated correctly it can mess up the airflow to the pellets in the pot.