Harman P68 Auger Problems?

[Enigma869]

Good Morning...

I recently bought a new home and had such a great experience with my Harman Accentra insert at my last house that I decided to purchase a P68 for the new place. I used the Accentra for three seasons, and never had a single issue with it. The downside for me was the hopper was simply too small. Anything that doesn't even hold one bag of pellets isn't going to cut it on a cold winter night, while I'm trying to sleep (you have to race to it the second you wake up, because it will be pretty close to empty). I know the P68 has always been a well regarded stove. That said, I'm reading reviews all over the web where people have to have their auger replaced in the P68 every year? That seems insane to me! Check out just this one link, and see how many people seem to have the same problem with the auger on this stove. (broken link removed). I would hope that given the outrageously high prices that Harman charges for their products (and this stove in particular), that they have addressed this issue? It sounds like a manufacturing defect, given so many people seem to be having the same problem. My stove is being installed this Friday (October 11th). I would appreciate any feedback based on the experience folks here have had or heard about the auger and reliability of this particular stove. Thank you in advance for any feedback offered.

John

 

[stayfitz]

Good Morning...

I recently bought a new home and had such a great experience with my Harman Accentra insert at my last house that I decided to purchase a P68 for the new place. I used the Accentra for three seasons, and never had a single issue with it. The downside for me was the hopper was simply too small. Anything that doesn't even hold one bag of pellets isn't going to cut it on a cold winter night, while I'm trying to sleep (you have to race to it the second you wake up, because it will be pretty close to empty). I know the P68 has always been a well regarded stove. That said, I'm reading reviews all over the web where people have to have their auger replaced in the P68 every year? That seems insane to me! Check out just this one link, and see how many people seem to have the same problem with the auger on this stove. (broken link removed). I would hope that given the outrageously high prices that Harman charges for their products (and this stove in particular), that they have addressed this issue? It sounds like a manufacturing defect, given so many people seem to be having the same problem. My stove is being installed this Friday (October 11th). I would appreciate any feedback based on the experience folks here have had or heard about the auger and reliability of this particular stove. Thank you in advance for any feedback offered.

John

Had my stove installed about a year ago... And no problems so far (knock on wood). I'm not sure the the auger issue referenced is real. I've never found the wiseheat site credible. Did you search this forum for similar issues? That being said... If I were considering another large format freestanding pellet stove, I would also consider the following products:

- Enerzone EuroMax (or budget version Drolet ECO-65)
- Enviro Maxx (VistaFlame VF170) or Enviro Maxx-M (multifuel version)

 

[imacman]

Been a long time forum member.......don't remember anyone having to replace a P68 auger after a year.

 

[Harman Lover 007]

I've never replaced the auger in my Harman Invincible in 17 years or in my P61A in 3 years. Auger replacement is not something I can say I've read here....ever. Clean it?...Yes...replace it no.

 

[imacman]

I've never replaced the auger in my Harman Invincible in 17 years or in my P61A in 3 years. Auger replacement is not something I can say I've read here....ever. Clean it?...Yes...replace it no.

Agreed. Replace the auger motor, maybe....but replacing an auger on ANY stove is almost unheard of unless it gets damaged from removal/rust/etc.

 

[TheMightyMoe]

Scrape your burn pot, the extra carbon building up the base of the auger will put more stress on the auger motor.

 

[Enigma869]

I appreciate the feedback, guys. Again, I had zero issues in my three seasons using the Harman Accentra, so I was a bit stunned to read so many people writing about the same issue on the same model. Glad to hear that it probably isn't as pervasive as that one site makes it appear!

 

[brokenknee]

I have had my P68 installed for only three weeks. When I purchased it, my dealer said to make sure you vacuum out under the auger, you have to take off the right panel and then there is a plate with a wing nut on it. He said depending on the quality of pellets would determine how often it needed to be cleaned; I guess fines build up in there can jam the auger.. He said I should check it in late January or early February. I did look at it this weekend when I cleaned the stove, it looked good.

 

[subsailor]

I'm heading into my 5th year with my P-61. The only thing I've replaced was the igniter (under warranty) and door gasket this year.

 

[Stoveman 77]

I have sold harman for over 16 years and have not replaced a auger in a p-68 as of date !

 

[the golfwidow]

Had a Harman P68 for almost a year and two problems surfaced early, dealer fixed problem one - motor immediately, second problem was with extension. I wasn't getting a good seal on it and I bought some foam door seal and put it around the base and it worked for the rest of the season and is working today. Love the P68 heats my 2800 square house in upstate NY. Had oil before and was going broke.

 

[Lousyweather]

for a short time, and it could be any Harman unit, there were 5 holes at the bottom of the burnpot.....this mod seemed to cause the erosion of the ends of augers (or the auger tube) in some rare cases....so, if you check out the bottom of your burnpot, right by the auger, and see 5 holes, check your auger, auger tube, and if there seems to be significant erosion, call your dealer. I don't think there have been any 5 hole burnpots produced for about two years now, so any new Harman, P68 or otherwise, is most likely pretty safe....

 

[SteveEmpringham]

My auger has just stopped. I did a full cleaning, but I think after watching several videos on Youtube, that I need to go back and get the soot and residue off the auger closest to the burn pot. I had a professional clean about 2 months ago, and for the last month the stove has been running pretty much steady. When I did a clean, there was quite a bit of buildup on the burn pot - is this normal or are we using bad pellets?

 

[Bioburner]

Good bit of carbon build up could stop things up but usually hear a bunch of screeching giving some warning. Period of low burns seems to aggravate the build up. Sometimes the fuel is partially to blame. Get down and dirty with a flat blade screwdriver and clean it up.

 

[the golfwidow]

I clean my P68 every ton or when the catch bin is almost full. I use a old paint brush and a shop vaccum and fine particle filter. Keep the blower on and stove off to suck in dust too. I clean the burn pot after taking off the wing nuts with a small tube on the vaccum and also vaccum the exhaust pipe. I have tried various fuels and will keep on trying to see if I get less ash. A good clean stove works the best, scraping fairly hard to remove the carbon in the burn pot is needed every couple of bags too. The extension is working great and holes about 3 bags. Purchased Dec. 2012.

 

[Lousyweather]

My auger has just stopped. I did a full cleaning, but I think after watching several videos on Youtube, that I need to go back and get the soot and residue off the auger closest to the burn pot. I had a professional clean about 2 months ago, and for the last month the stove has been running pretty much steady. When I did a clean, there was quite a bit of buildup on the burn pot - is this normal or are we using bad pellets?

no, you're likely not scraping it often enough....blaming the pellets for stove issues is like blaming McDonalds for the guy being fat.

if the auger motor wont run, disconnect the wiring to it, run it on line voltage via a pigtail. If it runs, its something else....if it doesn't, get a new motor. I wont elucidate the "something else", as there are ALOT of things that can cause this, and frankly its a waste of time to do so without you confirming your motor is bad or good in the first place.