Harman p68 distribution blower is dead

[dabbaah]

I knew my distribution blower was going bad because of the high pitched chirps it was making. I thought that when the fan finally died, the stove would shut down. Well, the fan died and the stove is still running. Is running the stove without the blower causing damage? I need to head out to get the part. The stove is my only source of heat and it is keeping the house warm. Do I have to shut the stove down or is it fine to run without the distribution blower for the day?

 

[Ssyko]

It could overheat and do more damage. I would shut it down and get the replacement in before using again

 

[gfreek]

Agree shut it down. Or rig a temporary fan of some sort to push air through the vents, other wise it will over heat..

 

[dabbaah]

Thank you! Shutting it down now.

 

[TonyVideo]

The P68 has an ESP prove in the exhaust that would prevent overheating. It will scale back or shut down on its own as a result.

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

[dabbaah]

Thanks, Tony. That's what I was hoping to hear. I really think that my distribution blower may have failed a few days ago as the loud chirping had stopped. I also noticed that although the stove was running and the house temps were at 70 degrees, there was a slight chill in the house and the flame on the stove never really cranked when I turned it up. Being a busy mom, I didn't really pay attention to those symptoms until this morning. Anyway, I picked up a new blower at my local stove shop and replaced it. The stove is cranking now I should've ordered the part from Amazon weeks ago when I first heard the chirping and knew it was going to die. Oh well, I've had the stove 8 years and it runs 24/7 all winter long. It was worth the extra cost.

 

[TonyVideo]

I pull both distribution and combustion blowers every year and clean them out with an air hose. Dust is the killer typically. 8 years of hard use is pretty good running 24/7 for 6-7 months of use. I don't know if you can oil the motors on these units. I may have to look into it and do that yearly as well. Nothing about it in the ops manual. Looking to get a service manual but those seem to be coveted by dealers and not for sale. Harman protecting its dealer network which I understand. These stoves are easy to clean and work on which I really like and they are built like tanks.

 

[dabbaah]

I couldn't find any holes to add oil to the motor. Oddly, the new motor has vents on the bottom of it which I think is going to be an even bigger problem with dust and cat hair. I can see right up into the motor. I'm going to have to check it for cleaning more often.

My local stove shop has done yearly maintenance on my stove for the past 8 years. I trusted that they were cleaning the blowers. With all the dust I cleaned off the distribution blower 3 weeks ago, I can't say for sure if it was done last June by the maintenance guy or not. I have my doubts. One time, after maintenance, I found that the fines weren't cleaned out of the compartment that is underneath above the distribution blower. The more attention I pay to the stove, the more I think that it is easy to do the maintenance myself, although time consuming.

I wonder if there is a checklist on this forum on what to do for yearly maintenance. I'm going to start looking.

 

[TonyVideo]

I just yearly take it to my garage and blow air on it.