Harman P68 distribution blower problem

[Stebb]

Distribution blower is acting up. Heard it turning on and off, every 30 seconds or so, then stop entirely. eventually, stove would shut down. Turned off, unplugged for a few minutes, then restarted. Ran fine for a couple of days, then same thing happened again. Am running in room temp auto mode. It's been reset 3 or 4 times, now. Any thoughts?

 

[P38X2]

What mode are you running the stove in? If it's not high/hot enough on stove temp, the blower won't come on. If set point on room temp is lower than ambient inside temp, the blower won't come on. Crank her up and see what happens.

 

[Stebb]

It's running in room temp mode, auto ignite. Room was cold enough(62F) where it should have kicked on. Had stove set at 75F. Unplugged, for a few, then plugged back in and reset everything. It is running for now, BUT I now am getting a 5-blink error message, while it's lit and running. This error now shuts the stove down. I reset, once again, and switched to manual. So far it is still running, with distribution blower kicking on and off. Any thoughts on the error message?

 

[Stebb]

When it is in stove mode, and the ignitor switch is set to manual, about every 15 seconds, all but the power light, cycle on and off. combustion blower, distribution blower, and feed motor. If the ignitor is switched to auto, in either room and stove modes, it will run for a half hour, then I get a 5-blink status light. This error message continues and then the stove eventually shuts down. The error message is that the ignitor failed to light within a 36 min. time period. But the stove was already lit and burning.

 

[Harman Lover 007]

When it is in stove mode, and the ignitor switch is set to manual, about every 15 seconds, all but the power light, cycle on and off. combustion blower, distribution blower, and feed motor. If the ignitor is switched to auto, in either room and stove modes, it will run for a half hour, then I get a 5-blink status light. This error message continues and then the stove eventually shuts down. The error message is that the ignitor failed to light within a 36 min. time period. But the stove was already lit and burning.

Either your pellets are bridging in the hopper or your fines box is full not allowing the slide plate to open fully. Make sure your hopper lid is closed fully as well.

 

[Lousyweather]

hm...5 blink is a failure to ignite in 36 minute code......shouldn't see this, as you mentioned above......a lot of good info above, fines box full maybe, maybe a gummy stove......none of this really affects the distribution blower tho.......love to see a DDM thrown on this thing to see what the ESP is reading......otherwise, maybe a funky board?

Have you pigtailed the distribution blower yet? Sounds like a few issues to me....

 

[Stebb]

Thanks for all your thoughts. Here's the latest. No, I have not checked the fines box. It's a possibility. I removed the screws and swung out the board, checked all the connections, blew out the dust with compressed air, and restarted. It has been running fine since then. Thoughts?

 

[Stebb]

Hi guys, Stove ran fine for about a week, and then the same problem as before. I did clean out the fines box. Wasn't much in it. Only other thing I could find is the ash pan door failed the dollar test. Could this be the problem? I would like to eliminate all else, before springing for a new board.

 

[Bioburner]

Loss of vacuum can very well shut the stove down. Easy project to replace door gaskets and not very expensive. Less than a hour for both doors. About $20 even if you have to buy a drill powered wire brush.

 

[Stebb]

Thanks, Bio. That is the next thing I'll try. Replaced door gasket last year, so that's tight. Ash pan, on the other hand...

 

[Bioburner]

The harder we have to run the stoves the warmer things get and expand. Hope it works out. Got out today to get some better pellets for the Elena. Bedding pellets. Nearly fines free and aspen-pine blend. Burn and smell good. Supposed to have another week of ugly cold.

 

[Stebb]

The new issue. No longer seeing the 5-blink error. Has been replaced by the 3-blink error(ESP sensor probe failure). Have reset several times. Also, have gone in and carefully cleaned probe with a wire brush( all shiny and new). Sometimes lasts 2 or 3 days, sometimes 1/2 a day, then error returns. Tried checking connection to circuit board, and using compressed air, but have not physically removed connection to clean. Will try that next. Any thoughts appreciated.

 

[PPLcangotoh...]

Where did you find the bedding pellets....

I have a Veronica and an Accentra.

Would LOVE to try some of those.

 

[rickwai]

I would suspect the esp. It is what tells the circuit board what the stove is doing. I thought that from the beginning of the thread. They are not very expensive and easy to change. I would try that first. Even if you have someone out it would be good to rule that out. Make sure you get the right one, 2 available one has red wire and the other has a black or black/yellow?wire if yours is not red it takes the black one.

 

[Stebb]

Thanks, rickwai. Will check out which one and replace. Am changing the ash pan gasket tonight.

 

[Defiant]

Check the distribution blower for dust, pet hair or anything else that might be causing ay friction, the fan cage should spin easy, just thought.

 

[Lousyweather]

yea, concur with Rick above......3 blink=ESP....easy to fix tho, which is good. Unit still under warranty? (It would have to be less than 2 years old to have that ESP covered under warranty)..........FWIW, both probes will work, just make sure the circuitboard is set for the correct probe- switch 5 is ON for red, OFF for black......and this setting is VERY important.....

 

[rickwai]

The red probe will work but if you go from black to red as long as you have a newer style board I think? But red probe is slightly larger diameter as sometimes requires the hole being reamed out and it is not in a ideal spot to get to from my previous experience.

 

[Stebb]

Replaced ash pan gasket. Will see if it makes a difference. Was checking both probes on line; Red is $20 to $30 cheaper than the black one. Might not be worth it, if it is much of a hassle, like Rick said above. By the way, mine's an older model. Bought new in '06. Ser# 008001. Been a great stove.

 

[Lousyweather]

Replaced ash pan gasket. Will see if it makes a difference. Was checking both probes on line; Red is $20 to $30 cheaper than the black one. Might not be worth it, if it is much of a hassle, like Rick said above. By the way, mine's an older model. Bought new in '06. Ser# 008001. Been a great stove.

maybe that will do the trick (doubtful tho)....as for the cost difference between the probes, the dealer cost is about $10 more for the black one.......as for which one.....doesn't matter, but I tend to prefer black for reliability.....just make sure the switch is set right

 

[Stebb]

Hi guys. Replaced the ash pan gasket, and so far it is running fine. More efficient burn as well; less pellets. Am going to replace both gaskets on the kids stove (P61), next door. Hoping that will improve efficiency, also. I hope everyone has a good and safe holiday season, and thanks for all the help.

 

[Bioburner]

Where did you find the bedding pellets....

I have a Veronica and an Accentra.

Would LOVE to try some of those.

Large farm supply chain called Fleet Farm. But a lot of farm supply stores that carry feed for horses carry them. Usually aspen pine blend and need to be low dust for horses. A dime less a bag then stove pellets of straight pine $4.89

 

[PPLcangotoh...]

Large farm supply chain called Fleet Farm. But a lot of farm supply stores that carry feed for horses carry them. Usually aspen pine blend and need to be low dust for horses. A dime less a bag then stove pellets of straight pine $4.89

You think a "Tractor Supply" would have them?

 

[Bioburner]

You think a "Tractor Supply" would have them?

Ours don't but then they don't have that much for horses in the store I checked.

 

[SwineFlue]

You think a "Tractor Supply" would have them?

Tractor Supply does have 100% pine horse bedding pellets... about $1 more per bag than pellet fuel.