Harman p68 igniter stuck on

[ithacap68]

Hi all, I'm loving my first winter of pellet stove ownership. Bought the house this summer, and it came with a beautiful p68 that I think is about 5 years old. Recently I noticed the burnpot was staying hot for up to 2 days after shut down, and just looked tonight to see the igniter still glowing.

Some reading (specifically this thread: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/harman-accentra-insert-ignitor-stuck-on.75158/ ) leads me to believe this may be a control board problem.

Two big questions:

1) It seems like, if this is a control board issue, the board itself can sometimes be fixed (per the above thread, replacing the Triac that turns the ignitor on and off or the optical isolator chip that controls the triac). I have zero soldering equipment/skills. Would a local repair tech do this for me if I brought them the board? If so, would it be cheaper than just ordering a replacement board? The stove is plugged into a surge protector, but not a very nice one. I think whatever I do I will plan to upgrade this, since I'm guessing that is what damaged my board (unless you all have other suggestions).

2) While adjusting the igniter to inspect it, the insulation came off the wires (see attached picture). Is there any cheap fix for this (e.g. electrical tape that would be rated to pellet stove temps and insulate the wires), or do I just need to replace the igniter altogether? Even though the wires aren't directly touching each other/the mounting bracket, I assume it would be very unwise to leave them exposed like that.

Thanks in advance for any tips! This forum has already saved me from a few other rookie mistakes

 

[Tonyray]

Hi all, I'm loving my first winter of pellet stove ownership. Bought the house this summer, and it came with a beautiful p68 that I think is about 5 years old. Recently I noticed the burnpot was staying hot for up to 2 days after shut down, and just looked tonight to see the igniter still glowing.

Some reading (specifically this thread: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/harman-accentra-insert-ignitor-stuck-on.75158/ ) leads me to believe this may be a control board problem.

Two big questions:

1) It seems like, if this is a control board issue, the board itself can sometimes be fixed (per the above thread, replacing the Triac that turns the ignitor on and off or the optical isolator chip that controls the triac). I have zero soldering equipment/skills. Would a local repair tech do this for me if I brought them the board? If so, would it be cheaper than just ordering a replacement board? The stove is plugged into a surge protector, but not a very nice one. I think whatever I do I will plan to upgrade this, since I'm guessing that is what damaged my board (unless you all have other suggestions).

2) While adjusting the igniter to inspect it, the insulation came off the wires (see attached picture). Is there any cheap fix for this (e.g. electrical tape that would be rated to pellet stove temps and insulate the wires), or do I just need to replace the igniter altogether? Even though the wires aren't directly touching each other/the mounting bracket, I assume it would be very unwise to leave them exposed like that.

Thanks in advance for any tips! This forum has already saved me from a few other rookie mistakes

View attachment 292518

Had the same problem. In fact my electric bill went way up that month which led me to believe the ignitor was staying on. I would not try to repair it. Its a 120 electrical component and replacing it is safer. You are correct. It is a bad triad on the board . I have no exp on repairing it. I ended up replacing the board and new ignitor. Board was 230.00 i think and aroud 75 for the ignitor. If u can get the board fixed thats fine but i would deff replace the ignitor. They are 1/3 the cost of new board.

 

[ithacap68]

Had the same problem. In fact my electric bill went way up that month which led me to believe the ignitor was staying on. I would not try to repair it. Its a 120 electrical component and replacing it is safer. You are correct. It is a bad triad on the board . I have no exp on repairing it. I ended up replacing the board and new ignitor. Board was 230.00 i think and aroud 75 for the ignitor. If u can get the board fixed thats fine but i would deff replace the ignitor. They are 1/3 the cost of new board.

Thanks for the quick reply! I ordered the replacement igniter. Do you think it’s worth replacing the igniter and seeing if the problem self-resolves, or should I look into board repair/replacement while my igniter is on the way? Any chance just cleaning the board off/some other simple fix would work, or do you think it’s definitely a busted triac? Would love to save a few bucks, but also don’t want to delay too much with more winter weather on the way.

 

[Mt Bob]

The board needs a part replaced, or several parts. Do what Tony has said,replace both.
Be sure to read the instructions on the new board, and set the switches accordingly.
Most commercial places do not repair Harman boards, because new ones are so cheap to purchase.
Keep old board, ask around,, you can bump into a HAM radio guy/gal who may be able to fix it, or a tinkerer, or someone at a local trade school.

 

[Tonyray]

Thanks for the quick reply! I ordered the replacement igniter. Do you think it’s worth replacing the igniter and seeing if the problem self-resolves, or should I look into board repair/replacement while my igniter is on the way? Any chance just cleaning the board off/some other simple fix would work, or do you think it’s definitely a busted triac? Would love to save a few bucks, but also don’t want to delay too much with more winter weather on the way.

 

[Tonyray]

ok... when this happened, I had a new spare ignitor but did NOT want to put it in with the defective board...
lit my stove manually for a week or so while my new board i ordered was on its way...
installed new board/ignitor and all was good...
btw; sent my damaged board to a member here steve [silvrblk] to fix it...
replaced the bad triac but still would not ignite .. he put board in his stove to test it.. said could be resistor or something else which was beyound his knowledge...
soooooo, same as mtbob also suggests, replace the board and ignitor would be be best move here...
my issue of the ignitor staying on really socked my electric bill with the 120 pull being ON 24/7 FOR who knows how long..
mine must have been on long time and prob bent from constant heat!!