So I have a new Harman P68 which has been working perfectly up until recently. It used to fire right up when I turned it on. Now it takes 10 to 15 minutes before it lights and when it does light the burn pot is overfull so I get this huge flame. I scrape the burn pot daily and clean all the ash into the ashpan. Am I supposed to be cleaning something else here or is my ignitor failing already after less than a months use?
Harman P68 lighting problems
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Just curious Steveo, where do you have your stove located and how long has it been since your last burn?
I too own a P68 and have experienced the same problem. Turn your stove off and let it cool. Loosen the two wing nuts under the burn pot and remove the small plate, use your finger (be gentle the esp probe is located here) to sweep out the ash in this cavity. Replace the plate, tighten the wing nuts, and fire up the stove. I'm pretty sure everything will work fine.
One Steveo to another.
One Steveo to another.
OK. My Advance seems like it took a long time to light this time also. My stove is in my basement and it had sat with pellets in the hopper for awhile since my last burn. I thought maybe some dampness settled into the pellets. I was thinking that if you had the same situation that might would confirm my problem.
Must be something else causing this for us then.
Must be something else causing this for us then.
You got the cleaning part right, but the ESP is not in the burn pot, the ignitor is. When cleaning this chamber it is also a good idea to tap the igniter with your finger to knock the ash out of the heat transfer fins on the ignitor.itworks said:
The ESP is in the back of the stove just inboard of the tailpipe. (ESP= exhaust sensing probe).
Steveo said:
Before you put your fingers in there make sure it is unpluged or you my get shocked!
how many bags have you run through the stove in that month?
Besides cleaning the ashpan and under burnpot you have to clean the rest of the stove, Harman says every ton I used to do it when it looked like the weather was gonna warm up (it can take some time to do). It averaged out to be about every 25-40 bags...
you're cleaning guide
(broken link removed to http://www.harmanstoves.com/maintenance/p38&p61cleaninginstructions;.pdf)
Besides cleaning the ashpan and under burnpot you have to clean the rest of the stove, Harman says every ton I used to do it when it looked like the weather was gonna warm up (it can take some time to do). It averaged out to be about every 25-40 bags...
you're cleaning guide
(broken link removed to http://www.harmanstoves.com/maintenance/p38&p61cleaninginstructions;.pdf)
I would not go a ton before cleaning, I do a good cleaning inside the stove every weekend including vacuuming. Once a month I do a total cleaning of the stove, I can't see letting a ton go through before cleaning the stove I would think it would not be as efficient.
the cleaner you can keep the stove the more efficient it will be and you will be less likely to have problems with the stove.
Parrot Head said:
Words of wisdom Parrot Head. The stove is just like your car, you take car of it and it'll take care of you.
I found my problem with the extended lights. I have not burned enough to have an ash coated ignitor yet. I had been using the tool Harman provided to scrape the burn pot as suggested in the manual:
What seems to be happening though is the pellets were not pushing all the ashes out, instead the pellets were pushing over many of the ashes. When I went to light my stove the next time, I cleaned out those ashes from the bottom of the burn pot (about a 1/4 cup guessing). I discovered a row or two of holes lower in the burn pot that were probably restricted by the pile of ashes left behind. The stove fired up much quicker when restarted.
I guess I'll just need to keep an eye on the amount of ashes in the burn pot when scraping the pot routinely. Instead of pushing all ashes down. I'll just scrape them up to reduce the amount the remains in the burn pot.
What seems to be happening though is the pellets were not pushing all the ashes out, instead the pellets were pushing over many of the ashes. When I went to light my stove the next time, I cleaned out those ashes from the bottom of the burn pot (about a 1/4 cup guessing). I discovered a row or two of holes lower in the burn pot that were probably restricted by the pile of ashes left behind. The stove fired up much quicker when restarted.
I guess I'll just need to keep an eye on the amount of ashes in the burn pot when scraping the pot routinely. Instead of pushing all ashes down. I'll just scrape them up to reduce the amount the remains in the burn pot.
You got the cleaning part right, but the ESP is not in the burn pot, the ignitor is. When cleaning this chamber it is also a good idea to tap the igniter with your finger to knock the ash out of the heat transfer fins on the ignitor.
The ESP is in the back of the stove just inboard of the tailpipe. (ESP= exhaust sensing probe).[/quote]
Thanks, I stand corrected. A mental flatulation on my part.
The ESP is in the back of the stove just inboard of the tailpipe. (ESP= exhaust sensing probe).[/quote]
Thanks, I stand corrected. A mental flatulation on my part.
my p68 is brand new i purchased it out of state from the rudest guy i ever met in my life. after spending nearly 4k for the stove and hundreds for the pipe and floor etc and 2 tons of pellets that were like 7.50 a bag. A friend installed it my house is brick cinderblock so the hole in the wall a job but neatly done. it is a corner install with an elbow connected to the pipe out the wall and up about 4 ft or so with the cap on the top. it takes almost an hour to start, then it smokes like crazy i have to open the doors and skylight in the house . the pipes outside explode smoke as if the house were on fire. it finally lets out very large flames and drops unused pellets in the ash pan more then used. I dont know what to do. i have 5 kids in the house and it smells like our house is on fire i tried using it like 4xs and same problem ea time. the guy who installed it used very small screws to hold the pipe together i dont know if that was a problem or not , now they want to use some kind of tape that covers the pipe like a cast heat tape or something. i am so upset we spent a fortune to save a fortune and we still cannot use this stove. Im scared its letting out carbons that will kill us here . the dealer will not help hes 4hrs away and he said read the book. PLEASe if you can help us in some way let me know. the dealers here dont have them and wont service a stove not purchased from them. NOT EVEN FOR MONEY.. were in a resesion and people dont want to work go figure. please help if you can. i will send photos of install if you need thanks.
You might get quicker and more answers if you start a separate thread on this. Lots of knowledgeable folks on here, you should get some answers to help you out.3PUPPIES said:
if the starting up issue hasnt been fixed by now here is some advice that might help
put feed rate on 3 or less..the stove when igniting feeds for a certain amount of time..then it stops..lower feedrate=less pellets per roatation of the auger..hence less pellets when the ignition cycle stops(hopefully)
sounds like to me that you have 2-3 issues if that dont work
1.low draft setting incorrect
2.igniter faulty
3.area where igniter is housed is filled with ash and needs cleaning out..btw the igniter is housed in the area under burnpot behind the 2 wingnuts..i just use my finger to scrape out what ashes are in there and tap the plates that are on the sides of the igniter to break any ash loose incase it built up in there
worse case scenario is the control board is faulty..very unlikely but is possible..
check out the warranty info from harman website also has alot of info whats covered and whats not..just in case you need it
good luck
put feed rate on 3 or less..the stove when igniting feeds for a certain amount of time..then it stops..lower feedrate=less pellets per roatation of the auger..hence less pellets when the ignition cycle stops(hopefully)
sounds like to me that you have 2-3 issues if that dont work
1.low draft setting incorrect
2.igniter faulty
3.area where igniter is housed is filled with ash and needs cleaning out..btw the igniter is housed in the area under burnpot behind the 2 wingnuts..i just use my finger to scrape out what ashes are in there and tap the plates that are on the sides of the igniter to break any ash loose incase it built up in there
worse case scenario is the control board is faulty..very unlikely but is possible..
check out the warranty info from harman website also has alot of info whats covered and whats not..just in case you need it
good luck
3PUPPIES said:
Have you tried to start the fire manually with gelled alcohol as Harman recommends? It`s possible your auto start isn`t working properly and too much fuel has been fed into the burnpot by the time it finally does start.
I have experienced this non lighting on my p68.
Found that the "mode" knob potentiometer was acting spotty.
Now when I go to start the stove I always watch the "Ignite" LED as it should turn on almoast immediatly.
If it lags I give the "mode" knob a wiggle and the "ignite " LED will come on. (Im' Running in stove temp mode).
I think that the pot that they use in the control panel could be of a better quality like a Bourns.
Watch the burn pot. If it gets more than 1/2 to 3/4 full and the "ignite" LED has not come on, scrape some (most) of the pellets out.
Wiggle the knob and try again. If the pot is way full of pellets and you get the ignitor to go the stove will fill with heavy smoke
and when it finaly lights the smoke will detonate "big freakin POOF".
I have run across the same issue with the "mode" pot when shutting the stove down.
It will not completly stop feeding.
Hope this helps. :cheese:
Found that the "mode" knob potentiometer was acting spotty.
Now when I go to start the stove I always watch the "Ignite" LED as it should turn on almoast immediatly.
If it lags I give the "mode" knob a wiggle and the "ignite " LED will come on. (Im' Running in stove temp mode).
I think that the pot that they use in the control panel could be of a better quality like a Bourns.
Watch the burn pot. If it gets more than 1/2 to 3/4 full and the "ignite" LED has not come on, scrape some (most) of the pellets out.
Wiggle the knob and try again. If the pot is way full of pellets and you get the ignitor to go the stove will fill with heavy smoke
and when it finaly lights the smoke will detonate "big freakin POOF".
I have run across the same issue with the "mode" pot when shutting the stove down.
It will not completly stop feeding.
Hope this helps. :cheese:
Bad pots have happened before If you're stove is under warranty I would tell the dealer you want a replacement control board......
GVA -
Thanks for the heads up on the pot's history. I am on the learning curve in reguards to pellet stoves. 6 months in and still learning.
Thanks for the heads up on the pot's history. I am on the learning curve in reguards to pellet stoves. 6 months in and still learning.
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