Harman P68 smoke smell woes (Most likely solved)

[TheMightyMoe]

I normally run the stove in Auto with a night and work set back. Works great, especially when the OAK is pulling in -20 to -50 degree air.

Out of the blue woman said house smelled of smoke, told her to put it in off position on stove.

Came home, cleaned the stove again completely. (Fines box/Igniterbox/Flue sweep/Fan) Found nothing unusual, did a smoke test with lights off with a flash light, found no issues.

3 days later same issue, but I was home this time. Couldn't find anything wrong, just had a smell of smoke.

Dedicated the day to homework and reading, watching the stove ignite, during start-up one run, notice the whole stove was full of smoke, and the pellets were almost overflowing out of the burn pot. Once the fire ignited, the stove was engulfed in a giant fire the size of the combustion chamber.

Been running stove in manual mode, and have had not smoke smell again.

Guessing issue is a bad igniter, causing intermittent delayed light off, which equals very bad combustion. Igniter is 2 years old, and it has probably taken more abuse per year then any others out there, so not surprising. I do clean it every month, but there was never enough dirt to be concerned about.

Thought I'd share my story.

Any suggestions for ordering a cheap/correct replacement? Local dealer is out of question.

 

[TheMightyMoe]

And the super pixelated stove pron picture.

 

[Polar Bear]

Mine does that on start up... Don't really smell anything but I notice the massive smoke bomb out of the exhaust once it finally lights. Therefore, if yours is turning off and on constantly, I can see the potential for light smoke smell.

I like to keep mine on manual... saves my ignitor.

 

[Bioburner]

Most igniters are a go no go. Something not as clean as it should be to slow the ignition down. Air not pulling by the igniter properly?

 

[Delta-T]

good chance of a leak in a pipe section, most commonly at the stove flange connecting to the first piece of pipe. Check silicone seal for discoloration. Make sure to inspect the igniter. cleaning the cavity that houses the igniter is not the same as cleaning the igniter. good luck

 

[ZBrooks]

good chance of a leak in a pipe section, most commonly at the stove flange connecting to the first piece of pipe. Check silicone seal for discoloration.

I second this. When I cleaned my stove/pipe in the spring, I took the pipe partially apart. I found out that I did not get it completely back together when I started the stove for the first time this week. I could see and smell smoke, but it went away as soon as I pushed the pipe back together.

 

[TheMightyMoe]

No more smell, I did the smoke test already for the exhaust flue.

Only on ignition, and only when it delays into a fireball. Is there smoke.

Otherwise it normally lights without a huge flame or smoke buildup.

 

[yrock87]

Moe, how well does your oak work in the cold? Have you run the stove without? I was advised not to use one in our climate.

 

[TheMightyMoe]

So the issues with the oak are:

It will get covered in ice, not a problem till it melts.

The main issue is at -40, if you are running MANUAL, the stove tries to maintain a low flame / temperature while taking in -20 to -40 degree air, so it churns through pellets, while not putting out heat, I even had some creosote building up by the exhaust fan. I could easily see a .5 - 1 bag a day difference running in manual during the cold spells.
Not an issue if you don't have an OAK, or when it is in the 0's.

When in auto it runs great, and rarely does the flame actually have time to die down before it re-ignites due to temperature drop (Yay -40)

I have an OAK so I'm not pulling that -40 through the house, I'd rather send it through the stove.

Needless to say I will be buying another Igniter, as I'm pretty sure the delayed ignition is the issue.