Harman PC 45 ash pan

[AXNJXN]

Hello, Newcomer to this forum.
I have burnt corn and pellets for a few years (I am a Farmer and I burn corn when the prices allow). This year is my first for my PC 45. I burned pellets for awhile and loved it. Now I am burning corn, after adding the agitator and the end gate and I cannot believe how much ash accumulates compared to my older/simpler stove. I have to shut it completely down and pull the ash pan out, creating a huge mess every 2 days. I realize there is an advantage to not taking a clinker out, but I was wondering if I just need to suck it up and shut it down every 2 days?

 

[Bioburner]

Did you add the reflector plate?

 

[AXNJXN]

Did you add the reflector plate?

The one that goes on top of the burn pot?

 

[Bioburner]

Yes

 

[AXNJXN]

Yes

I did not, it appeared in the manual as an optional addition. Do you think that would cut down on the ash? Also, is it necessary to shut the stove down completely to pull the ash pan out?

 

[Bioburner]

Also are you using the burn tray with the very small holes?

 

[AXNJXN]

Also are you using the burn tray with the very small holes?

yes, I changed it to the small holes. I used the larger holes for the pellets

 

[Lousyweather]

suck it up, brutha....you're a farmer and used to hard work.....

 

[Bioburner]

The reflector helps raise temps for corn. Corn has a higher ignition temp by around 200 degrees. It seems to help but I only burnt corn in the pc45 for a couple days. Hot swap of ash bin no problem. I have a extra. Theres a restaurant in Ohio that has a Harman heating the place. Iburncorn.com has a lot of info on burning corn. I like blending corn with pellets for now as I bought my supply of pellets before corn went below $5. Weight of corn in area is around 54lb/bu. Not great. Last I bought was 63# three years ago for 4.25 and still using it. May load up the gravity box in the spring if still low as South America crop is doing well.

 

[rickwai]

Pc45 does not burn corn that well. Seems like a pellet stove that will burn corn so so. The burn is so sooty w/ this stove from my experience. I have burnt straight corn in a st croix and the ash is tan to grey which seems like a cleaner burn. Mix pellets w/ corn 40-50% corn.

 

[AXNJXN]

bioburner, what is your method for a hot swap of ash bin? do you leave it running or shut the stove/room temp off to open the door? Thanks everyone for the advice. It seems to be a pain but I will still burn corn, maybe try mixing it with pellets. I like the fact that the corn comes from my fields and no one's the wiser I clean it with a Clipper mill after it goes through the dryer. Our test weight was 60# this year so it's pretty good corn.

 

[Bioburner]

I back off the temp so the stove isn't running the room fan and fire isn't raging. Wait till things go to idle mode and proceed with taking out the ash bin. Put a piece of tin, cookie tin over the bin so when moving thru house none of the ash flies out keeping everybody happier. Have the vac handy to suck up any errant ash. Good corn, bad prices I will give straight corn a shot again maybe this weekend to see if I can get optimum burn. The best corn burning stove I've seen is the Bixby. It with the last firmware upgrade burns like propain. Nice blue flames.

 

[rona]

Pc45 does not burn corn that well. Seems like a pellet stove that will burn corn so so. The burn is so sooty w/ this stove from my experience. I have burnt straight corn in a st croix and the ash is tan to grey which seems like a cleaner burn. Mix pellets w/ corn 40-50% corn.

The 45 needs corn that is 12% or less. Burning a mix of pellets and corn will make it work better. Straight corn will produce clinkers on the agitator fast. Back when I owned a 45 I had extra agitators and would switch them every 3 or 4 days then put the dirty one in a can of water. In a matter of minutes the clinker dissolves. I also made a second ash drawer and would switch on the go before it was full. I found out very early when the dealer said 12% or less moisture the stove ran great but 13-14-15 moisture and you had problems
If you are used to burning a ton of pellets before dumping the ash drawer then switching to corn you will see a lot more ash from corn. If you use the reflecter you will get more fine ash but it seems to make the agitators burn up faster.
If you had the pellet kit installed you may have switched that metal plate with a circle cut out of it that fits against the exh fan. There is one with a small opening and the other with a larger opening. One is for corn and one is for pellets.
A pot style stove such as St Croix or Bixby will burn hotter and with no stirrer produces a clinker rather then a bucket of loose ash. The Countryside Stove also had a agitator in it but some owners devised a different pot and made it a clinker style stove. The clinker had to be removed manually.

 

[chadhumm]

I had the same situation . The pc45 does not burn corn well. My Auburn St croix burned corn like a champ. The pc45 requires emptying the ash pan/bucket every 2 to 3 days when burning corn. I got discard corn from work for free so was bummed that the pc45 couldn't handle it well. So I burn a 50/50 c/p mix and have to empty it every 5 days or so. Id go back to the st croix auburn but at this point id miss the automation of the Harman with its igniter. So to answer your question, what you are experiencing is the same as what I experience with corn in the pc45

 

[rona]

I did not, it appeared in the manual as an optional addition. Do you think that would cut down on the ash? Also, is it necessary to shut the stove down completely to pull the ash pan out?

I think the auger stops feeding when the ash door is open. But when I had a 45 I had a tin-smith make a extra ash bucket so it was a simple matter of open the door switch ash buckets and close the doot

 

[rona]

The one that goes on top of the burn pot?

When I used that reflector grate the extra heat seemed to burn up the agitator faster then with out it. When I was burning hard I would go through a agitator and a cover plate every year. Plus a lot of heat was wasted going up the exhaust.
Interesting as I know both Bio Burner and Chad. Been a long winter guys??

 

[chadhumm]

When I used that reflector grate the extra heat seemed to burn up the agitator faster then with out it. When I was burning hard I would go through a agitator and a cover plate every year. Plus a lot of heat was wasted going up the exhaust.
Interesting as I know both Bio Burner and Chad. Been a long winter guys??

When I used that reflector grate the extra heat seemed to burn up the agitator faster then with out it. When I was burning hard I would go through a agitator and a cover plate every year. Plus a lot of heat was wasted going up the exhaust.
Interesting as I know both Bio Burner and Chad. Been a long winter guys??

yes it has this has been the least problematic winter for the pc45. one esp probe replacement and one unexplained event that fixed itself..maybe wind direction??. Ron i sent you an email. not sure you got it. i know you changed email address andi thought i had it saved but not sure. just sent it about the time you replied on here.

 

[Bioburner]

Tried burning straight corn in the pc45 and it cranks out heat but I want more of a lower steady heat to keep the crosslink streaming a nice output. Can't get a very low idle. Went back to burning a 50% blend and if temps are going to around zero just push the button on the Bixby an let it go on low with straight corn as need something with a fan for exchanging air to get more heat upstairs. If I didn't run the crosslink I probably would be ok as I ran it straight corn in the garage Harman ok for couple days. Picked up corn for $140 ton and pellets on a early buy not wanting to see if Menards had a sale for $185. Menards here have only stocked Indeck so I paid $80 more for the season for a better pellet. A cost of about $163 per ton of fuel and the elevator is only 2 miles away. Most everyone on this site would be happy with a fuel cost that low. With local prices of propain still over $3 the payback of the stove setup that I now have for the second season is easily complete and running the house temp a lot more comfortable. Probably the only way to be more comfortable is to find a place in southern Florida and I will still bring a pellet stove to beat the high electric rates.