Harman pc45 problems

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
  • Super Cedar firestarters 30% discount Use code Hearth2024 Click here
Status
Not open for further replies.

crusty

New Member
Dec 27, 2015
5
hazen, nd
I have a 2008 Harman pc45 and I am having igniter issues. I have tried three different control boards. and rebuilt the air pump and it still keeps burning out the igniters. it will light perfectly with a new igniter one time and it burns it out. I am 260 from the closest dealer that works on Harmans so I am trying to stay away from taking it in. can anyone give me some ideas why it would be burning out igniters so easy?
 
That's a first for me hearing of issue with igniter on a PC45. If the pump is flowing air it should cool the igniter. Scott from out east replaced a pump with one from the Petco store.
Three control boards? That's about $750. I would have been manually lighting long time ago and leaving on manual mode to keep it from shutting down.
I have to google where in the cold tundra Hazen is.
Welcome
 
yah I have been having this issue since 2010 so it is kinda spread out. it went from heating my house 24/7 to out in the garage 24/7. it would get way to hot in the house so it had to go and I got a new stove for the house. but I would kinda like to get it fix. most the time out in the garage it is just at an idle. the air pump works good. blows a good amount of air. im not sure if it is getting to much voltage for some reason.
 
I would check the resistance on those igniters with a VOM to make sure they are actually burned out. I don't know what the resistance value should be but I would suspect that they are in the range of a few ohms. Then I'd check the voltage on the igniter when it is on/heating to see what it measures. I don't know what the correct igniter voltage should be but it would at least give me some clues.

Hopefully one of the Harman gurus will have a better idea.
 
It sounds as if the igniter is getting juice from somewhere and not shutting down when it should. Possible that a wire is worn somewhere or hooked up wrong. I can if needed try and help you track some wiring. I have one heating the house now and another that a neighbor left when she moved and bought and refurbished. Good little multifuel units.
The igniter is rated for 120 volts
 
I don't remember the wiring if it is separate or not from the pump. I would disconnect the igniter and insert my tester into the power leads and start it up in auto but lighting manually and when the stove comes to temp the pump should stop and so should the igniter circuit.
You can PM "smwilliamson" and run it by him. He services stoves and has first hand experience of that stoves guts.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.