Harman XXV Distribution Blower

[davzog]

We just had our XXV installed a few weeks ago, and it seems to be a good investment, as this is our first pellet stove.

The distribution blower seems to blow only on the very lowest setting no matter what I do. I just tried putting it on "stove temperature", ran it to 90 degrees and turned the stove temp setting on high....the blower speed did not increase.

Actually, it may not even be the distribution blower that is running at all...just the hot air coming out of the top of the stove...

It seemed that when we first got it, any variation in room temp or stove temp would noticeably change the distribution blower speed...it this not correct? Am I missing something?

Might there be any circuit breakers that need to be reset? I can find anything in the owners manual....actually, I find the owners manual very sub-par in terms of information and troubleshooting...close to useless....

Thanks for helping a newby...

Dave

 

[Stilllife1]

Yeah, I find the manual subpar as well. On the blower issue, I assume your aware of the high/low rocker switch when you open the control door? Maybe someone put it on low? Just a thought.

 

[mkmh]

Sounds to me like the dist. blower is not running at all. Do you know if it worked when the stove was first installed?
I have a Harman P61 that had a blower problem when I first got it. I purchased the stove used, but when I hooked it up it would not push any air. In my case I had to remove the distribution blower and "shake it out". Mine was full of metal shot, apparently when the stove was sandblasted at the factory. Once that was out of there the blower worked fine.
So as a first trouble shooting step.

Unplug the stove
See if you can spin the distribution blower fan by hand

If you are able to turn it normally then you probably have some other type of issue.

From what I undertstand the metal shot issue is quite common with several types of stoves. In my case I aggravated the problem when I transported the stove to my house on "it's back". This apparently got a bunch of the shot in the fins in the blower.

 

[davzog]

Thanks for the replies...

I don't think I have a rocker switch to turn the fan on low or high.....just the "room temp-stove temp" dial....where might this switch be??

Yes, it did change speeds when it was first installed....

I would try to clean it, but I don't knwo where it is or how to get to it...the dumb manual is not much help here...

Thanks

 

[tinkabranc]

I don't think I have a rocker switch to turn the fan on low or high.....just the "room temp-stove temp" dial....where might this switch be??

look where the panel folds into the stove. the high/low rocker switch is on the stove
itself, not on the panel where the settings are.
hope this helps

 

[davzog]

Thank you so very much...I will give it a look tonight.

I guess I could have accidentally popped it off when cleaning the stove...lousy manual, it is not noted at all.....

 

[tmiraglia]

Also, make sure your manual - auto switch is not set to manual. With my Accentra, if it is switched to manual in stove temp mode, the blower is designed not to come on unless the stove gets very hot (81 percent output). I presume it's the same for your stove. The manual says this is if you want to watch a large fire without the blower on.

 

[mkmh]

I have found the cleaning manuals to be more useful than the manuals themselves in many cases.
(broken link removed to http://www.harmanstoves.com/support.asp)

I did not see one for your stove, but it is probably similar to the rest of the line in terms of where stuff is situated.
My distribution blower is secured with two bolts, which were admittedly a little tricky to get to. I had to configure a spacial arrangement of socket extensions to reach them.

 

[tinkabranc]

I agree those cleaning manuals are very handy to get a general
idea what to look for, but Harman needs to come out with one
specifically for the XXV as some things are different in this stove
than others. This stove has been out for a couple of years and there
are many XXV owners.

 

[davzog]

Well, I got the distribution blower working again...what a big deal.

I called the dealer who installed it and that was very little help. Seems he has so many different models that he sells that he "can't keep up" and had no idea what might be wrong or evey where the distribution blower is Wonderful.

He said he would call Harmon and aske about it and get back to me...swell. That was after he challanged the fact that the blower was not working at all....

By the way, I did find the rocker switch attached to the stove the changes the distribution blower from low it high....that was not the problem...

ANYWAY - for those XXV owners that might need to know --

In despiration, I removed the back panel on the left rear of the stove (as I face it from the front), under the contrrol panel....two screws and it pulls right off. I did this with the stove hot and running and the distribution blower llight on, but the blower not working.

Behold, the blower is a round cage style that sets just inside the back of the stove....easy to see. Everything looked ok, but it was not spinning. I took a long screwdriver and spun the cage a couple of time. It seemed a little hard to spin, almost like it was binding.

After I spun the cage unit a few times (four I think) the dumb thing took off on its own, just llike is is supposed to....immediately started blowing all that hot air into the family room like it did last week....HURRAH!

I turned the control from low to high and medium several times to get the fan to start and stop repeatedly, and all seemed well, at least for now. Certainly, I can't tell if this is a one-time break-in issue or the fan is goofed up and will cause future problems.

In any event, it is pretty easy to access, but looks a little tricky to replace....kind of tight quarters.

In any event, the outside temperature is below freezing and were we nice and cozy last evening....HURRAH!!

Thanks for all the feedback on this forum....gave me lots of ideas and now I actually believe I know more about my stove than the guy that sold it too me....ha

 

[MainePellethead]

Well, I got the distribution blower working again...what a big deal.

I called the dealer who installed it and that was very little help. Seems he has so many different models that he sells that he "can't keep up" and had no idea what might be wrong or evey where the distribution blower is Wonderful.

He said he would call Harmon and aske about it and get back to me...swell. That was after he challanged the fact that the blower was not working at all....

By the way, I did find the rocker switch attached to the stove the changes the distribution blower from low it high....that was not the problem...

ANYWAY - for those XXV owners that might need to know --

In despiration, I removed the back panel on the left rear of the stove (as I face it from the front), under the contrrol panel....two screws and it pulls right off. I did this with the stove hot and running and the distribution blower llight on, but the blower not working.

Behold, the blower is a round cage style that sets just inside the back of the stove....easy to see. Everything looked ok, but it was not spinning. I took a long screwdriver and spun the cage a couple of time. It seemed a little hard to spin, almost like it was binding.

After I spun the cage unit a few times (four I think) the dumb thing took off on its own, just llike is is supposed to....immediately started blowing all that hot air into the family room like it did last week....HURRAH!

I turned the control from low to high and medium several times to get the fan to start and stop repeatedly, and all seemed well, at least for now. Certainly, I can't tell if this is a one-time break-in issue or the fan is goofed up and will cause future problems.

In any event, it is pretty easy to access, but looks a little tricky to replace....kind of tight quarters.

In any event, the outside temperature is below freezing and were we nice and cozy last evening....HURRAH!!

Thanks for all the feedback on this forum....gave me lots of ideas and now I actually believe I know more about my stove than the guy that sold it too me....ha

Yes! I love happy endings! Congrats! I have learned quite a bit about my stove as well...I'm very picky on keeping it clean....as many threads have been posted....80% of the problems stem from not keeping things properly cleaned.
Glad you found your problem...happy pelleting!

 

[mkmh]

I suspect there was an obstruction and it very well may have been the metal shot issue I came across. Hopefully you'll be good 'till spring, but at some point you're probably going to want to disconnect the blower and shake it out.
Glad it is working. I know when my dist blower finally kicked on it was a huge relief. Like you, I (initially) wasn't certain that it wasn't running..since you can feel some air coming out naturally.

 

[Stilllife1]

While troubleshooting an issue with my xxv, my dealer was supposedly told by harman that when the motors are new, they are "tight". Whatever that supposed to mean. I guess there is a breakin period for them, then they "loosen". Could have been that I guess. Good luck.

 

[tinkabranc]

Sounds like something was stuck. Glad to hear you are up and running again.