Harman XXV question

[GreyEagle63]

Hi all! I'm a long time reader of this forum and have learned so many bits of great info in regards to my stove and pellet stoves in general, so I figured it was high time I become a member. I'm a retired school teacher (32 years with 5th and 6th graders) living here in NW Pennsylvania, about 5 miles from the lake effect snow machine known as Lake Erie!

My question concerns my Harman XXV, which I had installed in December of 2011. It's been a great stove and am very satisfied with it. However, I've noticed over the past 3 weeks or so, I'm getting a very audible "clicking" sound directly after the pellets drop. It's not random, it happens every time. It's not affecting how the stove runs at all....still burning great.....just that clicking noise. I called my dealer and he mentioned the slide plate having something under it and just needing to work that obstruction out on its own, and that no damage was being done. Well, as I said, it's been about 3 weeks and it's still consistently making that noise. I clean the stove about every 10-12 days....scrape the burn pot, igniter area, heat exchangers, fines box, and this past Wednesday emptied the hopper and vacuumed it out, including the area around the slide plate. This helped for a few hours, but the clicking sound started right back up again. So, I decided to ask the experts on this forum and gather some ideas. Thanks in advance!

 

[Defiant]

Welcome aboard GreyEagle, hmm? Puzzling but check around the auger entry to the burn pot and see if there is any carbon build up or obstructions. If so scrape it out, had that happen to mine and it made some weird noises until I cleaned. Keep us posted.

 

[kinsmanstoves]

Have you cleaned inside the feeder assy? That means loosing the large thumb screw and removing the cover plate?

Eric

 

[GreyEagle63]

Defiant, thanks for the welcome and the suggestion! Do you mean to scrape the visible part of the auger showing at the opening to the burn pot? Can I do that without damaging the auger? Understand that I am mechanically challenged.....I'm still trying to gather the courage to take out the combustion fan to clean without screwing things up! This clicking noise sounds like it's happening around the slide plate area, but as I mentioned, I don't have much confidence in diagnosing mechanical problems.

 

[GreyEagle63]

Eric, would that be the fines box area? If so, I clean that every time I clean the stove.

 

[kinsmanstoves]

All Harmans make a tinkling sound as the pellets fall into the auger tube.

 

[GreyEagle63]

Eric, this clicking noise is happening every time immediately after the tinkling sound of the pellets falling. It's like, tinkle, tinkle, tinkle, click.....tinkle, tinkle, tinkle, click.

 

[kinsmanstoves]

I would pull out the slide plate, clean in there and check the plate for damage.

Eric

 

[Delta-T]

I would suggest checking the actual slide plate, not just the cavity it resides in...empty hopper first. also would not hurt to open up the back and watch the whole thing going to see if there's something that catches your eye. When you remove slide plate, reach down from the hopper and feel to the left to see if theres's anything building up in there (ie sawdust, piece of pellet bag).

 

[Delta-T]

i type too slow.

 

[kinsmanstoves]

such as this slide plate?

 

[GreyEagle63]

Guys, my problem lies in the fact that I have no idea how to remove the slide plate to inspect it. However, I did notice that with the hopper empty and as I look down at the slide plate from a top view, there appears to be some scraping on the right side of the plate.

Eric, what angle is that picture taken from? Is it taken with the slide plate completely removed?

 

[Lousyweather]

the plate is actually accessed through the rear of the unit.....remove the cover plate on the back

 

[kinsmanstoves]

loosen the thumb screw and remove the cover plate. That plate slides right out and slides right back in. It "should" be one piece and not two.

 

[Lousyweather]

loosen the thumb screw and remove the cover plate. That plate slides right out and slides right back in. It "should" be one piece and not two.

yea, but there are two cover plates on the rear of the unit you must remove to access the cover to the fines container. You can get away with removing just the right side, facing the front of the stove.

 

[glenc0322]

Eric, this clicking noise is happening every time immediately after the tinkling sound of the pellets falling. It's like, tinkle, tinkle, tinkle, click.....tinkle, tinkle, tinkle, click.

maybe it has to go to the bathroom?

 

[Delta-T]

Greyeagle63..."fear is the mind killer"...you're not going to hurt anything by poking around. Arm yourself with your trusty owner's manual, a socket set, and some "I can do it!"...

 

[GreyEagle63]

glenco322, LOL at the bathroom comment.....I had a mouthful of coffee when I read that and damn near lost it all over my monitor screen!

Guys, I've had that cover plate for the fines box off every time I've cleaned that area out....very tight quarters to work in. I guess what I don't understand or can't visualize is what to do once I get in there other than vacuum it out. I think what I have trouble with is understanding how the slide plate works and also how to get at it.

Delta_T.....hehe, I know....my son tells me that all the time! Makes me think in my youth, I should have paid more attention to watching my Dad work on mechanical things instead of playing sports and chasing girls!