Harman XXV suddenly making fumes

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JohnCC

New Member
Mar 5, 2026
12
New Hampsha
We have a Harman XXV that is at least 18 years old. Last night it started to stink up the room. There was no obvious smoke coming out, however, the connection at the back is deep in the fireplace and not all that visible. I looked back there with a flashlight and didn't see any smoke, and stuck my hand back there feeling for jets of hot air, but, again, nothing.

This AM I cleaned the stove. It was over due (ash pan overflowing.) I have a cleanout where it connects to the 4" chimney liner which I also cleaned. Unfortunately. after running about 2 hours the fumes became objectionable again.

One thing I noticed when cleaning was a bunch of what looked like caulking, pieces about an inch long and 3/8 inch wide, rectangular in shape, on the hearth under the stove. Could there be some sealant that has failed? Any other ideas?

TIA,
John
 
I'm not sure what to take a pic of. Everything looks normal.
Could something blocked the exhaust vent?
I don't think so. There's nothing blocking the exhaust of the stove into the fitting on the back. From there it's a 4" SS liner with a cap on top. When I checked the clean out about a cup of ash came out. I ran the combustion blower and dust came out, but no more solid stuff. The only thing I didn't do is pull the blower out of the housing or run a brush up the liner.

Come to think of it, it wouldn't leak out anywhere prior to the blower, right?

It seems to be burning good.

Which reminds me of one thing: the draft sensor switch failed a few years back and is bypassed, but I checked the draft at the beginning of this heating season and it was good: about 0.5" IIRC.

[Hearth.com] Harman XXV suddenly making fumes


[Hearth.com] Harman XXV suddenly making fumes
 
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I'm not sure what to take a pic of. Everything looks normal.

I don't think so. There's nothing blocking the exhaust of the stove into the fitting on the back. From there it's a 4" SS liner with a cap on top. When I checked the clean out about a cup of ash came out. I ran the combustion blower and dust came out, but no more solid stuff. The only thing I didn't do is pull the blower out of the housing or run a brush up the liner.

Come to think of it, it wouldn't leak out anywhere prior to the blower, right?

Which reminds me of one thing: the draft sensor switch failed a few years back and is bypassed, but I checked the draft at the beginning of this heating season and it was good: about 0.5" IIRC.
Any leak will only blow smoke past the combustion blower ie into the back of the stove. The vaccum switch should be replaced, not bypassed. It is a safety device. You need to pull the stove and check all the way past the stove and to the cap.
 
The vaccum switch should be replaced, not bypassed.
I would have except the newer versions (and my older Invincible) don't have one.

Any leak will only blow smoke
There is no smoke visible anywhere. Just fumes (that you can smell). The only places that are not visible are above where the damper for the fireplace would be. The opening is packed with fiberglass and the top of the chimney is capped.

That second photo is the area where I would expect to find any leaks and, as you can see, no smoke. (The stove was running when I took the picture.)

The combustion blower is right in front of that iron sleeve in the photo.
 
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OBTW, I do have a bit of a bias against vacuum switches. I had a nat gas boiler that went through three of them before we got one that worked for more than a day or so, and have a generator that uses one as part of the low oil warning system. When it failed the generator wouldn't start. Can't find a replacement for that one. Now, when you start it, you have to hold a button in until it builds oil pressure.
 
How much of a rise do you have, length of the liner? Thinking leaf blower trick…there’s also some discoloration on your liner that’s a bit concerning as that is caused by heat.
 
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How much of a rise do you have, length of the liner?
It's a two story house, so probably about 18-20 feet from stove outlet to the cap.
there’s also some discoloration on your liner that’s a bit concerning as that is caused by heat.
Yeah, I noticed that. Is it heat, or is it creosote? It's not overheating right now. You can almost lay your hand on it.
Thinking leaf blower trick…
Huh? You mean go up there and attach a leaf blower to the top of the liner (vacuum mode)? I've heard of that, but I'm not going up there now. Too much snow and ice! (I don't like going up there in the summer any more. Too old!) The last two years I hired a guy to do the high wire work.
 
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I would have except the newer versions (and my older Invincible) don't have one.


There is no smoke visible anywhere. Just fumes (that you can smell). The only places that are not visible are above where the damper for the fireplace would be. The opening is packed with fiberglass and the top of the chimney is capped.

That second photo is the area where I would expect to find any leaks and, as you can see, no smoke. (The stove was running when I took the picture.)

The combustion blower is right in front of that iron sleeve in the photo.
I'm not sure if I pulled up the correct manual. PT 6 Differential Switch 3-20-6866 should be what we now call the vacuum switch.

"The Low Draft Pressure Switch is a differential pressure switch that monitors the negative pressure (Draft) in the firebox. If the draft becomes too low for proper combustion, the switch opens, cutting power to the feed motor and the igniter circuits. This switch is connected into the AC (high voltage) wiring."

Any fumes should not be present in the room, as the combustion blower should have enough "draw" to take the fresh air into the stove and blow it outside the home. Check your source of fresh air also.
 
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Yeah that’s why I asked how long your liner was and i hope that’s not creosote on the outside of the liner
 
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That’s heat. Creosote would be all over the pipe and you would see runs.
 
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That’s heat.
I'm surprised the pipe would get hot enough to discolor stainless steel. Why not blue, like the headers on my bike? The pipe is usually not so hot you can't briefly touch it.

I was thinking maybe it was from a leak in the joint at some point in the past.
If the draft becomes too low for proper combustion, the switch opens
Thanks. I have the manual. and I understand how (and why) the switch works. In 15 years the only time the switch opened in use was when it failed. As I said, the Invincible doesn't have one nor did any of the other (brands of) stoves I've had over the years, so, being extremely prejudiced against them anyhow, I put a jumper on it and never looked back. Regardless, I don't see how it could be related to my current issue. The fire is burning hot and clean and is clearly getting enough air.

(The Invincible is basically the same motors, fans and electronics as the XXV, minus the igniter.)

Today it seems to be acting normally. I wonder if some ash or something plugged up a leak, or some external condition was causing the problem. I'm also very curious about the bits of sealer, or whatever it was, that I found under the stove. I may have to cut open the vacuum bag and dig them out.
 
Just noticed that you don’t have an OAK or is it on the other side of the stove? Check the flapper on the air intake on the back, if it gets gummed up and doesn’t have full range of motion it’ll cause problems . If no oak how is the air supply at the back of the stove?
 
No, no outside air kit. 200+ year old house - plenty of fresh air! I checked the flap last fall and it was free. I could open the back and check it again, but I am not sure I can get the cover off without moving the stove. Again, though, the flame looks good, so I'm pretty confident it's getting enough air.
 
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So, a little more info. The problem comes and goes. We had the smell for a few hours this AM and again for a few hours in the afternoon. Right now all is good.

I had an idea, but I can't make sense of it. The liner passes through the damper in the fireplace and the space is packed with fiberglass insulation. Last night I thought I felt air coming down the chimney on one side of the liner. I suppose there could be a void, maybe from pulling on the liner to move the stove out for cleaning. I can't make sense of it, though because there is a stainless steel plate on the top of the clay chimney liner that should keep most of the smoke from coming back down. I didn't put sealer on it, but it is fastened down.
 
I'm surprised the pipe would get hot enough to discolor stainless steel. Why not blue, like the headers on my bike? The pipe is usually not so hot you can't briefly touch it.

it may not have open flame at that point. your bike does

I was thinking maybe it was from a leak in the joint at some point in the past. that is entirely possible ;)
 
I've chased smoke from two pellet stove installs. My P68 I eventually fully resolved, and even after disassembling and moving to a new house is still smoke free, and the second one (interestingly enough, an XXV) I haven't figured out yet.

The only time you will actually see smoke is the 30 or so seconds while your stove is igniting and the whole burn chamber is full of gray smoke. That is the time you should crawl behind the stove with a flashlight and check.

The rest of the time the smoke is invisible and smells like a wood burning tool used for burning designs into a piece of wood.

Your picture has a lot of things that make me nervous.

First: It does not appear that you have a Harman specific appliance adapter to connect from the stove to the pipe, but if that thing you do have really belongs there, then I would take it off, put RTV silicon on the pipe that's bolted to the stove, then clamp that thing back onto it.

Second: there's a screw holding the cleanout cap to the bottom of the T. My first smoke chasing was due to the "professional" installers using screws that were too long, which punctured the inner liner of my venting in several places... Even if that screw didn't mess anything up inside, the screw head is probably not sealed, so I would seal that up. If you want to be able to remove that screw in the future, I recommend a high temp silicone tape, rather than the red goop.

Third: That cleanout cap itself could be the issue. I had a brand new undamaged PVP cleanout T start to leak at the cap after a while. I wrapped the connection with silicone tape. If you get the tape, it's wide enough to cover the screw and the seam with just one wrap.

Fourth: I wouldn't trust the RTV to seal that connection with the chimney liner. Like everyone else said, that doesn't look quite right. It might be hard to do with the hose clamp there, but maybe a few wraps of tape would cover that whole thing and seal it up.

I would be interested in seeing the pieces of caulk you found under the stove... Maybe it's just from the chimney itself...

Another thing that I would check is the door gasket using the dollar bill test. Everyone everywhere says that smoke can only come from the back end of the stove, but a year or so after I resolved my pipe smoke issues, I had the wood burning smell again. With guidance from folks on this website, I eventually figured out the door was not latching tight enough. I adjusted the latch (easy to do on a P68), and then the door sealed and the smoke issue went away.

When the stove is off and cold, take a dollar bill and place it between the door and stove, then shut the door on it. Then gently pull the bill out. If the gasket is sealing correctly, there should be pretty good resistance to pulling the bill out. Do this all the way around the door. This is a lot easier to do on a P68 door than an XXV door, but I was able to rule out my door on my XXV.

Lastly, check the ash pan gasket. This is my next step on my own XXV. The tadpole gasket is part number 1-00-71611 I got it from https://pellet-stove-parts-4less.com/ for $35.00 plus shipping (actually it came from them through Amazon). I think there's not enough "fluff" left in my gasket to push back on the ash pan to get a good seal there. It's impossible to do the dollar bill test on that weird little hinged contraption, so I'm just guessing (hoping) that is my issue. I haven't replaced my gasket yet, and haven't found any instructions on how to do it, but I had a conversation with a Harman tech that remembered seeing an XXV years ago. He gave me some pointers that seem to make sense.

As I'm typing this, my wife literally said "Instead of helping other people with their stoves, why aren't you working on our stove?"

So yeah. I hope all that helps you get to where you need to go.
 
One thing I noticed when cleaning was a bunch of what looked like caulking, pieces about an inch long and 3/8 inch wide, rectangular in shape, on the hearth under the stove. Could there be some sealant that has failed? Any other ideas?

TIA,
John
Have you checked the bags of pellets? you may have gotten a bad run from the factory and that is something from their that may have contaminated the pellets. Your exhaust system could be working perfectly fine but if you toss a pc of plastic or something in your pellet stove you are going to smell it
 
First: It does not appear that you have a Harman specific appliance adapter to connect from the stove to the pipe, but if that thing you do have really belongs there, then I would take it off, put RTV silicon on the pipe that's bolted to the stove, then clamp that thing back onto it.
The adapter came with the liner kit. There is an o-ring in there that fits over the OD of the fitting and against the edge of the pipe on the Harman. The whole thing (straps, etc) was hand crafted by me and is no doubt less than perfect...

The stove came with the house. It had a section of 3" pipe about 2' long attached with an elbow (slip on) stuffed up into the fireplace chimney with some fiberglass insulation. I consider my handiwork an improvement... ;)
Second: there's a screw holding the cleanout cap to the bottom of the T. My first smoke chasing was due to the "professional" installers using screws that were too long, which punctured the inner liner of my venting in several places...
There's no inner liner. I made a gasket on the bottom of the cap with RTV but it's been on and off many times since then and probably doesn't seal worth a darn. The screws are typical self drilling screws used in flues.
Even if that screw didn't mess anything up inside, the screw head is probably not sealed, so I would seal that up. If you want to be able to remove that screw in the future, I recommend a high temp silicone tape, rather than the red goop.
Where can I get this tape? It sounds like it may be what I need!
Third: That cleanout cap itself could be the issue. I had a brand new undamaged PVP cleanout T start to leak at the cap after a while. I wrapped the connection with silicone tape. If you get the tape, it's wide enough to cover the screw and the seam with just one wrap.
See above...
Fourth: I wouldn't trust the RTV to seal that connection with the chimney liner. Like everyone else said, that doesn't look quite right. It might be hard to do with the hose clamp there, but maybe a few wraps of tape would cover that whole thing and seal it up.
See 2 above...
I would be interested in seeing the pieces of caulk you found under the stove... Maybe it's just from the chimney itself...
Since you spent so much time responding, I will try to recover some from the vacuum cleaner bag.
Another thing that I would check is the door gasket using the dollar bill test. Everyone everywhere says that smoke can only come from the back end of the stove, but a year or so after I resolved my pipe smoke issues, I had the wood burning smell again. With guidance from folks on this website, I eventually figured out the door was not latching tight enough. I adjusted the latch (easy to do on a P68), and then the door sealed and the smoke issue went away.

When the stove is off and cold, take a dollar bill and place it between the door and stove, then shut the door on it. Then gently pull the bill out. If the gasket is sealing correctly, there should be pretty good resistance to pulling the bill out. Do this all the way around the door. This is a lot easier to do on a P68 door than an XXV door, but I was able to rule out my door on my XXV.
Will do! The door is not easy to close, so I think it's pretty tight, but can't hurt to check. OTOH, wouldn't air leak in, not out?
Lastly, check the ash pan gasket.
Do you mean that flap that hinges down? The only seals I know of are on the left and right sides. Parts list shows a gasket retainer, but no gasket!
This is my next step on my own XXV. The tadpole gasket is part number 1-00-71611 I got it from https://pellet-stove-parts-4less.com/ for $35.00 plus shipping
That pn isn't in the parts listings in my manual...
(actually it came from them through Amazon). I think there's not enough "fluff" left in my gasket to push back on the ash pan to get a good seal there. It's impossible to do the dollar bill test on that weird little hinged contraption, so I'm just guessing (hoping) that is my issue. I haven't replaced my gasket yet, and haven't found any instructions on how to do it, but I had a conversation with a Harman tech that remembered seeing an XXV years ago. He gave me some pointers that seem to make sense.

As I'm typing this, my wife literally said "Instead of helping other people with their stoves, why aren't you working on our stove?"
Tell your wife I am extremely grateful for the time she allowed you to spend crafting this post! If you can point me to a source of the tape, I think I can cover a lot of ground (or pipe) with that, and, I'm assuming it can be removed for servicing, more easily than if you goop it together with RTV. Is it reusable, or should I order extra for servicing?

I had a camp with a Whitfield pellet stove that had been glued together with RTV. No leaks, but nothing worked right, either. Long story...

Gotta go. My wife wants me to stop playing with the computer and fix the stove...
 
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Update.

I got a roll of silicone tape. I was able to tape up the clean-out cap. I took apart the junction between the adapter and the stove. The fitting was sort of cocked, probably from pulling the stove in and out, and the o-ring was not making a good seal. Ironically, I came up with the elaborate connection so that it would be easy to take apart, then I've gone to great lengths to never take it apart. Anyhow, I readjusted the clamping mechanism and wrapped the junction in the tape instead of the exhaust clamp that was on it before, fitted it all back with care, and fired it up. Other than a brief moment when it lit off, it has been fume free for several hours now.

Fingers crossed...

To everyone who responded, thanks for your input!
 
I was gonna say that unless there is a hole or open seam in that corrugated spiraling flex pipe letting hot exhaust with smoke out at the discoloration, it about has to be evidence of a leak very near by, like where those clamps are just below it.