Harman XXV ventilation/ESP cleaning

[cpmken]

I'm a new XXV owner and have a couple quick questions:

1) When I clean my ventilation should I remove the ESP probe before brushing out the pipe?

2) How do I remove the ESP probe? I've done my own cleanings on the stove so far but haven't touched the probe - just want to know how to remove it so I can give it a quick cleaning. I searched here and online but am not 100% sure how to remove it.

Thanks

 

[john193]

Check your manual. Open the back of the stove and locate the combustion blower housing. You will see a wire going into the back of the exhaust enclosure, just before your vent pipe. I believe it is a 3/16 drive screw. Remove and pull the sensor out. If this is your first time, expect it to fight you a little. The carbon buildup can cause resistance when pulling on it.

 

[MikeG]

I'm a new XXV owner and have a couple quick questions:

1) When I clean my ventilation should I remove the ESP probe before brushing out the pipe?

2) How do I remove the ESP probe? I've done my own cleanings on the stove so far but haven't touched the probe - just want to know how to remove it so I can give it a quick cleaning. I searched here and online but am not 100% sure how to remove it.

Thanks

I don't think in the manual they tell you to necessarily remove to ESP probe to clean the pipe, but they do advise to remove the probe to clean it, and they also advise to be extremely careful while cleaning in the area of the probe. So I know from my stand point after reading this, I always remove the probe before I start stuffing any brushes into the pipes just so there is no chance in damaging the probe. The probe is probably one of the easiest things you can remove on your stove too (as long as it is not caked with junk like John had said), so as long as you keep up with cleaning it every so often, (I pull mine and clean it after every ton) it really makes sense to just remove the thing and get it out of the exhaust path while cleaning just to keep it safe from damage.

But don't be too afraid of it either. It isn't like it is made of glass or anything. It pretty much resembles a steel nail. So by removing it, cleaning it off and cleaning the pipe and putting it back in afterward, there is probably a 0.00001% chance you will damage it. But the damage Harman speaks of is probably if you did get a pipe brush tangled in it and really either pushed or yanked to get by it or free your brush from it, you could probably bend it or break it off.

Once your remove both of your rear panels, you will see where your stove bolts up to the first section of pipe. In this area of the stove is also where the combustion blower is located, and above that mounted vertical on the top of the exhaust on the stove, you will see the probe mounted to the exhaust by 1 machine screw (like John had said), and there will be 2 small wires coming out of the top of it. Just take out that 1/2" long screw, and pull up on the probe and it should be free. Just don't pull up on it from the wires since there could be a good chance that the wires could pull out of the top of the probe.

 

[rickwai]

All I ever do is brush past it no real need to polish it. 3 inch brush goes right past it w/ a little care and knocks the ash off it. The esp is not that tempermental. It will work fine as long as it is not encapsilated in ash. As long as ash is knocked off around it all is good.

 

[MikeG]

Well with the way the XXV's exhaust is set up, you really can't run a brush past it. You can get to it, but can't get past it because of the offset in the exhaust between the ESP probe and the outlet of the combustion blower housing. So like if you stuck your brush in from the front of your stove and pushed it back, it would go as far as about the ESP probe maybe an inch or 2 past it, but there really is no way in getting all the way past it and into the actual vent pipe because of this off set. Same goes if you push your brush in from outside. You can push it all the way until it gets to the combustion blower, but because of the off set, you can't even get to the ESP probe coming in from the outside.

So my theory always was why push all of your ash toward it in both directions and risk caking it up even more and possible bending it, when you can simply just pull it out and do your brushing. Then when it is out, just wipe if off and make it look nice and put it back in. Takes an extra 10 seconds to wipe it off.

But since there is a small area between the ESP probe and the combustion blower housing exhaust port that is sort of off limits to your pipe brush, I always brush and sweep this area out with a toilet brush and shop vac when the combustion blower is removed. Then any loose particles left in either that area, the combustion blower area, or the pipe are removed when the leaf blower trick is done. Then once everything is all cleaned up, I put the probe back in and the job is complete.

 

[Chain]

I have a P61 A and so assume the exhaust piping is pretty similar to the XXV. I simply reach way up inside and brush the ash build up off with a paint brush. Then I VERY CAREFULLY stick my vacuum hose inside the pipe and vacuum any ash laying in the pipe. I stress gently and very carefully as you don't want to bang the probe. I do this about every 2 weeks or so.

 

[Mr. Spock]

It's held in by a 1/4" sheet metal screw and it's located above the flue exhaust in the rear. Your model XXV (based on purchase date) probably has red wires leads. They can also be black. As other have mentioned don't force it out. Pull gently. I just moved mine up and down slowly a little more each time. Most of the ash will come off. There may be some carbon on it , a little water on a paper towel will take if off and make it shiny again. Do not use abrasives!

There are some pictures here that may help you out:
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/first-1-ton-cleaning-xxv.103801/#post-1342440