Harmon Accentra Insert producing too much ash and unburned pellets chunks

[Tarl]

Hi,

Last year my new Accentra insert worked great, this year it seems to be producing WAAAY to much ash, I only had about 1 can of ash by the end of last year and this year I have about 1 can per month. The Accentra website states the pan handles the ash from about 1 ton of pellets and its only doing about 14 bags worth. I have also been noticing a large amount of glowing chunks of pellets falling/blowing into the pan and the combustion bowl seems to get very stacked with pellets while its burning.

I had the stove cleaned, I am using the same premium pellets. I have the the stove set to room temp at 75 degrees and the feed rate at 2.75/3. It seems like the feed rate is too high for the combustion but I have tested the rate down to 1 and it still does the same thing.

Any idea on what I am doing wrong, or what could be wrong with the stove?

Thanks in advance!

 

[rap69ri]

I'm no expert, but I would think you have a problem with your ESP. Contact your dealer and have them check it out, it's still under warranty.

 

[GVA]

describe the way you clean the stove..
how often
how many tons have you run through it
what is a can of ash??????????????

 

[akakii]

I have a Harman Accentra and the only way I've gotten that sort of a change in performance is when I've switched brands of pellets. Also, even though you're burning the same brand that you did last year, quality can change from one batch to another. What brand are you using?

 

[crausch]

How is your air intake? Make sure that after a year of burning that your air intake is not restricted by anything (such as dust ball, animal hair or any other debris). A restricted air flow can hamper the air/fuel ratio causing the pellets to burn slower then the feed rate. Also, make sure there is nothing obstructing your flue or vent pipe. If there is any restriction in your draft, you will get a dirty burn (lots of ashes). I am not sure what cap you have on your chimney (since you have an insert), but I used to have problems with birds getting in my chimney during the spring/summer.

 

[Tarl]

I got the stove cleaned by the dealer and the cap is fine (no animals down the pipe, now my gas/water heater vent is a WHOLE other story, YUCK! ), I have run 5 tons through it, my can is like a 6 or 7 gallon (metal) bucket. It held about 2 tons worth of ash last year and now it holds a little over 1/2 ton usage. so my ash is a lot higher this year!

I guess will call the dealer and hope I get him on the phone!

 

[timjk69]

I found ash content varies even with the same brand from ton to ton. The problem I find with my Accentra is there is no air intake adjustment other than the fan speed which is all the way up and my draft readings at or above specs. According to my dealer the fuel air ratio is correct but I think it could use a little more air. My Accentra is picky about what pellets I burn. I have an old Traeger in my garage that will vaporize any thing I feed it, with the proper draft adjustment.

Tim

 

[Lousyweather]

I think the OP said he had a Accentra Insert, which has a smaller ash pan, by far, than the FS accentra. As for amount of ash, be careful here, because when ash content is measured in the lab, its measured by WEIGHT. Most of us generally make our decisions on ash amount by visually looking at the heap in the stove (by VOLUME). Since the masses of ash can vary considerably given a myraid of factors such as chloride content, type of wood, silica content, etc, even pellets of the same brand can vary from year to year, ash-wise. We've found for instance, that a softwood pellet, still premium, and roughly the same ash content (~.5%) can APPEAR to have alot more ash than the same content of hardwood pellet. The softwood as is more voluminous, but lighter in mass, appearing to produce more ash, but in actuality, that ash weighs the same.

 

[pkitfox]

Aside from the quality of pellets, did your dealer or you check the draft with a magnehelic meter? I have an Accentra FS and bought a meter on eBay. Since it has been running good, I am just recording the readings for future reference. I got .57 high and .52 low (low is quite a high reading according to the manual), but am not touching it because of the good burn even though the readings do not match the manual.

Buy a few bags of pellets of another type and see how they burn.