Harmon advanced start up questions

[Clintdeck]

Hey everyone.
I bought a Harmon advanced in September. I love this stove because it so much more efficient than my last one. Question I have is, after I do a really thorough cleaning it takes almost the full 32 minute cycle to light. Everytime I clean it it happens. If I leave some ash in the pot it starts up in minutes no problem. Is this normal for this stove? I know the first answer is to always cleaning it, but it’s super clean. I don’t think it’s an igniter problem but I’m new to the Harmon stoves. Any help would be appreciated

 

[DAKSY]

Your Harman should ignite in less than 8 minutes.
Do you run it in "Test" mode to get the auger full of pellets?
Do you thoroughly clean the igniter cavity & punch out the
holes in the burn pot?

 

[Clintdeck]

Your Harman should ignite in less than 8 minutes.
Do you run it in "Test" mode to get the auger full of pellets?
Do you thoroughly clean the igniter cavity & punch out the
holes in the burn pot?

I never run it out of pellets. When I turn it on after the cleaning do I still need to run test mode? It fills with pellets right from the start. I clean the cavity and all the holes in the burn pot as well.

 

[Dataman]

I throw couple of handfulls of pellets in my Harmon XXV. Starts in about 4 minutes. No Ash

 

[DAKSY]

I never run it out of pellets. When I turn it on after the cleaning do I still need to run test mode? It fills with pellets right from the start. I clean the cavity and all the holes in the burn pot as well.

No need for test mode.
Do you "bang" on the burn pot to remove any fly ash
that may have settled on the igniter?

 

[Clintdeck]

No need for test mode.
Do you "bang" on the burn pot to remove any fly ash
that may have settled on the igniter?

Nope I dont do that. I’ll have to try that next time. Are these igniters like other stoves? As in the give no warning before they go bad? Also I want to get a spare in case. Any ideas where? I’ve bought from pellet head often

 

[tiger]

Hey everyone.
I bought a Harmon advanced in September. I love this stove because it so much more efficient than my last one. Question I have is, after I do a really thorough cleaning it takes almost the full 32 minute cycle to light. Everytime I clean it it happens. If I leave some ash in the pot it starts up in minutes no problem. Is this normal for this stove? I know the first answer is to always cleaning it, but it’s super clean. I don’t think it’s an igniter problem but I’m new to the Harmon stoves. Any help would be appreciated

If your Advance is anything like my Accentra, I experience something similar and was sifting a bit of ash on the pellets to "assist" ignition. There was another topic recently suggesting using fines sawdust instead, for the past couple of weeks I have been doing that and it really seems to help -- I now do that every morning, not just after a cleaning. It is tedious dumping almost a bag of pellets into the hopper and then sifting thought the final few handfuls to separate the fines from the pellets but I get a heaping tablespoon or two out of every bag.

 

[Clintdeck]

No need for test mode.
Do you "bang" on the burn pot to remove any fly ash
that may have settled on the igniter?

Nope I dont do that. I’ll have to try that next time. Are these igniters like other stoves? As in the give no warning before they go bad? Also I want to get a spare in case. Any ideas where? I’ve bought from

 

[DAKSY]

The igniter is a typical electrical part. No indication of impending failure. They just go.
I get mine at Woodman's Parts Plus.

 

[Clintdeck]

If your Advance is anything like my Accentra, I experience something similar and was sifting a bit of ash on the pellets to "assist" ignition. There was another topic recently suggesting using fines sawdust instead, for the past couple of weeks I have been doing that and it really seems to help -- I now do that every morning, not just after a cleaning. It is tedious dumping almost a bag of pellets into the hopper and then sifting thought the final few handfuls to separate the fines from the pellets but I get a heaping tablespoon or two out of every bag.

I’ll try that. Thanks for the info!!

 

[Mt Bob]

The Advance has that in common with the 52i. There is an updated burn pot to help. It is the same burn pot as the 52i. Yours may still have the old style pot. Also,not hard to suck lots of pellets out of the auger, when cleaning.

 

[ChandlerR]

My 2007 Accentra takes much longer to ignite after a cleaning. Not 30 minutes but close to 15. Once ignited, subsequent ignitions take just a couple of minutes. It's done this since new. Not sure why. The igniters either work or they don't. The fact that it ignites fine after that first long ignition tells me that it's fine.

 

[Clintdeck]

My 2007 Accentra takes much longer to ignite after a cleaning. Not 30 minutes but close to 15. Once ignited, subsequent ignitions take just a couple of minutes. It's done this since new. Not sure why. The igniters either work or they don't. The fact that it ignites fine after that first long ignition tells me that it's fine.

Same as mine. Thanks for the info

 

[UpStateNY]

Interesting read. My 2009 Harmon Advance has only one part replaced , which is the igniter about 6 years ago. If I remember the igniter did not just fail. It just got harder to start with the igniter, which ended up having pellets spill into the ash bin and then I had to get out the propane torch to start it manually. I finally replaced the igniter. I have not had a problem since. Knock on wood, I have been running my Harman Advance since 2009 with only one part replaced. This year I will probably only be burning about 20 bags of pellets. I installed a new Propane boiler which this year burns $1.76 a gallon propane. On very cold days like today I start up the old reliable 13 year old Harmon Advance. Knock on wood.

Note when starting always set pellet "feed adjustment" to 1 (NOT TEST). Make sure its NOT TEST. Once started I change it to 3 to 4 feed adjustment. When strting I also turn off pellet stove, Unplug pellet stove, wait 15 seconds, plug back in, wait 10 seconds, and turn on pellet stove with feed adjustment set to 1. Newer models may be different.

 

[Mt Bob]

Interesting read. My 2009 Harmon Advance has only one part replaced , which is the igniter about 6 years ago. If I remember the igniter did not just fail. It just got harder to start with the igniter, which ended up having pellets spill into the ash bin and then I had to get out the propane torch to start it manually. I finally replaced the igniter. I have not had a problem since. Knock on wood, I have been running my Harman Advance since 2009 with only one part replaced. This year I will probably only be burning about 20 bags of pellets. I installed a new Propane boiler which this year burns $1.76 a gallon propane. On very cold days like today I start up the old reliable 13 year old Harmon Advance. Knock on wood.

Note when starting always set pellet "feed adjustment" to 1 (NOT TEST). Make sure its NOT TEST. Once started I change it to 3 to 4 feed adjustment. When strting I also turn off pellet stove, Unplug pellet stove, wait 15 seconds, plug back in, wait 10 seconds, and turn on pellet stove with feed adjustment set to 1. Newer models may be different.

Yes,igniters can get "weak". Some have dual elements inside also,and can lose just 1.