Harmon P43 Igniter?

[wildlandff18]

Morning guys,

My P43 has been a bit tricky lately. I had an issue with the stove kicking off just as it got up to temp - but I pulled the T-pipe and cleaned the rest of the vent. Fired it up and it ran great for 2 weeks. Did a thorough cleaning and started it back up - pellets wouldn’t ignite.

I used some gel to get it going. It took awhile and the combustion fan still hadn’t kicked in. So I flipped back to auto and the pellets slowly, slowly began to smoke. When they did ignite it was almost like a small explosion (more of a popping noise as I’m sure it sucked a bunch of air through the intake). Stove ran great so I let it run through the hopper (just in case that bag of pellets may have been a little damp). Loaded some fresh pellets in this morning. Same thing. Wouldn’t ignite. The burn pot was full - so I unplugged the stove for 10 seconds. Plugged it back in, kicked the stove temp on and it ignited in less than a minute.

Any ideas? I ordered a new igniter this morning. Figured it wouldn’t hurt to have an extra laying around anyway. I’d like to get this thing dialed in before the UP winter gets going. Thanks for the help!

 

[jackman]

I've had the same experience in the past. The igniter may be weak taking longer to get going. The pellet smoke and mini explosion is common. I'd just keep the stove running and shut down only if necessary. Be sure the cleaning is thorough including OAK and the vent all the way to the end.

 

[Marc S.]

I've had the same experience in the past. The igniter may be weak taking longer to get going. The pellet smoke and mini explosion is common. I'd just keep the stove running and shut down only if necessary. Be sure the cleaning is thorough including OAK and the vent all the way to the end.

You got me, what is an OAK other than a tree?

 

[Washed-Up]

Outside Air Kit...O.A.K.

 

[jackman]

You got me, what is an OAK other than a tree?

Sorry about that I should have said; Outside Air Kit.

 

[wildlandff18]

I was scratching my head at OAK as well. Haha. The pellet stove pipe was attached to an existing 6” chimney - but it’s completely clear. I cleaned it this fall. If I use a little gel and start the stove on manual, then kick on the igniter there’s enough heat built up that the stove will fire up. I popped out the igniter just to see if it had spun in its cradle or anything else was wrong with it. Cleaned it up but it looks fine. I guess it’s just reached the end of its life.

Thanks for the quick responses. New igniter is on the way. I’ll update if that fixes my issues.

 

[Ssyko]

I think you miss understood washed-up and jackman. an OAK is for the intake air, not the exhaust.

 

[wildlandff18]

New igniter installed and she’s back up and running. Thanks guys. While I’m thinking about it, I always run this on Consant/Stove mode. From day 1 if I select Room Temp I get a 4 blink error - bad room sensing probe. I replaced with an oem replacement and I still got an error. There doesn’t seem to be much else to try with this error. Any thoughts? I wouldn’t hate the idea of hooking the stove up to a thermostat so I can have it auto start in the morning.

 

[wildlandff18]

Bump. Anyone?

 

[jackman]

I hate to think you're new ESP is bad but I suppose it's possible. Bad control board perhaps.

 

[SciGuy]

New igniter installed and she’s back up and running. Thanks guys. While I’m thinking about it, I always run this on Consant/Stove mode. From day 1 if I select Room Temp I get a 4 blink error - bad room sensing probe. I replaced with an oem replacement and I still got an error. There doesn’t seem to be much else to try with this error. Any thoughts? I wouldn’t hate the idea of hooking the stove up to a thermostat so I can have it auto start in the morning.

If it was my stove and was getting the 4 blink code I'd unplug the stove then:

#1 - unplug and replug in the two connections where the wires that eventually run to the room temperature sensing leads plug into the computer board. While you're at it spray the connectors with some appropriate contact clean if you have it. Plug the stove back in an see if you've lost the 4 blink code.

#2. If you've still got the code. Test continuity of the wires that lead from the computer board to where they plug into the place on the back of the stove where the room temperature sensing leads plug in. Perhaps one of the conductors in the wires was broken from the factory. If one of the wires lacks continuity you'll need to replace it. You could wire the room temperature sensing wire directly to the control board but be sure to zip tie the lead so that it can't accidentally jerk there it connects into the control board.

If there's continuity from the control board to the room sense wires then I'd begin to worry the control board may be compromised.

Hopefully #1 or 2 gets you going.

Hugh

 

[wildlandff18]

Hey Hugh,

Thanks for the ideas. I went direct with the probe and I’m still getting the 4 blink code. I don’t have any issues running it in stove temp but it tends to blow us right out of our 1000 sq ft house - even when I dial the temp all the way down to 50 and flip the distribution blower off. It would be nice to have some more control over it.

 

[Tonyray]

I know what you mean. We have a p61a and unless it's really cold out it just cranks out way too much heat even at the lowest settings

 

[SciGuy]

Hey Hugh,

Thanks for the ideas. I went direct with the probe and I’m still getting the 4 blink code. I don’t have any issues running it in stove temp but it tends to blow us right out of our 1000 sq ft house - even when I dial the temp all the way down to 50 and flip the distribution blower off. It would be nice to have some more control over it.

Well drat, I was hoping for you that it would be an easy fix. We live in a less than 900sf cabin and heat with a P43 so I can really relate to your situation. We absolutely have to run our stove in room temperature mode until it gets down into the teens lest it keep the place too warm. Is the stove beyond warranty? It sure would be helpful if you could swap in a known good control board before biting the bullet to for $200+ for a new board.

Good luck,

Hugh