Hearth.com exclusive! Harman re-designing their burnpot...here's the information

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PJPellet

Minister of Fire
Sep 6, 2011
588
Western NY
There have been issues with woofing, fluttering, and strobe like flames from some Harman pellet stoves. Some stoves do it and some don't. I called my dealer last week as the problem was getting worse. They called Harman and discovered that Harman is in the designing phase of a new burnpot to help with this issue. All right, the big day is tomorrow! I couldn’t wait to see the new burnpot so I drove to my dealer today to look at it. Here are some details:

1. Bigger, deeper burnpot.
2. Ignitor location is different.
3. Ignitor is the same but ignitor cradle is different.
4. More airflow through burnpot.
5. Flame guide is the same.
6. Harman still in the design phase of this burnpot, so I will be getting a hand-made prototype. (hope that’s a good thing)

Pictures to follow as soon as everything is switched around.
 
They have been working on this for sometime. Harman is always trying to improve their awesome designs. There is a lot of things coming.

Eric
 
Thanks for the info!
Looking forward to pics and more info.
Will this be a fix for older stoves or a design for new stoves??
 
Thanks for the link Ib, I have a 2011 XXV and get the deep bass sound and it does sound like a chopper overhead. Other than that stove runs great.
 
Defiant said:
Thanks for the link Ib, I have a 2011 XXV and get the deep bass sound and it does sound like a chopper overhead. Other than that stove runs great.

Yep, you and about a million of us other Harman owners :) Hopefully they'll come out with a redesigned burnpot and it'll be covered under warranty, for those of us that prefer our stoves not sound like a helicopter flying overhead.
 
Well...............no more flutter! The flame seems to be hotter too. It's bright, strong, and lively. The burnpot has only been on for a few hours but here are some observations:

1. NO MORE FLUTTER, WOOF, STROBE, etc.
2. Occasionally the flame seems to favor the left side of the burnpot, not always, but occasionally.
3. I think Harman will eventually design a new flame guide once they finish designing this burnpot. I say this because the old flame guide fits well but it looks like the new burnpot was designed for a bigger flame guide.
4. The fire in the old burnpot seemed to "tilt" toward the front of the stove. With the new burnpot it "tilts" back, which is another reason why I think Harman will design a new flame guide because with a bigger flame guide it would "tilt" slightly forward again.
5. There is a steel piece that fits between the burnpot and the back of the stove. This replaces the gasket from the old burnpot.
6. The flame really does seem hotter and brighter.

So far I am happy with the new burnpot. It will be interesting to see what Harman ends up doing design-wise with this.

I have pictures that I have to re-size and post. These are just my initial observations. When I get more time this weekend I will get the pictures on here and post any other things I notice. Just wanted to post this quick so y'all weren't wondering. :)
 
Interesting! Congrats on getting a satisfactory result!

Make with the pics already!! %-P
 
Yes, PICS please!

And...do you have any sort of information on who the contact person at Harman is? I'm going to be contacting my dealer for an updated burnpot, and it would probably save them time if they knew exactly who to ask for when they call Harman tech support.
 
I had the same problem with my P35i insert when I first installed it last October. I kept thinking that there was a truck in my driveway or something. In about 10 minutes I figured out it was the stove making this bass like rumble. The noise was so loud at times I couldn't hear myself think. I described the problem in a post here on the Hearth.com forums and got a reply shortly thereafter suggesting I try changing the flame guide. My original flame guide was the straight one and it was suggested that I try the curved one. I called my dealer and they thought I was crazy... they wanted to try changing the door first because they suspected a bad seal or warped door, so we tried that first. Same problem... so they gave me the curved flame guide and that did the trick. Occasionally I would still get a slight rumbling, but nothing like it was with the straight flame guide.

Now in my second season of using this stove I rarely hear it at all... mostly when I open the hopper to refill with pellets I get a slight rumbling every so often. It almost seems that the stove had to go through a sort of break in period. The new burn pot redesign is interesting... but until it comes out try using the curved flame guide if yours is the straight type now.

I still have my original straight one and am curious to test the stove with it again to see if the rumbling returns.
 
It would be nice if Englander would redesign there burn pots so ash is pushed out instead of building up!
Don,t get me wrong I like my stove but a bad burn pot design.
 
76brian said:
Interesting! Congrats on getting a satisfactory result!

Make with the pics already!! %-P

Okay, anything for a fellow ham....I had some free time tonight, so here goes. I tried to get all of the angles. If there are any questions just ask and I will do my best to answer.
 

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bcb1 said:
Yes, PICS please!

And...do you have any sort of information on who the contact person at Harman is? I'm going to be contacting my dealer for an updated burnpot, and it would probably save them time if they knew exactly who to ask for when they call Harman tech support.

I am not sure who my dealer contacted but as long as your dealer calls Harman I would think that you would be all set.
 
oh yeh looks different. looks like a lighter gauge steel too. any part number on it? how did you manage to become the guinea pig?
 
3650 said:
oh yeh looks different. looks like a lighter gauge steel too. any part number on it? how did you manage to become the guinea pig?

No part number on it, just a "REV 4." According to my dealer they are still designing it, I imagine more of a fine tuning at this point. Well, I got to be the guinea pig by chance. The burnpot burns much hotter and the flame is quite bright and intense. Trying to keep a close eye on it as it burns different than the old one, trying to figure out it's little nuances.
 
Yeah, that bad boy has hand made prototype written all over it. Looks very interesting. I'll be surprised if they let you keep it. They'll probably replace with an eventual production unit.

The second steel plate that replaced the gasket probably provides the air passages to the 2 air inlets at the top of the auger. The production unit will probably have a thicker back plate with the air passages milled into the steel.

Will be interesting to see how it holds up.

Burning pics would be interesting as well. ;-)
 
Hmm... doesn't have the curve over at the front like mine. Neat. You say it burns hotter, does the stove actually feel warmer or does the flame just look more... 'powerful'?
 
j-takeman said:
Cool PJ, Glad your sharing with the group. Prototype testing sounds neat! Did Harman ask for feedback?

Hi J, My dealer hasn't said anything about feedback. But I am thinking I'll probably get a call from him in a few days.
 
76brian said:
Hmm... doesn't have the curve over at the front like mine. Neat. You say it burns hotter, does the stove actually feel warmer or does the flame just look more... 'powerful'?

I think the stove gets hotter faster but I have no data to prove that other than me. :) The flame looks hotter, it actually is almost too bright to look at it, a white flame. I've gotta get some video for you guys to see, I will do that too. You mention the curve over the front, I would prefer that this new pot have the curve because the curve seemed to help with the ashes pushing themselves off into the ashpan, but so far they seem to be working there way up and over, but that was a thought of mine too.
 
PJPellet said:
I think the stove gets hotter faster but I have no data to prove that other than me. :) The flame looks hotter, it actually is almost too bright to look at it, a white flame. I've gotta get some video for you guys to see.

Just for comparison when you do post it, here's mine burning with the original P43 burn pot:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9olRo0HLS7s

Mine favors the left side as well, but once it's been going for a bit it evens out. That was the stove just being ramped up from low, almost idle.
 
Couple of friends have rumbling issues with their Harmon stoves showed them this post and they are very exited to find out more.
 
Here is a video with the new burnpot. Some other observations. I am noticing less ash around the airwash holes. And this burnpot does burn a hotter/larger fire. Interestingly the Harman scraper tool works perfect with this pot. Almost like this burnpot was designed around the scraper. lol


[youtube]http://youtu.be/lz9FVkShwIU[/youtube]
 
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