New Harman Accentra 52i not burning well

[Mike_10]

So I have a brand new stove that I have run about a ton of pellets through, adjusting the output level to get a good burn. I did the first "heavy cleaning" the other day and it hasn't run well since. It began having dark smoke both in the stove and from the exhaust as well as not completely burning the pellets. Yesterday it shut itself down to poor combustion being sensed.
Obviously I did something to cause it but not sure where to start and wondering if I should take it apart and try to clean it again.
Anyone have any idea where I should start to try and remedy this problem? My thought is its not getting enough air to support combustion even with the feed rate down to 3.

I'm using Hamers pellets if that helps at all.

 

[bogieb]

Hamers are great pellets, so it isn't them. You are most likely correct in that something happened while you cleaned it to cause issues. My first step would be to check under the burn pot, in the ignitor area. Make sure you got all the ash out of there. Feel way back with your fingers and make sure no ash is backed up into the air inlet. Next, make sure you get that ignitor cover back on correctly. If it is angled or tilted it will disturb the way the air flows.

Once you are sure the ignitor area is clean and reassembled properly, check the fines box. Did you empty it during the cleaning? If so, check to make sure that is on correctly. Again, if it isn't properly seated then the airflow may be disturbed.

Is there any way you might have disturbed the OAK? If it slipped out of position, it could be obstructing the incoming air flow.

Check the ash pan door. If not shut properly - yep, you guessed it, it could disturb the air flow.

 

[Zeus]

So I have a brand new stove that I have run about a ton of pellets through, adjusting the output level to get a good burn. I did the first "heavy cleaning" the other day and it hasn't run well since. It began having dark smoke both in the stove and from the exhaust as well as not completely burning the pellets. Yesterday it shut itself down to poor combustion being sensed.
Obviously I did something to cause it but not sure where to start and wondering if I should take it apart and try to clean it again.
Anyone have any idea where I should start to try and remedy this problem? My thought is its not getting enough air to support combustion even with the feed rate down to 3.

I'm using Hamers pellets if that helps at all.

Can you tell us the cleaning that you performed was the stove pulled out or did you just clean inside the firebox?

 

[Mike_10]

As far as the cleaning, I cleaned everything inside the firebox taking out the plates and covers, I did not pull the stove out. I just got home from work and will start troubleshooting once I have a cup or 2 of coffee.

 

[Peterfield]

As far as the cleaning, I cleaned everything inside the firebox taking out the plates and covers, I did not pull the stove out. I just got home from work and will start troubleshooting once I have a cup or 2 of coffee.

If you didn't clean out the space under the burn pot, that might be the problem. If you did, make sure the cover plate is properly fastened with the wing nuts. If it is not properly seated, that can lead to the symptoms your stove is having.

 

[bogieb]

My bet is either the igniter cover isn't on correctly or ash got shoved into the air inlet opening. Hopefully you get it figured out quickly.

We all go thru a learning curve and have to find where we have to pay particular attention so our stoves run correctly. I've nearly left out the flame guide a couple of times. When I had the Hastings, I had the upper baffle fall down into the flames (more than once ) because I didn't secure it properly. I'm sure we all have our little stories to tell in that area.

 

[Mike_10]

Just to be sure the air comes in from behind the igniter coil correct? It's amazing how dirty the stove got in just a few days of burning poorly. It was worse than after burning an entire ton of pellets. I've got it all apart and will have it back together shortly, wish me luck.

 

[Zeus]

Make sure all parts are in correctly baffles flame guide fan cover cover plate behind ash pan all can cause issues if not installed properly watch harman video if unsure

 

[bogieb]

Just to be sure the air comes in from behind the igniter coil correct? It's amazing how dirty the stove got in just a few days of burning poorly. It was worse than after burning an entire ton of pellets. I've got it all apart and will have it back together shortly, wish me luck.

How did you make out?

 

[Zeus]

He's either still tinkering or he fixed the problem bogieb. But I'd say since we haven't heard from him he fixed it lol

 

[Mike_10]

Thanks for all the help, I got it back together and so far so good, just need to get it all adjusted again since I had been tinkering with it when it was burning incorrectly. I must have put something in just a little bit off or had something blocking air flow, either way it appears to be working correctly.

 

[Zeus]

Thanks for all the help, I got it back together and so far so good, just need to get it all adjusted again since I had been tinkering with it when it was burning incorrectly. I must have put something in just a little bit off or had something blocking air flow, either way it appears to be working correctly.

That's cool glad to hear things are good did you see what the problem was ?

 

[Mike_10]

No, I didn't notice anything out of place taking it apart. My guess is i did not clean out enough around the igniter and air inlet. I will need to keep an eye on it and maybe do another thorough cleaning before I get halfway through the next ton of pellets.

 

[Zeus]

Well hope it stays going good for you let us know.

 

[Mike_10]

I came downstairs this morning and the stove was off, status light was blinking indicating poor burn quality so it shut itself down, it's been 4 days since I cleaned it and appeared to be running well yesterday. Any ideas as to why this is happening, my guys is it isn't getting air, but why?

 

[Mike_10]

I scraped the burn area and fired it back up and could immediately tell the flame wasn't right, very low intensity burn, I let it go for about 10 minutes then turned it off, is there a fan drawing air in our is it natural ventilation in with an exhaust fan drawing air out? This has happened twice now within 3-4 days of cleaning, the second time being very meticulous about putting all the pieces back in carefully after cleaning. This is getting frustrating having spent this much money and it sitting here while my heat pump runs.

 

[Husky]

Have you changed pellets recently?
Also make sure to clean the holes in the burn pot. You might have carbon plugging the holes. I take a small allen wrench and push it through each hole on the burn pot when I do my bi-weekly complete cleaning. If these hole get plugged you will get poor air flow. Not sure what you are using for a scrapper or what your routine is for scraping but if you are not cleaning the burn pot good everyday then you can get a gradual build up of carbon which will start to constrict the holes in your pot. This can cause the symptoms you are describing.

 

[Mike_10]

I've used the same Hammers pellets since we bought the stove. I cleaned the holes out on Sunday and typically scrape the pot area after each bag or at least every other bag. Right now with temps around freezing I've been going through a bag every 12 hours or so. I use the scraper that cane with the stove. I completely agree about the gradual build up but just feel like 3 days is pretty quick for this to be happening. I am trying to narrow down whether I am doing something incorrectly or not doing something I should be, or if there is an issue with the stove I need to be looking in to.

 

[Husky]

Also, do you have an outside air kit. If so I would check for possible blockage. Something could have crawled in to make a nest or get warm. I would also check the chimney. When is last time you ran a brush through it. I run a brush every ton or so when I do a thorough cleaning.

 

[Mike_10]

I do not have an outside air kit. I bought a 4 in. brush for the exhaust since last time I only had the little 2 in. on a wire thing and was unable to get all the way up I guess. The larger one knocked loose quite a bit more once I get it all cleaned out we'll see what we have.

 

[gfreek]

Covered under warranty ?

 

[Jason845845]

Are you using room temp or constant burn?

 

[bags]

Seeing as you've had poor burns awhile and tons of ash you might need to reach back in thru the exhaust fan and brush junk off of your ESP probe.

Have you done that in the cleaning process? The stove should last a month or burn a ton of pellets before you do a thorough clean. Prior to that scrape the burn pot daily and then brush off ash from the heat exchanger as needed. Read thru your manual for details.

Are your door gaskets in place and not messed up? I know it's a new stove but???

 

[Jason845845]

Exactly, my p43 was burning terribly with a dirty ESP probe.

Seeing as you've had poor burns awhile and tons of ash you might need to reach back in thru the exhaust fan and brush junk off of your ESP probe.

Have you done that in the cleaning process? The stove should last a month or burn a ton of pellets before you do a thorough clean. Prior to that scrape the burn pot daily and then brush off ash from the heat exchanger as needed. Read thru your manual for details.

Are your door gaskets in place and not messed up? I know it's a new stove but???

 

[SWelsch]

Just got home, turned up the distribution fan and this is how the burn pot looks. Not very pretty. Thoughts?