New Member, Harman Accentra FS question

[AirstreamROB]

My name is Rob from good ole West Virginia! Have had my harman pellet stove for 4 months, we are very pleased with it. I purchased it reconditioned from a dealer. It was a trade in that was checked out, cleaned, painted and resold... pretty much.

Im having quite a bit of creosote buildup in the burn pot. A lot more than I get in my englander stove in my garage/shop. Im using the Harman OAK, vented straight out and burning Hamer premium hardwood pellets.
My unit has the chain drive for auger and removable flame guide.

I stumbled upon a thread involving conversation about, harman 1-00-247234 inlet reducing ring, for a Accentra FS pellet stove. Im curious if the update to the stove helped? I do not want to spend $$$ on the part if it does not help. Not much feedback anywhere on the part, even dealers are clueless.

Thanks

 

[jzm2cc]

Burnpot should not develop cresote obviously, but a carbon speed bump yes. Check the door gasket to make sure it's in good shape. That large door presents plenty of opportunities for an air leak, which reduces air flow through the burnpot.

 

[AirstreamROB]

Thanks for the reply....

Maybe carbon is a better term. I have to use a screwdriver or chisel and hammer to chip it off. i do get the speed bump on the front or throat of the burn pot, but also on the sides (inside the burn pot, not outside) and build up on the flame guide. The inlet reduction ring was supposed to rid the buildup or lessen it.

Seems to seal good. Ive used a piece of paper following the door seem with no movement. Do you know a better way to check?

 

[jzm2cc]

Got what you are saying. Inlet ring sure seems expensive at 90 dollars. Guess it reduces hole diameter leading to exhaust fan so it pulls more air thru stove. Never seen ring, but bet its only on older stoves. Note Accentra stoves use single paddle fan exhaust blades, wonder if a $15 double fan blade would accomplish same goal of more air flow. Not the easiest thing to replace though, heat and pb blaster is your friend to loosen allen set screw and to pull off motor shaft.

Make sure sll holes in burn pot are clear first though, a small allen wrench works well fir this or maybe a hand held drill bit.

 

[AirstreamROB]

I don't think the double paddle fan will fit.

I had to replace fan blade earlier this year. Was cleaning fan when a blade snapped! Ekkk!
Set screw was a pain to remove.
Tried pb blast, heat, screw extractor... no dice. Ended up splitting collor with dremel tool.

Hoping for some experience/feedback using, installing reduction ring.

 

[AirstreamROB]

Mangled fan blade pic

 

[jzm2cc]

That poor fan, never had a chance against your Dremel tool.

I can't help with ring thing sorry, I'm just a tight wad a would refuse to pay $90 for such an item. Would be tempted to make my own.

 

[jenileigh]

I have the same stove. We always have some carbon buildup on the flame guide. We had some Hamers at the beginning of the season... They were very ashy. Switched to another pellet & everything was fine. Can't help with the ring thing either. My problem is the fan has gotta very, very noisy as the season has gone. Probably needs replaced after the end of the season.

 

[jzm2cc]

Curious what your feed rate is set at, 4 or something else? With ash and carbon build up on sides of burnpot, maybe its running a bit rich when running at max burn (assuming its in room mode not stove mode). Dialing feed rate back to 3 might help with build up a bit due to less fuel and potentually leaner fuel mixture when she is cranking out BTU'S. Note that it would put out a bit less heat on a lower feed setting. Lots of if's here!

On my PC45 it comes with a large exhaust inlet ring for pellets and a much smaller one for corn. I only burn pellets but can use small hole to reduce airflow and keep more heat inside of stove. In either case there isn't much carbon build up in burn pot and there is a single paddle fan in it, although i have seen these stoves with dual paddles before.

Id like to see where this Accentrs ring is installed to see if it streamlines air flow into exhaust blades, just makes hole smaller before exh, or increases efficiency of airflow around blades.

 

[AirstreamROB]

I run in stove mode, dist fan on H.
Temp dial on 4, feed adjust 3
Auto mode.

I have found the install directions online. Just seems to make the exhaust outlet smaller.

 

[AirstreamROB]

When I emailed mountain view hearth products this was the reply....


"Thank you for contacting us! The exhaust reducing ring attaches the underside of the blower housing, where you can see the fan blade. This part is used to create a more concentrated air flow for those units. Please let us know if you have any further questions, concerns, or if there is anything else we can assist you with. We’ll be happy to help!

Regards,
Mountain View Hearth Products"

 

[AirstreamROB]

If there was some definite feedback on the ring or if it were reasonably priced ($50 or so).... I would try it and do a write up/review, before/after.

But $90 for a maybe fix.... ???, tough one.

 

[AirstreamROB]

Link to the only other thread I can find related to this...

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads...-build-up-in-burn-pot-after-1-day-burn.23908/

 

[jzm2cc]

Try moving fan to end of motor shaft if not already. This should close the gap between fan and outlet hole, maybe enough to increase air flow levels for a better burn. Free ideas are sometimes enough..

 

[AirstreamROB]

I took off the combustion blower housing today to compare shape to that of the pic in the inlet reduction ring and also to see how far from the end of the motor was the fan blade.

Verified model on my unit, accentra-2.
Looks as though mine my have the updated housing. Looks very similar to the pic in the directions of the reduction ring installed (see pics).

Blade is about 1/8"-3/16" from end of shaft. Don't know if it would help to move it out or not.

Also trying to turn up feed rate. Maybe getting the fire out of the throat of the burn pot may help.

 

[Mt Bob]

The part number you posted is not an update.It is for a stove that has the auger motor directly mounted to the auger,not a chain drive earlier model.If you are getting immense amount of carbon,your pellets are really crappy(or you are burning grass pellets)or your flue is out of spec.Yes you can install the dual impeller in your stove,will fit,was a normal hi altitude modification.hope this helps.The reduction ring was not an upgrade/mod,was because other parts of the stove were changed.

 

[AirstreamROB]

The same batch of hamer pellets are being used in my englander pellet stove (in shop) with zero carbon issues.

The flue designs are different.
Harman- 45 deg then straight out.
Englander- straight out, clean out tee, up (dura vent kit).

Never liked what the dealer sent me home with piping wise for the harman... minus the harman wall thimble (which was very nice/easy to install)

U Might be on to something bob.

 

[Tim_M]

One thing you could check is that your hopper lid has a good seal. If the gasket needs to be replaced due to cracks, etc. It can allow air to be drawn in through the auger tube, moving the burn further down into the throat of the burn pot.

 

[AirstreamROB]

Best represents my flue setup. 45 deg is used on mine for corner install.

Tim, good idea.
When I open the hopper lid, I get a change in the fire, close lid it returns to normal. I'm thinking seals/gaskets are ok. Unless you know of a different way to check?

 

[Tim_M]

One way to check your hopper seal is to duck tape it on top to ensure the tape completely seals it, and see if the flame pattern changes.