New Pellet Stove Owner Needs Advice

[MassPellet]

After spending several thousand$ to buy and install a Harman XXV this spring, I have been having problems with it going out on its own. I suspected my crappy Pennington Pellets were to blame, but since it was still under warranty I decided to call and have a technician check it out just in case. Well he just left and soaked my wife for $140 for a service call and a cleaning!! He said I should be giving it a thorough cleaning daily??? My owners manual says only after a ton of pellets (which I just reached). I know it was somewhat dirty but I had been cleaning it well every 5-7 days, and I was due to clean again soon.

I am outraged and plan on calling the owner to complain - I also bought my 4 tons of pellets from this dealer. The Pennington are crap full of fines and many bags have water damage - and I have had to screen and sift many bags. I have 3 pallets of these and one pallet of New england pellets which seem far superior - I have been saving these.

I'm looking to see if anyone else is having similar problems and if I have a leg to stand on with these charges.

Thanks.

 

[rayttt]

before ever calling a service man to come in a full cleaning should be done...if for no other reason..than to eliminate cleaning as being an issue.

 

[Lobstah]

Probably no leg.
IF that's the problem. If NOT, yeah...plenty of legs.

Jim

 

[tinkabranc]

Did the cleaning resolve your issue?

Doubt you have a leg to stand on about the cleaning, but if you have
wet bags of pellets maybe he will swap them out for dry ones.

The manual states the stove can go as far as a ton before cleaning but IMHO this
is just asking for trouble to wait that long. Give that burnpot a good scraping
often to keep the holes clear.

 

[MSmith66]

What was the problem that you had to call a tech??

 

[ORiley]

Is it possible there's too much air to the fire and you're burning your pellets faster than the auger feeds the pot?

 

[swalz]

I had problems with mine going out and giving 5 blink error code, I found that the pellets were bridging in the hopper at the chute before the auger. I had bought 3 tons of crappy Greenway pellets and still have half a ton to go, a lot of pellets are between 1.5" - 2.25" and caused problems. I have also found graphite helps to quite the auger and with the bridging problem, did not stop the bridging entirely but did help a lot. Just mix a good amount with some pellets and dump into the hopper when you are low, I put some graphite on the hopper walls also. Now when my stove runs out the hopper is empty with no pellets left.

Also I do a good cleaning inside the stove every week maybe two if I don't have time. Make sure you scrape the burn pot good, pay attention to the lower part of the pot. There are holes down there that need to be free of carbon so you get a good burn and under the burn pot where the two thumb screws are should be cleaned out. I can't go a ton on mine before it needs a cleaning maybe a half ton. The stove will burn a lot better if you give the burn pot a scraping and scrape the heat exchanger walls every day.

 

[MassPellet]

What kind of graphite and where would I purchase it???

 

[ORiley]

What kind of graphite and where would I purchase it???

http://www.agspecialty.com/EZslide.htm

or try a teflon spray...

http://www.shophometrends.com/product.asp?pn=109041&bhcd2=1228859101

 

[LuckyDad]

I think the "Clean it every day" pronouncement was a CYA. That sounds excessive. If your pellets are getting clogged in the hopper, your burn pot would be empty, right? Is it?

 

[shilly]

After spending several thousand$ to buy and install a Harman XXV this spring, I have been having problems with it going out on its own. I suspected my crappy Pennington Pellets were to blame, but since it was still under warranty I decided to call and have a technician check it out just in case. Well he just left and soaked my wife for $140 for a service call and a cleaning!! He said I should be giving it a thorough cleaning daily??? My owners manual says only after a ton of pellets (which I just reached). I know it was somewhat dirty but I had been cleaning it well every 5-7 days, and I was due to clean again soon.

I am outraged and plan on calling the owner to complain - I also bought my 4 tons of pellets from this dealer. The Pennington are crap full of fines and many bags have water damage - and I have had to screen and sift many bags. I have 3 pallets of these and one pallet of New england pellets which seem far superior - I have been saving these.

I'm looking to see if anyone else is having similar problems and if I have a leg to stand on with these charges.

Thanks.

I'm NEW and I need help. Just got my Harman Accentra insert installed TODAY and it's not working already. Left it on low, went out, came back the fire was GONE. Try to restart it, NO fire ! Don't know what the problem is. HELP ! :grrr:

 

[stoveguy2esw]

After spending several thousand$ to buy and install a Harman XXV this spring, I have been having problems with it going out on its own. I suspected my crappy Pennington Pellets were to blame, but since it was still under warranty I decided to call and have a technician check it out just in case. Well he just left and soaked my wife for $140 for a service call and a cleaning!! He said I should be giving it a thorough cleaning daily??? My owners manual says only after a ton of pellets (which I just reached). I know it was somewhat dirty but I had been cleaning it well every 5-7 days, and I was due to clean again soon.

I am outraged and plan on calling the owner to complain - I also bought my 4 tons of pellets from this dealer. The Pennington are crap full of fines and many bags have water damage - and I have had to screen and sift many bags. I have 3 pallets of these and one pallet of New england pellets which seem far superior - I have been saving these.

I'm looking to see if anyone else is having similar problems and if I have a leg to stand on with these charges.

Thanks.

I'm NEW and I need help. Just got my Harman Accentra insert installed TODAY and it's not working already. Left it on low, went out, came back the fire was GONE. Try to restart it, NO fire ! Don't know what the problem is. HELP ! :grrr:

is it feeding and not lighting? or not feeding?

 

[imacman]

........I'm NEW and I need help. Just got my Harman Accentra insert installed TODAY and it's not working already. Left it on low, went out, came back the fire was GONE. Try to restart it, NO fire ! Don't know what the problem is. HELP ! :grrr:

Shilly,

first of all, did the installer go over ALL the controls and show you how to operate the stove (AS THEIR SUPPOSED TO DO), after the install was done?

Secondly, I think you need to make a new post in this forum, and make sure to put the make & model of the stove in the title. That way people who own those stoves will see it....your buried here at the end of this thread.