P43 Clanking Noise - Never Consistent

[Jsalinger]

Hi everyone, I have found these forums to be extremely helpful as I settled on and installed a Harman P43 this year, so thanks to everyone who is willing to provide their expert opinions. I have looked around the forums, and have not been able to find a problem quite like the one I have been having. Maybe it is not even a problem at all, but I would love some feedback.

Ever since I installed the stove (about 2 months ago), since it was new, it has periodically made a clanking, knocking noise. The noise happens when the stove is dropping pellets and the auger is feeding. The noise doesn't happen consistently though. Sometimes it will come every 5-10 minutes, other times I do not hear it for hours at a time. I have watched the auger as it is feeding, as it made the noise, and the auger does not really appear to stop or jump at all when the noise happens. It's not a terribly loud noise, so initially I thought maybe pellets are just getting jammed and broken in the feed mechanism, but I am not so sure now.

Does anyone else have any similar experiences with a sporadic clunk/clank/knocking noise on their P43 or equivalent?

Again, this has happened since it was new, even on the first bag of pellets, and hasn't gotten better or worse, it's just so random.

Thanks!

-JS

 

[HEMI]

Hi everyone, I have found these forums to be extremely helpful as I settled on and installed a Harman P43 this year, so thanks to everyone who is willing to provide their expert opinions. I have looked around the forums, and have not been able to find a problem quite like the one I have been having. Maybe it is not even a problem at all, but I would love some feedback.

Ever since I installed the stove (about 2 months ago), since it was new, it has periodically made a clanking, knocking noise. The noise happens when the stove is dropping pellets and the auger is feeding. The noise doesn't happen consistently though. Sometimes it will come every 5-10 minutes, other times I do not hear it for hours at a time. I have watched the auger as it is feeding, as it made the noise, and the auger does not really appear to stop or jump at all when the noise happens. It's not a terribly loud noise, so initially I thought maybe pellets are just getting jammed and broken in the feed mechanism, but I am not so sure now.

Does anyone else have any similar experiences with a sporadic clunk/clank/knocking noise on their P43 or equivalent?

Again, this has happened since it was new, even on the first bag of pellets, and hasn't gotten better or worse, it's just so random.

Thanks!

-JS

I noticed the same with mine...i called my dealer and he told me it was the slide plate in the bottom of the hopper, he said what happens is if the pellet your burning are longer in legnth its snapping them in a sense.......i have lignetics and they are quite long, and like yourself i don't hear it all the time....i have been burning a bag of spruce pointes which are small pellets and haven't heard that sound at all, so i assume what he told me is correct.

 

[Jsalinger]

I noticed the same with mine...i called my dealer and he told me it was the slide plate in the bottom of the hopper, he said what happens is if the pellet your burning are longer in legnth its snapping them in a sense.......i have lignetics and they are quite long, and like yourself i don't hear it all the time....i have been burning a bag of spruce pointes which are small pellets and haven't heard that sound at all, so i assume what he told me is correct.

Thanks for the reply. That makes really good sense, and I thought it might be the pellet length too, but it makes me feel much better to hear that someone else has this noise sometimes too.

How long are pellets that would be considered "long"? I have some in my bags that are 2-2.5 inches, while most are less than an inch.

I may try burning another brand of pellets just to see if that affects the noise.

-JS

 

[HEMI]

these ligneteics i have are in the range of 2-4"........went through a bag of the spruce pointes and a bag of okie's without any bang or clanking noise, has to be the long pellets

 

[tkrock]

Yeah its either the slide plate or excess fines (sawdust) binding the augur a bit. But my money is more on the slide plate cutting long pellets.