Question for Harman stove users

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MCPO

Minister of Fire
Hearth Supporter
Harman Stoves supposedly push the ashes out of the burn pot as the auger pushes pellets into the fire.
Not that I have a complaint since my stove burns complete and without issues but I have not ever experienced my stove pushing any ash out and over the burn pot lip.
The ash never gets past one inch from the edge.(last row of air holes) It does tend to build up about a 3/4 inch high row of soft ash. It appears 99% of the ashes simply get blown out of the pot. I find that very little ash falls into the hollow cleanout area at the bottom of the burn pot.
Of course I have never have used the stove on a real high burn for any extended period of time. It usually runs at settings of #1-#2.5 and occasionally I turn it up to #3- #3.5 for an hour or so first thing in the morning if it`s real cold outside.
So my question is , is it normal for no ash to be pushed put of the pot?
 
I've been burning my P68 on & off (depending on the price of HHO) since 2005. The incoming pellets do push the ash over the burn
pot into the ash bin as advertised. When I'm home I do scrape the burn pot 2-4 times daily, and pull some of the ash over the burn
pot manually. Perhaps you're scrapping the burn pot regularly (which is good), and the ashes just aren't building up to the point of
being pushed over.
 
My XXV tends to build up a "pile" of ash "chunks" on the front lip of the burn pot, but judging by the amount of ash in the ash pan, it is surely pushing it over the edge. Maybe I'm too impatient to sit in front of the stove watching for it... Might depend on pellets as well? Im burning New England Wood Pellets with the red writing on the bag. While I see a number of embers being blown around inside the stove, I'm betting the ash "chunks" are too heavy to blow around and they must get pushed over the lip at some point.
 
Same on my Advance, when the stove is going on room temp mode all night there is all ways a berm of ash on the edge of the burn pot, and the flame is going but it looks like it is sneaking out from behind it. I scrape 3 to 4 times a day and I know that there is more ash then I scraped in the ash pan, and if I had to watch it being pushed out I would rather watch paint dry!!!!!!, Just like it takes 20 min to clean, and you only have to clean after 1 ton. There is truth to there advertising to some extent!
 
sounds normal to me. i clean my burnpot a few times a day and do a 'good' cleaning of the stove every weekend. so i never "see" the ashes being pushed out, id just rather be a clean freak with my p68 so it lasts a long time:)
 
With your feed rate that far below 3 the 3 - 3.5 setting, you're probably not feeding enough pellets into the burn pot to push the ashes off the edge...Harman recommends setiing the feed at 3 & leaving it there...
As far as the burn pot scraping, 3-4 times a DAY is a tad excessive, IMHO.
3-4 times a WEEK should be sufficient.
We burn a P43 on the showroom floor & the burn pot might only get scraped TWICE a week...
 
DAKSY said:
With your feed rate that far below 3 the 3 - 3.5 setting, you're probably not feeding enough pellets into the burn pot to push the ashes off the edge...Harman recommends setiing the feed at 3 & leaving it there...
As far as the burn pot scraping, 3-4 times a DAY is a tad excessive, IMHO.
3-4 times a WEEK should be sufficient.
We burn a P43 on the showroom floor & the burn pot might only get scraped TWICE a week...

OK, maybe my burn rate is in fact a bit low to push ashes over the edge , but any higher and it puts out more heat than I need so I`m not going to worry about it.
I also think scraping 3 times a day to be excessive. I can go three days but usually I scrape every other day.
 
<>OK, maybe my burn rate is in fact a bit low to push ashes over the edge , but any higher and it puts out more heat than I need so I`m not going to worry about it. <>

Don't adjust the feed rate to lower the temperature, turn the "Room Temp/Stove Temp" knob to low & set the thermostat lower
 
DAKSY said:
<>OK, maybe my burn rate is in fact a bit low to push ashes over the edge , but any higher and it puts out more heat than I need so I`m not going to worry about it. <>

Don't adjust the feed rate to lower the temperature, turn the "Room Temp/Stove Temp" knob to low & set the thermostat lower
I`m not using a thermostat and the Harman P-38 doesn`t have a room temp/stove temp control.
 
Gio,
I don't see any ash dropping from the burn pot into the ash pan either.
I burn a Harman Accentra FS and although I see a lot of fly ash blowin' around in there, my observation is like yours ; build-up of 3/4 inch and about an inch from the edge.
I do run mine differently though. Once my living area is at temp, I dial the feedrate to #2 and the temp setting to #3, blower speed as needed.
I don't run this thing 24/7 yet. Just while I'm awake or sober, nights and weekends.
 
Never saw the ash drop from burn pot when using my Harman Accentra insert and Energex pellets. Switched to ACP(FRAM) pellets and now I can see ash falling(only takes 1 minute waiting) along with the ash pan filling up after 2 bags.
 
dccampli said:
Never saw the ash drop from burn pot when using my Harman Accentra insert and Energex pellets. Switched to ACP(FRAM) pellets and now I can see ash falling(only takes 1 minute waiting) along with the ash pan filling up after 2 bags.

Wow! ash pan filled after 2 bags? I sure hope you can get them exchanged.
 
I see everyone discussing whether they have seen ash go over the edge or not, but does it really matter whether it is being blown out or pushed out? I always see the same thing, ash sitting and clumping at the front and sometimes it builds up from the flame to the front. Like BxPellet said...it looks like the flame is sneaking out. I can come back a couple hours later and it looks pretty much the same. I think the real question is, does it effect your flame in any way?

For me the answer is no. Usually when I see the build at its worst is when the room has reached temp and the burn has cut way back until heat is needed. If I open a door to cause the stove to call for more heat, it has no problem increasing the flame. So, I say stop cleaning the pot multiple times a day if its not really affecting your burn. I usually scrape the ashes forward before I go to bed, but the rest of the time it continues to burn just fine, and that what I really care about. My ashes end up in the pan one way or the other.

[EDIT] - "dicampli" I had the same problem with the ACP pellets. I think they have discovered a way to recycle ash into pellets so it burns again. By the time your done burning them, that is is what it feels like...like you just dumped a bunch ash through your stove. Amazing amount after only four bags through my stove. yuck!
 
Gio said:
Harman Stoves supposedly push the ashes out of the burn pot as the auger pushes pellets into the fire.
Not that I have a complaint since my stove burns complete and without issues but I have not ever experienced my stove pushing any ash out and over the burn pot lip.
The ash never gets past one inch from the edge.(last row of air holes) It does tend to build up about a 3/4 inch high row of soft ash. It appears 99% of the ashes simply get blown out of the pot. I find that very little ash falls into the hollow cleanout area at the bottom of the burn pot.
Of course I have never have used the stove on a real high burn for any extended period of time. It usually runs at settings of #1-#2.5 and occasionally I turn it up to #3- #3.5 for an hour or so first thing in the morning if it`s real cold outside.
So my question is , is it normal for no ash to be pushed put of the pot?

This just shows that you are burning very good pellets with a very low ash content and you must be keeping the stove very clean. Keep up the goos work.
 
slink said:
Gio said:
Harman Stoves supposedly push the ashes out of the burn pot as the auger pushes pellets into the fire.
Not that I have a complaint since my stove burns complete and without issues but I have not ever experienced my stove pushing any ash out and over the burn pot lip.
The ash never gets past one inch from the edge.(last row of air holes) It does tend to build up about a 3/4 inch high row of soft ash. It appears 99% of the ashes simply get blown out of the pot. I find that very little ash falls into the hollow cleanout area at the bottom of the burn pot.
Of course I have never have used the stove on a real high burn for any extended period of time. It usually runs at settings of #1-#2.5 and occasionally I turn it up to #3- #3.5 for an hour or so first thing in the morning if it`s real cold outside.
So my question is , is it normal for no ash to be pushed put of the pot?

This just shows that you are burning very good pellets with a very low ash content and you must be keeping the stove very clean. Keep up the goos work.

Thanks ,that`s my conclusion too.
 
Gio said:
Harman Stoves supposedly push the ashes out of the burn pot as the auger pushes pellets into the fire.
Not that I have a complaint since my stove burns complete and without issues but I have not ever experienced my stove pushing any ash out and over the burn pot lip.
The ash never gets past one inch from the edge.(last row of air holes) It does tend to build up about a 3/4 inch high row of soft ash. It appears 99% of the ashes simply get blown out of the pot. I find that very little ash falls into the hollow cleanout area at the bottom of the burn pot.
Of course I have never have used the stove on a real high burn for any extended period of time. It usually runs at settings of #1-#2.5 and occasionally I turn it up to #3- #3.5 for an hour or so first thing in the morning if it`s real cold outside.
So my question is , is it normal for no ash to be pushed put of the pot?
Same here. Same stove and same feed rates used. If you kick it up to ~4.5+ for a period of time it will push the ashes over the lip of the pot.
 
I've had my Harman Series XXV for 3 years and I am very happy with its performance. However, lately the ash is building up in the fire pot to the extent that overnight it almost smothers the fire. This causes the flames to shoot out at a 45 degree angle against the door glass. I blame most of this on pellets left over from last year that have been stored in my basement. New pellets just purchased this fall leave very little ash over the same period of time. Can't wait to burn the old ones up. Does anyone have the same experience? Thanks
 
The ash builds up to about 1 inch tall in the entire front of the burn pot and then the incoming pellets push the ashes over the edge.
 
Burning Fireside ultras and must vacume pot every 3-4 days and a quick vacume of exchangers or I fall 3-4 degrees. The burnpot after cleaning takes about 1 hour to build a 2 inch base from burning embers to edge.I do see ash falling from time to time but it never pushes all the ash or else you would be pushing burning pellets along with it.I have my refire setting right now on 80 room temp and a 6 feed to get house back up to temp.I will back down temp to 75 and feed 5 within 2 hours of restarting.As someone has suggested the higher feed work fantastic when it is below 20 outside and its 9 right now.I dont use anymore pellets at 6 than I do at 4 I have played with this for 1 week straight now.The ash build up on front of pot after about 5-6 hours will be sometimes 2 inches high and 3 inches from edge of burning embers to edge of pot.I dont see any decrease in temp or flame if I scrape them off or just leave them.
I have a 3 week old Accentra insert.
 
What brand pellets are you burning? I'm burning Greenway and they're terrible. The ash builds up very fast and high. It will drive the ash right off the edge in no time on setting 2 and the inside of the stove gets caked up with a fluffy layer of ash everywhere. I have to shut down and clean quite often ,2-3 times per ton burned compared to last year burning NEWP and doing a thorough cleaning after 1-1.25 tons burned. I want my NEWP's back for next year.
 
Gio said:
DAKSY said:
<>OK, maybe my burn rate is in fact a bit low to push ashes over the edge , but any higher and it puts out more heat than I need so I`m not going to worry about it. <>

Don't adjust the feed rate to lower the temperature, turn the "Room Temp/Stove Temp" knob to low & set the thermostat lower
I`m not using a thermostat and the Harman P-38 doesn`t have a room temp/stove temp control.

You can turn down the blower speed or turn back the burn rate to limit the heat coming out.
 
I have a P-38 and get the same results.....no problem, I just scrape them the burn pot daily. I typically run mine between 2- 2.5.
 
I get the same thing with my Advance. It's all good. I scrape once a bag, then clean when the ash pan is full. I don't remember seeing the ashes fall, but they are blown around in there from the pressure.
 
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central maine
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has any one used the p68 to heat a 2 story house with the p68 in the basement?
 
my fs accentra has to work hard in this part of this northern country. the ashes at times build up at the lip of the pot belly and the oncoming red pellets ride over the ashes and sometimes fall in the ash bucket in red form. i do a fast clean of the pot and then i get flames shooting through the pin holes of the pot belly. the flame at this time is much smaller and blue. my feed is set at 5 and the temp at 80-85 using the stove temp mode. i'm using climate hwd pellets from quebec.
 
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