So I haven't posted in a while, and I've done a lot, and am still unsuccessful.
I discovered the two holes on the top of the burnpot were totally plugged, so I cleaned them out and sucked out the burnpot and air intake.
I scraped the hard creosote off the inside of the stove. I tried to take the burnpot off to check the gasket, but couldn't get the nuts to turn, so I gave up on that.
I pulled off the combustion fan motor and discovered it had 20 years of dust on the fans and 20 years of creosote on the internal fan. (When I bought the stove, I was told these parts were all brand new installed by a Harman Technician). Yeah... I cut the old fan off so I could get to the other fans and clean them. I put a new fan on and sanded the combustion plate (whatever it's called) to get the rust off so hopefully it would make a good seal to the stove.
I also discovered the little yellow thing inside the pellet hopper is some kind of filter for the vacuum system when I unscrewed it and heard a clunk down inside the stove. That's not a fun part to put back together when blindly reaching through the inner-workings of the stove. I found out the stove will not run without that thing hooked up (it won't shut itself off without it either).
After all of that I tried the stove and still smelled smoke.
So tonight I replaced the ash pan gasket, which wasn't as bad as I thought... the gasket is definitely better sealing than the previous one, but alas, my efforts were in vain (again). When the stove lit there was a lot of smoke inside, so I checked the door glass to see if it was leaking around it. I could not see or smell any smoke.
After about 5 minutes we could smell the wood-burning smell (sort of) starting to emanate from the stove. We debated back and forth whether it was paint curing or smoke... and previously we thought it was cigarette smoke that baked onto the stove from the previous owner (no idea if they smoked or not). So I was pondering how I could clean the fan side of the heat exchanger with compressed air without making a horrible mess inside the house when I decided to smell the vents on the side of the stove where the heat exchanger meets the top of the stove. This is where the smell is coming from.
When I cleaned the inside of the stove, I noticed the heat exchanger is held in with nuts. The heat exchanger is too big to fit out the door, and I can't figure out how to disassemble the stove to get to it. If I could get it apart, I can't find the heat exchanger for sale anywhere, so I'm not sure what that would accomplish. I would like to try to get the heat exchanger off and at least use stove cement to try to seal all the way around it. I guess I could do this without removing the heat exchanger...
I can't remember if my last post I talked about my local Harman dealer... but after the first "professional" install 7 years ago not using an appliance adapter, and puncturing the vent with screws, I wasn't happy with them. I called them and asked about the ash pan gasket, which they assured me was the normal rope gasket, because they have 40 years experience with Harman stoves, and that what I had read on the Internet was wrong. I ignored them and bought the correct part and will never call them or go to their store again.
When I discovered the burn pot holes were totally plugged, I decided to call another local dealer to ask for help. I discovered the guy who orchestrated the failed "professional" install 7 years ago now works for that dealer! He assured me there were no holes in that location on the burn pot, then when I told him to look at the stove in his show room, he then told me that he'd been doing it for 15 years, and those holes don't do anything. So yeah, I don't need to call them again either...
Sorry for the rant.
I'm just at a loss.
We paid way too much for this stove to not be able to use it, and I can't bring myself to sell it in this condition. And ultimately we still need to heat the back room with something...
I discovered the two holes on the top of the burnpot were totally plugged, so I cleaned them out and sucked out the burnpot and air intake.
I scraped the hard creosote off the inside of the stove. I tried to take the burnpot off to check the gasket, but couldn't get the nuts to turn, so I gave up on that.
I pulled off the combustion fan motor and discovered it had 20 years of dust on the fans and 20 years of creosote on the internal fan. (When I bought the stove, I was told these parts were all brand new installed by a Harman Technician). Yeah... I cut the old fan off so I could get to the other fans and clean them. I put a new fan on and sanded the combustion plate (whatever it's called) to get the rust off so hopefully it would make a good seal to the stove.
I also discovered the little yellow thing inside the pellet hopper is some kind of filter for the vacuum system when I unscrewed it and heard a clunk down inside the stove. That's not a fun part to put back together when blindly reaching through the inner-workings of the stove. I found out the stove will not run without that thing hooked up (it won't shut itself off without it either).
After all of that I tried the stove and still smelled smoke.
So tonight I replaced the ash pan gasket, which wasn't as bad as I thought... the gasket is definitely better sealing than the previous one, but alas, my efforts were in vain (again). When the stove lit there was a lot of smoke inside, so I checked the door glass to see if it was leaking around it. I could not see or smell any smoke.
After about 5 minutes we could smell the wood-burning smell (sort of) starting to emanate from the stove. We debated back and forth whether it was paint curing or smoke... and previously we thought it was cigarette smoke that baked onto the stove from the previous owner (no idea if they smoked or not). So I was pondering how I could clean the fan side of the heat exchanger with compressed air without making a horrible mess inside the house when I decided to smell the vents on the side of the stove where the heat exchanger meets the top of the stove. This is where the smell is coming from.
When I cleaned the inside of the stove, I noticed the heat exchanger is held in with nuts. The heat exchanger is too big to fit out the door, and I can't figure out how to disassemble the stove to get to it. If I could get it apart, I can't find the heat exchanger for sale anywhere, so I'm not sure what that would accomplish. I would like to try to get the heat exchanger off and at least use stove cement to try to seal all the way around it. I guess I could do this without removing the heat exchanger...
I can't remember if my last post I talked about my local Harman dealer... but after the first "professional" install 7 years ago not using an appliance adapter, and puncturing the vent with screws, I wasn't happy with them. I called them and asked about the ash pan gasket, which they assured me was the normal rope gasket, because they have 40 years experience with Harman stoves, and that what I had read on the Internet was wrong. I ignored them and bought the correct part and will never call them or go to their store again.
When I discovered the burn pot holes were totally plugged, I decided to call another local dealer to ask for help. I discovered the guy who orchestrated the failed "professional" install 7 years ago now works for that dealer! He assured me there were no holes in that location on the burn pot, then when I told him to look at the stove in his show room, he then told me that he'd been doing it for 15 years, and those holes don't do anything. So yeah, I don't need to call them again either...
Sorry for the rant.
I'm just at a loss.
We paid way too much for this stove to not be able to use it, and I can't bring myself to sell it in this condition. And ultimately we still need to heat the back room with something...
