Trouble igniting Harman Insert

[Steve_in_NH]

Just spent 2 hours trying to restart my Accentra insert. It's been running and starting just fine. Occasionally it will overflow the burn pot before it ignites. Today I shut the stove off and when we returned this evening it would not restart. It just kept filling the burn pot and overflowing. The pellets were warn to the touch but not hot enough to ignite. I had to empty the burn pot 3 or 4 times. Finally I opened up the plate covering the igniter and just cleaned out very little ash. (I cleaned it well just a few days ago.) and jiggled the wires a little (not knowing exactly what I was doing in there.) When I restarted it it finally ignited. Could the igniter be bad???? Thanks for any help. Will be calling dealer tomorrow but don't expect much help there... :-S

 

[acowherd]

I too have a new Accentra insert, but have not ran into that problem. After reaching this site for some time now, it sounds like the igniter has died
The unfortunate thing about this is that this sounds like a common problem for harman stoves :down:

 

[Steve_in_NH]

That was my original thought as well but then it did ignite.....

 

[acowherd]

Yea that time but still I would be calling my dealer for a new one

 

[djarseneault]

actually it is not a common problem for Harmans, but they did have a bad batch of ignitors last season. The ignitor may be weak or your low draft may be set too high. The ignitor can be tested with an ohm meter. Resistance should be <54ohms. Low draft should be checked and set with a Manometer or a Magnahelic

 

[acowherd]

Well I hope that it was just a bad batch

but 2 bad for me because my stove is and old new stove

I will keep a close eye on my insert for now

 

[acowherd]

I was thinking about what Parrot Head about last season, I bought my stove at the end of last season so i was a little worried

After looking for the date of manufacture I found that my stove was made April of 2006

I am disappointed to find out my new stove purchased in may 2008 is that old :down:

 

[djarseneault]

What difference does it make? There were no changes made to the model since it's introduction. It was just sitting in a package in a warehouse for a while. Still brand new.

 

[acowherd]

Yes it is hard to complain about a new stove that is running good and kepping my house warm
Just fired up the XXV tonight to let it run for awile
I am still fiddiling around with the placemnt of the senser probe
Is there an ideal location for the senser probe?


Just priced a ton of pellets $250 for pennington oak. WOW
I paid $185 a ton just 3.5 months ago from the same place.

 

[djarseneault]

don't complain too much, pellets in Connecticut are $300-350/ton!
I usually zip tie the room probe along the power cord and leave the tip up in the air by the outlet.

 

[GVA]

I think you meant inlet...

 

[acowherd]

Yea I know there are people paying more than I am, but 65 increase in that amount of time seems high to me.......

I will see if that helps with a more consistent temperature

Just trying to keep the whole house 72

 

[djarseneault]

I think you meant inlet...

No, I meant outlet as in the plug on the wall. I can see where you were thinking heat outlet as I wasn't clear on my wording.

 

[Steve_in_NH]

Shocking. Actually was able to talk to dealer service tech and to my surprise they agreed to come out and check out the ignition problem. I'll post results. The earliest appointment he had was Thursday Morning. Glad the store is operational ... I just won't turn it off between now and then...
Thanks for all the help

 

[acowherd]

You can still run in room temp mode, just flip the igniter switch to manual, and the stove will still run the same
except it will go to low burn with no heat blower on, and burn minimal amount of pellets
on the plus side u get to see the fire all night long :coolsmile

Parrot Head: I picked up on the fact that u meant the electrical plug
I have moved mine over there and so far so good. Thanxs :coolsmile:

 

[GVA]

I'm a little slower....... since moving down here :down:

 

[Steve_in_NH]

Technician showed up right on time this morning. Began by replacing the low draft sensor. Said he had had problems with them in the inserts before and Harman had come out with a new version. No help. Still wouldn't ignite. Next he cleaned the ESP probe and that didn't solve the problem either. Finally he called Harman and they told him to remove the igniter and switch the position of a small plate attached to the igniter. It seems they have been putting these on backwards and it creates a space between the igniter and the burn pot which doesn't let the pot get hot enough to ignite the pellets. He made the switch and the stove lit right away. Problem solved (I hope). Seems to be working fine. Also got a chance to pick his brain about a few things which will help me understand how the stove works a little better.... Altogether it took him almost 2 hours to fix it. Thanks for any help provided here....

 

[djarseneault]

There is a tecnical service bulletin on that issue.
As far as the tec goes, he should not have suspected the pressure differential switch because your feed motor was working, if the switch was stopping the ignitor it would have stopped the feed motor as well. Second, the esp should not have been suspected either becuase the esp has nothing to do with the ignitor until the stove gets hot and then the circuit board will shut off the ignitor when the ESP says the stove is hot enough. First thing he should have checked was the ignitor

 

[Steve_in_NH]

That was my thinking as well but his comment was the igniter usually either works or it doesn't. And since the pellets were getting hot, it must have been working.... Who would have thought they were assembling the igniter incorrectly...

 

[escobarmj]

There is a tecnical service bulletin on that issue.
As far as the tec goes, he should not have suspected the pressure differential switch because your feed motor was working, if the switch was stopping the ignitor it would have stopped the feed motor as well. Second, the esp should not have been suspected either becuase the esp has nothing to do with the ignitor until the stove gets hot and then the circuit board will shut off the ignitor when the ESP says the stove is hot enough. First thing he should have checked was the ignitor

Are the tech bulletins available on Harmans web site?

 

[djarseneault]

There is a tecnical service bulletin on that issue.
As far as the tec goes, he should not have suspected the pressure differential switch because your feed motor was working, if the switch was stopping the ignitor it would have stopped the feed motor as well. Second, the esp should not have been suspected either becuase the esp has nothing to do with the ignitor until the stove gets hot and then the circuit board will shut off the ignitor when the ESP says the stove is hot enough. First thing he should have checked was the ignitor

Are the tech bulletins available on Harmans web site?

only if you are a dealer

 

[friedfish]

I had this problem as well, the pellets would not ignite.

I cleaned out the burn pot underneath the igniter element, and back in action.

BTW when I lifted off the front cover plate off the burn pot alot of ash fell out.


See page 29 of the Accentra Insert Manual - Maintenance - Burn Pot.

"3. Lift off the clean-out cover to open the
bottom clean-out chamber.
4. Clean ash buildup from inside the chamber while
cover is off. Use the scraper to tap on the top front
edge of the burn pot. This will help knock pieces of
ash, loosened by the scraping process, down
through the holes. It also helps knock scale off of
the igniter element."

 

[missrobo]

My Accentra free standing stove, just started not igniting, have been putting it in manual mode and started it with gel. I cleaned out the burn pot really well, scraped it down, vacumned, the whole bit. Didn't take off the front cover to clean behind the burn pot. Do you think that could solve the problem? Afraid I might screw up the ignition wires, I hear they are easy to mess up if not handled correctly. Don't want to call a tech till I at least try all the cleaning possiblities. Have burnt about 1.5 tons of barefoot pellets.

 

[Steve_in_NH]

Removing the cover plate and cleaning the igniter area should be your first move. The wires aren't that fragile. Just don't pull on them. They arr hardwired to the igniter so they won't become disconnected easily. I just vacuum the ashes out and give the burn pot a couple of good whacks to loosen up the ash then vacuum again. If that doesn't do it, it's probably the igniter.... good luck.

 

[Steve_in_NH]

Removing the cover plate and cleansing the igniter area should be your first move. Then wires aren't that fragile. Just don't pull on them. They are hardwired to the igniter so they won't become disconnected easily. I just vacuum the ashes out and give the burn pot a couple of good whacks to loosen up the ash then vacuum again. If that doesn't do it, it's probably the igniter.... good luck.