Unburnt pellets in Harman P 61
- Thread starter Spaz
- Start date
-
Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.
We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.
We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Cleaned under the burn pot, cleaned what holes I can see, and no difference. Wasn't much under the burn pot but it did dribble out when I started taking the screws out. Pot itself wasn't too bad. A little carbon build up on the sides removed it. Still not a lot of flame. I might have a heat pump by the end of the month. 👍 And I won't miss pellets stoves. I'm keeping one for back up and replacing one with a wood stove for those power out days. I ran the Quadrafire from the opposite end of the house on low while I was doing this at 5f outside seemed to hand it fine. The exhaust fan is virtually brand new and a Harman so I can't see it being a problem. I've now run out of things to check. Like I said ran fine until it was shut down by the power outage.
NS P-68
Member
You haven't removed the 2 wing nuts and cleaned out the ignitor compartment since you've had the stove...?
Did i
Did it tonight, wasn't much in it though. Some leaked out when I was unscrewing it.
I'm getting a lot of blue flame out of it of now. What's that telling me? Still not close to the way it should . But some what better though. Bought a couple of different bags of pellets might try that and see what happens.
Whitenuckler
Minister of Fire
I know you don't have an igniter, but it needs to be cleaned every week at least. If you had an igniter you would have ran into the problem where it won't light. When you have shut down for cleaning, take the cover off then give the burn pot a good couple of bangs, then vacuum out. I have a feeling you air passages are blocked up in the stove. Have you done the leaf blower trick?
Lol I was banging on the pot last night as I was pulling the cover off watching the dust come out. wasn't to full. No idea what the blower trick is. With the temps going way up tomorrow I may take the flame guard off and clean the holes I couldn't get into last night. I forgot it's removable. I did check all the others which is I guess about half of them. it's slowly coming around right now. Not 100% but certainly better then last night. Are the holes in the pot all the same size, the drill bite I used last night for the front ones fit fine. I can park the pin. We'll see how good it's working as the temps drop tonight, the back up came on last night I hit -3f.
Last edited:
Whitenuckler
Minister of Fire
I'm not 100% sure of the fresh air circuit in the P stoves, but I believe there are holes on either side of the burn pot that you can't see.
Someone posted a picture of the burn pot removed, and I could see them. In any case this summer I'd remove the burn pot. Good News - It's warming up - we are out of the January cold snap.
Whitenuckler
Minister of Fire
I'm not 100% sure of the fresh air circuit in the P stoves, but I believe there are holes on either side of the burn pot that you can't see.
Someone posted a picture of the burn pot removed, and I could see them. In any case this summer I'd remove the burn pot. Good News - It's warming up - we are out of the January cold snap.
Yup, probably to hot to run the Harman tomorrow any way. So I can take my time dotting get the holes cleaned out.
Mines not even close to that. It's not that lazy and not near as tall. Never has been. Also my pot is way different then that.
Whitenuckler
Minister of Fire
Ya, the video is not good. It's a great flame. Burning like a torch.
I see that big square hole in the burn pot back. That is the air supply.
Whitenuckler
Minister of Fire
I heard crackling in the kitchen and the stove is blaring away. I scooped a different supply of pellets in it and this might be the result.
Whitenuckler
Minister of Fire
Ya, probably not the same, but roughly the same design. I hope mine runs for 28 years and I'm around to see it.
Temps gone from 15f to 5f here and it's maintained 73 degrees, so it's certainly working. The back up comes on at 70f.
My old VC is all Harmon inside, and from 1992 first fire until Nov 2020, I never removed the burn pot. It developed some cracks at weld joints and I put a new one in, was Harman, fit perfect, and it has a opening with removable plate in front that lets me use the vacuum from below to pull air down through the holes. I had added such a hole in my original pot, with cover for same purpose. Scraping and occasional vacuum works. I did replace a gasket and welded on a flame hood to move flame away from back wall of stove burn chamber.
Attachments
![[Hearth.com] Unburnt pellets in Harman P 61](/talk/data/attachments/344/344813-97443b7f7a1eed7645089f284e21a291.jpg?hash=1Axspvw5Rt)
Whitenuckler
Minister of Fire
That is very interesting. I know Harman had a patient on the "Pellet Pro" but maybe not the burn pot. Or VC used the design with permission? Did/does the VC have a full pelletpro system?
Regardless of whether you have an ignitor or not, the area below the burn pot is part of the air pathway, so should be cleaned regularly. It doesn't need to be "full" to restrict the airflow. Next time, use your fingers to reach back inside and make sure an air dam hasn't formed in front of the air inlet as that will disturb the air flow and make things wonky. I agree with @Whitenuckler that that area should be cleaned once a week. I have to do that with my P43 to keep the flame running correctly (the ignitor still works fine). My P61a is totally different as it doesn't accumulate ash and I can go 3-4 weeks before it starts affecting things.
All the holes in the pot are the same size.
Well it's finally cranking out heat. No idea why. Other then I mixed up the pellets, when I topped it up 4 hours ago. It seems it started working better then . I'll start turning it down in the morning to see how it reacts. Been using the same pellets all through this. I'll see how it runs as I turn it down, probably close to 1. 3f now, lost 1 degree in 6 hours, so I imagine it will be quite warm as the temps will be rising starting in a couple of hours. Enough for tonight, report more tomorrow.
Thanks 🤗
Ran like a charm all night. No idea why. But quite happy. Keep the house above 70, as the back up never came on. I can see it's working right by the burn pattern it's leaving. Just a clean pile of burnt ash. No chunks. My best guess is the pellets. Nothing changed . I'll get back with more come shut down and restart time.
Similar threads
