used P61, what to look for

[francis.g]

Hey guys, i am going to look at a used 2004 harman P61. Is there anything special i should look for, or look out for ?

 

[Bank]

Probably the best thing would to see if it actually works, that is, is it still hooked up in the house, if not try running outside for a bit and make sure it feeds and all the blowers, fans and ignitor work. You can generally tell whose taken care of a pellet stove and who didn't.

 

[PJPellet]

YES! Quite a bit. Look for five holes near the bottom of the burnpot, if it has those five holes look for any deterioration of the auger feed tube where it meets the burnpot. Big problem that Harman had and they eventually got rid of those five holes by replacing the burnpot. The deterioration at this point may be very small so take a flashlight. Also if you have any way of looking in the auger tube to look for any evidence of the "gummy stove syndrome." A black tar like covering in the tube, back near where the pellets feed. Eventually Harman added a "crossover tube" to fix this occasional problem. These are the big things to look for. Good Luck!

 

[francis.g]

Thanks guys ! Great info.

 

[Lousyweather]

um...2004 I think preceeds the 5 hole burnpot era, but look anyhow. Is it autoigniting? Why are they getting rid of it? The most important question would be HOW much is it? All parts are still available for it, so, given the right price, even a non-burning unit can still be a good buy. Heck, even a shell can be, for the right money. Any dealer can get you a combustion fan, gearmotor, electrical harness, circuitboard, etc..........would be nice to plug it in, run it in test mode, and see what actually works first.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Also if it runs and you spring for it be certain to do a really good cleaning before taking it into the house.

Easier to do before you have it in place and hooked up.