Well, after no burns for a week, now...??

[tlc1976]

My lighting time varies considerably, always has. Same pellets, same performance once burning. Sometimes it seems it’s within seconds after the pot fills, other times it takes several minutes and almost the whole startup cycle. Smoking and sparking the whole time, igniter is fine. I always attributed it to the randomness of how the pellets fall. If one lands right over the igniter hole, they would probably start quick. If they landed to form a large pocket around the igniter hole, it would probably take much longer to ignite.

 

[shtrdave]

I have a P43 it will start the burn on the left side. I guess I always just figured it was design. start burn in one spot kind of like a concentrated burn to get it going quicker. Also thought it may be due to how the igniter is placed and the air flow. I have not replaced my igniter so I am not sure how it is in there. Never paid attention when cleaning in there.

mine is going on 10 years old, goes through 3.5+ ton a year. I have replaced the combustion motor twice. Put a new wheel/fan witht he first change.

 

[tiger]

My lighting time varies considerably, always has. Same pellets, same performance once burning. Sometimes it seems it’s within seconds after the pot fills, other times it takes several minutes and almost the whole startup cycle. Smoking and sparking the whole time, igniter is fine. I always attributed it to the randomness of how the pellets fall. If one lands right over the igniter hole, they would probably start quick. If they landed to form a large pocket around the igniter hole, it would probably take much longer to ignite.

Well, that's interesting about the fall of pellets -- I had not thought of that.

I did a light front-end cleaning this AM and, as usual, that first light-off after a cleaning took longer; about 11 minutes instead of the recent 6-8 minutes. In my bag of "stuff" I drag out when cleaning I found a bag with an old igniter and a bag that a replacement must have come with -- I almost certainly had the igniter professionally changed when the stove was much newer, but since forgot.

 

[mtnbiker727]

Well, that's interesting about the fall of pellets -- I had not thought of that.

I did a light front-end cleaning this AM and, as usual, that first light-off after a cleaning took longer; about 11 minutes instead of the recent 6-8 minutes. In my bag of "stuff" I drag out when cleaning I found a bag with an old igniter and a bag that a replacement must have come with -- I almost certainly had the igniter professionally changed when the stove was much newer, but since forgot.

It's possible that your pellets aren't very good...

I noticed the other week when I forgot to scrape the burn pot before starting the stove, it started quicker, because the ash in the burnpot lit quicker than the fresh pellets coming in.

By the way, someone asked if you opened up the igniter cleanout and sucked out all the ash in there.... did you ever do that? Make sure you do it when the stove is COLD and OFF so you don't suck hot ash into your vacuum or burn your fingers on the igniter.

 

[tiger]

It's possible that your pellets aren't very good...

I noticed the other week when I forgot to scrape the burn pot before starting the stove, it started quicker, because the ash in the burnpot lit quicker than the fresh pellets coming in.

By the way, someone asked if you opened up the igniter cleanout and sucked out all the ash in there.... did you ever do that? Make sure you do it when the stove is COLD and OFF so you don't suck hot ash into your vacuum or burn your fingers on the igniter.

(A) With one exception a few years back, pellets in this stove always Hamer's since new.

(B) Wondering why the light-off was always slower after each weekly cleaning, I decided to hold back a little ash, and drop it on the pellets perhaps two minutes after re-starting the stove; I get the impression it does help but that might be placebo effect. Been doing that for two seasons, perhaps?

(C) Weekly light cleaning does alway include removing the small door in front of the igniter area and vacuuming out... very carefully, lest I disturb wires. And, yeah, I always let the stove cool overnight to stone cold before each cleaning.

 

[Washed-Up]

Ashes on top will help it light, it’s not a placebo…reminds me of grade school science when we tried to light a sugar cube with a lighter, no go, sprinkled some ash on it and poof it started on fire

 

[tiger]

Before you get carried away, be aware 52i's had long history of intermittent poor ignition[/URL]

For perhaps the second or third time ever, got an auger squeal on the Accentra insert. Previously, using the Rutland creosote remover after each light weekly cleaning did the trick. Hmm.

We’ve been (a) burning hotter, (b) burning less often because of “a”, the ambient temp needs to be lower (below, eh, 51F for a daily hight) to prevent cooking us out of the house. Anyway, this was odd, I had fired up the stove after a light weekly cleaning but letting the stove sit a few days, but the squeal started up about 7 hours into that first burn. And only 22 bags since my last deeper cleaning with the insert pulled out of the fireplace (fines box, etc).

So I shut the stove down. A day or so later, fully cooled, I examined and cleaned. The burn pot looked OK, there was some build-up in the end of the auger tube. I may not have adequately scraped that out, I do not recall. What I do notice during this more-aggressive clean-up was I found some build-up inside the auger tube, perhaps 3/4” to 1” back from the mouth of the tube, but in the 11-o’clock to 2-o-clock position (approximate), like how peanut butter sticks to the roof of one’s mouth. I could barely get a fingertip back in there to touch it. New? Hard to say 100%. I do know it’s hard to get at, my narrow wood chisel that I use as a detail scraper had no chance reaching it. I also use a small pick with a 90-degree bend at the end, and I laboriously picked away until I think I have all removed that I could touch; that took a long time indeed. I am wondering how to get some of the Rutland Creosote remover onto that surface, the sprayed certainly won’t reach it and I cannot think of a good swab with a bend in it — and would it help? Seems like an odd place for build-up.

Anyway, after several days too warm to use the stove, I finally fired it up. No squeal, and four burns or about 15 hours each daily and no troubles. until the 5th morning, instead of 6-9 minutes to ignite, it took 25 minutes and I feared I’d get a non-ignite shut down. Clogged holes int e pot already? Unknown yet, between this and the build up in the auger tube do I need to do an aggressive cleaning every four days?

 

[Mt Bob]

Carbon will build up in the auger tube. Usually slowly over time,but faster when stove is run on low a lot,or the feed rate is set low. Should not be "gummy' Does your stove have the feeder crossover air tube? Later 52's did. If not,install one next time you have it out. As far as your intermittent hard starting,have you replaced the burn pot with the recommended upgrade for this problem?
BTY, most good stove tech will pull the auger on Harmans every few years, or when the carbon buildup in the tube gets "unreasonable" and run a hone through it. Cleans it up nice.

 

[tiger]

Carbon will build up in the auger tube. Usually slowly over time,but faster when stove is run on low a lot,or the feed rate is set low. Should not be "gummy' Does your stove have the feeder crossover air tube? Later 52's did. If not,install one next time you have it out. As far as your intermittent hard starting,have you replaced the burn pot with the recommended upgrade for this problem?
BTY, most good stove tech will pull the auger on Harmans every few years, or when the carbon buildup in the tube gets "unreasonable" and run a hone through it. Cleans it up nice.

Well, I left a message for Harman at their site, giving my serial number and asking about upgraded crossover tube, burn pot and ignitor, and got the following response: "Our Recommendation is as follows: The upgrades are for the newer stoves that have ben released.
You can not take the parts out of one stove and place them in an older model. We recommend partnering with a local authorized dealer for servicing of the appliance and pinpointing the issue."

This does NOT sound like a blueprint for "upgrading".

 

[Mt Bob]

Search the old threads, even call Don,I bet he remembers .Harman gave you a generic answer.They would assume older stoves have already been "upgraded". 1- look for the air tube on the back of your stove/insert. Plenty of pictures here and on the net.Search for harman gummy stove. As far as the pot,lets take a look at a new one-at what the description says-

• Genuine Harman Part
• OEM Harman Burnpot
• Save $130 with the aftermarket version of this part
• Fits Accentra 52i & Accentra 52i-TC
• Extremely Durable
• Retrofit Kit for all Previous Models
• Ships FREE with orders over $199
• Express Shipping available!
• Click Here For Installation Instructions
• Learn More...
  See the "retrofit"??

 

[tiger]

Search the old threads, even call Don,I bet he remembers .Harman gave you a generic answer.They would assume older stoves have already been "upgraded".

First off, thanks for that parts info; yeah, I should have Searched but I am not certain of the best search criterion. (a) Wow, I cannot tell you how much I’d rather stall, if at all possible, until end-of-season so I would feel more comfortable about ripping the stove apart and perhaps finding a problem (meaning I do not understand what I am doing) with the stove then out-of-use for days or even weeks — at the coldest time of year when I’d like to run the stove daily. (b) hmm, this might add up if I replace the burn pot, the ignitor, the ignitor cradle, and should I replace the flame guide? Moreover, might as well do the auger motor with I’ve deferred. (c) So, reading the instructions (gee, I wish there were pictures or video, every time I hit YouTube on the Accentra they only show the non-insert version), it sounds like removing the burn pot simplifies getting access to the ignitor… great, because I really do not see how one changes the ignitor through that tiny access door, rather a ship-in-a-bottle task if I ever saw one. By the way, who is “Don”?

Well, Saturday morning, I turned on the stove hoping the 25-minute light-off was an anomaly. Not! After 25 minutes I got a shut down and 5-blink error message. Sigh. I really wanted a fire so, for only the second time, I attempted a manual light with gel (the first time, a year or two back, I failed). I had read a few posts before mentioning soaking some pellets in gel for several minutes, and leaving the door open for a bit after lighting. The good news is that I succeeded, and the stove ran. I admit, there’s a lot of question in my mind on how much gel to put on how many pellets, whether to has some dry pellets in the stove and the gelled ones on top, or vice versa, and how long to leave the door open and by how much. It looked like the flame was going out, I moved the door around until it was open just a crack, and that got a stronger draft like a Venturi Effect, and several minutes later got past a stage where I only was getting blue “gel flame” to orange “pellet flame”, and then could close the door and it almost went out, then it slowly took off. Sheesh! If there’s something I am doing wrong, please advise me.

Anyway, tomorrow AM I plan on yet another front end cleaning. This is based on the possibility that four 15-hour burns dirtied up the stove, maybe the holes in the burn pot, that it makes ignition difficult/impossible. It it returns to “normal” operation, I guess I will need to do the cleaning every four days. Again, sheesh. If it fails, I might be doing manual/gel lighting for a while, and then I need to decide on if I need to tear into these part changes myself or call in a professional (I suspect techs are thin on the ground around here).

 

[Mt Bob]

I'v never used starter gel,just a propane torch,as my Integra has no igniter. About 1 minute to burn some pellets,then yes, I usually cannot shut door all the way at first.

 

[tiger]

I'v never used starter gel,just a propane torch,as my Integra has no igniter. About 1 minute to burn some pellets,then yes, I usually cannot shut door all the way at first.

Well, maybe I am doing non-ignitor starts correctly. Not thrilled about it, I assure you. Still do not know if I am using too much or too little gel, etc. Hmm, I do own a plumbing torch...

I did a search on “harman accented crossover tube” and I think I found it, and it’s affordable enough. But I read the instructions and I have to drill holes in my stove????? Yikes! I found exactly one photo of the installation.

Anyway, this AM I did a front end cleaning and it needed it, after only five burns. It might be my imagination, but the “ash” debris I got out seemed a little coarse, almost “granular” but it might be my imagination. Try as I might, I still could not get 100% of the build-up out of the auger tube, same place as before. I ended up putting some Rutland creosote treatment back there using a finger, and then a bent Q-tip. Time will tel how successful that is.

Start-up after a cleaning always takes longer. But this time, 24 minutes, again just before I expected a 5-blink-shut-down. Then it runs fine. Other than that time, no idea if the ignitor is just failing or what — shoot, it lit off in perhaps 8 minutes just a couple of days ago! And this is not the original ignitor, I had it replaced when the stove was new-ish.

It may be that I need to abandon using the stove for a while unless I want to tinker with the gel approach, unless the ignition magically starts working again. Total cost of all these parts is getting to be around $500 and that’s if I manage to install it all myself; that’s getting close to the cost of two TONS of pellets.

 

[tiger]

... and this AM, ignition in 6-1/2 minutes; how's that for "erratic"?