YEAH! Cleaned my Harman

[Marsha Cook]

After a little kick in the pants from this group, I got my stove turned off and did my very first cleaning! Not as complete as many of you but pretty good for an old lady.

Took off the back panels and vacuumed everything I could find. Cleaned out the fire compartment - brushed the exchange, took ash off of all the walls and visible items. Cleaned out the burn pot - even using my screwdriver to knock off some chunks. Took the little screws off and cleaned the fines area (at least I think that is what I did!). Took the ash bin out and removed the cover for the combustion blower - vacuumed everything I could find there. Used a nail to insure the holes in the burn pot were clear. They were.

I know I did not clean the ESP (actually could not find it!) and did not do anything to the vent pipe. It goes into a chimney flue about 8 feet off the floor, near the top of a cathedral ceiling. Going to leave that for a professional in the spring.

Have burned almost 2 ton and the ash bin was just getting full so I feel pretty good about that. Also only very fine stuff in the 'fines' bin, nothing to worry about.

None of this would have been possible with all the reading on this site and the help you folks provide. This was pretty daring for me.

Hey, also did all the vacuuming with my Powersmith Ash Vac, thanks for that tip also.

Hopefully I will do even more next time.

Thanks again for all your help. We might drive you experienced folks crazy but us newbies really do learn!

 

[P38X2]

Nice! Congratulations Pretty satisfying, huh?

What you thought was the fines box, sounds to me like you are referring to the cover in the front of the burn pot. Good to clean that area too, once in a while. The fines box cover is behind the control board. Next time you have the lower shield off on that side, stick your head under there and look up. It's about a 3"x6" metal cover with a single wing nut holding it on.

Next time you have the combustion fan cover off, get a flashlight and shine it down the flue. You'll see the ESP towards the back.

You got TWO tons worth of pellet ash to fit in your ash pan!?!? Holy crap! You must be burning exceptionally low ash pellets! Which pellets are you burning?

 

[Marsha Cook]

Thanks. Appreciate the help, think you are right about the fines. My real problem is a bad hip. Hard to get down low enough to look up! Will give it a try.

My first ton was NEWP and the second is Cubix. Did not see a big diff so going back to the local product in two weeks.

This may be beginners luck!

 

[Bioburner]

Nice! Congratulations Pretty satisfying, huh?

What you thought was the fines box, sounds to me like you are referring to the cover in the front of the burn pot. Good to clean that area too, once in a while. The fines box cover is behind the control board. Next time you have the lower shield off on that side, stick your head under there and look up. It's about a 3"x6" metal cover with a single wing nut holding it on.

Next time you have the combustion fan cover off, get a flashlight and shine it down the flue. You'll see the ESP towards the back.

You got TWO tons worth of pellet ash to fit in your ash pan!?!? Holy crap! You must be burning exceptionally low ash pellets! Which pellets are you burning?

 

[Phoenix Hatchling]

You will also notice now a significant bump in heat output! Your BTUs have just been revitalized and the efficiency is returned. One note though, you should try to do this every ton. Your stove will love you for it!

 

[Marsha Cook]

Now that I have some confidence, every ton it will be.

Have to say, when I started it back up, the flame was better and spread out further. I am a convert.

 

[P38X2]

Bioburner, the OAK looking pipe on that side had me confused for a second, then I remembered what it was

 

[newf lover]

Just want to caution you that you have to be very gentle with the ESP prob, can't bend it or anything or your stove won't work. I very carefully put one of those vent brushes in the vent to get the ash off the ESP probe, if needed. If you aren't comfortable and plan to have a professional do a cleaning once a year, make sure they clean the ESP. When my dealer cleaned mine years ago, I noticed after he left that he hadn't touched it!

 

[Ctcarl]

Congrats it's a good feeling cleaning your harman

 

[P38X2]

Echoing Newf Lovers comments about the ESP...be very gentle with it. I've always used a 5/8" bottle brush (hardware store) and oh so gently brushed off the debris. If you can't reach it with the brush alone, you can tape a dowel to the handle for extra reach. Just go slow and light with it and don't let it get hooked on the bristles. I just lay it on the top and give it a few strokes side to side, and repeat on the bottom. Haven't damaged one yet, including the original one in my 2005 P38, which admittedly, doesn't get much use anymore.

After cleaning it, I like to run the stove hard for a good 30 min to burn off any remaining residue. I've read a lot of post on here by people who seem to be terrified going near that probe, and insist the only proper way to clean it is to remove it first...which I THINK is what Harman recommends. IME and IMO, cleaning it using the brush method is quite easy and nothing to be feared. The ash should come right off. Now, if you've been burning in maintenance mode for long periods of time, it may get beyond the point of brushing, but I've never encountered that.

 

[RKS130]

After a little kick in the pants from this group, I got my stove turned off and did my very first cleaning! Not as complete as many of you but pretty good for an old lady.

Took off the back panels and vacuumed everything I could find. Cleaned out the fire compartment - brushed the exchange, took ash off of all the walls and visible items. Cleaned out the burn pot - even using my screwdriver to knock off some chunks. Took the little screws off and cleaned the fines area (at least I think that is what I did!). Took the ash bin out and removed the cover for the combustion blower - vacuumed everything I could find there. Used a nail to insure the holes in the burn pot were clear. They were.

I know I did not clean the ESP (actually could not find it!) and did not do anything to the vent pipe. It goes into a chimney flue about 8 feet off the floor, near the top of a cathedral ceiling. Going to leave that for a professional in the spring.

Have burned almost 2 ton and the ash bin was just getting full so I feel pretty good about that. Also only very fine stuff in the 'fines' bin, nothing to worry about.

None of this would have been possible with all the reading on this site and the help you folks provide. This was pretty daring for me.

Hey, also did all the vacuuming with my Powersmith Ash Vac, thanks for that tip also.

Hopefully I will do even more next time.

Thanks again for all your help. We might drive you experienced folks crazy but us newbies really do learn!

Like everyone else, I add my congrats! I get the sense you will love cleaning your stove . . . something about being self sufficient and independent. Keep it up.

 

[mepellet]

Bioburner, the OAK looking pipe on that side had me confused for a second, then I remembered what it was

What is that oak looking pipe anyway? I missed that thread....

 

[Bioburner]

What is that oak looking pipe anyway? I missed that thread....

Remote filtered fan.

 

[mepellet]

You have got my interest. Any more details?

 

[Bioburner]

You have got my interest. Any more details?

Fan is mounted in a box that has a furnace filter. Keeps things a lot cleaner and reduces fan vibrations to stove.

 

[mepellet]

Nice!