My Stove
I have a two story 2000 sq ft colonial style house. All the bedrooms are upstairs. We also have a family room down in the basement.
We wanted to locate the pellet stove on the main floor but we didn’t want a big stove just sticking out from the wall. We decided to go with a Harman Accentra pellet fireplace insert. It has a maxumum BTU rating of 42,000 BTU/hr.
I knew the stove would have no problem heating the main floor. It’s about 1000 sq. ft with a fairly open floor plan. To help circulate the air around we do run a ceiling fan and the air handler from our central air unit. By running the central air handler we can get some heat downstairs to the family room. We still need a small space heater downstairs on the coldest days.
The stove is able to heat my upstairs as well by convection. The upstairs will be about 10 degrees colder than the downstairs, which is fine for sleeping. We do have to run the heat for some of the bedrooms during the coldest nights.
At first I was a little dissapointed the stove did not have the capability to be set back at night to a lower temperature. The salesman recommended that we just run it as normal during the night since it will just take more BTU’s to heat up the room again in the morning anyways.
We typically used 1-1.5 bags per day. On the coldest days we would use two bags per day. Pellets contain about 328,000 BTU’s/bag. Running at full capacity for 24 hours my stove can output about 1 million BTU’s/day. At this rate it would consume about three bags of pellets.
Here is a picture of my pellet stove insert. Looks pretty nice and the dog likes it too !
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I have the same stove and im getting a black tar creasolt on the left side of the burn pot it ran down the back and under the ash pan any ideas
thanks Tom
Are you burning wood only or are you also burning corn pellets ? I never had anything happen like that, and I have burned about 10 different brands of pellets.
Make sure that the left cleaning port on the stove is cleaned correctly. The brush that come with the stove can be inserted all the way up to the end of the handle. If this is not done and you just insert till it stops (usually 1/2 length of handle) you will have a plug in there that can cause a black tarry residue coming out of this pipe.
Agree with GM – you must clean these ports very well. I had the same problem you describe and my left port was indeed blocked. If you have a blocked port you will notice that the stove gives off more heat from one side than the other, and the ashes piles will be higher on the side of the working port.
It was a knuckle scraping time to clean the blockage!
I also findif I block one port with a towel and turned on the stove, then reversed the order then I know all blockages were clear.
Question to G.M. or john. Just recently got my Harman Accentra pellet fireplace insert. Cleaned the stove twice, usually after I burn one ton of pellets. When you guy’s talk about the left port, are you facing toward the stova or away? When I cleaned the two ports I was only able to get half handle inserted in. I did not want to force it to hard or break anything! How much force is needed? I do not have any black tar coming from the ports, then again I have only burned two tons of pellets. Any information would be get!
Have you ever heard of ultra premium pellet? I have been buying pellets from the dealer where I bought my stove and he states they are ultra premuim. Is this true? Two brands I have used Cubex and New England wood pellets. I like the cubex better, higher BTU.
Thank you
I think they mean the tube in figure 27 here
http://www.harmanstoves.com/maintenance/accentrainsertcleaninginstructions.pdf
I used to do steps 6 & 7 (heat exchanger and burnpot) every two weeks. This season I cleaned after burning two tons. It wasn’t too bad. I think I was able to stretch it out a bit because the pellets I currently use produce very little ash. Cleaning every ton does sound like a better schedule. I still have my local shop come out once a season for the big clean.
Thank You for the link. Will take your advise and have my local shop come out to perform the big clean. Thanks again! Have ever heard or used the pellets the Cubex or New England Wood. I found both produce little ash, but the cubex I get a higher BTU.
This site is great!
When using your stove what mode do you use? (Stove temp. or Room temp.)What mode do you recommend?
I have always used Room Temp. I never quite understood how stove temp worked or why I would want to use it.
There are times when the fan noise is pretty loud and I’m wondering of I switched over to stove temp if it would quiet the fan down during movies, dinners etc…
I use both modes. For watching T.V. or having company over, stove mode is good. You could lower the fan and it is quiet. I tried using stove mode of a month and found it to be hard to keep a constant temperature. You have to constantly adjust the temperature dail to the weather conditions outside. It never really warmed the house up.
I have been using Room temperature mode and like it alot better. I leave the temperature dail between 3.5 and 4. The house temperate rangers from 76 degrees F to 65 degrees F.
The only thing I don’t like about Room temperature mode is temperature change between degrees. It does not hold a constant temperature, but the house is warmer using this mode. Do you have his problem? Should the temperature probe be moved from under the stove to another part of the room.
Thank You
Is anyone very pleased with a recent stove purchase other than a Harman? It appears the Harman stove are what every post is talking about.
bought a Lopi Yankee Bay last fall… I was originally shopping for a Harman, but a.) they were all sold out or pre-sold and b.) I had to bite the bullet to get a pellet stove given the oil prices that hit us last year. I ran 5 tons through the Lopi last year. Have you say… absolutely stellar performance. 4 bdrm colonial (older… built in ‘70), and first floor (kitchen, den, living rm, dining rm, bathrm) and 2nd flr (4 beds and full bath) were super-comfortable. I was originally disappointed that I couldn’t get the Harman, but having run the Lopi (same mfr as Avalon) for a year, I am really pleased with the purchase. BTU output is higher as well vs. the Harman. Great warranty on the Lopi (7 years). I’d buy it again.
electric fireplace cabinet…
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I currently have a double sided fireplace in which I am looking to install a pellet insert. Do you or anyone make 2 sided?
Gregg, did you ever get an answer to your question? I too have a double sided gas fireplace and am looking to install a pellet insert but want to keep the double sided look.
Thanks
We are in the UK – I am looking for a double sided pellet burner, but can only find design-led stand alone versions in the UK.
I am also looking for a double sided pellet insert. Has there been any resolve?
-thanks
We are interested in buying a wood pellet insert. We presently have a Keystoker coal stove, but in view of the pollution with coal, we wanted to switch to wood pellets. However, we are hearing that the price of wood pellets will be rising quickly due to increased demand and the fact that the building industry is stagnant so there aren’t as many scraps of wood. Also, we have read there could be shortages of wood pellets. Has anyone heard anything more on this subject? Is everyone in general pleased with the Harman Accent Insert? Thanks.
When I was a kid we use to have a fireplace and used it all the time for heating the house. I remember loading it with my dad as a child and him teaching me how to split wood. Which became my primary duty well into my teens.
So for the past 20 years now I’ve been living in a nice rural town using oil to heat my home and now my wife and I have been thinking about switching to a pellet stove to lower our costs. We really don’t have a space for an insert, which looks like it would be a nicer option than a freestanding unit, judging from the picture you’ve shown.
So I have to ask a few questions if that’s okay. Nobody near me knows anything about pellet stoves, and I’m not sure if I can trust these sale reps.
1: Do you by chance have experience with a freestanding units?
2: Are all the units pretty much the same, or are there better ones?
3: Do you, or anyone near you know anything about Ecoteck pellet stove?
http://www.ecoteck.us/
This is the brand I’ve been looking at, but it’s really expensive, but very pretty.
If you can help me out at all I’d really appreciate it.
I see you posted 3 months ago but I thought I throw in my 2 cents. I’ve had a Harman accentra insert for 4 yrs now. The Harman brand is superior to many-there are a lot of cheap stoves out there which will mean more maintenance. They have an accentra free standing unit that does 68,000 btu. That’s huge. The Harman is friendly to work with automatically senses temp. in the room. Not the cheapest but it is a very effieicent system. You get what you pay for..good luck.
You can connect a thermostat to a Harman Accentra. The info comes from
Harman. It is a kludge, i.e. you set the thermostat high say 85 degrees during the hours you are home, pellet stove set on real temp you want.
At night you set the thermostat to the “set back” temp, i.e. temp you want
the stove to come back on. It works by having the thermostat wired into
the stove’s probe. During the day the stove runs off the probe because the temp is set to 85. At night the thermostat opens the wire from the probe to the stove, i.e. stove thinks it is has a problem and shuts down. At the set back temp, say 65, the thermostat closes and reconnections the probe and stove comes on. As I say, it is a kludge. I had to read it a couple of times before understanding it. It was an official Harman tech bulletin. A Harman dealer can get it for you.
This is the info I used to wire up a thermostat.
As I say, claims this comes from Harman. Seems to work for me.
http://oatstoves.com/files/pellet_stove_tsta_tinfo.pdf
I’ll take a look at this. It may be worth it to try to squeeze as much out of each bag of pellets as possible.
Has anyone ever used there Harman Accentra in room temp mode and switched the igniter switch to manual after you have established a good fire. The stove never turns off, it burns at a min rate and uses the room senor probe. Not sure about fuel consumption, if it is better to keep the stove burning at a min. rate or have the stove turn off and restart. Any input would be great. Thankyou
I let mine run at the min rate. The auto igniter doesn’t always work 100% of the time. Certain brands of pellets seem a little finicky when it comes to the auto igniter. Also it depends on how well long it has been since the burn pot was last cleaned.
I have a tp300 freestanding pellet stove (bought used) by traditions my problem is the pellets in the hopper are getting very hot to the point that they are burning and the odor from the casing is all through the house. any help would be appreciated thamk you
To Admin,
How often do you clean the ESP Probe on your Harman accenta insert?
Note: Brand of Pellet that I am burning is Cubex!
Thank you
Frank,
Harman recommends the probe is cleaned once a year.
The first year I had my dealer come out to to the annual type cleaning. This year I decided to do it myself. I swear I was the first one to remove some of the covers including the exhaust cover near the esp probe. My probe was very clean and I think I can safely stretch out a major cleaning to every two years.
is anyone burning a us stove 6220 corn/pellet furnace.??
i just purchased a harmon accentra wood pellet stove. I have had it for less then two weeks. I am getting a squeaking noise when the auger ingages to feed pellets. Anyone have this issue.
Hi,
Hope you got a reply/answer to the squeaky noise. It is the trap door/plate that squeaks. Dealer had to come by to open it up and filed down the edges on that plate that opens up for the pellets to drop down to the burn pot. That worked out ..
Before then, it squeaked like a little mouse…
Roy,
I believe there is a trap door that slides open when the auger starts. That sound you hear is likely the trap door. Mine squeeks too once in a while. If it continues call your dealer.
My Harmon accentra insert has operated great for 13 months. I’ve recently had a problem that my distribution blower is not coming on. The stove will start up normally and ignite the pellets, but the blower will not come on. The motor runs ok in the test mode. I have not had any codes flashing. Its close to Christmas so getting dealer help will not be until after the holidays. They say I probably have a blockage some where. I did a extensive cleaning during the summer, and do step 6 and 7 often. Any thoughts.
To Larry G.
Check your ESP Probe Step # 5! Also check the black sensor probe that lies under the stove. This probe is used in room temp. mode. You also have another sensor for stove temp mode. This is located inside the burn pot (Step #7 Fig # 29). When the distribution blower is on, does it sound the same or is it making a different noise. Is the air flow out of the front of the stove the same or decreased? Sometimes dust and/ or pet hair could obstruct the flow of air.
Note: You can also check with the ADMIN of the forum. I have received helpful advise in the past!
http://www.harmanstoves.com/maintenance/accentrainsertcleaninginstructions.pdf
To Frank M.
Thanks, for the helpful answers and quick reply. I will let you know how it turns out. Larry
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To Admin and the forum,
On the Harman accentra insert. How often do you clean your flue (flex Pipe) during your burn season? Last year I had it cleaned once at the end of the season, by a professional. Burned 3.5 Tons Cubex. Does the stove perform differently when it needs to be cleaned? Are there any signs? So far this year I burned 2.75 Tons Cubex.
Thank you
Frank
My exhaust goes straight out the wall. My total length of exhaust is about 3 feet. So needless to say I really don’t worry about cleaning my exhaust. I did have to clean it this past spring because birds built a nest in the pipe. I would maybe call your local shop or Harman to see what they recommend.
After reading just about every comment posted, does anyone have an absolute fix that works the majority of the time for the end of squeeking
I just posted an answer… have the dealer come in and open up that plate that opens up for the pellet to drop down to the burnpot and have them file down the edges… it works..
I have had a Harman Accentra insert for almost 2 years and have had 2 igniters replaced. The first igniter was replaced by the original dealer. The second igniter was replaced by the Service Rep who was contacted by the original dealer. He came out and replaced the 2nd igniter and he showed me how to do the yearly cleaning. He said I would not have to clean the stove this year since he had just cleaned it. He said it wasn’t very dirty. After that I used the stove 3 days and then didn’t use the stove until the next year. I then burned it about 7 days and the igniter quit working. The Service Rep said he may have installed a bad igniter which was from a bad batch of igniters they had received. Now 3 months later, (yes it actually took them 3 months, or so they said, to get the part), the new dealer sent a repairman out. He was suppose to come on Monday but never showed up, no phone call, no apology. I had to call them and reschedule. I called the new store who bought the original dealer’s business and they said the serviceman would be out on Friday. He arrived and turned the stove onto automatic room temp and then slowly after about 5 minutes and a huge amount of smoke the stove ignited all the pellets in the burn pot. It was like a big flash explosion. The service man didn’t think that was unusual. The service man left and didn’t even look at the igniter. The service man didn’t even bring an igniter which was the first thing listed on his work order. That evening I shut the stove down and again the igniter worked. This time it only took 2 minutes to start the fire and the pellets fire started normally. I had completely cleaned the stove out on Monday in anticipation of the service call. The only thing I did before the visit on Friday was to vacuum out the area under the burn plate and empty the ash pan. So far this season we have burned 2 tons of pellets with manual start and have tried to start many times with the automatic setting and it never worked. I have cleaned the stove at least 4 times this year. I was completely surprised that it lit. I have sat and watched pellets being pushed over the edge for a half an hour and never lighting and never getting hot. Now I think I may have a open circuit or the wires aren’t connected properly. After the service man returned to the store he told the new owners that I did not know how to operate the stove and that he showed me how. This was a lie. I know how to operate the stove and when asked by the service man I told him what I do. He did not tell me I was doing anything wrong. He then asked for the users manual as if he did not know how to operate the stove. I’m about ready to buy an igniter and install it myself since now the store thinks it’s operator error. I have watched the process twice but was hoping to get my hands dirty this time when they replaced the igniter, which at this point I’m afraid they may want to wait until the igniter quits working again. I was told not to clean the stove, that was their fix. I need a schematic which is better then the one in the users manual or instructions on how to change the igniter since it has been a year since the last replacement. How can I get this information? Julie
I can’t help with a better schematic. However I have noticed that certain brands of pellets ignite better than others. I keep a bottle of fire starter gel handy in case the auto igniter doesn’t work. I’ve also noticed the igniter works better after scraping the burn pot. Also it seems like any extra ashes in the burn pot tend to insulate the pellets from the igniter.
I hate when the auto igniter doesn’t work quite right and pellets start to spill over the edge of the burn pot.
I scrape the burn pot, cleaned underneath the burn pot and have used 5 different brands of premium pellets. For the last 3 months I have ignited it manually because the igniter wouldn’t work. I must have touched something this last time in the area under the burn pot and changed the position of the igniter and now it’s connected again. I don’t trust it now and want a new igniter. Julie
Good for you.. be persistent. I don’t know where to get the schematic but as for the igniter.. it should not take more then 5 minutes to ignite. If it takes more then 5 minutes, then turn the switch to off and then on again. It should work and if doesn’t.. do it again. IF again it doesn’t work, get a new igniter.
As for the big “explosion” when it ignites .. that’s what happens when there is a build up of pellets that wants to burn but had not and as the flame is trying to start and with the lack of oxygen/air flow and then finally it gets so hot it has no choice but to “burst into flames”.
That’s what happened when I set it to manual and I didn’t know that I had to be in auto mode, but the build up of unburnt pellets was still in the burn pot.
I have two Harman pellet stoves – one a fireplace insert and the other a freestanding unit. The freestanding unit is two years old. The insert is one year old. Both were completely serviced this summer.
I am extremely dissatisfied with both. As I write this message I am at home waiting for the dealer service tech to arrive. Neither stove works after burning approximately 1/2 ton of pellets in each. Neither will ignite. A few other comments:
- The dealer I bought these units from is pretty bad, but the others in the area frankly do not appear to be much better.
- The stoves are somewhat difficult to control. Thermostats do not work. Balancing room temperature is really a hit or miss deal.
- I can easily burn 40 pounds of pellets in 10 hours. Frequently they run out of pellets overnight. The stoves are usually very difficult to restart after they run out of pellets.
- When reporting this latest problem, the dealer’s comment was to shoot some charcoal lighter fluid in the firebox and light with a match……that’s not what I bought!!
- I am currently documenting all service problems and intend to attempt to have these units declared “lemons” under the Pennsylvania Lemon Law statutes. If anyone else has gone this route, I’d love to hear your experiences.
I would not recommend a Harman pellet stove. Very unsatisfactory performance.
A quick fix to a lazy igniter it to remove the burn pot door where the igniter is located. Take your finger and pull out the ask that has collected. Take a compress can of air and clean the igniter by blowing air all around it. works for me every time.
I was going to buy a Accentra Insert. A couple reasons I did’nt were:
I seemed to me yearly maintainence was more involved because the unit had pulled out from the fireplace.
I also wanted an easier install, running lengths of 3″ to 4″ pipe will be easier then lining the chimney.
Lastly, I thought I might need a little more BTU’s.
I ended up buying the XXV. Almost bought the P68, but we really liked the looks of the XXV. I am picking up the machine on Friday. I will be installing myself. I can’t wait. Hope I made the right choice.
Pulling out the insert stove isn’t that bad. You’ll be happy with that stove. I never heard anyone regret they bought a harman.
Has anyone every heard of burning a little rock salt to get rid of creasolt buld up in the pipe and chimney. I have tryed most of the things they sell. With very to no effect.
Thank You
Our Harman Accentra insert works great with pellets although we have noticed differences between cleaning time frames depending on pellet quality.
Question: Has anyone tried burning “rice” coal?
I used a mix of 2 parts rice coal and 1 part pellets. The pellets helped keep the ash loose, less clinkers. I had to turn the feed rate down to about 1.5 – 2 so the coal is burned before it’s pushed over the edge of the burn pot. When I cleaned it I noticed that the plate on top of the burn pot had gotten very hot and cracked the edge of the plate. It does put out good heat but I’m a bit concerned about the high heat in the burn pot.
And there is more ash.
I’m now thinking about a Harmon coal stoker for the basement to heat the whole house and use the P61 in the living room during the colder winter days.
I have had an Accentra insert for 4 years now. The only major problem I’ve had is the blocked left port, which took me 3 hours to clean out. I too had the creosote problem before I figured out the exhaust port issue.
I keep my stove in the ‘room temp’ mode and the feed rate about 1.5. I usually burn 1 1/2 bags a day, about 4 tons per season. I am desperately trying to find a vendor who sells Cubex in central Massachusetts. I had to burn New England Pellet this past season and totally hated the experience. SO much ash and soot that I had to clean the ash pan weekly and clean the heat exchanger tubes and exhaust ports every two weeks to maintain optimum efficiency. I usually pull the stove out once a month to clean the back of the stove and bang the soot out of the flue pipe.
Overall, I would give the Accentra insert 3 out of 5 stars. My biggest complaint is the maintenance. Next time I will purchase a free-standing stove or a pellet furnace for the basement.
A free standing stove would generate more btu I believe. This is from experience with my Harmon Accentra insert. I need more hot air coming out to heat my rooms and the higher the fan rate, the cooler the air coming out of the accentra.. even mixing auger rate with stove temp settings. All the fan is doing in the Accentra insert is cooling down the pipe that is above the fire pot which in turn will give you less heat.
can anybody tell me how to firmly secure the ornate brass mouldings that surround the lids of the blower boxes on the harman elete fireplace insert?
I have a Harman Accentra and am looking for a vendor to purchase a new thermostat wire from, the end of mine broke off(there is I believe a capacitor at the end that i lost. Without it the stove won’t fire. Also the stove is about 4 seasons old and am having a problem with the ignitor, i manually light the stove and as long as the pellets don’t run out it stays lit,but is disappointing to have to light it that way. Any suggestions?
That thing at the end of the wire is likely a thermocouple or a thermistor.
My stove doesn’t always light reliably either. I think it has more to do with the type/brand of pellets. Certain brands don’t seem to light as easily. I try to scrape the hopper surface to keep it from freall from clinkers as possible and it helps a little.
In a few weeks the stove will be running 24/7 so it won’t matter to me then.
I have a Harmon Accentra insert since Mar-2009. I’m playing with it to try to figure out what I need to do to keep my house “warm”. Last night was the real first cold night.. about 28F and my house is only about 62F. I’ve set the Accentra to “Stove mode”. If I turn the fan up due to the settings being on the “high” mode, the fan is quite noisy AND the air coming out of the stove isn’t warm/hot enough. Physics here… the fan cools the pipe(fan), while I turn the stove down as low as possible without shutting it “off”, the air is quite hot. It leaves me believing that this stove can only do so much. It’s far from what I thought the stove can do. My house isn’t all that big not small either and a lot of blame can go into the construction of this brick house and windows.. I do know if I closed off the doors to the bedrooms in this ranch style house, the temperature in the house will be better.
Overall wise … the stove is doing something the fireplace can’t do, but I definitely cannot use this insert as my only heat source. This stove would just compliment my heating system with decor and an “enclosed” fire box.
Am I not understanding what to do with my Accentra?
I run my stove in Room Temp mode. It keeps it an even 70 deg. Do you have the room temperature probe?
In stove mode when running on high the aire may seem a little cooler coming out of the stove. However there is a lot of air coming out and it’s pushing more BTU’s into the room than with the low settiing even though it feels warmer.
Hi Admin…
I don’t have a “room temperature probe” .. is that something special by Harmon? Well I have a digital thermometer that samples the air and a setting that senses a “probe” that you can stick out the window and see what the outside temperature is. In the Fall, the temperature of the room stays about 70F as you mentioned.. but the temperature outside cannot be lower then about 50F. The last 2 weeks when it was cold, I was waking up to 60F.. which is a bit too cold for me. I cannot see the room getting to 70F with the fan on high. I would think the large amount of “lukewarm” air will never stay warm enough.
Do you think I should try that… setting it high with the stove temperature setting and then increase the auger rate? My auger rate is about 4 to 5.
At low fan rate.. the air is really hot… higher then my probe temperature readings. I mean .. really hot and sometime the fan would automatically go higher probably just to cool the pipes down..
.
Hi. Try these settings:
- Stove Temp Mode
- Feed Adjuster at 4.5
- Temperature dial (Upper right hand corner) to 4
You will want to tweak the fan speed and temperature dial depending on how cold it is outside, as they go hand in hand.
Right now I’m running my stove at the above listed setting with very good results. Also, keep you stove clean, and it will run more efficiently.
Hi Peter,
I set my stove temperature fan rate to really .. really low i.e. near the “off” position just to bring down the fan rate. My feed rate is about 4 to 5 My stove temperature dial is set to 7/90F (the 7 is the stove temp and the 90F is the room temp.
I’m still trying out a combination of the settings…
And by the way… I use Somerset pellets and a few other brands but I like Somerset pellets better. Low fan noise settings.. and I made a air deflector to force the hot air downward so I can sit very close to the stove to keep warm without the stove blowing in my face. I even painted the deflector the same stove color.
I’m kinda disappointed as this stove was expensive and maybe I didn’t chose the right insert. You can only do so much with inserts I believe. Free standing would probably heat my house a lot better.
Any comments and affirmations would be helpful. I’ve also cleaned the pipes .. straight through.. and I do get the tar residue in the burn pot on the sides that I scrape off as I clean out the ash pan about once a week. Did I say once a week… yes… I do have to clean the ash pan once a week.
What is the rule of thumb on the feed level, is it the cheaper the pellet the higher the feed rate, or the other way around. I know there is no black and white answer, but I am looking for an “in general” answer.
Also I just cleaned the combustion blower under my stove, and it was full of dog hair- this I believe was the problem with my lack of consistent blow power. Has anyone found a routine matinence fix for the noise, can this be sprayed with WD40?
A feed level just below 4 seems to work ok for all the pellets I burn. I would almost think soft wood pellets would require a slightly higher feed rate.
Ken .. what noise are we talking about? … I’m experienced… if you hear a clank once in a while, then have the service guy come in and file down the plate that opens up to let the pellets down. I had that happen on my new Accentra .. brand spanking new and I noticed that noise. No WD40 would work. You have to file it down. It worked for me/service call.
Thanks for the advice- Admin/Eric. I have cleaned out my distribution blower on the bottom of the stove, which seems to have made a big difference. I was getting very little forced hot air from my stove prior to this, and I have never cleaned this area before. Have had the stove for a few years. Not sure if my last two professional cleaning jobs had touched their either. Have a great holiday.
Remember WD40 is flammable! Call your dealer to ask what could be used! They do make silicon sprays that could withstand high heat! To clean my distribution blower (Harman accentra insert) I use a small air compressor with a soft tip nozzle.
Frank
I’m still convinced that my stove cannot keep my house comfortable at about 70F during cold weather.. anything below 40F outside. But this stove insert would supplement the heating needs… what is more expensive .. gas or pellets? ..
Anyone that wants to comment and give advice, I would love to hear about it…
And is Cubix the best? .. then I have to try some out…
Happy Holidays…
Have you gotten a response yet? I am having the same issue. Once the temp falls below 40F outside we can’t keep the house confortable inside, our heat pump comes on at 70F and keeps running. We have a pretty open floor plan and can’t understand how others heat their home with just the pellet stove.
I have a Harmon insert, it goes through 1 bag per day of pellets. The cost of pellets is $5.25 per bag. I have a 2000 sq ft house, and with the stove going 24 hrs per day it will not maintain 60 degrees. thats about $150 per month for very inefficent heat. I have to supplement with space heaters. If you like the sound of a blower fan going 24/7 and like the look of a fire in the fireplace, the this is the way to go. If you are looking for an efficent, lowcost heat source, then a harmon stove is not the way to go. It puts out about as much heat as a blow dryer.
Hello all,
We have 2 Harmons in our house. The upstairs one gets used FAR more as it is where we spend most of our time. So far it has been amazing. We are getting to -30F already this winter and wind chills have been -50F at times.
Despite the onslaught, we are able to keep our home of 2500sF at a comfortable 70 degrees by only heating with pellets. Our entire heating bill for the whole winter will be under $400. Considering the cost of electric heat (over $400 a month) this pellet business is GREAT!!
We use a “premium” pellet and have already burned over a ton this winter. Our stove has not given us any problems but for last night and today . . . . . .
It does not seem to want to auto ignite. I cleaned out the little space around the ignitor (inside of the hatch) and it FINALLY got them lit, but it was a struggle. I always scrape the pan and try to keep it as clean as possible in an attempt to maximize the bare metal heating surface area.
I’m curious if folks have had 1 bag of pellets (out of a pallet) fight ignition, while all of the others are just fine? All of the bags are stored inside and, to the best of my knowledge, have not gotten wet. My ignitor gets the pellets physically too hot to touch and discolors them, but it still has seemed to struggle with this last bag.
Is the ignitor going out or is it a fluke? It is FAR too cold to risk a bad ignitor.
I have have a harman accentra insert! Sometimes it takes longer to ignite the pellets than other times. I always use the same brand pellet (cubex). I asked the my dealer and he stated usually the ignitor works or does not work, no in between! The outlet you are using, make sure you have the proper output coming from the outlet. Make sure other appliance, lights, etc. are not drawing power anyway from the stove. note: the ignitor does use some power, but the stove itself uses only a small amount of power. good luck
Frank
I’ve had the same problem with my stove for the past 5 or 6 months on and off….somedays it would light automatically with no hassle then other days i could be 15 to 20 minutes trying to light it manually. I vaccumes out the igniter hole and cleans the tray and surrounding areas but doesnt seem to make a difference. The stove will turn the pellets brownish color but wont ignite them fully…a company said that it’ possible it could be the thermal sensor inside the stove but i have a new sensor and doesnt seem to change my problem…I still have trouble with automatically igniting it…i also have furnace oil in my house along with electric heaters where the pellets are so they are definately not wet, damp or anything. If you do find any ways to fix our problem it would be appreciated if you could let me know….im wondering if maybe i need more power going to my living room or is the stove feeding to much pellets?
How much is a Harmon Accentra costing these days?
We just went to price an Harman Accentra here in PA we were looking to have this insert take the place of our Propane fireplace which is direct vent also. Unfortunately, for what I’ve been reading isn’t a very technically difficult conversion I was given a price of $5,450.00!!!
I was told not to worry though there was a Govt. rebate….Ugh…Well no I explained it’s actually a tax credit of Up to $1500.00 and it’s not really the same thing. I think some dealers are taking advantage and jacking up prices!
Oh well guess I’m stuck with propane for awhile!
That seems like a high price. Harman runs a very tight ship when it comes to dealers. It’s a good thing for the most part but it makes it difficult to go shopping around for the best price.
A friend of mine priced out a Harmon accent insert for $3,750.00
Has anyone seen an insert for a double sided fireplace since the last few posts re same subject?
I have a England Pellet Stove which i have been satisfied with over the past two years but these past 5 er 6 months im having alot of difficulties starting the stove…the setting are all correct according to the company however when i push the start up button..the auger will feed plenty of pellets but will not ignite them in the tray. I sometimes spend 15 to 20 minutes trying to ignite the stove manually with paper and the pellets. It gets very frustrating especially now in the cold winter months here in Newfoundland Canada…I’m wondering if anyone has some advice to why the stove wont light the pellets automatically and what can I do to go about ixing this problem? Thank You for any comments.
Hello Stefan,
I read your last 2 posts in response to mine asking about slow or failed lightning.
I am unfamiliar with your particular stove, but if it is anything like mine, it may be a severely dirty ignitor. I pulled my stove apart a cleaned the ignitor with compressed air and a vacuum. I also made sure to clean out any contaminants that had adhered to the lighting surface. I removed lots of ash that had accumulated.
Since then, I have had no problem with the stove lighting. If I let the tray fill with as however, it may take a long time to lite and when it does, it usually has a mini explosion. I must take the time to scrape all of the ash very well.
I read your post I have and England model25. The first thing you need to do is a dry run. You need to clean all the pellets out of the feed hopper and run the stove with no pellets to see if the ignitor hole gets red.If it does you must have a problem with your pellets? I clean my stove weekley I vac out all the ash also with a small screwdriver I gently put it in the hole and scrape the ignttor also vac out the hole. When I restart my stove I make sure the pot is clean and I put a small amount of pellets infront of the ignitor hole to help start the stove. My stove is also 2.5 years old and it starts in five mins. I would also check the screen on your fresh air intake for blockage. I hope this helps you out . ps they sell ignitor gell to help in starting.
Some appear to be reporting that the Harman Accentra puts out a lot of heat, others say it does not. We have 2 Pellet stoves on our first floor, total home sq ft is 3600. Total on each floor is 1800. We have a Quadrafire Mt Vernon in the family room which has a cathedral ceiling. With that stove on medium heat setting room is 70 degrees. The other stove is in the living room, much smaller room but it opens to the upstairs hallway. Temp over there is 63 degrees. Outsdie temp is 20. The Accentra seems to put out a fraction of the Quadrafire yet both use pellets at about the same rate. I can’t help but think something is wrong with it. (Quadrafire is rated at 60,000 BTU and Accentra at 40,000, but we never run the Quadrafire at max, and always run the Accentra at max). The fire in the quad appears much more active than the fire in the Accentra. Is there a video anywhere of what the Accentra fire looks like on high?
-Rich
Here’s what mike looks like.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Y-ZKcGIR3w
Thanks for that, mine looks similar, maybe not quite as strong. If you run your hand along the front do you get even heat out of the blower? Mine is cool on the left. I checked the exhaust port on the left and it appears to me that it’s not working. I did use the provided tool to clean it and I know got the thing all the way to the end. But if I block the right port there is no suction on the left one. I guess I will have to take it apart. Not sure how to get at the rear of that port. Oddly, I think the stove has always run this way.
Hello, all:
Got my Harman IIV pellet stove in 2008 and for the first year had no problems at all. This season, the auger started sqeaking/whistling after several weeks of consistent use. My dealer said that the pellets we were using were producing a tarry creosote and that it was building up in the auger. He said to buy a hacksaw blade and scrape out around the auger whenever I cleaned out the ash. Fast forward two months, and the squeak is back and no amount of scraping will stop it. Anybody else had such a problem and such advice from the dealer?
Thanks
Ours made more of a vibration noise and it turned out to be a bad auger motor. The dealer replaced it and it’s been fine. (except for my low heat output problem posted above!) The warranty should cover replacing the auger motor.
Bought a 6-year old Harman Advance Stove.
Using in my shop that is 1,500sf.
Burning Lowes Curan pellets.
Temps in North Jersey have been from low teens at night to mid 30’s at day since installed.
Using 1.75 thru 2.25 bags per day.
I am completely impressed & sold on these pellet stoves.
Did my research & think made the right choice of stove.
More glass means more radient heat.
She ran dry few times with no ignition issues.
MAKE SURE you blow out your blower & air ways well, back & forth few times.
Used 140lbs of air & the balls of hair & dust that came out were shocking.
No wonder the previous owner said they burned way too many pellets that last year they used it.
I am in a block 11′ high ceilings flat roof with no foam insulation under the tar.
Insulated the roof with R-25.
Two garage doors & keeping it at 66-68 degrees.
Saving money from the propane & keeping the shop 8-10 degrees warmer!
Wish I made the switch years ago when a Friend showed me his P-38 efficiently heating his small house.
any one have a diagram on how to get at the trap door to file it down I have a 2006 harmon and a 2000 harmon and like them both have been servicing them both and need the diagram or owners manual any help would be appreatiated jeff
The 2006 is the problem with the squeaking
We have had a Pellet stove for over 15yrs now. We purchased a new one this year. We bought 5 tons of the Pennington Pellets. We are Very disappointed in them. We had to clean out the hopper after only 5 bags due to so many crumbs and powder. Now we sift EVERY bag to get rid of that stuff. I would rather pay more an get a better pellet.
pennington has been crap as well as appling county