Anyone seen this pellet stove ash away cleaning tool?

Anyone seen this pellet stove ash away cleaning tool?

 

Looks like a royal PITA to me.

 

Interesting. I don't have all those small crevices in my stoves. It might have been somewhat useful for the Hastings to clean out the area under the firebox door - what was part of the versa grate clean out system (that was an complete terror to clean out the ash that was hard-packed in there when I got it). But I'm not sure it could have reached the ash trap under the versa grate system and behind the ashpan - or more accurately, that the person's gloved had/arm could reach there from the contraption shown.

I would think that the LBT does the job just as well, although I could be wrong. How many people actually have air compressors? I can tell you that I'm the only one in any of my family that has one, whereas I was probably the last to get a leaf blower.

 

I had to use a leaf blower and a compressor to fix 2 different St Croix Prescotts! I replaced a lot of parts but these stove had a lot of weird ash chambers. I tried an electric leaf blower on one and that did not cut the mustard! Only a gas leaf blower has the high CFM and with that sucking out the exhaust pipe and a compressor in the firebox, all the ash goes out the back so no need for anything else! It finally fixed these sluggish stoves with the lazy flame for a good long time!

 

HIGH SPEED LEAF BLOWER TRICK has always cleaned my stove fine......
Much more volume of air with the LBT........
My 6-1/2 Hp shop vac will not even compete with the leaf blower....plus the vent pipe gets cleaned as well with the LBT

HIGH SPEED AND HIGH VOLUME OF AIR .....

Turn on the combustion fan as well during the process...Always unhook the vacuum/pressure switch hose if any are used in the stove... IMPORTANT....DRASTIC PRESSURE CHANGES CAN DAMAGE THE DELICATE DIAPHRAGM IN THE SWITCH....

The little tool may well be fine for some folks.....
I still prefer the INDUSTRIAL STRENGTH OF THE LBT

 

One thing I don't get is his detailed air was description of the door. The door channel surrounding the the gasket has nothing to do with keeping the glass clean what so ever. The much touted and basically ineffective 'air wash' system is nothing more than a joke at best. The viewing windows all get a coating of fly ash on them eventually. Wipe mine off with a damp paper towel when I shut it down, no big deal.

I'm a leaf vacuum person as well, sucking from the vent side works just fine and careful cleaning inside (I use a regular shop vac with a drywall bag inside to vacuum out the units), along with a brush and a couple disposable paint brushes do the trick for me.

I've NEVER disconnected the vacuum sensor when using a leaf vacuum on the outside. I leave the door open instead. Never been an issue for me. Besides, disconnecting mine requires removal of a side panel to access the silicone hose.

 

I do but they are stationary units in the shop. Nothing portable. Like I said, his 'idea' looks like a royal PITA.

 

I was puzzled by that description. I figured I didn't know some of the stoves out there (probably very old stoves). I would be worried if my pellet stove was sucking in air around the glass. I also was not impressed that the hearth didn't extend past the base of the stove.

I leave a door ajar when I perform the LBT also - I am not so good at putting things back together after taking them apart (not to mention I'm really good at breaking things worse when I do take them apart).

 

Didn't catch that. I'm not all that observant anymore. If he's happy with it, I'm good with that. Not something I'd want however. I do get a charge out of YT video's. You get to see stuff that you ordinarily don't ever think of doing.

 

Hi BB
The Breckwell stoves have a cheap air wash system that pulls clean room air from the room under the fire door glass to keep the window clean. It seems the guy in the video does not quite get that.
The Harman stoves you & I have however, have a Real Air wash system by pulling air from the air intake pipe on the back of the stove with a pipe that continues thru the firebox to the slot under the fire door to really wash the fire door window and keep it clean much longer! That is why Harman is Number 1 !!!
See my video on Cleaning the Harman Air Wash.

 

Air wash is BS wash for the most part. The combustion flame is too close to the view glass for the glass to stay clean, don't care what make of stove it is and Harman's are over priced to begin with, but then it's not my money, it's yours. Me, I'm into BTU output way more than watching a flame dance in a burn pot.... And of course Harman's aren't corn compatible for the most part (will combust a mix but not straight corn), so that eliminates them for me.

People come up with corny ideas and put them on YT and expect to male a killing selling them and it never materializes.

Both mine get dirty over a few days but it's a simple matter to open the door (I don't shut it off) and take a paper towel and wipe off the view glass, takes maybe 10 seconds max.

 

The strength of the flue draft can effect how well the air wash system works..

This said......It's only a matter of a few days of running and the glass gets skunked up...

Both our Whitfields will get skunked up in a couple days.

Shut off the feed....Wait until the fire is just coals.....Open the door, swish the clinker out of the pot and grab the 1" paint brush and dust off the glass....Close door and turn the feed back on.....Done deal..
I buy the cheap azz paint brushes by the hand full and keep one at each stove for the cleaning duties...

Our stoves are all direct vented.....I think this may have a slightly negative effect on how well the air wash works....

No big deal.........

I agree.....Harmon is waaaaaay over priced.....
However...they will burn nut shells .....

 

Everything today is overpriced actually and you and your nut shells are a local thing, kind of like me and my offgrade seed corn.

In my view, a Harman is a boutique' stove as they all (any brand) do the same thing which is extract BTU's from a fuel source. Harmon's are just a prettier face...There, I spelled it both ways.

From what I've read on here and elsewhere, they won't combust shelled corn very well.

 

Th

The Harman PC-45 is made to burn corn and since the flash temperature of corn is quite higher than pellets the PC-45 has a very high wattage igniter and air pump.
Harman started making coal burners so their technology for making a reliable pellet burner is one of the very best! Also the steel they use in their stoves is the highest quality and better than any other brand stove I have seen.
Their p-series pellet stoves sides and top heat up and radiate the heat like a wood stove while also blowing out very hot air to extract a lot of heat from the pellets. Their control panel is also the only control panel I have seen that will feed more or less pellets to keep the room temperature to what you set it for within 1 degree.
I purchased all mine used very cheap and just repainted and put in new parts. Just seams like a good stove to me?

 

Not sure either of my Harman's would be called "pretty" or Boutique. They are work horses and look like work horses - although you can "pretty" them up with trim on the doors if you want. Mine are also rated to burn up to 50% corn - from my owner's manuals (I checked and both contain these instructions). I've never tried corn as that isn't really available around here - so can't comment on how well they actually burn it.



As for cost, the P61 was ~$3,80000 for stove, hopper extension, exhaust pipe and full set up. Heck, the 2 tons of pellet were $500 delivered at the same time, so the stove was really pretty cheap when I bought it new in 2014. The P43 cost me $1,000 (a 2012 model I bought used).

They have been trouble free for the most part. I've replaced a couple of gaskets on the P61a and the exhaust fa and room blower on the P43. But they each paid for themselves within a year, so I have absolutely no complaints. I try to buy things on "value" not price, and IMO, these stoves have delivered that value.

 

You got a great deal on your P43 BB and since you got the P61 they have gone up in price too!
I paid $1100 for 3 tons of pellets for the winter this year but oil would be atleast $3300.00 !!
How can you go wrong??
Our Harmans with reasonable care will certainly out live us now, but keep us warm and comfy for as long as we need them.
I just turned on my Harman Advance with the Free Samsung Smart Things app on my iPhone and a WiFi T-Stat in the workshop. I set the app for 92 degrees which basically turns the Harman on, then I set the Temperature dial on the Harman to 70 degrees in Room Temp mode according to the Harman Technical Paper. This works very well.
The outside temperature was 27 degrees and started out at 60 degrees in my very well insulated workshop with Roxul & reflectix insulation this morning 15 mins ago and is now up to 69 so I guess I can go to work.
The humor is very low? Click on pic to Enlarge.

 

Whatever floats your boat and be apprised, I'm not partial to any brand or operational parameters except to say the Units I own can COMBUST STRAIGHT FIELD CORN with no mixing with pellets if I so desire to do that, which I don't because of the inherent clinkering issues. When it's real cold out, I mix at a 75%-25% ratio, 75% corn to 25% pellets which mitigates the clinker issue.

I don't buy the 15% RM on field corn that Harman calls out in their instructions simply because at 15%, there will be not only a clinkering issue but an excessive ash issue. Corn don't burn per se..., it 'carmelizes' instead and leaves the husk behind as it's not combustible. That is what generates the clinker as well as the excessive ash. Corn must be below 15%, actually between 10 and 15 and the closer to 10, the better it combusts.

Been running a corn-pellet or a straight corn fuel for over 20 years now and I know very well how it works or don't work, depending on the unit.

In my view, Harman's are over priced but than in today's inflationary economy, they are all over priced.

Whatever floats your boat is fine with me. Bottom line is they produce heat but I want a unit that don't demand constant attention, why I run what I run and why I maintain them like I do. Lack of timely maintenance will always contribute to an early demise or unsatisfactory performance.

 

I might add that heating oil (off road diesel) would be my LAST choice in heating fuel because of the cost with NG first, propane second, resistance heating third and HHO dead last.

 

Good Info Corncob. Do you have a fuel stirrer rod in the burnpot to break up the hard biscuit that corn ash forms? What make & model stove do you have?

 

How can the humidity be that low already? My house, with both stoves going is still at 44%. Hold on, let me check the garage . . .

Here is my garage.



To be fair, I do get water infiltration from under the overhead door and there is a sump in one corner, but both the floor and sump have been dry for a couple of days.