Anyone there?

I bought a LB fro Loews for about $40 bucks. You can adjust the the size to fit you vent with vent parts. I just secured it to the LB with duct tape. Be sure to disconnect the vac tube before you run the vac. Remember this in no substitute for the internal cleaning of the stove. Prior to Krooser telling us about it, I think about 2008 or 2009, we had no idea about this tool for cleaning. Still is a hard sell when you talk to stove dealers. But then, many of them will tell you you don't need OAK.

 

The Harman P series (maybe the other series as well?) has direct access to the interior exhaust path. Remove ash pan, combustion fan cover (no tools required for this) and ESP (one set screw). It is a direct path to the tail pipe and into my clean out T that I run a brush through and then suck out the ash with shop vac through same path. AFAIK, there is nothing in the path at all.

 

Should you leave the door cracked on all stoves when doing this? And should you discount the vacuum hose on all stoves? I have read conflicting information on the vacuum switch some do and some don't.

 

To be very honest, I don't know which stoves are vs not apt to be damaged if the vac hose is not disconnected. But enough stove techs chimed in (past postings) that I make sure to pass that advice on when I discuss the LB. But you are right, some do and some less so. They also did share cracking the door open some. I prefer to do a mix of open and closed but using a remote control switch while I am with the stove tapping on the vent and the firewall of the stove.
The whole run of the LB is about 5 min. Always take longer to gather up, and put away the tools than it does to do the cleaning.

 

Bah.

If you have a wimpy vac switch it is going to trip you up at some point. Hear that Quad. I hope you got good switches on your units these days.

Most vac switches can handle the extra suck-age of a leaf blower, they usually can handle 10:1, but to be a nice safe stove cleaner, crack the door, remove one end of the hose going to the vacuum switch, and make certain your stove is unplugged.

Let's see in six seasons my vacuum switch has handled the leaf blower without having the door opened without any issues.

YMMV, be a good stove cleaner and do as I say, not as I do, I try to push this bucket of parts and so far it has given me the evil eyeball and the fickle finger of fate award. But the vacuum switch is still there.

 

I was going to say something, but maybe a long term Harman owner can drop in and tell about the long horizontal paths on each side that have been known to clog up were they turn the corner and before they join together. Seems the brush bends and doesn't get around the corner leaving a mess that builds over time.

All of this use of shop vacs, leaf blowers, and air compressors is because folks don't do all of the needed brush work. I'll admit the leaf blower is fun but it really isn't needed if you do your homework.

This is akin to using an elephant gun to off the squirrel so you can have Brunswick stew.

It does show the newbies that they missed a lot of crud in their cleaning.

 

As the very knowledgeable members above have said, some do it, some don't. IMO, rather safe than sorry. It only takes a minute (or less) to slide the hose off the switch.

If you do remove the hose, then the door can be left closed for more suction through the exhaust passages.

 

CRS is what I'm going to have by the end of the day. So far I've dealt with TW, Verizon, and likely will need to talks to some others. TW is enough to produce brain blowouts.

ETA: If I disappear for a few days during the next week you know why.

 

Not sure about the Accentra, Advance and XXV series. The P-series is a straight shot from ash pan to tail pipe. The brush gets through there real nice.
MAKE SURE YOU REMOVE THE ESP

Ive never used a leaf blower, just the vac in the inner stove horizontal (not exhaust piping) to get loose chit after brushing. Kind like Listerine for your tail chute

 

Well I Disassembled the chimney and cleaned it out with brush again on vertical. I then used shop vac with just it's plastic pipe, which gave me a good fit inside of horizontal run and sucked everything out I had loosened up. It did not appear to be that dirty. I then cleaned the stove again. Keep in mind this is a brand-new stove. I took this picture to show the glass at start up. The last time I cleaned the stove, just before I started this thread about this problem, the glass was also this clean. But within a matter of 4-6 hours the glass was extremely dirty. It was like it was sticking to the glass. When I cleaned it this time the stuff was stuck to the glass like muck. I am wondering if there was something wrong with the pellets.

 

I also used the brush through the horizontal before and after shop vac.

 

There seems to be no problem with smoke getting out chimney. I am still wondering if it could be these pellets on a low setting of 3-3 was not good. Just too slow of a burn. Not a hot enough fire. ? I don't know. I am not happy that I can not get to the horizontal run for cleaning. Poor design as far as cleaning goes. I hate to say that because I like the stove. But I can not get to important places to clean. Why? And I should not have to buy a leaf blower to clean my stove!

 

What prevents the flames from going up the auger path and starting a fire in the hopper of this stove? Does the air come down the auger channel and Because that is what I was concerned with when I started this thread. The pot had overflowed with pellets, apparently from them not burning through and/or clinks/whatever. And when I knocked them down I realized they had literally backed right up the auger path. The ones trying to come down could not. Yikes!

Well this is now four or five days later and I finally got time to clean the stove and chimney. Again on stove, and again on vertical of chimney. First time on horizontal of chimney this time.

 

Burning Timber Heats.

Flame seamed okay. A little more active now, I just turned LBA up one notch to 5. Settings now at 1-5-1 on lower three adjustments. Other two, heat range and blower speed on 6-7.

 

If you see ANY indication of pellet build up (more than what it looks like during normal burn, and after the cleaning), I'd raise the LBA to 6.

According to Mike H., the max anyone should go is 7....more than that and the heated air just goes through the stove too fast and doesn't have enough time to heat the exchanger.

 

Timber Heats fed FAST for me....this may be part if your problem....your level 6 may be more like level 9.

For example....most pellets feed at around 2.2 lbs per hour on low for me. The Timber Heat were over 3 IIRC. Roughly 35% faster than "normal"

 

That is a little concerning. I left the stove on 5-7 I think. Hope it is alright. It was burning great when I left. I had turned the LBA up to 5. We will see in the morning.