Harman P series ash door sticky buildup?

Do any harman p series owners have a sticky buildup on the inside of the ash pan door? Is this a sign of an air leak?

 

Haven't had one on mine. Still burning the MWP's?

 

Yea. mwp for me! I started the season burning a little over one ton of the blend. After that I switched to the ton of softies that I bought summer of 2012 and never used last winter. Now I am into the first of two tons of softies that I bought last summer. I have noticed that this years softies are much cleaner burning than last year's. Less carbon buildup in the burn pot and less of an ash stash on the door glass.

I have had the slight buildup since the first pellets I burned three years ago. I'll try to snap a pic when I do my cleaning this weekend.

 

I'll have to take a pic when I clean on Sunday. Always been there and doesn't get worse so I haven't thought about it too much until recently.

 

check your ash door gaskets!

 

Hello

I put a brand new high quality 3/8" diameter graphite door gasket using high temp clear silicone on Harmy1 (P61a-2 with the old iron fines cover!) when I rebuilt her this summer. I also installed the Selkirk DT masonry conversion kit in the 25' 8x8 clay lined block chimney to warm the burn air so the ash is very fluffy! It has been running 24/7 and I just snapped a pic. You do not have to shut the stove down to open the ash door and snap a pic!

Looks good so far!

See pic below:
Click on pic to enlarge:

 

I had that problem before I figured out how to run my stove years ago… too much air.

 

What did you do to cut the air back?

 

He's got a St Croix not a Harman.

 

Thought it must not have been a harman. But didn't see a signature.

 

Harman pretty much adjusts air itself. Main air leak might be gasket related as mentioned earlier.

 

sowy.....the OP asked about a P61......

 

??

 

My post was kinda misleading.

When I first got my St. Croix I had left my ash dump lever open after doing a minor cleaning… it's right under the burn pot. Got a real lazy flame and that sticky build-up on the door glass.

I was a noob and had my dealer come out and take a peek… he cleaned the stove (and closed the ash dump) and it's been OK the last 8 years.

I guess I should have suggested you may have a loss of vacuum for whatever reason… that's what screwed up my stove.

 

refer to post #1 of this same thread.......

 

Yeah, you saying the P61A doesnt have an ash door gasket?

 

no, no, the P61 DOES have a gasket, and given the sticky residue, that's what I suggested above with post #6.....now, the OP sez they had a P61 (see post #1, signature block), then Smokeshow sez he has a St Croix? etc., etc., etc.,.....so, most likely a misunderstanding of the post being derailed and a few of us are talking about other things/stoves, etc., confusing the issue. back to the OP...

Sticky residue on the ash door of the Harman P61 could be due to cleaning (or lack thereof), a bad ash door gasket, or the airwash bar bottom is slightly open, supplying cool air to the backside of the door. Solutions are as follows......
1. if its dirty, clean it well
2. if its a gasket, replace it
3. if its a open bottom on the airwash bar, seal it up

 

OK. Here is the photo of the sticky buildup before using the shop vac to clean the ash off. Like I said, it has always been there and hasn't gotten worse. It really isn't that much. So when I have time, maybe over the summer, I will replace the gasket.

 

yea, maybe a good idea to replace (end of season).....that edge is where the hinge is, so there is a possibility that the edge of the hinge pinches the gasket more, causing it to start to fail earlier.....