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Fusing your Harman pellet stove ignitor - save the board fuse and power?

Discussion in 'Pellet Stoves, Pellet Fireplaces, Pellet Furnaces' started by don2222, Apr 1, 2014.

?

Would you like a sepearte fuse on your Harman pellet stove ignitor

  1. Yes, so the main board would still work and I can light the stove manually

    3 vote(s)
    75.0%

  2. No, I have a few ignitors and my spouse, kids or I can just replace it.

    1 vote(s)
    25.0%
  1. don2222

    don2222

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    Many times when the Harman ignitor dies it shorts out and blows the circuit board fuse.
    This fuse is 6 or 7 amps and when it goes, the stove has no power. Since there is no power the stove cannot be started manually.

    Therefore, If it had a seperate fuse like other brand stoves, the ignitor fuse would pop and the stove could still be started manually. :)

    An inline fuse holder from Home Depot can easily be added in series with the yellow ignitor wire in the back of the stove. An AGC 5 amp fuse that must be purchased seperatly can be installed.

    Any damaging short caused by the ignitor will blow this fuse. The stove will still run fine and can be started manually.

    Pic 1 - Fuse holder and Fuses
    Pic 2 - Original Ignitor wires coiled up.
    (Note: splice into right side of coiled yellow wire closest to the control panel. This way the wires can still be pulled into the air inlet tube for ignitor replacement when needed)
    Pic 3 - Quick disconnect clips from Home Depot used for connections. Easy to remove or change.
    Pic 4 - Fuse holder tucked up and away from any heated parts, but can easily be pulled back down for servicing.
     

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    Last edited: Apr 1, 2014
    don2222, Apr 1, 2014
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  2. RockyMtnHigh

    RockyMtnHigh

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    Always on the lookout Don. I don't have a Harman but if I did I'd be working all these little tid bits in
     
    RockyMtnHigh, Apr 1, 2014
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  3. don2222

    don2222

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    If you do not have a seperate fuse for your Ignitor, then this also applys to your stove?
     
    don2222, Apr 1, 2014
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  4. jtakeman

    jtakeman Moderator

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    Sorry don, I didn't vote. My answer would be "already done and it was done to protect the controller."

    I did mine a lil different and used a panel mount fuse holer. The inline fuse holders to me are to dodgie and sometime loose contact. Plus the panel mount holder makes changing fues easier.
    http://www.cooperindustries.com/con...ers_andblocks/holders/panel-fuse-holders.html

    BUS_Ele_HKP_220.jpg

    Fuse holder can be bought at the electrical supply house(Digikey-Mouser-newark) or radio shack may have them. I bought mine through Jameco. Soldered wires to it and covered with heat shrink. Then drilled a hole in the stove chassis.
    http://www.jameco.com/1/1/978-gfs603-r-gfs-fuse-holder-panel-mount-screw-capacitor.html

    I have seen these that also have an indictor light so you know when the fuse fails.

    http://www.cooperindustries.com/con...mountedfuseholdersforindicatingtypefuses.html
     
    jtakeman, Apr 4, 2014
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  5. don2222

    don2222

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    Hello Jay

    X2, I agree that is a very good solution and much easier to use.

    I just did not want to put a hole in the stove body and take out the solder iron!
     
    don2222, Apr 4, 2014
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  6. imacman

    imacman

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    Much nicer idea. Looks much more professional.....really like the indicator light and ease of changing fuse. Drilling one hole and a few minutes with a soldering iron isn't a lot to do.
     
    imacman, Apr 4, 2014
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  7. DexterDay

    DexterDay Administrator

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    A separate fuse is always a good idea :thumbs:

    Nice job Mr Takeman ;)

    The Enerzone uses a separate fuse for every single motor. :) I will try and snap a pic when I get home later.
     
    DexterDay, Apr 5, 2014
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  8. jtakeman

    jtakeman Moderator

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    I was going to mod mine so each blower/component had its own fuse, But never had the time to get back to it. I did the igniter/air pump because a bad igniter toasted the igniter circuit on the main board. I tried the inline fuse and the dodgie connection would loose contact and toast the fuse every now and again. So I went looking for something with a better connection. Been in the unit for 4 years now and no issues. I'm pretty sure I posted this on the other forum IIRC? CRS??

    I see the Enviro's started using multi fuses on their boards. Thats where I stole the idea. Helps take the guess work out of whats going wrong, You only need to look at the circuit that has the blown fuse.

    I once had a heck of a time with a stove that was blowing the main fuse. Fuse randomly blew a couple a seconds to an hour(or so) after start up. Igniter/combustion blower/auger motor all checked good. Turned out to be the main harness rubbed the chassis and the auger wire was grounding out. If it had a separate fuse for the auger circuit it would have saved a mess of debug time to find the fault. Got a few grey hairs from that one!
     
    Last edited: Apr 5, 2014
    jtakeman, Apr 5, 2014
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  9. smoke show

    smoke show

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    Few? I've seen pictures... :p
     
    smoke show, Apr 5, 2014
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  10. don2222

    don2222

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    I like seperate fuses. US Stove has them on their control panels for a long time. See pics below.
    These control boards also have a nice manual option to set the speed of the combustion blower and other components.
     

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    don2222, Apr 5, 2014
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  11. krooser

    krooser

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    I still remember the last time I worked on an electrical repair... fire.jpg
     
    krooser, Apr 6, 2014
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  12. imacman

    imacman

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    You had a real hot time, eh?
     
    imacman, Apr 6, 2014
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