Harman p43 Ignitor going bad?

hey guys I just deep cleaned my stove and it’s taking forever for the thing to light. Enough to where the pot fills up and I actually either have to take pellets out or light it with a map gas torch. I have an old Ignitor I took out last year and I saved it just in case I had a problem. It took a little long to light too but figured just in case I’ll have a backup. I took and measured the ohms with a meter today and it’s at 62 ohms. Is that good or high? Before anyone asked I cleaned the holes with a screw, cleaned off the Ignitor with a toothbrush, cleaned the fines box and made sure all covers were on tight. Should I get a new ignitor or no? Any other ideas?

 

You mentioned cleaning the burnpot holes, but just as important - make sure the igniter chamber beneath the burnpot is cleaned out real good. As that chamber starts to accumulate ash over time, it really affects the igniter's ability to start the fire. There is a little "door" beneath the pot with two wing nuts that need to come out so you can get in there (suspect you already know that). I think your igniter is ok, but just to be sure - next time you startup the stove, after the first couple auger cycles, open the door and put your hand over the burnpot; make sure it's hot to the touch! Also make sure you didn't accidentally bump the auto-ignite switch into the manual position...That's been done before...


Edit: What kind of pellets are you burning, just curious.

 

It’s getting warm but not like really hot. I made sure when I cleaned it I took the cover off and stuck a crevasse tool in there to suck everything out. I have always had a problem after I clean it it won’t ignite. But it’s taking a while to start. I’m using FSU pellets now but I have stove chows and blazers too. Only thing I can think of is maybe the back where the wires come through for the igniter the grommet isn’t siliconed but it never has been. My stove was made in 2012 but I don’t get why I keep having problems igniting?

 

Should be lit by now

 

Some of them look like they wanted to ignite but didn’t.

 

Calling Lousyweather

 

Once i light it it’s good. But as you can see the black on the glass, I just cleaned it Sunday afternoon

 

Might try just running it on stove temp other then room temp

 

Your firebrick is very sooty.Looks like a dirty burn is going on.I would check for airflow issues first.

 

I just don’t know where to look. I cleaned all the way back to the rear pipe, cleaned the esp probe. The burn pot cover is tight. The holes are good. Door gasket is new last year along with the ash pan gasket. Took and hooked a hose onto a vacuum and stuck it in the fresh air flapper and cleaned out as much as I could. Fines box cover is on right and tight. Idk where to go from there

 

My low voltage is turned down just below half I don’t get it.

 

Also that prob because I have had to light it with a map gas torch.

 

Double check all gaskets and covers.Even if you are lighting with a torch you should not have soot in the burn chamber.Something is going on and we have to figure it out.You came to the right place. There are many knowledgeable people here to track this down.

 

Also it could be because some times I don’t take pellets out before I light it so I have a big rolling flame. Rolls over the heat exchangers and rolls onto the glass

 

It may sound silly, but don't rule out the pellets. There have been cases where switching pellets makes a world of difference, even at startup time. Some pellets are just real difficult to get going, be it due to a bad batch or whatever. Are you having the slow start issues with all of the pellets you have, or is it just the FSUs?

 

I think it is happening with all of them. I tried some stove chows yesterday and it did the same thing. I had to mess around with my dip switches last year but it was fine at the beginning of the season

 

The old igniter I had I check and it was at 62 ohms which is like 230 Watts. The kwik fire I bought last year was 310 watt so I’m wondering if this one is doing the same thing

 

Take the cover off and see if the ignitor glows red if not then that could be your problem. Getting a new one should tell you if you needed it. A good spare if not needed. Ohms are around 40 to 50 +/-

 

What led you to do that, and do you recall what specific changes were made?

 

Harman ignitors usually test 43-51 ohms.They can be "partially" bad(not get hot enough,or work slow).You would have to hook it to 120v to test,as mentioned.The board may not be providing the proper voltage.You probably have your dip switches out of wack,there is one that controls how much fuel goes into the pot for startup.Your board may be keeping the ignitor turned on all the time,which makes them go bad.There's some food for thought for you.