Harman pellet stove delayed ignition solutions with pics and vids

Hello
Delayed Ignition is sometimes called explosive ignition or very smokey lighting causing an audible pop sound.
It is possible that temporary low voltage or current from the wall outlet could cause this once or twice.
If this happens every time then it can be the following:
In many cases delayed ignition can be caused by a very dirty pellet stove or venting so cleaning the stove thoroughly and event blowing it out with an air compressor of leaf blower may resolve the problem. However in this case, A Harman P61 delayed ignition was caused by faulty semiconductor called a Triac that switches the AC to the igniter on circuit board. By placing an Amp Clamp on the yellow wire, it shows the current draw of 2.21 amps. The normal measurement should be approximately 3.5 amps to light the pellets properly. I have also seen a case where the current draw was only 1.7 amps and the pellets would not even light. Replacing the circuit board solved both of these problems.
See Video
Harman Pellet Stove Delayed Ignition total solution - YouTube

Pics 1-6 show delayed ignition
Pic 7 - Limited igniter current draw on yellow wire from bad triac on circuit board causing delayed ignition (Aprox 2.0 amps)
Pic 8 - Full igniter current draw from good on yellow wire from good circuit board giving normal ignition (Aprox 3.5 amps)
Pic 9 - Low igniter current draw on yellow wire from bad triac on circuit board causing no ignition. (Aprox 1.7 amps)

 

That will happen in my Harman if I burn 2 tons or more without cleaning it. Ash builds up in the ignitor and acts as an insulator. After a scrape of the burn surface and a few taps on the ignitor cover to knock the ash out, it starts normally again.

 

I find I run into this more in fall/spring where the stove may only get used every couple nights or a chilly, rainy day. Gets some ash on the igniter and I get the smokey firebox for a few seconds then the pellets ignite. So I've come to do as Scott does only I just grab a can of air and give a couple blasts thru the holes in the burnpot. Also during these times I put a good handful of pellets with starting gel mixed in the burnpot first to help get the pellets lit faster.

sam

 

I also found the Wrong Size Harman burnpot can cause this delayed ignition problem too!
That is not the case too often but always something to check if the stove was purchased used!!

 

Both of my stoves have always gotten, what I consider, very smokey before ignition. But, there is no "pop" and the smoke clears within a second or two after ignition.

I am fascinated by watching the whole lighting part, from the sparks and "zigzags", to smoke developing, to the clearing.

 

Sounds like your delayed ignition is not bad. Check to make sure the holes in the burnpot are all clear of ash and pellets with an awl or the right size drill bit. That can also help a lot!
Do you have a pellet smoker yet?
Memorial Day BBQ Pellet Smokin with WiFi on Smartphone-iPhone live pic-bounce mode-High Tech Heaven!

 

The P61a has done that since brand new. Although the P43 was not brand new when I got it, it was extremely clean. I clean out the holes every time I clean the stoves. I've never seen it as a problem.

I have no need for a pellet smoker or grill. I bought a small grill off of CL when I moved here and it sat in my shed for 3 years before I finally got rid of it.

 

There is another possibility on your P61. Harman made different burn pots over the years for this model. The latest OEM burnpot works the best!
I just purchased the latest and greatest P61 burn pot just recently for one of my older P61s I bought used. OEM part # 1-10-05802
See pics of mine below. It has 5 rows of holes and No Holes in front of the auger tube. One issue they had was holes right in front of the auger tube burned the tip of the auger out prematurely.

Also if you have the red bank of DIP switches on the back side of your control panel. Check to see if the first 3 are set for the correct auger timing to charge the burnpot with the correct amount of pellets. If they are set for too many pellets and this could also cause the delayed ignition. You could also adjust the timing down to solve the problem if the budget does not allow buying a new burnpot right away.

 

This is exactly what I've been dealing with this season. My Harman Advance was built in 1999 and has been our sole source of heat for about 20 years. It's been a champ, and this summer I decided to replace the burn pot; door, window and ash pan gaskets; combustion blower and distribution fan. After all of that, it started having ignition issues...just as you described. So I put in a new ingniter.. still having issues...it goes between the explosive ignition to not lighting at all. Ordered new board and will let you know if it makes a difference after I install it.