Pellet heads!! What's up today?

Warmed up today,20f,so cleaned Accentra.But,before shut down,got to play with the Harman diagnostic tool.ESP was reacting slowly,I knew what was wrong,stove dirty from running in maint. mode too much.Yep,heat ex changer and comb. fan area very dirty,normal.Exhaust passage and flue were ok,but cleaned anyway.Now,ESP reacts very quickly,as the air flow has been restored.Leg still hurts,but I need to get outside and fix broken chain on tractor.Will have lunch first,then decide,lol.

 

I was still in at 8:15 . Roads weren't too bad by then.

Was going to finish snow blowing when I got home tonight. I got all the parking/driving and road plow berms taken care of as well as up to and around the propane tanks. But the wind started kicking in and temps plummeting right as I got home. I have enough lessons in futility without trying to get powder-dry snow to stay put in high winds. It is supposed to stay cold until Saturday so I should be able to do the path clearing then.

I was actually thinking of leaving earlier this morning but the local news was telling me about all the accidents between me and work - decided to let all the idiots get it out of their system

 

Wow the temps are dropping insanely atm almost 12* in less than half an hour. Snow is flying as the squalls are screaming across the hills of central MA but cannot complain as we only got 4" of the white chit last night ! Man I got to tell you usually we get the "Jackpot" but this year it has been a total 180* we are hitting the jackpot for the least amount of snow , been heading South or North of us the entire winter !

Tough day at work but they will be tough for a while without doubt but have the pellet bin and both stoves loaded and cranking along with a space heater under the crawl space on one end of the house that if there is going to be frozen pipes that is where it happens. Got the P68 loaded with a mix again Matra's, Logik-E and Northern Max cranking away while the P43 is loaded with Doug Firs and will be loading it with the same tomorrow morning at 3 am when i get up in the morning .

Last night ordered a new ESP as something is getting funky with the fire on the P68 not cranking like it has for the last 2 years and if that is not it oh well have a backup which is never a bad thing. Will start there as its not crazy expensive and rather simple to replace, the fire is ok just not as intense as it has always been previous. Meaning no lazy flame or anything like that just not loading the amount of pellets as often as it has always previously , we'll see what happens.

Stay warm folks

 

Clean,clean and clean! Anyway,when I rebuilt this stove,I replaced sensor,old one worked,so left it hanging there,let wires snaked up to control board.

 

Got backhoe chain 65% fixed,gettin dark,cold and windy,will finish tomorrow.

 

8" here overnight but took the day off for mental health and was able to wait till almost 10 am and clean up in the sunshine.

 

Did a big clean this past Sunday. Full stack brushing and exhaust blower. Replaced gaskets after checking things out and lubed combustion air blower.

Exhaust blower was super clean.

 

8" here... all fluffy...

Dan

 

LOL,I first misread that as 8" and fluffy,lol

 

My Harmon is making a lot of noise, so I called a family member that is a stove technician/Handyman. He came and said the first thing he does after listening to the noise is to do a deep cleaning. He did that then determined that it was the combustion fan motor. Bearings getting noisy. Happens that he has one at home and will be back Thursday PM to install it. I watched him pull the stove out, turn it around and get into it. Lots of brushing and vacuuming. I'm just a big ball of lard and can't get into those places. He did it so well and easy. He is 6ft 6 in. and lean. I have no idea now he gets down on his knees and works so easily at age 45. Anyway, I am lucky to have him willing to come work on my stove.

 

Hey Larry, Let me know how he gets the fan off.

From what I hear the set screw is a bugger if you dont remove it periodically. Mine has never been removed so I am curious if you have ever removed the fan and if not how he gets it off.

Glad you have someone that can help !!!

 

Some of the older Harman combustion motors are easy to replace the bearings,save the old motor

 

Man after my own heart. I'm sure you remember replacing brushes and bearings on alternators too-not replacing the whole unit

 

Yep,I have done hundreds,if not more,of starters and alternators,and some wiper and blower motor overhauls.My old Integra comb. blower motor,I rebearinged,have it for a spare,those EBM papst motors are expensive.I picked up an old Jakel Harman combustion motor,cheep,will rebearing it for a spare for my Accentra.The old Jakel motors always start slow,but the windings never burn out.Nowadays,is really hard to find bushings,for wiper/heater motors(for cars).

 

Put the P43 in room temp / auto last night before going to bed. Looks like it will stay in that mode for a couple of days.

 

Funny how society is supposedly environmentally aware yet its a "throw away and buy new" mindset instead of rebuild and repair.

 

9 below right now and gonna be over 50 degrees in a few days. Crazy winter for temp swings this year

 

Sounds like a valuable diagnostic tool then badbob - clean stove burns hotter / saves pellets!

 

JT, been running (Valvoline Maxlife) synthetic ATF in the PS system here when applicable for years now, makes a huge difference in these temps. Just a thought.

Damm it's cold out there this morning -7F .. 15 minutes was about all I could take, getting the cars cleaned off & started.. even with the cold weather gear on.

Ice fishing, JT ?

Stay warm all!