Need Some Advice on Harman DVC 500

PLEASE SHUT DOWN UNTIL YOU FIND EXHAUST LEAK!!!!!!!!!There should be a foam type material on attached to the hopper lid that seals the lid to the hopper. How old is the unit? All flue pipe connections should be gasketed. Did you check to make sure both inner and outer parts of the flue are solid with no holes or corrosion? All exhaust gasses are pulled down than out no exhaust gasses should be coming out of the hopper area.

Did you check the behind the ash shield and the blower cover in ash pit area to make sure the exhaust outlet was clean and had no holes or corrosion?

I shut it down right after I pulled the batteries out of the shrieking alarm. I have checked the flue and all of the sections of exhaust pipe. They all have new gaskets. Sounds like I am missing the gasket around the top edge of the hopper. I will get one ordered. Thankfully, it is getting warmer out. Thanks again for the help.

Even with that hopper gasket, I believe something is not correct. you should not be getting exhaust into your hopper. If anything you should have air pulled into the firebox from the hopper not exhaust pushed out.

That's a good point. I think I may just replace all of the blower motors before next season. Kind of expensive, but safety first.

I agree with titleist1, something isn't right. I do not think it is all your blower motors .Do you have a Operating Manual if not you can download one from the Harman website? where are you located maybe someone close can come and help you troubleshoot your DVC500? Replacing parts for this unit are $$$$$$$,you don't want to replace something needlessly.

Tristan, you should start a new thread with your problem - that way breakerboy & your hijack problem will each get the focused attention they deserve.

Where did you purchase the stove??? Was it from Craigslist, near Allentown, approx. January?
$1,200.00 asking price??

It seems to me the combustion blower is sending in more air than the draft blower can exhaust.

What are the cfm ratings of each blower and is it possible for them to be mounted in the wrong location?

The manual doesn't give a cfm for those blowers, just a part number (1-10-08332 for the combustion and 3-21-08639 for the draft)

Another thought I had was to make sure the grate holder assembly is positioned correctly in the stove and the grates are on the grate holder and cemented in place. The combustion air coming up through there should all go through the grate holes and not have anywhere to leak back up into the hopper.

Is your coal wet?

If I had smoke in the distribution air, there are two things I would check.

First, the outside air intake. It's pyramid-shaped with four louvers that draw in fresh air for both combustion and distribution. If you're running a "T" (as shown in the installation manual), I would consider capping the bottom. It's very easy under certain conditions for smoke coming from the bottom of the open "T" to be drawn into the stove's intake.

Second, when you have the opportunity, remove the round pipe from the intake/exhaust fitting (outside the house) and look into the exhaust portion of the fitting coming from the stove. The exhaust is a square passage and it is coaxially positioned inside of the intake air passage. If the walls of the exhaust passage have corroded, there is a direct connection between exhaust and intake gasses. You can generally patch the corrosion with some aluminum flashing or a small sheet of stainless. Just make sure to inspect it at least a couple times a year. Hi-temp RTV makes a good adhesive with which to attach the new flashing.

I've had to do this with my DVC-500, as well as fabricate an aluminum liner for the hopper which was rusting out from wet coal.