Has anyone burned or installed one of these units (Hydroflex 60) yet. What can you share with us.

Hello All,

I'm new to this forum and looking to get some discussion going on the Harman Hydroflex 60 boiler.

I purchased my Hydroflex 60 last April (2011) and install it myself over the summer. I've been burning it all this winter and we love it ! So far, no problems.

I have several friends with PB105's, with some having problems. However, my Hydroflex 60 is making me proud.

VT_Bubba
- Harman Hydroflex 60
- Hearthstone Mansfield Soapstone Woodstove
- 16 Acres with 1/4 mile driveway to my bunker on top of the hill
- B2710 Kubota Tractor
- Lot's of guns to keep the Crazy's out

I don't have the Hydroflex boiler but I have had the PB105 for 3 years now and I love it. The only real problem has been the burn pot and I'm confident that it will be resolved eventually. I was interested in the Hydro initially but was afraid that it would be too small to properly heat my home. I think for the most part most folks are happy with their Harman as they make a high quality product. I'm sure that in 3 years you will still be proud of your Hydroflex.

Hello Centurion,

I have connections to Qty=4 PB105 installations. Two of them have had multiple problems this year. The most recent was a professional install of a brandy new PB105 (pressure ignition)in Sept 2011. Major problems with smokey ignitions, back blasts of smoke in the house, and unburnt pellets in the ash bin. The Owner is very frustrated, but the local dealer/installer has been great in making things right. The recent 1-2 wks have been better after (New probe, New Board, added outside air-in, added manifold water mixing, and recently the burn pot warpped ==> new pot and ignitor). The owner seems pretty happy now. I felt sorry for the guy (Big Bucks Install)!

Anyway, I would love to get some Hydroflex 60 users talking about thier experiences. There appears to be very little posted on the Web for these units. I'm hoping to get some folks sharing what they like and dislike. I love learning from others.... !

VT_Bubba

VT_Bubba wrote:
The dip switch settings should be, left to right: #1 off, #2 on, #3 on. These switch settings allow less pellets fed into the burnpot on startup, reducing the smokey ignitions,explosive ignitions and unburnt pellets in the ash pan.

Hello Wil,

Thanks for the pointer on the control board switches ! Yes,as you point out in your post above, we made the switch changes on both of the problem PB105 units to reduce the amount of pellets on Ignition. This totally fixed the oldest PB105, but the brand new unit was still having problems and that's when the Dealer and Harman decided to plumb the additional Outside-Air and Manifold Mixing. What's interesting to me is that both of these problem PB105's ended up with warped Burn Pot's about 3 weeks after the pellets where reduced using the switches ? Both PB105 units ended up with new Burn-Pots and Ignitors (replaced for free by Harman), and now both units seem to be working fine. I'm not convinced that Harman really has this Burn-Pot problem fixed.

Does anybody burn Corn in their PB105 or HF60 ? Just curious.....

VT_Bubba

Did the burnpots that were replaced look like the newest design? Post # 13

www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/84645/

Wil,

The dealer replaced the Burn Pot in the new PB105 and I have not seen that Boiler since. The older PB105 burn pot was NOT the new design you show in your post (no new support brackets), but it did have larger holes in the burn-pot).

BTW: For what it's worth, both PB105's where burning CUBEX hardwood pellets when the Burn-Pots failed, which claim to be one of the highest BTU pellets on the Mkt (CUBEX claims greater than 9,000 BTU/lb).

You seem to be the poster child for the PB105 Burn Pot issues. I would be very disappointed if I had to replace as many Burn-Pot's as you have!

Can you help us understand the new "Pressure Ignition" system compared to the old ignition ? Once again, I have a HF60, which I hear has the new "Preasure Ignition" system.

Did you retrofit your PB105 Ignition ?
- If so, how hard was that and can you describe that retrofit ?

How would somebody know if they had the new "Presure Ignition", or Not ?

Thanks for sharing your painful experience !

VT_Bubba

VT_Bubba wrote:
My dealer along with myself installed the pressure ignition system in my boiler. This was done under the warranty in a effort to stop the burnpot bubble issue, didn't help. The retrofit was a little more involved on my boiler because my boiler was one of the first manufactured by Harman,some changes in design to later boilers would make the installation easier.

A boiler with the finned ignition, the igniter is located within the burnpot. The pressure ignition, the igniter is located outside the burnpot with a air pump that forces the hot air into the burnpot. The link below shows the igniter and air pump.

www.tempco.com/Tubular%20Process/In-Line%20Heaters/HAC.htm

Thanks Wil !

Very Interesting stuff. When I was hooking-up the outside-air to my HF60, I noticed the pressure pump mounted on the bottom of the HF60, with the air hose going into the augar assembly. But, I did'nt really study how the Pressure Ignitor gets integrated at the burn pot. I will be looking at that the next time I do a cleaning...

If I'm reading all of the PB105 posts correctly, it sounds like the pressure ignition gives a cleaner start, but Harman will be unlikely to upgrade the older finned ignition units, because there is no evidence it's causing any problem in the field.

Once again, I really appreciate you sharing all of your knowledge and experience with the forum !

VT_Bubba