Anyone replace their auger on a Harman Pellet stove Accentra auger and know the procedure? Mine never really looked right from the start, it look liked you took a file and filed it thin on both sides about 11-15 mm on the end, looked flat spoonish on the end. You coud see the metal curl over time and sure enough the tip has broken off. I am not sure if it hurts performs having the tip of the auger missing but at some point I would like to replace it. Anyone have instructions on doing this. About Harman, this is a love/hate relationship: Couple of things I dislike about Harman and something to keep in mind, Harman Company itself will not help you, if you do get replies they are vague to the point of useless, usually referencing you to a local dealer as the main point. What local dealer? I had to drive 3 hours to the nearest retailer to buy the stove. Many Harman dealers will give you the cold shoulder if they know how far away you are from them. They see less interested in selling you a part and instructions wanting to install it, having one of their people work on it. With my old sheet metal Breckwell that rattled like a tank, Breckwell listed each part number in the manual, if you were the orginial owner and could prove it they would sell you the part at a huge discount, give you instructions. Most of the motors in a Breckwell are standard stuff and working on a Breckwell is like working on a lawn mower. Breckwell seem to understand local dealers come and go, not located in every city, people move with their stoves, aka move away from dealers, and that these things are long term investments. I like the auto running model of the Harman over the Breckwell but if I were located in Alaska I would take a Russian like built Breckwell over a Harman any day. I gave away my old Breckwell, it was a 1990 model, it is on its fourth owner. Gee.

I talked to the inspector yesterday and he said that he really could not evaluate the "efficiency" of the HVAC--like if it was balanced correctly between the 3 units--if there was too much humidity. ..he would check the coils and the heat exchanger and system in general for problems ...he could run the system and see if any rooms were staying too warm for run time which might indicate a problem w/air balance or lack of insulation or leaking tubes. Our realtor says that problems like that the seller would not be required to remediate prior to closing--that he would very probably not even have to offer to reduce price by cost of doing the work....kind of like you bought an older home w/original toilets--they are not the taller ones or as water-efficient so just deal with that issue on your own after you move in...they work so they pass inspection... I know that the city code for insulation has probably changed since house was built and some builders have started to include things like radiant barriers under shingles and foam board exterior sheathing for extra insulation--but there are still new homes being built w/o even that radiant barrier because it is not code required... We live in older home and have had two water heaters replaced at different times...when the second one had to be done, we had to spend extra money to have it vented properly and have different type of drain pan and overflow drain done because it is in closet in garage and I did not want it exposed--park car right in front of it and wanted some protection)...the plumber also checked the other unit and made sure it was up to code...he also did something w/the gas heating unit in the attic to make sure it was to code because that had changed since it was replaced about 6 years ago... About the appliances, inspector can only check to make sure they work--not their "energy efficiency"...the cook top has a tacky metal vent that is vented into overhead cabinet space and hopefully thorugh the attic to roof--that is something he should check out as well as the fans in the bathrooms... don't know what the code was when house was built...could just vent into attic space which is not good... The second floor is on separate zone--there are three units--one for master side that includes the study probably and maybe the formal living/dining. There is unit for the back side of house w/den/kitchen/2nd bed and pool bath...then a unit for upstairs... at least that is what we think...will try to get the inspector to run each unit separately and see where air goes and where the returns are... He said he could also check to make sure the foundation was a piered beam one as the MLS said--instead of just a slab which is more common in houses in this price range...piered beam is usually much better long term so that is important feature of construction to us...

The softer the material, the more prone to wear & tear. The doorknob zone is always hard on these vinyl-wrapped foam w-strips anyway. I wonder: it's a steel door? So how about a magnetic w-strip that gets a very fine cut through the magnetic part corresponding to the top and bottom of the plate; with the two cuts, the strip can easily step over it without any flexing, keeping tight against both planes. The cuts could be filled with sealant to lock them back together as one unit with the step built in. Casey

Assuming that you have traditional wood double hung windows, your best method for retaining the windows and providing some modern day equivalence to energy efficiency, is to install storm windows. The old wood windows generally have very loose tolerances, and it is difficult to install weather-stripping that will not interfere with the functionality of the old windows. A cabinet shop can build wooden window frames as simple as they build cabinet doors. The open frames can then receive glass from a local glass shop. Because this "accessory" is a fixed window frame, applying weather-stripping to the storm panel frame is simple. Essentially, you are replicating what was done 100 years ago, except that you are adding a rubberized material to the edges, and sealing out the air flow to the interior side of the building. If you take it a step further, the wooden frames can be designed and constructed to accept a dual-pane glass unit with a low-e coating. In a cold environment, this storm panel with low-e glass would provide the same energy efficient qualities of a modern window. These storm panels would remain installed during the months that you would not normally require ventilation (i.e. the cold months). Using this method allows you to retain your original wood windows, while also achieving modern day energy efficiencies. The trade-off to this approach is that it requires additional "maintenance" in removing and storing the storm panel accessories at the change of seasons; This is something modern windows don't require.