# Harman P61 vs P68



## AZ23 (Feb 24, 2014)

I have decided on the sizes of these styles but not sure what the main differences are between them, is it better to go with 1 or the other?

Thanks for any input


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## Hoot23 (Feb 24, 2014)

No difference, just the 68 has more btu power. It depends on the square footage and placement of the stove in your home. The 68 is a few hundred more, but if you can get by with the 61 then you can use that extra 300 for a ton of pellets.

I've got a 2000sq ft colonial with an open plan. The 61 held her own all winter with some pretty cold temps for weeks at a time. Feed her and clean her and she'll treat ya right.


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## alternativeheat (Feb 24, 2014)

AZ23 said:


> I have decided on the sizes of these styles but not sure what the main differences are between them, is it better to go with 1 or the other?
> 
> Thanks for any input


The P61 is 61000 btu input and the P68 is 68000 btu input. So 7000 BTU stronger for the P68. The P68
 is 2 inches taller than the P61 and has a very slightly larger hopper. The larger the hopper the more reason why it is larger, they don't put them on there to look good but to feed the stove ! Both stoves are considerably larger than the P43. The P61 is rated by Harman to heat over 3000 sq ft, of course everything is relative to insulation,, climate, house condition etc. The P68 I believe, by Harmans enthusiastic mind set, is rated up to 3900 sq ft. As always, the disclaimer of your results may vary is applicable.

I believe my dealers hand written sign was accurate for my P61, heats up to 2400 sq ft. Now that's with give or take too because people heat more area than that with them and I heat less..


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## AZ23 (Feb 25, 2014)

Hi, I went back to the installer and asked him about the p61 and p68. Again I have a split entry about 2600 sq feet- This is what he said- the family room about 12 x 22

 the P43 is well capable of heating an
area 4 X the size of the small TV room you'd be putting it in. Going up to
the P61 would be a not unreasonable option, although the stove would likely
run on low more of the time resulting  in sootier glass and  less flame to
enjoy. There's also the question of how well can you circulate heat to other
parts of the house from the stove's location. Perhaps past experience with
your existing oil stove will help you to know this. There's always the risk
from putting in an overlarge stove in a small room, that by the time you
circulate heat to distant areas of the house you've made the room where the
stove is located intolerably hot.
If you think the area you can heat effectively from the TV room is
1200 sq ft or less then the P43 will do an excellent job of providing enough
heat without overworking, given that your home is well insulated. If you
think you can get heat to more space than that then a reasonable choice
would be the
P61A. The P 68 is unquestionable way too large for your home and would not
perform well for you.


Any suggestions?

Thanks!


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## alternativeheat (Feb 25, 2014)

AZ23 said:


> Hi, I went back to the installer and asked him about the p61 and p68. Again I have a split entry about 2600 sq feet- This is what he said- the family room about 12 x 22
> 
> the P43 is well capable of heating an
> area 4 X the size of the small TV room you'd be putting it in. Going up to
> ...


 What he said is along the lines of what I thought he was thinking and mentioned in my first reply. Bottom line? Hate to do it to you but it seems you have two options and well detailed result description of each option. So rule out the p68 and choose one of the two.

I have to cut back my p61 and or it cuts itself back as the weather warms. It is a bit dirtier burning but the glass will get stained up anyway. I do suspect the p43 will be a little easier on pellets but that remains to be seen. But really the only other option I can think of is to split the difference ad buy a 50000 btu stove but that's splitting hairs at that point. Still an option you nay not have looked into.


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## AZ23 (Feb 25, 2014)

I really want to stick with harman. There's also the advance model too but I think I would probably stick with the p43 based on what he said? I am really undecided and unsure of what to do? p61 or p43


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## alternativeheat (Feb 25, 2014)

AZ23 said:


> I really want to stick with harman. There's also the advance model too but I think I would probably stick with the p43 based on what he said? I am really undecided and unsure of what to do? p61 or p43


I know you are undecided, this is where you have to take a little leap of faith though. Neither choice is wrong, the men who scoped your install out are professionals in the field. You have to hang your hat on what they are telling you. The p61 is the optional choice really. Good luck deciding.

You're getting no heat from no stove!


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## AZ23 (Feb 25, 2014)

Thanks, they are honest and straight forward about saying to stick with the p43, even though it's less money.
I just worry that the 61 will be too much and running on low like he said, so then you wonder which one will run more efficiently.


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## alternativeheat (Feb 25, 2014)

AZ23 said:


> Thanks, they are honest and straight forward about saying to stick with the p43, even though it's less money.
> I just worry that the 61 will be too much and running on low like he said, so then you wonder which one will run more efficiently.


Running in room temp auto can go a ways towards averting the low burn. Move the probe away from the stove so it calls for heat longer and then goes into shut down. You can extend the probe wire even to make it into another room if need be. Of course when that room is calling for heat the stove is trying to satisfy the call and so the stove room gets warmer. Then you need ceiling fans etc to move the heat out of there, which is what he meant by distribution . Many of us have mentioned here about distribution problems as well in various threads. The fact that your house is very well insulated makes a huge difference though, it takes less stove to do the job then and the P43 has the same probe as the P61, it will just ramp up longer on the call for heat..

Trust the people you are dealing with, assuming all has been explained well with good details on your part for expectation and on their part for the result from each stove. Pick one !


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## Tonyray (Feb 25, 2014)

Everyone here[including your dealer] is spot on with the're take on the choices of Harman stoves..
appears that the P68 would be more overkill than the P61....
That said, I was told by my Harman dealer that the P43 would handle my area... 700sq downstairs/ 700 sq upstairs. [with a ceiling fan at top of steps to pull warm air to 2nd floor.]
Knowing my house is 90 yrs old and not well insulated, I went with the P61A...ease of maint, good size hopper and ash pan, and 7k more BTU wasn't going to make a big difference with a P68...I have never had my P61 FLOORED, except when we 1st fired it up... must have been 90 degrees downstairs and 75 up...
With the P43 you will run it much higher more often when it;s really cold than you will with the P61.. Not a bad thing or a problem . That was the final factor in my deciding to go with the P61..
pretty much keep it at half way all the time...I don't see it being a potential problem Not running it full throttle.  that would be room temp/manual, 70 degrees/ fan speed half way, feed rate 3.. I like knowing I can almost double that if needed.
running at half throttle, as long as I scrape the burn pot once a day, have no hard carbon problems... glass get's a bit spotty after a while but when the flames go into low maint burn, I open it up and wipe the class periodically.. [my OCD]     either model u choose, feel secure your buying  a great reliable Harman Pellet stove...


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## The Grintch (Feb 25, 2014)

Sounds like the XXV might be just right??


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## alternativeheat (Feb 25, 2014)

Tonyray said:


> Everyone here[including your dealer] is spot on with the're take on t
> 
> 
> The Grintch said:
> ...


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## alternativeheat (Feb 25, 2014)

Well that reply went all weird !


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## AZ23 (Feb 25, 2014)

I'm leaning towards p61, only worried if p43 isn't enough for my house


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## alternativeheat (Feb 25, 2014)

AZ23 said:


> I'm leaning towards p61, only worried if p43 isn't enough for my house


What is your main heat source in the house , if you mentioned that I've forgotten ?


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## AZ23 (Feb 25, 2014)

Oil furnace but we also have heat pumps which we use so we hardly use furnace


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## alternativeheat (Feb 25, 2014)

AZ23 said:


> Oil furnace but we also have heat pumps which we use so we hardly use furnace


If one of these devices came on at 2 am it wouldn't be the end of the world.. I know we like to think we will cut out the central heat all together and often, very often we can. But I got to say that with my old coal stove in the coldest weather the heat came on a couple of times of day. Basically that went unnoticed and we still super stretched the oil deliveries out over the winter. Just a thought. So worse case, the P43 still doesn't fail.

Also, if that is a furnace as in hot air ducted, vs circulating hot water, you may be able to use the blower as a circulator of air from your stove. Other guys know more about this than I do as I have the hot water heat. But basically just to move existing air around. That's a plus for either stove.


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## AZ23 (Feb 25, 2014)

No I don't have forced air. I have baseboard hot water. We have a few of those mini split heat pumps that are very effective. 

Also have an oil gravity fed stove that I am taking out to replace with pellet. I will tell you that the oil stove sends a lot of heat upstairs to the main level area


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## alternativeheat (Feb 25, 2014)

AZ23 said:


> No I don't have forced air. I have baseboard hot water. We have a few of those mini split heat pumps that are very effective.
> 
> Also have an oil gravity fed stove that I am taking out to replace with pellet. I will tell you that the oil stove sends a lot of heat upstairs to the main level area


Those oil stoves throw some heat. Illegal here.


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## AZ23 (Feb 25, 2014)

It does throw a lot of heat. I'm taking it out because it's old and no parts for it plus the tank is expired so no point in putting good money in something that isn't efficient anymore. I wonder how the heat will compare to pellet


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## Don2222 (Feb 25, 2014)

Hello

Don't rule out the P68 yet. They now come with a 6 RPM Gleason Avery Auger Motor that really cranks out the wood pellets to give a max of 68,000 BTUs. However it can be scaled back according to a Harman Dealer I know, by removing the 6 RPM motor and installing the 4 RPM motor just like the P61a comes with. So if you want more heat, you can put the 6 RPM auger motor back in! One other consideration is the Mirror Fire Glass in the Fire door that only comes on the Harman P68!


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## alternativeheat (Feb 26, 2014)

AZ23 said:


> It does throw a lot of heat. I'm taking it out because it's old and no parts for it plus the tank is expired so no point in putting good money in something that isn't efficient anymore. I wonder how the heat will compare to pellet


I don't know but I'd guess the oil is hotter per given equal quantity of fuel, more BTU per what ever that unit exchange might be. I've only witnessed two oil drop stoves, both hot stoves. I had to maintain a waste oil heater though and I was so glad the day the company removed it, that's another whole ball of wax there. Tons of ash, clogged BB's in the gun. In one word I summed it up as trouble. That was a Lennox brand machine, hoping it was just our heavy truck oil clogging it and that the whole world doesn't deal with it like we did if using lighter auto oils. Dirty ashy noisy thing.


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## AZ23 (Feb 26, 2014)

Mine came with the last house we purchased. It's a brand that is is no longer making oil stoves and the fan doesn't work, yet it produces one pile of heat. It was acting up a bit and smoking up much of the house, my wife almost kicked me out haha, but then I just left it running and for the past month it has been great. But it's not the best to have with babies in the house and again, the stove needs work and the tank is expired so the insurance company will want me to replace and spend 1500 changing it. Which to me is a waste of money. So I am now left to crunch between p43 and p61. I'll decide today haha!


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## alternativeheat (Feb 26, 2014)

AZ23 said:


> Mine came with the last house we purchased. It's a brand that is is no longer making oil stoves and the fan doesn't work, yet it produces one pile of heat. It was acting up a bit and smoking up much of the house, my wife almost kicked me out haha, but then I just left it running and for the past month it has been great. But it's not the best to have with babies in the house and again, the stove needs work and the tank is expired so the insurance company will want me to replace and spend 1500 changing it. Which to me is a waste of money. So I am now left to crunch between p43 and p61. I'll decide today haha!


 Let us know what it will be.


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## jdinny (Feb 26, 2014)

I went with a P43 and it heats mu 2100 sq ft open style cape chalet effortlessly


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## Lake Girl (Feb 26, 2014)

You never mentioned if there is a flight of stairs across from where the stove will be or if it is open to other areas.  The stairway will naturally allow some of the heat to rise to the other areas of the house.  You can assist this movement by a fan at the bottom of the stairs, on the floor, blowing cooler air into the TV room.  So, what is the lay-out of the house?


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## alternativeheat (Feb 26, 2014)

Lake Girl said:


> You never mentioned if there is a flight of stairs across from where the stove will be or if it is open to other areas.  The stairway will naturally allow some of the heat to rise to the other areas of the house.  You can assist this movement by a fan at the bottom of the stairs, on the floor, blowing cooler air into the TV room.  So, what is the lay-out of the house?


 Lake Girl, in his first thread he men tioned the house is a split level, 1300 sq ft down and 1300 up. This family/tv room is 12x22 ft that the stove will be in. As I recall, at the end is a doorway and the stairway. Not sure on the rest of the downstairs layout. But ya heat should make it upstairs. I'll let him fill you in with the finer details.


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## Lake Girl (Feb 26, 2014)

Missed that part  Ceiling fan at top of the stairs to draw warm up and fan on floor to draw cold to the stove room would help circulate.  I'd be tempted to go with the P61....


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## AZ23 (Feb 26, 2014)

The difference in price between the 43 and 61 is about 980$ total installed. I am still not sure if it's worth it,

This is my plan and my family room where I will put it


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## AZ23 (Feb 26, 2014)




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## chken (Feb 26, 2014)

AZ23 said:


> Hi, I went back to the installer and asked him about the p61 and p68. Again I have a split entry about 2600 sq feet- This is what he said- the family room about 12 x 22
> 
> the P43 is well capable of heating an
> area 4 X the size of the small TV room you'd be putting it in. Going up to
> ...


You're not going to get a better explanation than that. That's an excellent dealer/installer.

As I pointed out in the original thread, most people have a tendency to oversize their stove, prepping for the worst conditions. The fact is, even when you find out what those worst conditions are, they are still oversized.

In your case, the stove is supplemental, in that you still have your oil boiler radiant baseboards. If you run into those extreme weather conditions, a few days of the year, you've got your existing primary heat source to help. Some people have no other source of primary heat, so they size appropriately. You have your primary backup. The dealer/installer has given you just about the best explanation I've heard, and he thinks the P43 is "well capable". I can only repeat myself and say I doubt you're going to get better advice from a dealer/installer.


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## alternativeheat (Feb 26, 2014)

Lake Girl said:


> Missed that part  Ceiling fan at top of the stairs to draw warm up and fan on floor to draw cold to the stove room would help circulate.  I'd be tempted to go with the P61....


Ya, 2600 sq ft total. The thing about the layo


AZ23 said:


> The difference in price between the 43 and 61 is about 980$ total installed. I am still not sure if it's worth it,
> 
> This is my plan and my family room where I will put it


It's obvious from your layout plan why the installer is saying what he is. He made his points very clear and in fact you have two installers saying basically the same thing. Basically distribution is your problem more so than stove size. Where in this plan , on what wall and what direction will the stove face ?


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## AZ23 (Feb 26, 2014)

I think I will go with p43


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## The Maniac (Feb 27, 2014)

If I am correct the 68 is only $400 more . I would go with the 68 for the btus . Nothing worse than spending all that money and go dang wish i got bigger imo


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## Hoot23 (Feb 27, 2014)

I'd split it and get the 61.


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## AZ23 (Feb 27, 2014)

My installer advised me to go with the p43. HE said that it may be ok to go with p61a but he says I shouldn't be disappointed with the p43.

I wonder what the XXV is compared to the p43 price wise ??


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## alternativeheat (Feb 27, 2014)

AZ23 said:


> My installer advised me to go with the p43. HE said that it may be ok to go with p61a but he says I shouldn't be disappointed with the p43.
> 
> I wonder what the XXV is compared to the p43 price wise ??


 XXV is 50000 btu, splits the difference between the P43 and P61 and puts out about 90% or more convection heat. It will cost most of $1000 more than a P 43 I suspect. Give or take a few bucks with applying the Harman discount coupon. Beautiful looking stove, powerful convection only heat and a quiet stove compared with P stoves. More cleaning invoked, removing heat exchanger etc.


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## AZ23 (Feb 27, 2014)

The stove will go in the family room on the left wall top corner. I am going to stick with the 43 and order it today.


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## alternativeheat (Feb 27, 2014)

AZ23 said:


> The stove will go in the family room on the left wall top corner. I am going to stick with the 43 and order it today.


 Yay/yea/yeah ( since a lot of people get confused over which spelling is correct I'll use all three, interjection, verb, noun etc). Good for you, do they stock it?


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