# Best temp setting, feed rate, and room temp/stove temp for Harman Accentra Insert



## huntersh2 (Jan 18, 2014)

Hello,
I know this may sound ridiculous to some, but I am new to this pellet stove thing and don't think I am maximizing efficiency of my stove. Right now I am running a feed rate of 4, a stove temp of 70 and a room temp on high. But it seems like there are cold spots all over home, some not far from the stove, and my oil thermostat is reading 67 which is only 17 feet from the pellet stove. I also am going through a bag and a. Half of premium softwood pellets. At this rate oil is cheaper. I am in RI - New England so it does get cold, but some days it just doesn't add up. Can some of you give me some pointers on how to maximize heat output at the same time of not blowing through pellets wastefully. 

Thanks so much 

Shaun


----------



## Enigma869 (Jan 18, 2014)

Hi Shaun.  First and foremost, welcome to the pellet club.  I don't know much about the size or layout of your home, and those two things will have a SIGNIFICANT impact on how easily you're able to heat rooms that the stove isn't in.  Also, you say you have both room and stove temp, so that part is a bit confusing, as it's one or the other.  If you mean that your blower is on high, that would make more sense.  My experience with my Harman is that room temp simply seems to work better for me and put out a lot more heat.  Your feed rate sounds about right, and that setting doesn't usually require a whole lot of tweaking.  My experience with pellet stoves (I had the Accentra insert and now have the P68) is that if you don't have a very open floor plan, it's difficult to move the heat to other parts of the house.  Honestly, if I didn't have the wide open floor plan that I have, I probably wouldn't even own a pellet stove, as I have no interest in having one room be 80 degrees while the rest of the house is 15 to 20 degrees cooler.  If you have a larger house, the insert simply isn't going to be able to handle the very coldest days.  That said, it's in the thirties today where I am, and you're probably 100 miles south of me, so I can't imagine the outside temperatures are much of a factor right now.


----------



## huntersh2 (Jan 18, 2014)

I understand totally.  My house is a split level so the insert shoots right up the stairs. It's only 1200 square feet and the guy at the store said should do house easily. As far as the stove temp and room temp thing goes. The insert has the option to use one or the other. I use the room temp feature. However if on high with a lower temp it seems to blow cooler air. But on high I wonder if I am blowing more pellets then should? What wastes the most pellets? The higher temps? Or the higher room temp? Or both..Thanks for the help



Enigma869 said:


> Hi Shaun.  First and foremost, welcome to the pellet club.  I don't know much about the size or layout of your home, and those two things will have a SIGNIFICANT impact on how easily you're able to heat rooms that the stove isn't in.  Also, you say you have both room and stove temp, so that part is a bit confusing, as it's one or the other.  If you mean that your blower is on high, that would make more sense.  My experience with my Harman is that room temp simply seems to work better for me and put out a lot more heat.  Your feed rate sounds about right, and that setting doesn't usually require a whole lot of tweaking.  My experience with pellet stoves (I had the Accentra insert and now have the P68) is that if you don't have a very open floor plan, it's difficult to move the heat to other parts of the house.  Honestly, if I didn't have the wide open floor plan that I have, I probably wouldn't even own a pellet stove, as I have no interest in having one room be 80 degrees while the rest of the house is 15 to 20 degrees cooler.  If you have a larger house, the insert simply isn't going to be able to handle the very coldest days.  That said, it's in the thirties today where I am, and you're probably 100 miles south of me, so I can't imagine the outside temperatures are much of a factor right now.


----------



## huntersh2 (Jan 18, 2014)

And Enigma 

You don't find 5tons costing as much as gas or oil? Thanks

Premium pellets 5 tons is like 1500 plus the cost of hot water fuel, either oil or gas would end being the same cst as just paying heating to oil or gas....or am I wrong? 




Enigma869 said:


> Hi Shaun.  First and foremost, welcome to the pellet club.  I don't know much about the size or layout of your home, and those two things will have a SIGNIFICANT impact on how easily you're able to heat rooms that the stove isn't in.  Also, you say you have both room and stove temp, so that part is a bit confusing, as it's one or the other.  If you mean that your blower is on high, that would make more sense.  My experience with my Harman is that room temp simply seems to work better for me and put out a lot more heat.  Your feed rate sounds about right, and that setting doesn't usually require a whole lot of tweaking.  My experience with pellet stoves (I had the Accentra insert and now have the P68) is that if you don't have a very open floor plan, it's difficult to move the heat to other parts of the house.  Honestly, if I didn't have the wide open floor plan that I have, I probably wouldn't even own a pellet stove, as I have no interest in having one room be 80 degrees while the rest of the house is 15 to 20 degrees cooler.  If you have a larger house, the insert simply isn't going to be able to handle the very coldest days.  That said, it's in the thirties today where I am, and you're probably 100 miles south of me, so I can't imagine the outside temperatures are much of a factor right now.


----------



## RKS130 (Jan 18, 2014)

huntersh2 said:


> Hello,
> I know this may sound ridiculous to some, but I am new to this pellet stove thing and don't think I am maximizing efficiency of my stove. Right now I am running a feed rate of 4, a stove temp of 70 and a room temp on high. But it seems like there are cold spots all over home, some not far from the stove, and my oil thermostat is reading 67 which is only 17 feet from the pellet stove. I also am going through a bag and a. Half of premium softwood pellets. At this rate oil is cheaper. I am in RI - New England so it does get cold, but some days it just doesn't add up. Can some of you give me some pointers on how to maximize heat output at the same time of not blowing through pellets wastefully.
> 
> Thanks so much
> ...




My Accentra is Free Standing, but the basics should be the same.  Since this is only my 3d year with pellets I am obviously no expert - as lots of people on here are - but I have learned a few things (mostly from the smarter guys).  First of all you MUST read the post on how your Harman works.  It is one of those in the yellow section at the beginning of this section.  Read it several times (took me more than that) to really understand it.

As to feed rate, 4 is the recommended setting but I have found it is somewhat pellet size dependent.  This year, for example, I am burning Fireside Ultras which are uniformly small.  I had to turn the feed rate down to 2 - 2 1/2 because each turn of the auger delivers more fuel to the burn pot. 

Once you understand room temp and stove temp you can experiment with each to find what works best in your set up.  I used to go with stove temp but a little tinkering (and advice) led me to try - and adopt - room temp.  Just make sure the settings you are selecting are both for the same mode.  If you are setting your stove to 70 degrees, that means room temp, so placement of the sensor will be important.  A 3 degree drop 17 feet away would not be unusual (at least not to me) depending on placement of the probe, air flow, outside temperature, etc.  Of course if you are really running in stove temp then it is the temperature of the stove not the room which is controlling things - so you have to get that straightened out.  

I have found that setting the room temp to any given temperature does not mean my house will be that temp - only that the stove will run until the probe senses that temp - often a different thing entirely.  Better to experiment on your own and see what works.  It may end up, for example, that setting your room temp to 75 makes you house toasty - at 71 degrees.  Given the many variables, just go with it and see what is best for you.

Not sure this is helpful at all, but I hope it at least leads you in a direction.


----------



## Tonyray (Jan 18, 2014)

RKS130 said:


> My Accentra is Free Standing, but the basics should be the same.  Since this is only my 3d year with pellets I am obviously no expert - as lots of people on here are - but I have learned a few things (mostly from the smarter guys).  First of all you MUST read the post on how your Harman works.  It is one of those in the yellow section at the beginning of this section.  Read it several times (took me more than that) to really understand it.
> 
> As to feed rate, 4 is the recommended setting but I have found it is somewhat pellet size dependent.  This year, for example, I am burning Fireside Ultras which are uniformly small.  I had to turn the feed rate down to 2 - 2 1/2 because each turn of the auger delivers more fuel to the burn pot.
> 
> ...


RKS130,
I tend to agree with you about feed rate to a certain point..
have Harman P61A and I burn Stove chows from HD,[very hot, somewhat ashy, although I do full clean every 10 days so not a problem] .
I also burn Energex premium hardwoods, very hot also, less ash but since the Energex pellets are smaller, they do seem to burn faster than the Chows...
my problem about the lower feed rate is that Harman sticky post that claims," lowering your feed rate is like putting a brick under your gas pedal.."
I don't know because either pellets give me tons of heat.. set at room temp/auto/70 degrees gives me 73 degrees downstairs.  so,
I'll try the lower feed rate with the shorter pellets and see if I use less...
[ smart people here who oppose  this method claim the more BTU''s you are putting out, the faster u get to your set point therefore u will use less fuel in the long run at the Golden  feed rate 4.. maybe 3.5...... the never ending science of stoves and fuel...


----------



## camdids (Jan 18, 2014)

huntersh2 said:


> Hello,
> I know this may sound ridiculous to some, but I am new to this pellet stove thing and don't think I am maximizing efficiency of my stove. Right now I am running a feed rate of 4, a stove temp of 70 and a room temp on high. But it seems like there are cold spots all over home, some not far from the stove, and my oil thermostat is reading 67 which is only 17 feet from the pellet stove. I also am going through a bag and a. Half of premium softwood pellets. At this rate oil is cheaper. I am in RI - New England so it does get cold, but some days it just doesn't add up. Can some of you give me some pointers on how to maximize heat output at the same time of not blowing through pellets wastefully.
> 
> Thanks so much
> ...


I have a 1300 Split, probably similar to yours. My Stove is in the Living room Fireplace. Open Plan with rooms down a hall. .I have stairs going up to a second level(Addition to the Slit ). I rarely set it on 70 in Room Temp Mode. This is far too low to get some heat out. 75 is usual for me. The Oil thermostat half way down the hall will read 72 at this setting. I can get the far room warmed by placing a small desktop fan on the floor halfway down the hall and pointed at the stove.The heat will travel very well.
Feed rate is set at 4. I am generally using Green Team or Green Supreme Pellets. Hows your insulation(windows etc?)


----------



## chken (Jan 18, 2014)

huntersh2 said:


> And Enigma
> You don't find 5tons costing as much as gas or oil? Thanks
> 
> Premium pellets 5 tons is like 1500 plus the cost of hot water fuel, either oil or gas would end being the same cst as just paying heating to oil or gas....or am I wrong?


Okay how much oil did you burn before you got a pellet stove?
If cost is a concern, you don't need to burn premium softwood pellets at $300 a ton. You can use very good pellets from a big box store for around $200.

In general, the BTU math if you use $200 a ton pellets and $3.50 a gallon oil is that the pellets cost less than half as much for the same heat, because one ton of pellets is BTU equivalent to 120 gallons of oil. In the above example, a ton of pellets is $200, and the equivalent amount of oil is $420 for the same amount of BTUs.

One and a half bags a day is not all that much. It's about equal to 3.6 gallons of oil. As I originally asked, how much oil did you used to use?

Now, you have a 2nd question, and that is whether or not your system is functioning properly. I'll let the Harman experts comment upon that, but until you give us some more background on your oil usage, we have no way of telling if you are getting better or worse results.


----------



## Enigma869 (Jan 18, 2014)

huntersh2 said:


> And Enigma
> 
> You don't find 5tons costing as much as gas or oil? Thanks
> 
> Premium pellets 5 tons is like 1500 plus the cost of hot water fuel, either oil or gas would end being the same cst as just paying heating to oil or gas....or am I wrong?


 
Definitely not.  A couple of points.  First and foremost, I'm not really a "premium" pellet kind of guy.  You'll find most on here dissecting and analyzing every pellet under the sun.  I'm not that guy.  Pellets are pellets to me, and my stove has never acted differently, depending on which brand I put into the hopper.  I purchase what Home Depot sells (Fireside Ultras or Lignetics), and I don't pay more than $210.00 per ton.  My house is 3200 square feet and to heat this place with propane (my source of heating fuel) would be in excess of $3000.00 per year, and that would be keeping my thermostat around 66 degrees!  I actually just went out last weekend and bought a 6th ton.  Even with that, it will be under $1300.00 for an entire season's worth of heat.  The big difference for me (and if I'm being honest, by "me", I really mean my wife) is that our house is almost never below 72 degrees...a temperature that I would NEVER turn my home thermostat to!

John


----------



## Ctcarl (Jan 18, 2014)

camdids said:


> I have a 1300 Split, probably similar to yours. My Stove is in the Living room Fireplace. Open Plan with rooms down a hall. .I have stairs going up to a second level(Addition to the Slit ). I rarely set it on 70 in Room Temp Mode. This is far too low to get some heat out. 75 is usual for me. The Oil thermostat half way down the hall will read 72 at this setting. I can get the far room warmed by placing a small desktop fan on the floor halfway down the hall and pointed at the stove.The heat will travel very well.
> Feed rate is set at 4. I am generally using Green Team or Green Supreme Pellets. Hows your insulation(windows etc?)


^^^^ same with me on my p35i setting it at 75 the cold spots in the house are comfortable and I even have to go to 72because it gets to warm.my advice would he to keep it at 4 and try higher room temp settings. For my house for what ever reason I have no need for a fan but I was told they can help.my house is 1800 split level couldn't be more happy with my harman p35i and it's had less btu that your accentra. On cold days I average about 1 and a half to. 2 bags a day that is normal I think. I'm a newb as well


----------



## sante fe (Jan 18, 2014)

For me room temp mode with toggle in manual position
works great for me , and seems most efficent.


----------



## lbcynya (Jan 18, 2014)

huntersh2 said:


> Hello,
> I know this may sound ridiculous to some, but I am new to this pellet stove thing and don't think I am maximizing efficiency of my stove. Right now I am running a feed rate of 4, a stove temp of 70 and a room temp on high. But it seems like there are cold spots all over home, some not far from the stove, and my oil thermostat is reading 67 which is only 17 feet from the pellet stove. I also am going through a bag and a. Half of premium softwood pellets. At this rate oil is cheaper. I am in RI - New England so it does get cold, but some days it just doesn't add up. Can some of you give me some pointers on how to maximize heat output at the same time of not blowing through pellets wastefully.
> 
> Thanks so much
> ...



Do you have an OAK?  If not, your makeup air is coming from the outside and drawing in cold air, leading to colder spots.

Bag and a half to heat your house is too much?  Seems reasonable to me.  Now, 70 on the Harman dial is more like a suggestion than a fact.  Not very accurate unless you find a good spot for the temp sensor that gives you readings similar to the dial.  If your oil thermostat says 67, then you might need to turn your Harman temp dial up to 73, which would give you room temp of around 70 at your oil thermostat.  If that works, then keep in mind that the position of your temp probe gives you a reading that's about 3 degrees high. 

Feed rate is fine at 4 as long as burning pellets don't get any closer than 1" from the edge.


----------



## huntersh2 (Jan 18, 2014)

Thank you all for this wonderful information. Question Camcids. You point the fan towards the stove? Hence blowing the air back at it. Do you mean away from the stove to push air down the hall?

Thanks


camdids said:


> I have a 1300 Split, probably similar to yours. My Stove is in the Living room Fireplace. Open Plan with rooms down a hall. .I have stairs going up to a second level(Addition to the Slit ). I rarely set it on 70 in Room Temp Mode. This is far too low to get some heat out. 75 is usual for me. The Oil thermostat half way down the hall will read 72 at this setting. I can get the far room warmed by placing a small desktop fan on the floor halfway down the hall and pointed at the stove.The heat will travel very well.
> Feed rate is set at 4. I am generally using Green Team or Green Supreme Pellets. Hows your insulation(windows etc?)


----------



## huntersh2 (Jan 18, 2014)

Ch ken 

I used to use about 2800 dollars worth of oil a year. Now I spend around 1200 on 4 tons of pellets and 4 ..350 dollar oil fills to cover hot water and nights when it is 5 degrees. That means I am spending 2600 now. Yes that is a savings of 200 but a that rate it will take me 25 years to pay off the pellet stove. And if I went to 5 tons I would be paying more t heat my home. My insulation is ok and I have top notch windows. 

I guess I thought I would save so much more. I think I need to convert to gas independent water heater so don't need oil a all? Any ideas. Problem is...I have chimney filled by pellet stove and oil burner and I guess you can only have 2 things exhausted in a chimney.
Thanks for all everyone 

Shaun




chken said:


> Okay how much oil did you burn before you got a pellet stove?
> If cost is a concern, you don't need to burn premium softwood pellets at $300 a ton. You can use very good pellets from a big box store for around $200.
> 
> In general, the BTU math if you use $200 a ton pellets and $3.50 a gallon oil is that the pellets cost less than half as much for the same heat, because one ton of pellets is BTU equivalent to 120 gallons of oil. In the above example, a ton of pellets is $200, and the equivalent amount of oil is $420 for the same amount of BTUs.
> ...


----------



## huntersh2 (Jan 18, 2014)

Everyone...You don't find that cheap pellets burn cooler and leave way more ash, to clean, and moisture to the pan and surrounding areas. I used Inferno once and it was much cooler then the Clean Fire softwoods I usually burn. It also left a wet ash in the left side of my stove. I had to clean it good and hard to get that out. It was terrible.

Shaun




Enigma869 said:


> Definitely not.  A couple of points.  First and foremost, I'm not really a "premium" pellet kind of guy.  You'll find most on here dissecting and analyzing every pellet under the sun.  I'm not that guy.  Pellets are pellets to me, and my stove has never acted differently, depending on which brand I put into the hopper.  I purchase what Home Depot sells (Fireside Ultras or Lignetics), and I don't pay more than $210.00 per ton.  My house is 3200 square feet and to heat this place with propane (my source of heating fuel) would be in excess of $3000.00 per year, and that would be keeping my thermostat around 66 degrees!  I actually just went out last weekend and bought a 6th ton.  Even with that, it will be under $1300.00 for an entire season's worth of heat.  The big difference for me (and if I'm being honest, by "me", I really mean my wife) is that our house is almost never below 72 degrees...a temperature that I would NEVER turn my home thermostat to!
> 
> John


----------



## huntersh2 (Jan 19, 2014)

Lastly, what is the difference between room temp low and room temp high? Does it expend more pellets on high? Does it make it hotter or is just the fan that blows harder?  

Thanks


----------



## chken (Jan 19, 2014)

huntersh2 said:


> Ch ken
> 
> I used to use about 2800 dollars worth of oil a year. Now I spend around 1200 on 4 tons of pellets and 4 ..350 dollar oil fills to cover hot water and nights when it is 5 degrees. That means I am spending 2600 now. Yes that is a savings of 200 but a that rate it will take me 25 years to pay off the pellet stove. And if I went to 5 tons I would be paying more t heat my home. My insulation is ok and I have top notch windows.
> 
> ...


Well, these sorts of problems are always complicated. 

Maybe your stove isn't burning all that well. Assuming that the $1400 in oil for DHW and extremely cold nites is the same as in years past, then it means you've replaced $1400 in oil for normal heat with $1200 in pellets. That doesn't seem quite right. $1400 in oil is about 400 gallons. The BTU equivalent is just 3.3 tons of pellets, and you are burning 4 tons. That's about 20% more than what one would expect, but there's always some variance, so maybe it's not totally out of the ballpark.

As you note, you're only saving $200. How about if you used $200 a ton pellets, then your savings would be $600. I don't know what portion of the other $1400 goes to DHW and extreme cold heating, but if most of that is for DHW, have you considered a Geospring water heater? They cost about $200 to $250 a year to run. They qualify for a federal tax credit of $300, and many states and utilities offer credits as well. I saw over a year ago that in Massachusetts, they were essentially free, because of all the credits.

I'm not sure how you have your appliances vented, but in Maine we have to have separate flues for each. Of course, if your chimney has two flues, you can have two appliances. So, I can't vent my pellet stove into the same flue as my oil burner.

And back to the efficiency of your stove, you should probably circulate the air to eliminate cold spots.  A ceiling fan, reversed in Winter would help. Whether your stove is burning correctly is hard to say, you need to follow the input from your fellow Harman owners.


----------



## RKS130 (Jan 19, 2014)

Tonyray said:


> I'll try the lower feed rate with the shorter pellets and see if I use less...



Just to clarify, I turned down the fed rate when using the shorter FSUs NOT to save pellets but because at the "regular/higher" feed rate too many pellets were going in the burn pot too fast and therefore not getting fully burned.  The result was fire right to the front edge of the pot without the recommended inch of ash and many unburned pellets in the ash bin.


----------



## Tonyray (Jan 19, 2014)

RKS130 said:


> Just to clarify, I turned down the fed rate when using the shorter FSUs NOT to save pellets but because at the "regular/higher" feed rate too many pellets were going in the burn pot too fast and therefore not getting fully burned.  The result was fire right to the front edge of the pot without the recommended inch of ash and many unburned pellets in the ash bin.


ok... understand...


----------



## Tonyray (Jan 19, 2014)

huntersh2 said:


> Ch ken
> 
> I used to use about 2800 dollars worth of oil a year. Now I spend around 1200 on 4 tons of pellets and 4 ..350 dollar oil fills to cover hot water and nights when it is 5 degrees. That means I am spending 2600 now. Yes that is a savings of 200 but a that rate it will take me 25 years to pay off the pellet stove. And if I went to 5 tons I would be paying more t heat my home. My insulation is ok and I have top notch windows.
> 
> ...


I use oil for my DHW...and, during temps that are 10 degrees at night, I shut the stove down and have the thermostat for baseboard heat set at 65 from midnight to 7AM, Then stove back on..[concern for pipes freezing in basement].
have a poor insulated 2 story house and filled up the tank September 14th... just measureed and have 2 gallons shy of half tank.[275 gallon tank]..
that's a hell of a lot of oil your using for mostly DMW....3 tons here to heat the house..


----------



## huntersh2 (Jan 19, 2014)

Tonyray said:


> I use oil for my DHW...and, during temps that are 10 degrees at night, I shut the stove down and have the thermostat for baseboard heat set at 65 from midnight to 7AM, Then stove back on..[concern for pipes freezing in basement].
> have a poor insulated 2 story house and filled up the tank September 14th... just measureed and have 2 gallons shy of half tank.[275 gallon tank]..
> that's a hell of a lot of oil your using for mostly DMW....3 tons here to heat the house..


I know it is a lot for DHW. My furnace is an old blue cast iron one from the late 60s. I know replacing  this would help, but at a cost of 10,000 and I use pellet heat for 90% of my house's heat so that seems crazy to me. 

The George spring DHW heater is enticing if saves money, but I am not sure what that is. Sorry new home owner also.

Thanks again everyone

Shaun


----------



## chken (Jan 19, 2014)

Tonyray said:


> I use oil for my DHW...and, during temps that are 10 degrees at night, I shut the stove down and have the thermostat for baseboard heat set at 65 from midnight to 7AM, Then stove back on..[concern for pipes freezing in basement].
> have a poor insulated 2 story house and filled up the tank September 14th... just measureed and have 2 gallons shy of half tank.[275 gallon tank]..
> that's a hell of a lot of oil your using for mostly DMW....3 tons here to heat the house..





huntersh2 said:


> I know it is a lot for DHW. My furnace is an old blue cast iron one from the late 60s. I know replacing  this would help, but at a cost of 10,000 and I use pellet heat for 90% of my house's heat so that seems crazy to me.
> 
> The George spring DHW heater is enticing if saves money, but I am not sure what that is. Sorry new home owner also.
> 
> ...


http://www.geappliances.com/heat-pump-hot-water-heater/rhode-island-water-heater-rebate.htm

I don't know the details, but the above link shows you can get a $1000 rebate from Rhode Island. And, a $300 federal tax credit. Usually, it's only $999 at Lowes, but the normal price is $1199. It's usually on sale. It's a hybrid heat pump water heater. $200 to $250 a year, is far cheaper than spending $1400 on oil for your DHW. And, if the install cost is nothing, it's a no-brainer. Made in Kentucky.


----------



## huntersh2 (Jan 19, 2014)

chken said:


> http://www.geappliances.com/heat-pump-hot-water-heater/rhode-island-water-heater-rebate.htm
> 
> I don't know the details, but the above link shows you can get a $1000 rebate from Rhode Island. And, a $300 federal tax credit. Usually, it's only $999 at Lowes, but the normal price is $1199. It's usually on sale. It's a hybrid heat pump water heater. $200 to $250 a year, is far cheaper than spending $1400 on oil for your DHW. And, if the install cost is nothing, it's a no-brainer. Made in Kentucky.


Thanks Ch Ken

Does it attach to your existing system or do you have to have it flued out somehow?

What is it exactly? An indirect separate hot water tank? 

Sorry and thanks

Shaun


----------



## chken (Jan 19, 2014)

huntersh2 said:


> Thanks Ch Ken
> 
> Does it attach to your existing system or do you have to have it flued out somehow?
> 
> ...


It's an electric heat pump water heater. Just like a regular electric water heater, no flue necessary. The only difference is it has a heat pump. Regular electric water heater can use 3000watts to heat your water, while the heat pump uses only 500 watts or so. That's where the savings come in.

What you do is instead of cold water going to your indirect DHW, you pex it over to your new GeoSpring, then the hot water back to the DHW hot water exit pipe.

However, I piped it in serial, so I could use my old indirect DHW 40 gallon tank as a hot water storage tank, so I could have 90+ gallons of hot water. As before, the cold water goes to the GeoSpring, then the heated water goes to the old indirect DHW for storage. I used PEX and shark bite fittings so that I could take it apart easily if my ideas don't work! An electrician needs to put in a 30amp breaker from the water heater to your breaker box, which is pretty simple.


----------



## huntersh2 (Jan 20, 2014)

Thank you so much for all your help. I will look into this.

Also, what is the optimum distance the ash level should be from the edge of the burn  pan? I know that the unburned pellets should be no closer then one inch from the edge of the burn pan, but mine is like 2 and 1/4 inches from the edge of the burn pan. Is that too far away? Should there not be that much ash on the edge of the burn pot? 

Thanks all again.

Trying to get this right.

Shaun


----------



## Ctcarl (Jan 20, 2014)

huntersh2 said:


> Thank you so much for all your help. I will look into this.
> 
> Also, what is the optimum distance the ash level should be from the edge of the burn  pan? I know that the unburned pellets should be no closer then one inch from the edge of the burn pan, but mine is like 2 and 1/4 inches from the edge of the burn pan. Is that too far away? Should there not be that much ash on the edge of the burn pot?
> 
> ...


My p35i ash line is about 1 and a half inches or a bit more if I don't scrape it for a while.


----------



## huntersh2 (Jan 20, 2014)

Is there an optimum distance between the edge of the burn pot and the flame that should be maintained?

Shaun


----------



## lbcynya (Jan 20, 2014)

huntersh2 said:


> Is there an optimum distance between the edge of the burn pot and the flame that should be maintained?
> 
> Shaun



Re-read the sticky in my sig about tuning the feed rate.  1" is only when the stove is running at "100%" output...  Dont sweat it too much, you just dont want pellets spilling over the edge.


----------



## huntersh2 (Jan 20, 2014)

lbcynya said:


> Re-read the sticky in my sig about tuning the feed rate.  1" is only when the stove is running at "100%" output...  Dont sweat it too much, you just dont want pellets spilling over the edge.


Sorry how do I read a sticky in your sig. Such a newbie.

Shaun


----------



## Justin M (Jan 20, 2014)

huntersh2 said:


> Sorry how do I read a sticky in your sig. Such a newbie.
> 
> Shaun


 https://www.hearth.com/talk/index.php?threads/91030/


----------



## Ctcarl (Jan 20, 2014)

huntersh2 said:


> Sorry how do I read a sticky in your sig. Such a newbie.
> 
> Shaun


When you click on the pellet minni on the bottom scroll down and it's the first or second one. Great read.


----------



## RKS130 (Jan 21, 2014)

huntersh2 said:


> Thank you so much for all your help. I will look into this.
> 
> Also, what is the optimum distance the ash level should be from the edge of the burn  pan? I know that the unburned pellets should be no closer then one inch from the edge of the burn pan, but mine is like 2 and 1/4 inches from the edge of the burn pan. Is that too far away? Should there not be that much ash on the edge of the burn pot?
> 
> ...



I have always viewed the 1" as a minimum, not a maximum.  Sounds like you are doing fine so long as you are happy with the heat.


----------



## Tonyray (Jan 21, 2014)

RKS130 said:


> I have always viewed the 1" as a minimum, not a maximum.  Sounds like you are doing fine so long as you are happy with the heat.


Have a Harman P61A..
My pellets are always at least 2" or more from the front.....
your fine... the pellet or ash line is not a science but more of a  " should not be less than 1 ".. anymore than that is more than exceptable..


----------



## camdids (Jan 28, 2014)

huntersh2 said:


> Thank you all for this wonderful information. Question Camcids. You point the fan towards the stove? Hence blowing the air back at it. Do you mean away from the stove to push air down the hall?
> 
> Thanks


 No. Point the fan AT THE STOVE. It sound strange I know but it works. The heat is drawn from the higher point down the hall. Trust me. I was wary when it was told to me.


----------



## breed5577 (Nov 24, 2014)

Tonyray said:


> RKS130,
> I tend to agree with you about feed rate to a certain point..
> have Harman P61A and I burn Stove chows from HD,[very hot, somewhat ashy, although I do full clean every 10 days so not a problem] .
> I also burn Energex premium hardwoods, very hot also, less ash but since the Energex pellets are smaller, they do seem to burn faster than the Chows...
> ...


----------

