# New Owners of the Harman P68



## MySpecialGuys (Dec 9, 2007)

We are new owners of the P68 and I am so frustrated, stressed, and depressed...Please will someone help us...we just bought the stove last week and thought we were in heaven until, the stove was eating two bags of pellets/day.  We have tried everything, we have the pellet stove on stove temp, temperature at 60, blower on high and the feeder for the auger is set at 4, and it still eats up the pellets.  We also tried the temperature at 65-70 degrees and turned the feeder just above 1.  The dealer came down and replaced the circuit board and the sensor and still eating the pellets, but it did turn the flame down.  We don't want to eat the pellets so fast, but we want consistent heat.  The stove is in a family room, which is a drop down room (just 2 steps) from the kitchen.   I have to admit it keeps the rooms very comfortable, but it consumes too many pellets.  The last stove we had, only ate a bag of pellets, and was efficient.  Also, when we shut the stove off the auger continued pushing out pellets, is this normal?  We are tired of hearing the Auger running, and now it is making squealing noises, once in a while.  And thought this would be efficient for us.  Help Please.....Thank you.


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## webbie (Dec 9, 2007)

Your post is not the first one of this type we have gotten on these forums - in fact, it is almost a daily occurrence lately.

Although it may seem like a bit of a joke, read this article I wrote last week:
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/wiki/You_and_a_BTU/

The translation is this - there very well may be nothing at all wrong with your stove.

2 bags of pellets per day = 80 lbs, which equals about 400,000 BTU output into the home. Divide that by 24 hours, and your stove is putting out less than 20,000 BTU per hour, which is what is needed in many homes to do any sort of a job. Pellets are like wood, but maybe just a little bit drier. A person using a wood stove will EASILY burn 80-100 lbs of wood (3-4 arm loads) each day, and maybe more. 

Again, from afar I cannot tell you that there is nothing wrong with the stove, but I can say that 2 bags a day in this weather in New England certainly is not excessive....
Less pellets = less heat (in general).


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## MySpecialGuys (Dec 9, 2007)

I don't understand....My other stove put out less pellets and still kept the home warm..its just too bad because it needs a complete overhaul as I had to wash the glass constantly


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## webbie (Dec 9, 2007)

I can't speak to that, but we have certainly had some colder weather lately, and therefore your perception (having just gotten the stove during a VERY cold time) may vary. As you may remember, it was warm right up until Feb. last year, so you would of course have burned 1/2 the pellets at many times. 

Again, the proof will be in the pudding, but in general if you are burning the Pellets, you are getting the heat. There are only two other places the heat can go:

1. Up the chimney (and we know pellet stoves do not run a hot chimney)
2. As unburned smoke - again up the chimney - this would be quite evident as clouds of smoke would be coming out your vent.

Other than that (in general), there is nowhere else for the heat to go. Certainly it helps to make certain a stove is within spec as far as adjustments and other things, but that is not going to make the difference between one bag and two bags per day. 

Please continue to monitor the stove, as well as the outside temperature, wind and sun (or lack of it), and see how these things affect your pellet use. 

As a side note, it might just be that your former stove was more efficient than the Harman at low settings. A bigger stove sometimes does not run as well on really low output as some smaller units.....but, again, in colder weather this should not have been a big difference.


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## Xena (Dec 9, 2007)

I would have your dealer come by and take the time to address the
noises and other problems, and also to show you how to operate the stove to get it running the best for
your application because according to the P68 manual online, *that stove is capable
of burning down to as little as 1lb of pellets an hour up to as much as 8lbs.*
So, fact of the matter is, if it's set up right, you can certainly get a bag a day out
of the stove.  Not sure just how much of an area you are trying to heat,
but you many not heat as much of your home with the stove at the lower setting,
but you will probably get out of it more of what you were expecting.


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## GVA (Dec 9, 2007)

Put the blower on medium
feed rate at 3-4
room temp mode
ignitor to auto
move the room sensor to a new location.
auger running after being shut off is normal it will gradually bring the stove down to a lower temp before shutting down.


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## webbie (Dec 9, 2007)

Just FYI, if you can get it to burn at 1 lb an hour (and this is more difficult with some models than others), you will be burning at the rate of approx one plug-in electric heater (5000 + or - BTU per hour). This is a good figure to keep in mind when trying to determine the output you need to do a certain job.

DO NOT PLUG IN A BUNCH OF ELECTRIC HEATERS TO TEST THIS.

But, doing the math from there, 2 lbs per hour (which IS a good low output), is about 10,000+ BTU an hour, which equals 2 plugin heaters or 50 lbs in a 24 hour period. That (10,000 BTU) is also about the lowest that a small woodstove can operate at. Most woodstoves are run at 15K to 30K, which equals the equiv of 2 bags or more (of Pellets) in 24 hours.

Another method of comparison (for those familiar) is with kerosene heaters. The bigger kerosene heaters put out 17,000 to 22,000 BTU, so to get the output of the bigger ones would require 2 bags in 24 hours.

All just FYI. In the end, the heat load (needed heat) of various rooms and houses if very different...and affected by weather, wind, letting the dog out and many other factors.


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## MrWinkey (Dec 9, 2007)

Glad you guys could come on in and let Craig and the others on the forum help out.....

My house 1800 sqf rancher....it's now a balmy 21 deg right now and the low was like 18 last night...my stove pretty much ate 1 bag of pellets just last night.

I have a pretty good insulated house but alot of air to heat (vaulted roof)

So yes when it gets cold I can chew through 2-3 bags per day....on warmer/sunny days I only use 1 bag per day.

Few things to try are.....

Put the blower in the medium setting....put the stove in room temp...

Dont leave the temp probe on a cold heat sink.....aka dont let it sit on a cold tile floor or next to a drafty window or door.

If you want to try it put the stove in stove temp mode and put it on a low setting...you will only burn 1 bag per day (depending on setting)

You may get cold this way.....


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## MySpecialGuys (Dec 9, 2007)

Thank You for all your responses...but I am tired of this P68  I have tried everything possible and still no change.   I don't want the stove to be in control, I want to control the stove myself.   I like the Harman brand but I don't know if this is a reject.  Does anyone know which model I could control more?   The last stove I had was an Adventi by Travis Industries and had only 4,ooo BTU and I was able to control what the stove did, it just so happened that it was getting up in years and needed a complete overhaul.  Thank you in advance.   So frustrated....


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## webbie (Dec 9, 2007)

You can't go wrong with a travis industries product. How long did your other pellet stove last? You have to consider that in your initial cost and potential savings. I would hope at least 10 years.
What would a complete rebuild have cost?


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## MySpecialGuys (Dec 9, 2007)

The last stove lasted over 10 years.  I am not sure what the overall cost would have been, but it was not working to our potential any longer as we had to keep cleaning the stove everyday.  We do like the Harmon but we are not having any luck with this particular one..we want to control the stove and not the stove taking us over.


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## Xena (Dec 9, 2007)

You've had the stove a week?  Give it a chance man.
That's not nearly enough time to become familiar with
tweaking the settings to best fit your usage. And also,
different brand pellets will also require changes that you
have to learn how to make.
It took me a few weeks of running it round the clock before I really knew how to
tweak everything.


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## tinkabranc (Dec 10, 2007)

Hi,

I agree with the others.  Both weather and brand/type of pellets can have an
impact on what settings the stove will run best with.  Good ole New England weather
changes so often, the settings used today may not be the right ones for tomorrow.

Give yourself more time to learn it's "personality".  A week is not long enough to
figure it out.  I have been running my stove for a couple of months now and am 
still learning as the weather gets colder.  

You will get control over that stove.. ;-) 

This site is fantastic source of information to learn from!


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## Kenny1 (Dec 10, 2007)

A BTU is a BTU - snappy lyrics Craig, got any music for it?  :lol: 

MySpecial - as your last stove worked for 10 years, we can assume that you know how many pellets your home needs.

But as was pointed out, 2 bags may not be that excessive.

The squeeling noise does have to be fixed.

One interesting comment you made was "I don’t want the stove to be in control, I want to control the stove myself."  Can I ask what you ment by that?  I ask because I just leave my stove in room temp mode and let it adjust itself to keep the area comfortable.

Good luck


Kenny


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## MySpecialGuys (Dec 10, 2007)

Kenny...what it means is that I feel that the stove has a mind of its own and everything I do, for example changing the settings, there is no change it still produces the same heat and continues to eat pellets. With the Stove that I had, if it was 8 or 38 degrees outside  I'd set my stove to 60 degrees it stayed at that...I am not using the stove to heat my entire home just a room or so. And I don't have the time nor do I want to sit around tweaking my stove... I want to set and forget it! I don't know why that should be so hard I set my oil heating at 65 degrees in my house...
and it stays that way until I want to turn it up and it doesn't give me a problem....And I just feel that if your putting that kind of money out on a stove sitting around trying to tweak it until it does what you want ...Well Good-Bye Stove! And when I start going through 2 to 3 bags of Pellets a day to heat a room or two it just not worth it compared to my last stove using less then a bag! I love the look of their stoves and the way they distribute the pellets.. Just wish they weren't so sensitive...And now, I know looks aren't everything...


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## MrWinkey (Dec 10, 2007)

Well all I can say is good luck to you then.....It sounds like you already made up your mind.

Have you tried any of the suggestions people have offered?  Moving the temp probe?  Trying it in stove temp mode (manual) mode?

Few of the guys on here it took a couple weeks.  I know it took me a month trying to figure out the settings for the type of pellets and condtions of our home.

Seems to me your throwing the baby out with the bath water.  Maybe a 3k stove also.


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## MySpecialGuys (Dec 10, 2007)

Well, Like I said if I could get the stove to do what I want and stay at the temp I'd put it at,  I'd keep it,  and why should you have to keep tweaking something!  If you want it to stay Low, it should stay low, High it should stay high why

even have controls on them then...This stove wants to do what IT wants...Yesterday, having settings on low except the feed I had that on 3 it still went through 3 bags of pellets...I have been tweaking it for 10 days now trying everything 

and still gobbles down the pellets...Like I said before, my last stove, I set it on Med and it stayed on that temp until I wanted it to be higher....even if it was 70 out that stove stayed at what I put it at and I never had to tweak that stove...

 I've tried everything, and leaving time in between for it to adjust...and, for the pellet brand I use the hard pellets (Premium) The only thing I haven't done is to rewire it to do what I want...

I have the stove on (Stove Mode) and yes I have had the stove on (Room) also.....And by the way, I have my stove on 55 degrees and blower on (Med) and have had the stove higher too...


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## webbie (Dec 10, 2007)

Sounds like that stove is not doing the job for you! That's a shame.

One part of your expectations I would have to take exception to, and that is that a Pellet Stove is in no way similar to an oil furnace in terms of "set and forget". It is a solid fuel appliance with all the standard quirks, etc. - Yes, I know your last stove was satisfying, but that may have been the exception rather than the rule.

Having owned a stove business for over 20 years, I found my happiest Pellet Stove customers were the type who actually didn't want to set it and forget it, but who wanted to interact with their stove, fiddle with the settings, etc. = Of course, I do agree with you that it should REACT to that fiddling. Folks looking for 100% set and forget should consider gas units (LP or Natural) as well as Central heating, etc.

Even the posts here reflect that the happiest owners are those handy with the scraper, vacuum and oil can. 

It's strange that your stove is behaving differently than other Harmans. You would think that the computerized control boards and other such parts were fairly standard....especially since they replaced it once already. Oh well, I guess your dealer is going to have to expect some phone calls.


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## Xena (Dec 10, 2007)

So you're saying it's burning through 120 lbs of pellets in 24 hours????
Holy holy crapstick batman, that's way too much.  That's 5 lbs an
hour and I know that stove has to be capable of burning less than
that.

Like I said and no offense but either there is something
really wrong with the stove, or it's operator error.  
First thing I'd do would be to have the dealer check it out
to see if there's something really wrong with that stove.


Where are all the P68 owners out here?


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## Dougsey (Dec 10, 2007)

According to the manual, the P68 has a feed rate of 1-8 lbs/hour so one with think that in stove temp mode with the temp dial at minimum you should be able to get a day out of 1 bag. If this is not the case, perhaps something is wrong.

I'm of the school that thinks it takes what it takes to heat the room bags-of-pellets wise so I use room temp mode and add pellets as needed. A constant room temp is more important to me than amount of pellets used. But I'm heating my whole house (open concept cape) with 1-1.5 bags/day (73 in stove room). When the temp drops below 18 or so, the second floor heat will come on a couple times in the early morning (2nd floor stat set at 66).


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## MySpecialGuys (Dec 10, 2007)

Believe me...I'm very handy with a scraper, Vac. Pellet brushes and window cleaner....The last one I had I did all that twice a week That's why I was looking forward to this model because it didn't need that but once a month or so (Except
 for the window) which was more.....And, I was using the thermostat for the oil furnace as an exsample ....Is it not true when you want more heat you turn it up, Down for less.....Well, that's what my pellet stove should do... NOT eat more pellets as this is doing!

I went to a Harman Dealer because I have Friends that have the Harman and their doing fine with theirs also.... I just happened to get one thats not!


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## Dougsey (Dec 10, 2007)

You're intending on scraping the burn pot only once a month?


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## MySpecialGuys (Dec 10, 2007)

Thank-you....That's what I'm saying it's eating a lot and I have it set on 55 Blower on med and feed at 3 and you'd think it's cold in here, Right? No my house is reading at 70 ..
They've already came here twice in a week.  First time they found the probe was screwed on against bare wire. Second time changed the panel and it keeps gobbling down the Pellets
Only doing about two rooms that is separated from the rest of the house, has it's own temperature gauge


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## mkmh (Dec 10, 2007)

I am getting frustrated just reading through the post.    Doesn't make sense to me, and it doesn't seem like we're getting all the information. On the positive side, it sounds like the dealer has been pretty helpful so far, replacing the board and coming out on another occasion.
I see that you've mentioned a few times that you've tried every possible setting, but I don't see any mention of adjusting the feedrate. One of your prior posts mentioned a feedrate of 3. I have found that when the feedrate on my P61 is set to 3 (stove temp mode), I also go through pellets pellets very quickly. Probably not 3 bags in 24 hours, but probably greater than 2. You've got the big boy stove there (68,000 BTUs) so that stove is capable of "eating pellets" faster than most stoves in existence. I think you could burn close to 5 bags per day if you wanted to.

Have you tried this:
Set the stove to Stove Temp --> 60 degrees
Set Distribution Blower to Medium/Middle Setting
Set Feed Rate to 1

Try to run this test with one 40 pound bag of pellets. 
If you can't get through a 24 hour period with those settings (exactly 40 pounds in the hopper) then I will be the first to admit that your stove is a lemon. Your house may be chilly during the test, because you'll only be getting 8,000-10,000 BTUs per hour from the stove...but I think it is definitely worth running the test. I have found that my feedrate setting is probably the most important factor in my P61's pellet consumption.

When i'm testing out various settings I try my best to be as scientific as possible -- Recording pounds of pellets (and type) in the hopper, time of day, outdoor air temperature, and exact stove settings.  I find that if i'm not making a concerted effort to record all the factors that i'm aware of, then it is hard for me to really draw any meaningful conclusions about the stove.


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## GVA (Dec 11, 2007)

Something not mentioned yet.......
What does the stove look like when it is running?
Are the flames tall?  They must be to eat 960,000 BTU's of fuel down in 24 hours.
There could be lots of things wrong so lets go back to the basics.....
Dealer install?
Draft test?
Venting config?
Do you have burning pellets being pushed into the ashpan?
What type of pellets are you using?
Outside air hooked up?
Is the flame lazy?

I ran mine at about 78*
feed of 4
blower in the middle In room temp mode
ignitor switch in auto 
and still only burned at the most 60lbs a day (and it was cold single digits)
I know, I know......2 different homes etc....
But we need a starting point here...


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## Kenny1 (Dec 11, 2007)

MySpecialGuys said:
			
		

> Kenny...what it means is that I feel that the stove has a mind of its own and everything I do, for example changing the settings, there is no change it still produces the same heat and continues to eat pellets. With the Stove that I had, if it was 8 or 38 degrees outside I'd set my stove to 60 degrees it stayed at that...I am not using the stove to heat my entire home just a room or so. And I don't have the time nor do I want to sit around tweaking my stove... I want to set and forget it! I don't know why that should be so hard I set my oil heating at 65 degrees in my house...
> and it stays that way until I want to turn it up and it doesn't give me a problem....And I just feel that if your putting that kind of money out on a stove sitting around trying to tweak it until it does what you want ...Well Good-Bye Stove! And when I start going through 2 to 3 bags of Pellets a day to heat a room or two it just not worth it compared to my last stove using less then a bag! I love the look of their stoves and the way they distribute the pellets.. Just wish they weren't so sensitive...And now, I know looks aren't everything...



I feel for ya, it seems that things are not right with that stove. And three bags of pellets a day is nothing to sneeze at.

You said you are running in stove mode. I use the room temp mode (I'm lazy, and like the stove to do the work ;-) ). I set mine for whatever temp I want (75 right now), put the blower into med-high room temp mode, feed rate to 3, and *ping* the stove holds the room to the set temp.

So, in room temp mode, the room is not being held at a constant temprature? That is a real problem. The temp probe is connected, right? Where is it? Mine is just at the back of the stove.

You mentioned that you were operating in stove temp mode. In that mode, it will feed pellets at a constant rate. In the first post, you talked about having it set at the 60 mark. I think that would be about 3 lbs per hour (Zeta mentioned that it can run from 1 to 8 lbs per hour), and 3 * 24 give 72lbs in 24 hours. That may be something to keep an eye on.


And of course there is the squeal - has your dealer looked into that yet?

Cheers



Kenny


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## MySpecialGuys (Dec 11, 2007)

Can I ask what your stove is using in pellets daily?  That's the stove we were going to get but went with the P68 because the window was bigger.  We were assured when buying this stove it would only need a bag of pellets or less to run
a day.  I called them back today because I didn't want the stove and he agreed with me again that it shouldn't be burning that much and again had the guy come down to check it, and (these people are great) changed the probe again!
Didn't look damaged either...Did have problem the first time with it.  Now on his way down to my house he told me he talk to the Harman people and they said this stove can use 2 to 3 bags a day  But thats not what has been told to 
us! And if that's the case I'll be spending 2,000 on pellets to heat 1 to 2 rooms. That's crazy! and right now he set the stove at 55 and Blower to (Med) Feed rate at 2 he wants me to keep it there for a day to check the pellet burning...I've tried all this before plus much much more. I love this stove but not the consumption of the pellets wish I could just set it to my thermostat like my last one...and yes the temp probe is connected, I've moved that everywhere too! right now
it's away from the stove but did have it under.  Even on this low setting the stove is burning a lot of pellets..Don't know what to do now except get another type stove..And the squeal we figured out and he said the same thing has to do with the auger closing and chopping the pellets when it closes..


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## Dougsey (Dec 11, 2007)

SpecialGuys, How many seconds is your auger feeding?


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## richg (Dec 11, 2007)

_"We are new owners of the P68 and I am so frustrated, stressed, and depressed...Please will someone help us"_

If a member of my family became seriously ill, I'd be stressed and depressed, but a over a pellet stove? Think of this as a puzzle to be solved, not something to get wigged out over. 

_"you want more heat you turn it up, Down for less.....Well, that’s what my pellet stove should do… NOT eat more pellets as this is doing!"_

If you want more heat, your stove will eat more pellets. If you want less heat, it will eat less pellets.  

"_The last stove we had, only ate a bag of pellets, but wasn’t efficient"_

Are you sure that the Harman is the stove that is "malfunctioning" and not your prior stove?

_We don’t want to eat the pellets so fast, but we want consistent heat._ 

You can have pellets, or you can have heat. Not both. 

_Thank you for all your responses...but I am tired of this P68 _

You've had the stove for a week and you're tired of it?

_"That’s the stove we were going to get but went with the P68 because the window was bigger."_

You picked one stove over another because of the size of the glass? 

All we know so far is that the stove is consuming more pellets that you want it to. We know nothing about the venting setup, whether there is outside air hooked up, if unburned pellets are being pushed into the ash bin, ceiling height, total square footage of the rooms in question, brand of pellets other than they are premium, etc., insulation and weatherproofing of the house, etc. Your dealer has been very responsive and has replaced the circuit board and exhaust probe. As mentioned, heat from this stove is going somewhere. If there is thick smoke pouring out of the exhaust, there is a problem with air and fuel ratios and the stove is malfunctioning. If the exhaust is clear, there's a good burn going. If the distribution blower is running, then heat is being pushed into the house. You said that the stove is doing a good job of heating the house... _ "I have to admit it keeps the rooms very comfortable"_...if the rooms are "very comfortable", then the stove is not overfiring or running out of control. 

I am neither a Harman dealer or tech, only a P61A owner, and the only thing I can see is that this stove is using more pellets than you think it should. Don't mean to sound snotty or that I'm picking on you, but measured expectations are in order for pellet stoves.


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## mkmh (Dec 12, 2007)

Yeah, I think Rich just stated what many of us have been thinking. the stove "might" not be working 100% as designed, but we have not heard anything concrete that would support that theory.
I suspect the problem is mainly related to unrealistic expectations of the buyer...quite possibly reinforced by the dealer. We don't have all the info, but based on what you have provided it sounds like the dealer was either not knowledgable or was "overpromising" just to sell the stove. It is disappointing that he told you that the stove would use about a bag a day, as that is (at best) incomplete information.
If my math is correct, at a rate of one bag per day that stove will give you (roughly) on average 11,000 BTUs per hour. I think someone mentioned earlier that that would be about like running 2 of those electric space heaters on full blast. That might be fine under some conditions, but results/usage will of course vary drastically based on al the conditions mentioned previously. The dealer did himself and you a disservice if he did not go over this with you. I would venture to say that he did Harman a disservice as well, becuse now he is going out and (seemingly) randomly hanging new parts off a stove that may be operating perfectly fine. This kind of stuff can also be damaging to the industry as a whole, since you seem to be extremely frustrated, confused and disappointed....and I imagine you may go on to tell some people about your bad experience.

Read through some other threads on this site. You are absolutely not alone. Pellets stoves very seldom save thousands over alternatives. After paying a few grand for a stove and then 5 bucks a bag per pellets it can take several years before it starts looking like a good financial decision. I have 2 pellet stoves, and I believe they do save me money over other alternatives in my area, but the savings are pretty modest after I factor in maintenece and time spent lugging around pellets.

Having said all that, I sincerly hope i'm off base with my guess and that your stove is a lemon . Perhaps you'll post something tomorrow that says "the dealer fixed the problem and i'm now toasty warm burning less than 1 bag per day". That would be great!!


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## pegdot (Dec 12, 2007)

This may be a silly question.......probably is....but could it be that the stove is just oversize for the area being heated? By that I mean could it be running on such a low setting that it's never reaching it's maximum efficiency range like their old much smaller stove was? I know way oversizing a furnace can cause such a thing just hadn't considered it with a solid fuel appliance.


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## Kenny1 (Dec 12, 2007)

MySpecial said:
			
		

> Can I ask what your stove is using in pellets daily? That's the stove we were going to get but went with the P68 because the window was bigger. We were assured when buying this stove it would only need a bag of pellets or less to run
> a day. I called them back today because I didn't want the stove and he agreed with me again that it shouldn't be burning that much and again had the guy come down to check it, and (these people are great) changed the probe again!
> Didn't look damaged either...Did have problem the first time with it. Now on his way down to my house he told me he talk to the Harman people and they said this stove can use 2 to 3 bags a day But thats not what has been told to
> us! And if that's the case I'll be spending 2,000 on pellets to heat 1 to 2 rooms. That's crazy! and right now he set the stove at 55 and Blower to (Med) Feed rate at 2 he wants me to keep it there for a day to check the pellet burning...I've tried all this before plus much much more. I love this stove but not the consumption of the pellets wish I could just set it to my thermostat like my last one...and yes the temp probe is connected, I've moved that everywhere too! right now
> it's away from the stove but did have it under. Even on this low setting the stove is burning a lot of pellets..Don't know what to do now except get another type stove..And the squeal we figured out and he said the same thing has to do with the auger closing and chopping the pellets when it closes..




Hey MySpecial, good to hear from you.

I go thru 1.5 to 2 bags in the winter, and sometimes more if it's cold, but I'm heating most of my home (I just got an oil delivery - first one in maybe 10 months). 

So you are OK with the squealing resolution?

Have you totally given up on the stove? I don't see any replies to GVA and others.  


Cheers


Kenny


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## MySpecialGuys (Dec 12, 2007)

I'm thinking about just giving up on this stove...When we bought this pellet stove he told us that it would use a bag or less and even when we were calling in because it was eating so many pellets he was still saying it shouldn't be going though that many...they've now come here three times, first time changed the temp probe inside which was damaged...second time changed the circuit board "them" thinking that the probe short circuited the board and came back the third time that's when he set the stove at 55 degrees feed on 2 and blower on (med) and wanted us to leave it there for a day we did that and still burned a bag in less then 24 hrs.  We are no experts on Pellet stoves by no means and definitely know a little more now ...But Since our last stove only used a bag or less to heat what we needed I would agree with the person saying it might be to big for what we need...BUT we weren't told any of this when we bought it..


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## pegdot (Dec 12, 2007)

Please, don't pay me any attention! lol I'm new to pellet stoves myself, still trying to learn, and that was a total guess on my part. 

I'd hate to see you just give up on pellets since you obviously had a good experience with them in the past. I know absolutely nothing about the stove you are running but I think what the guys here, and maybe your dealer, are trying to do is get you to put the stove on it's absolutely lowest setting and run it to see how long a bag of pellets will last. If it goes through to many pellets at the setting they are recommending then that would prove that there is something wrong with the stove and give them a starting point to try to diagnose what the problem is. Don't be concerned about the heat it's putting out just run the test to check it's feed rate. 

If the stove is shown to be working as it's designed to then I think it MIGHT be an issue with the size of the stove. Perhaps, if that the case, the dealer might be willing to trade you down to one with a lower BTU rating.


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## Dougsey (Dec 12, 2007)

MSG, Good luck with your stove.

Punchin' out.


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## Hammerjoe (Dec 12, 2007)

I've been reading this thread and really I have nothing much to add than to think that Pegdot is correct.
The stove is overkill for the room and it just burns too many pellets. Just think about it, the stove burns minimum 1lb /hour on its lowest setting just to keep the fire going.

Just try this to test how long one bag will last.
Set the stove to room temp, manual ignition, feed rate 1 and set the temp down to the minimum.
In manual mode the stove will always keep a fire going at the lowest feeding possible and yuou will be able to determine if the stove is operating as it should.

In any case this is a good testimony for those that are looking to buy a new stove to not go out and buy the biggest one available, it might not be what your house needs.

I think you should replace the stove with a smaller output one, its clear that this is not the right stove for the job.
Good luck wiht your decision.


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## MySpecialGuys (Dec 12, 2007)

Thank-you so much for that reply...I will try that even though I'm going out to return it and get a smaller stove..The stove is overkill for our needs We blame ourselves for this one..but them to! We told them we were only doing a room or two not my home and he did keep telling me it wouldn't use more then a bag of pellets but it has even on the lowest settings...I wish I had come on here earlier but we have learned much more then we ever knew esp. about BTU's...


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## moralleper (Dec 12, 2007)

which stove are you now considering?  maybe ask some questions about it before you get it?  also sqft of room you are heating and setup?


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## MrWinkey (Dec 12, 2007)

Do you know the SQF your heating with that stove?

I have a P68 and mine is heating 1800 sqf and depending on temps I'm using 1- 2 bags per day.  Most days I can get by with refilling the hopper once but nights like last night when it gets down to single digits I burn 1 bag in less than 12 hours.  Several stormy cold days so far I burned 3 bags in 24 hours.


Hopefully if you try it on the lowest burn mode that will help.....on low burn mode mine barely uses any pellets....and could easily go for 1 day.

Will the dealer let you swap stoves?  If so you might want to post on here more about your setup and what stove.

Direct vent or through an existing?  Year and insulation of yer house?  Square footage your trying to heat?


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## GVA (Dec 13, 2007)

MySpecialGuys said:
			
		

> Thank-you so much for that reply...I will try that even though I'm going out to return it and get a smaller stove..The stove is overkill for our needs We blame ourselves for this one..but them to! We told them we were only doing a room or two not my home and he did keep telling me it wouldn't use more then a bag of pellets but it has even on the lowest settings...I wish I had come on here earlier but we have learned much more then we ever knew esp. about BTU's...


Ask them if the smaller stove has a different control board.............  If it is a advance, accentra P-68 or pretty much any Harman they use the same board.....
So now Back to the questions, you won't answer........


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## samandlillie (Dec 13, 2007)

Regarding the comment"the last stove was burning a bag a day but was not efficient" deserves some deep thought.Did one bag per day actually give enough heat and three bags a day  in a Harman did not? Hard to believe. My XXV works best when I scrape a couple times a day in the burnpot.I really hope we get to the bottom of this problem. I  wish the questions by GVA were answered. There must be a large # of pellets (unburned) somewhere because 3 bags a day is 5 pounds per hour and that's a lot of BTU's.

Wayne in NS


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## Kenny1 (Dec 13, 2007)

Hey MySpecial - 

So, have you picked out you next stove?  It's too bad you couldn't get the Harman going the way you liked.  I hate to hear people unsatisified with their pellet stove, and I am partial to the Harman brand (I like the underfeed system).  


Cheers


Kenny


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## MySpecialGuys (Dec 13, 2007)

My last stove was efficient and it gave the heat I needed with a bag a day and less sometimes...My Harman is directed out side  (Straight) I have it set on same settings I mentioned above...If I turn the blower up will that make the stove burn more pellets temp is at 55-58...What won't I answer? I don't know even what to ask! Before I thought a pellet stove was a pellet stove, mine would use a not even a bag a day and I thought they all did that now I know they don't ...He told me it would use a bag or less and it doesn't even on the lowest setting....And know I have the Mother of all Pellet stoves and can't make it do what I want...

There are no pellets unburied and I have been scraping the burn pot also....


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## MrWinkey (Dec 13, 2007)

GVA said:
			
		

> Something not mentioned yet.......
> What does the stove look like when it is running?
> Are the flames tall?  They must be to eat 960,000 BTU's of fuel down in 24 hours.
> There could be lots of things wrong so lets go back to the basics.....
> ...




Thoes are standard questions that keep getting skipped over in this thread.  Please answer them.


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## webbie (Dec 13, 2007)

Winkey, not everyone is as technical as some - and you can understand a customer simply listening to what the dealer and brochure says.

There are some variables which were pointed out earlier in the thread which ARE important, and cannot really be verified (at least by us)...

1. It has been guessed that bottom feeding is less efficient at lower rates. I would agree with this, in general, based on my observations. Obviously it would need to be studied further in a lab to be verified. However, way back in the early days of pellet stoves, some field tests were done - the #1 worst stove was a bottom feed Earth (Traeger mechanism), which I think came in at  the low 50's (52%) efficiency! Have things changed? Certainly? How much and can we prove it? no.

2. Further to the point above, a big and heavy stove and mechanism may lose more heat (in numerous ways) than a smaller and lighter one. We are talking about an appliance which is connected (usually) to outside air, and also sends vast amounts of air OUT the exhaust. Just as with a "cold" prefab fireplace or regular fireplace insert which takes a certain amount of heat to counteract the mass itself - this may come into play.

Note that I am 100% guessing at these answer - but I do have a "gut" feeling that some come into play. A smaller and lighter top-fed stove, IMHO, will burn better at rates of 1 1/2 lbs per hour and less. 

Again, this calls out for additional independent testing.

BTW, to further "prove" some of the theory above, the most efficient pellet stove in those earlier days was the Quadrafire, which burned pellets at ONE setting - HIGH, and turned off and on (like a gasifier or oil burner) to match the BTU's needed (used electric ignitor). So the theory is based on reality (also see oil burners, gas furnaces, etc. which all work best on "full")


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## MySpecialGuys (Dec 13, 2007)

Outside air hook up (yes) We hooked it up did everything manual called for...Had draft test done ...I'm guessing it was okay because nothing was said..No burning pellets being pushed out..No lazy flame either.I'm using premium grade
Hard pellets saying 1% ash..Have mine on stove mode to many drafts in that room still  to have it on room mode and on low settings in between 60 and 55. We did at one time on room mode wasn't doing any better..


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## webbie (Dec 13, 2007)

There is really nowhere else the heat can go. If the pellet actually burn, that means the heat is being produced. That means heat is either going up the stack or in the room. According to your report, it can only be up the stack (in your case).....again, I'm guessing on the idea that a big stove like that works best at medium to high. I certainly could be wrong.


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## mkmh (Dec 13, 2007)

I told myself I was stepping away from this...but I guess I just love a good mystery!
Have we ever gotten any detail of the layout in the house? I think early in the thread it was mentioned that the stove was in a living room, a couple steps below the kitchen, right? I'm wondering if there is a larger staircare anywhere where the heat may be escaping to the upper floor? I'm only mentioning it because our stove is in our kitchen, and a lot of the heat does make its way upstairs to the bedroom and bathroom. However, I find that when I close off those rooms I can run the stove at a much lower rate. 
Did I also just hear something about "too many drafts"? I know, I know the old stove did a pretty good job, but this winter has been very cold so far. I am definitely going through pellets much much faster than last year, or the year before.

Is it keeping both rooms reasonably warm when it is set to 55, dist blower on med, feed rate 2? How about dropping that feedrate down to 1?


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## DeweyMI (Dec 13, 2007)

Are you using the same brand of pellets with your new stove as you did with your old one?  As I wrote earlier today, the quality of the pellet can make a HUGE difference in the BTU output.


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## GVA (Dec 13, 2007)

There is something wrong......For all I know your slide plate could be missing...but probably not
So lets get to work....
Since you direct vented if you hold your hand in front of the discharge is the exhaust really hot?  On mine I could hold my hand about 6" away and keep it there without any discomfort....
Can you post a pic of the termination cap too?
When you have the stove at the lowest settings how tall are the flames in the burnpot.....(from the bottom of the burnpot)?
I would think the dealer could find a stove malfuction with the DDM Has he been out and plugged into the board yet?


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## webbie (Dec 14, 2007)

mkmh said:
			
		

> I told myself I was stepping away from this...but I guess I just love a good mystery!



I have a feeling that this one is "some or all of the above" including the customer expectation, the weather, the lighter (and possibly faster heating) of the older stove, etc. etc. .....I think the dealer replaced the entire board (earlier in the thread?). It would seem that computer control and sensors would pretty much be able to "know" if something was vary wrong....i.e, if the exhaust was VERY hot, it would shut down the stove?

Confusing, for certain. GVA, too much heat coming out the stack and too little heat could mean the same thing! What I mean is that if the exhaust pressure (flow) is low, then it might be too hot, if it is way too much air coming through the thing (excess air), then it is low.

BTW, back during those old "in the field" tests, it was "excess air" which caused the low numbers of most stoves! The combustion numbers were fairly good.....but too much air (even at a low temp) ends up sending BTU's up the stack.

As is probably obvious, I am just poking around with these theories.


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## GVA (Dec 14, 2007)

Webmaster said:
			
		

> mkmh said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Well when running in stove temp (like they posted they have tried) The stove runs off 2 things..1st the ESP and this tells the board (2nd) what to do...
It does not care what the room temp is only what the exhaust temp is.(not to efficient)
Anyway if you have heat being blown out the flue then you are not burning efficiently..IE that heat is not going into the room.....   Is it going out the flue and not into the room.......I dunno but that is why I am asking...
The dealer can plug into the stove and see what all the probes and board are seeing.
So if the Exhaust was very hot and the stove was still running through pellets could be the ESP is bad or the board (even though it has been replaced)
That is the ESP doesn't know that it is running hot therefore the board doesn't either....
He could also try disconnecting the outside air and see if the flames and performance changes.  But I don't like to list 75 things to check when I (or others) can narrow it down to 10 things.......


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## Kenny1 (Dec 14, 2007)

I hear what you are saying Craig (BTW - thanks for the history lesson).  But if the draft was set properly, would that not preclude the "heat up the chimmney" theory?

MySpecial, did the dealer set up the stove and do a draft test?  Mine wrote the draft number down in the manual for future reference.  Or have you decided to go to a different stove?


Cheers


Kenny


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## BIGISLANDHIKERS (Dec 14, 2007)

Whats a draft test and what does it measure?

I'm not sure I agree that the problem with the stove is that it is too big.  At the lowest feed rate that should be about how much it burns....period.  And at this low rate it should be fine.  If it won't burn at this low rate than something is wrong with the stove.

BIH


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## webbie (Dec 14, 2007)

BIGISLANDHIKERS said:
			
		

> Whats a draft test and what does it measure?
> 
> I'm not sure I agree that the problem with the stove is that it is too big.  At the lowest feed rate that should be about how much it burns....period.  And at this low rate it should be fine.  If it won't burn at this low rate than something is wrong with the stove.
> 
> BIH



GVA and other can confirm, but I assume it measures "overfire" draft, meaning the excess draft when the unit is on? Too much might mean air going out the stack before it has been properly "squeezed" of it's heat by the heat exchange unit.

As to my guess about size, I'm looking at it from the point of combustion engineering.......maybe our resident expert (T_monter) who deals with this stuff can shed light, but it is my understanding that if we have a large power plant which works most efficiently at a higher firings, then we would lose efficiency if we turned it down. Any system is "tuned" to a certain "harmonic". I think you can get around it by properly slowing down combustion air and convection air, but only to SOME degree. Again, just a shot in the dark. A guess. I have been VERY wrong before, and I will be many times again (biggest example was my idea that chimney caps somehow hurt the draft, when they actually help it).


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## TMonter (Dec 14, 2007)

Since Craig asked me to weigh in on this one I'll give a few comments on stove size and efficiency as I see it from a combustion/thermodynamic perspective:

Everything that matters here is stack flow and stack temperature. Most stove "losses" are from heat leaving up the chimney. A smaller stove won't necessarily be more efficient if the flow + temperature leaving the chimney is higher.

I'm not wholly familiar with most pellet stoves, but unless the blower on them for the pellet pot has a variable speed drive on it to control the air entering the pot, the stove will use more air than needed on low fire and hence lose more heat up the chimney. A good pellet stove will use just enough air for complete combustion and to prevent clinkers, but not too much as to lose more heat up the chimney.

A larger stove may actually be more efficient if the pellet pot blower can be turned down. This is more a question about stove features and general design operation which I can't answer without more details.


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## webbie (Dec 14, 2007)

Thanks, T.....

I think by nature (price, static pressure, noise, etc.) a low cost (manufacturers are very sensitive to parts cost)  Pellet Stove blower can turn down - but not to virtually every level. In other words, it has some kind of range on it (Hearthtools and some other pellet heads probably know more about this)....

So would it be fair to say that you consider excess air to be more of a variable (or perhaps the only variable) - and NOT the fact that the same heat exchanger, firepot, auger, vent, etc. is used for 8,000 BTU or 50,000 BTU and is expected to be as efficient across that entire range?

Then the question is not "can" it possibly be done, but more of whether it is done in commercial products using stock components and having to deal with noise, hums, stalling (at very low speeds), etc.


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## GVA (Dec 15, 2007)

The Harman board has a voltage adjustment which will vary the speed of the combustion blower. This is usually done at the install because line voltage varies from my home and yours, as does the venting configuration # of elbows length ETC..  Every home is different....
The board will also control what is called low and high draft.  These correlate to the draft test #s that are checked at install...


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## cantman (Dec 15, 2007)

GVA said:
			
		

> The Harman board has a voltage adjustment which will vary the speed of the combustion blower. This is usually done at the install because line voltage varies from my home and yours, as does the venting configuration # of elbows length ETC..  Every home is different....
> The board will also control what is called low and high draft.  These correlate to the draft test #s that are checked at install...



I have a XXV and I am interested in the microprocessor the dealer can plug into my main controller board.
Is this just a diagnostic tool or can adjustments be made to the high and low draft level? (ie combustion blower)


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## GVA (Dec 15, 2007)

It's just a diagnostic tool.  It gives a visual representation of what the Probes are reading, and what he board is doing.
For the Comb blower adjustment you need a magnehelic gauge.
The DDM is a dealer only item, The mag can be purchased by the avg Joe.


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## Hammerjoe (Dec 15, 2007)

Any sugestions about the magnehelic gauge?


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## webbie (Dec 15, 2007)

Not on settings, but I bought one on eBay......cheap. You have to make certain to get one in the range that you need (usually the lower ranges)


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## PelletHog (Dec 15, 2007)

1,500 sq. ft, house and I usually burn 1 3/4 bags for 24 hours to keep the place 78 degrees dowstairs, and that is 20's during the day and low teens at night. I took me a long time to get the temp probe set to the correct location and doodle with the controls, but now I just set it and forget it. Two bags seems like a lot, until you check the price of oil.


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## webbie (Dec 15, 2007)

Well, I may be spending less than that (on NG), but my house certainly is not 78. Not even 68. More like 64. Hey, it feels warm when there is no draft. I don't wear short sleeves during the winter either.....and about 6 blankets - not because of the cost, by the wifey does not like to hear the noise of the furnace fan, so she turns it down so far at night that is does not go on (house holds heat pretty well)...

Ah, that's what marriage is about - the ability to change for someone else!

BTW, just seeing how far we can beat this topic to death. Our original poster will be long into he new stove (the harman replacement), and we will still be trying to figure it out (for the next person).


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## urethane dino (Jan 3, 2008)

Hello everyone NewB here
I am running a P86 for its 3rd season right now. 3000 sq ft colonial with vaulted 2cd foor to 3rd floor master bedroom. I use 6 tons per season, and easily burn 2-2.5 bags a day in the cold of winter. Much less fall and spring. The monitors everything on its own,it certainly does not run me, it runs itself. Maybe yours is possesed? 
I know my stove has saved me alot of money in oil, and would get another in a second.
Try keeping your probe sensor higer on the wall in the warm air. Feed rate 1, room setting on dial and room temp at lowest setting 50-55 degrees. I can not imagine the stove would burn hadly anything at those settings.
Regards
Dino


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## skippy4no2 (Jan 3, 2008)

You said the dealer installed a new circuit board.  Did the dealer check the draft setting after he had done this.  The draft is set to conditions at the factory and should be checked and adjusted according to your house.  I'd have the dealer check the draft.

btw.......I burn a Harman Advance for 4 yrs now and can get a day and half from a bag of pellets.


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## smg64ct (Jan 3, 2008)

My last stove was a Harmon and it use to inhale pellets too and I was always cold. My new house has a Quadra-fire cb 1200 and it uses less pellets and I'm warmer. My cousin just bought a Harmon XXV and there going through 2 bags a day.


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## webbie (Jan 3, 2008)

The last three posts here clearly show the folly of listening to other people when it comes to exactly what your stove (pellet or wood) should do!

One of them says 2.5 bags a day, and the other says 3/4 of a bag a day (more than a 300% difference). Another compares the results in one house to the results in another.....

I really do caution folks to have realistic expectations and not to "compare" (and I use that with quotes because the word is not accurate in these cases) one thing to another! 

Remember that even in tests with mind-altering drugs......30% or more of people become "changed" by sugar pills! The placebo effect, or in this case the "it was a warm day, I spent $4K, and my neighbor said so" effect, is NOT an accurate way to measure something! I know I keep repeating this, but perhaps it will help some customer avoid disappointment!

Not to say that all posts are not accurate for THAT particular person, room, house and stove, but only urethanes strikes me as somewhat realistic in terms of whole house heating. You need to burn pellets to produce heat, and at a bag each day you are producing the equiv of less than two plug-in electric heaters....not much in this weather in the northeast!


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## smg64ct (Jan 3, 2008)

Hey web,

I hear what your your saying. Everyone is going to have different results. I also think people used to a wood stove assume a pellet will do the same. I use about a bag and a half on very cold days. I like being warm and I can't heat my house this cheap with electric. When i had my Harmon it took a long time to get it just right.


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## urethane dino (Jan 4, 2008)

I also must state that I have never burned a pellet stove before. Grew up buring wood, but opted for pellets due to ease of use , and cleanliness. Today it was around 15 degrees for a high, and I burned 1 bag in 12 hrs. House stays at 72 degrees on the main floor, high 60's on the second, excpet for our mater bedroom, since that is vaulted to 3rd floor. Our bedroom is a bit cold, mid 60's. 3rd floor is alot warmer since thats where all the heat goes, we have fans to move the air, but it stays cold. Wife helps make up the difference grrrrrrrr.
What I dont understand is if the purpose of the stove was to heat 1 or 2 rooms, why did let youself be talked into such a big stove? That being said I am sorry that it hasnt worked out for you, and I wish you the best with whatever direction you choose.
Dino


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## The Patriot (Jan 10, 2008)

urethane dino said:
			
		

> What I dont understand is if the purpose of the stove was to heat 1 or 2 rooms, why did let youself be talked into such a big stove?
> Dino



I was thinking the same thing reading through this post.  Buying a P68 to heat one room is like buying a 4 bedroom, 3500 SF house for 1 person. 

I'm all for being a little excessive.  Better to buy a slightly bigger stove than get a smaller one and find out it can't heat your whole house.  I probably could have survived with a P61, but spent a little extra money on the P68.


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## dallas (Jan 24, 2008)

HELLO - im new here and a new owner of the P68 Harmon- if anyone hears a high pitched sqeeeeeeeeeek  that resonates - thru the whole house, i just found out today what was doing it- it was the auger, from the factory they tightend one side of it down but not the other , and it must have loosend up and started the squealing . Ive only had it for six days!  so i hope that is IT for the problems- we are using three bags of pellets per day too- but its at least seventy two in here , not a large house but a drafty one. Anyone got any better suggestions on settings since i dont know what im doing ?   im a set and forget it kind of person also-so far its working except for the noise -but thats corrected now too . Its running MUCH quieter now then when they installed it- i have a great dealer - he came out the same day -today- and fixed it- he tried replaceing the motor but it was the auger itself making the noise.


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## KJF470 (Jan 24, 2008)

I have a couple penny's to add here. Harman P68, in MN., heating 1728 sq ft upper floor of split level, 15 ft vaulted ceiling over half of that, unfinished lower level, uninsulated crawl space under unheated entry way. House is 6 yrs old and sits north south, stove is in south east corner of the living room. Direct exhaust vent out south wall, air intake on east wall. Stove settings are stove temp., feed @ 2 & 1/2, temp @ 72, blower @ low/med setting, 3rd heating season with stove. I can maintain temp of 72-74 degrees (on wall thermostat for furnace bout 20 ft from stove down main floor hallway) burning 40#s a day.  My P68 will do this for a 2 week period 24 hours a day before I shut down for a good cleaning! I spend about 30 minutes cleaning and my routine is very thorough! I do make small adjustments to settings from different pellet brands as I am still learning this stove. I also run a 4 & 1/2 gallon table top humidifier and fill it every 48 hours maintaining a 30% humidity level. The only dislike I have is that I have a thick layer of frost on the intake pipe from the sheetrock to the back of the stove. Air intake pipe looks to be aluminum flex pipe. Sorry to hi jack this thread but could I use a pvc pipe for air intake? I am real happy with my Harman and will not hesitate to consider their products when I finish my lower level!


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## freebird77 (Jan 24, 2008)

KJF470,
I did what one member suggested and bought some flexible alluminum looking insulation from Lowes and wrapped it, then duct taped it si itd stay on . You dont really see it seeing its behind the stove, and its kept the condensation from dripping on the drywal, and floor.


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## galen (Jan 24, 2008)

I believe Ya'all have figured it out. Big stove consumes more pellets period. Small stove, smaller amount consumed. She needs a smaller stove. I watched my stove which is rated at 45,000 BTU an hour and found that the auger motor is not variable speed. Its a timed movement. So on low, my stove auger runs 3 seconds on and 12 seconds off. On medium, the auger runs 3 seconds on and 8 seconds off. On high, the auger is on 3 seconds and 4 seconds off. I have found that my stove on high, producing 45000 BTU consumes one bag every 8 hours with about 8 ounces of pellets left in the hopper. All most out. So the difference from high and low is three times the amount. Period. Its all about auger speed. On low, it will consume one bag in 24 hours. Not rocket science. The setting for draft are for making the stove more efficient in producing BTU. NOT using less pellets. The only way the stove will use less pellets is to find the optimum location for the thermostat. Once it is satisfied the stove should stop, resulting in less pellets consumed. If the room is poorly insulated, then it won't be long before the stove cycles.  She needs a smaller stove. In my opinion, there is nothing wrong with that Harman. My logic, take a car with a V8 engine in it, verses a car with a 4 cylinder in it, Lets not drive them up and down hills, just setting there idling. Which one is going to use more fuel?


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## mwolfie (Mar 27, 2008)

I am a new person to this site and I am trying to get information about a good quality pellet stove I am looking to heat 1200 sq. ft. of living space if anyone has any recommedation on a good stove please write back, my main souce of heat is oil and trying to reduce cost


Thanks Mike


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## freebird77 (Mar 28, 2008)

P68 here  one season old. We burn about a little over a bag a day, when its not bitter cold out, heating a 1900 sq. foot trailer. When it got around zero we burned around two bags. Dealer said wed heat the house with probably 3 tons so we bought four and still have a half ton left at this point. Cost of pellets $800.00. I cant complain.


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## The Patriot (Mar 28, 2008)

freebird77 said:
			
		

> P68 here  one season old. We burn about a little over a bag a day, when its not bitter cold out, heating a 1900 sq. foot trailer. When it got around zero we burned around two bags. Dealer said wed heat the house with probably 3 tons so we bought four and still have a half ton left at this point. Cost of pellets $800.00. I cant complain.



For a 1200 SF house like Mike has, a P68 is way too much stove.  That is unless the house's insulation is awful.  But then, I'd be spending money on shoring that up before worrying about a pellet stove.

Mike, if you are like most of us and will need someone else to do the service on your stove, the most important thing is finding a reputable dealer.  Go to several dealers in your area and ask questions.  Ask how much stove you need, talk about features that are important to you, installation options, service, etc. etc. etc.  

Get a feel for those dealers yourself, but asking around here can be helpful too.  Take comments with a grain of salt, but if you get 5 people giving bad reviews of a dealer, maybe you want to stay away from them.

After you've scouted your dealers, then worry about a particular stove.  Given the size of your house, you have a lot of stoves to choose from.  You aren't very limited as far as needing a stove with high output.  I *needed* a stove as powerful as the Harman P68 or close to it to heat my 2300 SF colonial.

If you give us some more information like the layout of your house/placement of the stove/what area you're trying to heat, features that are important to you, type of stove you are looking for (freestanding/insert), we can help you with some information on particular stoves of course.  

But, we can tell you what we like about this stove or that stove, but you may not even have a dealer near you or one that you are comfortable with that offers that stove.


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## freebird77 (Mar 28, 2008)

My apologys, im an idiot. We have the p61. My excuse, it was early in the morning. Good luck.


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## STOVEGUY11 (Mar 28, 2008)

If you look at the Harmans, look at the p-38, and the Freestanding Accentra. Those are in your size range.


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## ugenetoo (Mar 29, 2008)

When you make adjustments to most biomass burning stoves that are run by microprocessers, it is essential that you give the burner at least an hour to adjust to the settings. If you increase the feed it takes at least a half hour for the stove to bring the rate up or down to that setting.
 The harmons use an exhaust temperature probe that is monitered by the pc board many times a second. Every thing the stove does is done by exhaust temperature, (feed rate, exhaust blower speed,and room fan speed)so i doubt that heat is going out the exhaust as has been said in this thread. The only time that would not be the case is when in stove temp mode with the room fan on #5 or less in order to have a fire to watch without excess heat being blown into the room.The feed rate dial does control the feed rate to a certain extent but only to achieve the most effeciant burn.
 There is a definate learning curve with the harmons and a large part of that is to set it and leave it alone. It took me a couple of weeks to learn this when i bought my first one. I thought that i was on my to complete baldness until the dealer dropped by and esplained everything to me.
 Of course if there is a defect somewhere, all bets are off!


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## BignBeefy (Mar 29, 2008)

As far as the P68 is concerned,it is super easy to clean and use. Just load and go.When is was 0 here in NH I was using 2 bags a day and I was ok with that. I use NEWP green right now,the reds were ok too BTW. Feed Rate 3 and I set mine on room temp,72-75 and I have the sensor coiled right in front of the inlet on the back. Tie Wrap and sticky pad works great. That great room is 75-78 degrees and the rest of the 1st floor is 72.Upstairs gets to about  70 in the hallway,but the rooms are only 65-66 degrees. I cant get them higher at this point. My house is 2400 sqft though and I use oil as backup. I went from 800 gallons to about 400 I am estimating since I have had 2 100 gallon deliveries since dec 15th or so. Oil guy came yesterday,3.92 a gallon WTF. I had 3/8th a tank left so I sent him on his way. YES the stove was a lot but the pellets are well worth it in heat output and sticking it to big oil. Not sure if this helps anyone but I can try and help if  you buy a p68


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## allenfrme (Apr 1, 2008)

I'm just finishing up the third year with my P68. Small cape, Southern Maine, fair insulation. When the temps are really low, 0 and below, I usually burn 1.5 bags a day. The rest of the time, one bag a day is the norm. Tonnage used this year is a little over three tons. I do use a monitor heater in the cellar, set to 58, just keep the chill off when I'm working down there. This year I've used a little under 250 gallons. My house stays 72 degrees all Winter long, day and night. I DO RUN two ceiling fans also, and they make a world of difference in eliminating any chilly spots. Love that P68. I can do a complete vacuum, clean, window wash, and scrap in under 20 minutes, even in the midde of Winter. I rarely let it cool off, just open the door, and go. And no, I don't leave my vacuum indoors after cleaning ! It goes outside for a day, just to be sure.


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## anthonyjsparacio (Apr 15, 2008)

I have the same stove. Switch to 100% OAK PELLETS which will give you a high heat output. You can set your stove to stove temp and leave both settings at 4. It is normal on cold days to burn 2 bags per day in this stove. On warmer days in the 5o's you can set the stove to three on stove temp and you will burn about a bag in 12 hours. Whatever yiou set the pellet feed to that is how many pounds per hour you will burn. Just do the math . 24 hrs on a setting of 4 you will burn a little over two bags. Good quality pellets are the key. oak to me is the best to burn, Clean, hot, and very low ash output.


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## bufbillsball (Jan 6, 2010)

I have a P68 and with temps at night at 0 and day in the teens, I am going through 2 bags a day.  I have a 2 story house approx 2400 sq ft and it heats it quite well.  A little cool in the room on the lower floor the furthest away from the stove.  I keep mine on room temp 72-75 and feed rate 3.  Fire burns high and then calms down and just percs for a while.  I am completely satisfied so far...


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## capecod (Jan 6, 2010)

In my 2nd year with the P68. I have an open floor plan. Found burning Barefoot Pellets throws lots of heat. Normally go thru a bag to a bag and a half to maintain a  temp of 72. Stove temp in medium, feed rate at 3. During this cold snap, upwards of 2 bags a day. Hope things work out with your stove. Mine is the best investment!


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## rickwa (Jan 6, 2010)

P68 is a great stove.  the 3 dial setup can be confusing.  If someone thinks stove if over feeding or using to many pellets the FIRST thing they need to do when they post is include what the 3 dials are set at. If stove is set on stove temp feed 1-2 it will burn 1-1 1/2 bags a day


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