1997 Harman P38+ - Worth it?

[battlinbones]

Hi,

Due to a recent need to rebuild the floor and part of a wall in a section of our house that was originally a 1950's cabin, I had the opportunity to pull out our kerosene monitor heater and our ventless propane fireplace. We only bought the house last year and with fuel prices going up and our climate being frigid up near the Canadian line, I got to thinking about replacing both of those (I definitely don't trust the ventless propane stove) with a pellet stove.

The consensus on here and with my neighbors is to go with Harman and have something that saves you time, energy, and costs while also keeping you nice and warm. I could sink a lot of our available cash into a new unit ($4-5k plus 26% back in taxes) or start off with a used one.

One used one I found is a $600 1997 p38+ with a new blower motor that's described as in excellent working condition. The pictures look good but I've never owned a pellet stove before, so my estimation might not be the best.

Our house is one level, post and beam and slab with a attic, well insulated, 1200 sqft, and mostly wide open. It seems like a p38+ should handle this, but could I still get 3-5 years or more out of this stove or has it likely run for too long already?

Thanks for any help you can give. Cheers!

 

[johneh]

Welcome to the forum. A 25-year-old stove for 600$
If it were me I'd be looking for a newer stove. Yes, parts are available
but it is an antique. You may be buying someone else's problems
Besides, I think 600$ is too much for that age of stove
Let,s see what the Harman people have to say

 

[battlinbones]

Welcome to the forum. A 25-year-old stove for 600$
If it were me I'd be looking for a newer stove. Yes, parts are available
but it is an antique. You may be buying someone else's problems
Besides, I think 600$ is too much for that age of stove
Let,s see what the Harman people have to say

Thanks! That's exactly my concern. Great stoves or not, that's a very old stove.

 

[Washed-Up]

$600 isn’t a bad price and it looks clean…check the burn pot where it meets the auger as this can be a wear spot on either the auger tube or pot…make sure the weld are intact. Run it in test mode as well just to hear everything running and to make sure all of the LED’s come on for each component.

 

[battlinbones]

$600 isn’t a bad price and it looks clean…check the burn pot where it meets the auger as this can be a wear spot on either the auger tube or pot…make sure the weld are intact. Run it in test mode as well just to hear everything running and to make sure all of the LED’s come on for each component.

Thanks for the info. Would it be reasonable to expect this stove, if everything checks out, to last me 3 years or so at the least?

 

[GrumpyDad]

Thanks for the info. Would it be reasonable to expect this stove, if everything checks out, to last me 3 years or so at the least?

Im a big fan of buying used. But I also run into issues almost always. The one thing I learned buying used was 1. make sure parts are available, not unique and costly, and especially dont take 2 months to get to me. 2. make sure there is someone in the area that can professionally help me in case I throw my hands up, and give up trying to fix.
Im on #2 for this garden tractor I bought used that worked great, then not so great, then not at all.

 

[Washed-Up]

Thanks for the info. Would it be reasonable to expect this stove, if everything checks out, to last me 3 years or so at the least?

It’s hard to say without seeing it myself but it looks good in the photos….from that I would say yes….I lucked into a clean P61A a few years ago and it’s still running great with a clean up.

 

[Northwoodneil]

My PC45 was built in 1998 (3 digit serial number) and it runs 24/7 every winter. I did have to replace the main weldment 3 years ago. No problem finding parts. For $600 I'd buy it, if I lived closer I might try to buy it out from underneath you.

 

[Mt Bob]

Personally I would want a newer one, with auto ignition.

 

[Northwoodneil]

I can't disagree with you Bob, but ones not likely to find a newer auto ignition Harman for anywhere near $600.

 

[battlinbones]

Thanks for all the help and input, folks. This forum has been invaluable. I ended up finding a p43 in top notch shape with auto ignite for $900 and snatched it up today. Cheers!

 

[Shank]

Thanks for all the help and input, folks. This forum has been invaluable. I ended up finding a p43 in top notch shape with auto ignite for $900 and snatched it up today. Cheers!

Great deal there!

 

[battlinbones]

Absolutely. It's a 2014 too. The other stoves I was looking at were from 1997 and 1992. Even came with an ash vac. It's a good start to this fall.

 

[Shank]

Absolutely. It's a 2014 too. The other stoves I was looking at were from 1997 and 1992. Even came with an ash vac. It's a good start to this fall.

Sounds like a nice win. I am in the process of getting everything together to install my used Harman before it gets too cold. Woodstovepro was a good site to use for pipe, if you need any/don't have a good local source. If you run Duravent Pelletvent they have an adapter that is Harman approved that bolt to the back of the stove instead of clamping or siliconing to the factory piece.

 

[battlinbones]

Thanks so much! That's info I didn't have and need.

 

[Shank]

Thanks so much! That's info I didn't have and need.

https://downloads.hearthnhome.com/installmanuals/p43.pdf

Also if you don't have the manual, here is a link to one. There is a lot of good info on clearances, install, etc. Couple that with the manufactures specs on pipe and you should have a good install.

 

[battlinbones]

https://downloads.hearthnhome.com/installmanuals/p43.pdf

Also if you don't have the manual, here is a link to one. There is a lot of good info on clearances, install, etc. Couple that with the manufactures specs on pipe and you should have a good install.

Deeply appreciated. I had looked at it yesterday, but need to stage it all now, so that's perfect.