Comparing ash between pellets P61a

[alternativeheat]

Headed towards the first 48 hours of burning the P61 now and collecting a pretty good ash pile on the outer ledges etc inside the stove. I think I'm headed towards an early first cleaning. I get quite a lot of shooting stars inside there. The fur is definitely leaving dark granular looking ash compared with spruce. Neither seems to be reducing to total powder like my coal ash, though if you poke at it it just falls apart . For you P61 guys, what does your ash look like, is it on the granular side of ash content ? Do I need to change some settings ( currently in room temp manual, feed rate 3.5, probe control set to 76 deg or so, keeps the house pretty much 72-73) ? It's been pretty warm out though, so the ramp ups aren't real long yet, still mows down some pellets.

Or, is this all perfectly normal ? I may shut it down after work today anyway to tidy up some things around the stove, if so I will brush some of this stuff off and have a closer look inside there.

 

[TheMightyMoe]

Easy test - Try 5 bags of a different pellet - Results may vary.

 

[alternativeheat]

Easy test - Try 5 bags of a different pellet - Results may vary.

Ya, I think I'll get some from a less expensive supplier and see what happens with those as a comparison ( these furs are pricey), obviously early on with a new user here ! I did turn the feed rate down to 3 since posting this and it looks like the ash is more grey now. I'll tell better later on today. I know that right now is not the best test because the stove is not working very hard and idling a lot . I had it in room temp auto for a bit but I didn't like that activity, this mode keeps the outer fringes of the house nicer.

Thanks for your response !

 

[Hoot23]

It's all normal. Try a few different bags and you'll see the difference in ash. Just let her burn. Scrape the pot every few days and clean it once a month.

 

[alternativeheat]

It's all normal. Try a few different bags and you'll see the difference in ash. Just let her burn. Scrape the pot every few days and clean it once a month.

Ok, I've already scraped the pot lightly twice per day. Scraped the ash off where the air hole are out front. Seemed like the right thing to do. Today we are finding out how it works in a north facing wind and tonight is supposed to drop into the mid 20's.

 

[Hoot23]

I get a lot of fly ash with the pellets I'm burning now, and the ash seems to build up more on the shelves than in the ash bin.

Stove has been great all winter long for us. Only burning oil for hot water. We're heating a colonial just over 2000sq ft. Downstairs stays at 72.5, upstairs goes between 70-72.

 

[alternativeheat]

I get a lot of fly ash with the pellets I'm burning now, and the ash seems to build up more on the shelves than in the ash bin.

Stove has been great all winter long for us. Only burning oil for hot water. We're heating a colonial just over 2000sq ft. Downstairs stays at 72.5, upstairs goes between 70-72.

They say the Harman P series will burn pretty much any pellet brand. My ash is about evenly distributed between the pan and shelves. I can see star bursts going up over the firebrick sometimes to where ever they land.

My dining room and studio have been right on 71-73 all along with the stove set about 76 and room probe behind the stove. Upstairs is maybe 69 on average which is good for sleeping. So far the oil has only been on for our tennant over in the attached apartment. High hopes it stays that way as the thermometer drops back down outside!

 

[alternativeheat]

They say the Harman P series will burn pretty much any pellet brand. My ash is about evenly distributed between the pan and shelves. I can see star bursts going up over the firebrick sometimes to where ever they land.

My dining room and studio have been right on 71-73 all along with the stove set about 76 and room probe behind the stove. Upstairs is maybe 69 on average which is good for sleeping. So far the oil has only been on for our tennant over in the attached apartment. High hopes it stays that way as the thermometer drops back down outside!

Well I'm home from work and snow blown out the driveway and all that good stuff. These Fur pellets certainly outlast the spruce I had. I tended the P61 this morning at 4 am, it's almost six now and I'll top it off but it was further down yesterday in less time . And besides that it's burning to heat the house as much as being on a low flame today. Dining room ( next room over from the living room where the stove is) still 72-73, no sign of the oil kicking on. I'm happy !

I have a different batch of spruce to try in the stove and see how they go. Someone said pick up 5 bags of something else, so I did after work basically just for comparison. These are POINTE spruce. Someplace along the way here I need to buy a ton of one brand and type or another.

 

[Tonyray]

Well I'm home from work and snow blown out the driveway and all that good stuff. These Fur pellets certainly outlast the spruce I had. I tended the P61 this morning at 4 am, it's almost six now and I'll top it off but it was further down yesterday in less time . And besides that it's burning to heat the house as much as being on a low flame today. Dining room ( next room over from the living room where the stove is) still 72-73, no sign of the oil kicking on. I'm happy !

I have a different batch of spruce to try in the stove and see how they go. Someone said pick up 5 bags of something else, so I did after work basically just for comparison. These are POINTE spruce. Someplace along the way here I need to buy a ton of one brand and type or another.

Have a P61A also,
all u have described appears normal.....
Mini-fireworks display at times from the pellets...
More ash on the shelfs than the ash Pan....[I full clean every 7 days and hardly a spot in the stove the ash doesn't visit]
Ash can be different colors depending on what is burning...
scrape the burnpot couple times a day is good to do..
we're burning wood and ash is the results.. some pellets give as much as double the ash as others..
Be glad u have a Harman.. it laughs at all grades of pellets as it cranks out monster heat when needed regardless of Price or Popularity....
Pellets scientist here will argue about this as they have a brand for every weather condition imaginable including Indian summer, Autumn, Chilly, frosty, windy, semi-cold etc... But if your happy with the heat your stove is putting out, that's a brand you buy a ton of regardless of Opinions..

 

[alternativeheat]

Have a P61A also,
all u have described appears normal.....
Mini-fireworks display at times from the pellets...
More ash on the shelfs than the ash Pan....[I full clean every 7 days and hardly a spot in the stove the ash doesn't visit]
Ash can be different colors depending on what is burning...
scrape the burnpot couple times a day is good to do..
we're burning wood and ash is the results.. some pellets give as much as double the ash as others..
Be glad u have a Harman.. it laughs at all grades of pellets as it cranks out monster heat when needed regardless of Price or Popularity....
Pellets scientist here will argue about this as they have a brand for every weather condition imaginable including Indian summer, Autumn, Chilly, frosty, windy, semi-cold etc... But if your happy with the heat your stove is putting out, that's a brand you buy a ton of regardless of Opinions..

Got it ! The POINTE's are in the hopper, maybe around 2 am they will start to feed but I'm up shortly after 3 anyway and will look in on the stove then.

Good night folks !

 

[Tonyray]

Got it ! The POINTE's are in the hopper, maybe around 2 am they will start to feed but I'm up shortly after 3 anyway and will look min on the stove then.

Good night folks !

forgot to mention the ash is as u described most time.. granular.. I get balls of dark ash on the front side of my burnpot and they are soft/fluffy...
also, members here are very knowledgeble and can be a great help with tips and problems..
[collecting all different brands of pellets and reporting results is a full time hobby here also... usually good to know but always try few bags 1st. Never buy a ton cause someone sez they are the "hottest u will ever burn.".

 

[alternativeheat]

forgot to mention the ash is as u described most time.. granular.. I get balls of dark ash on the front side of my burnpot and they are soft/fluffy...
also, members here are very knowledgeble and can be a great help with tips and problems..
[collecting all different brands of pellets and reporting results is a full time hobby here also... usually good to know but always try few bags 1st. Never buy a ton cause someone sez they are the "hottest u will ever burn.".

I can tell you that POINTE's are not Okanagan's. They burn , they make heat and they leave a big beard of resinous looking ash in front of the flame that Okan does not, and quickly . The ash really doesn't have a lot of resin but that's the appearance. I upped the feed rate because the fire had retreated back further on the burn pot. Then this morning I mixed Okan and POINTE together in the hopper something like 50/50 ish..

 

[P38X2]

Which Oakies are you burning?..clear/black bag?

I finished up my 3 tons of Orford softs a week ago and am into my SP's. This years Orfords didn't impress me too much at all in the ash dept. The SP's are a bit lower in ash, and that ash seems quite a bit lighter. It tends to blow out of the pot, leaving most of the pot edge clear and only building up a bit on the corners. Another thing I like is the glass stays MUCH cleaner. Hopefully this translates into a cleaner exchanger. The SP's have much more fines, which I'm not too concerned with. They're also much shorter. Haven't heard a single slide plate bang with them yet. The Orfords would give you a surprise bang every hour or so, and by bang I mean bang, not the typical Harman crunch. Fairly confident I can fix that for future long pellets. Judging by bag consumption times, I can't notice a difference between the 2 brands. The Orfords smell good, but the SP's smell great, not that that matters any.

 

[alternativeheat]

Which Oakies are you burning?..clear/black bag?

I finished up my 3 tons of Orford softs a week ago and am into my SP's. This years Orfords didn't impress me too much at all in the ash dept. The SP's are a bit lower in ash, and that ash seems quite a bit lighter. It tends to blow out of the pot, leaving most of the pot edge clear and only building up a bit on the corners. Another thing I like is the glass stays MUCH cleaner. Hopefully this translates into a cleaner exchanger. The SP's have much more fines, which I'm not too concerned with. They're also much shorter. Haven't heard a single slide plate bang with them yet. The Orfords would give you a surprise bang every hour or so, and by bang I mean bang, not the typical Harman crunch. Fairly confident I can fix that for future long pellets. Judging by bag consumption times, I can't notice a difference between the 2 brands. The Orfords smell good, but the SP's smell great, not that that matters any.

Clear and black bag, Douglas Fir. They burn good, burn long per hopper it seems. Happy with them except for the price at the moment.

 

[P38X2]

Clear and black bag, Douglas Fir. They burn good, burn long per hopper it seems. Happy with them except for the price at the moment.

The straight DF's? Cha ching!

 

[alternativeheat]

The straight DF's? Cha ching!

Yes! I say yes but presently they are mixed and that's burning well my wife reports to me. I will see for myself after work and before I head off to the doc for my biopsy result.

 

[Hoot23]

The SP's are nice pellets.

 

[jimbolyard]

It's all normal. Try a few different bags and you'll see the difference in ash. Just let her burn. Scrape the pot every few days and clean it once a month.

Wait.....are you really supposed to clean a P61 every month?? I have had mine since 2001 and clean it once a year. Have had very little trouble with it till this year and I am going to replace the gaskets probably tomorrow or Sunday.

Jim

 

[Hoot23]

Wait.....are you really supposed to clean a P61 every month?? I have had mine since 2001 and clean it once a year. Have had very little trouble with it till this year and I am going to replace the gaskets probably tomorrow or Sunday.

Jim

Hope your just kidding. But if you aren't I think you should read your manual. Every month or every ton of pellets. What do you do on your yearly cleaning.

 

[jimbolyard]

Hope your just kidding. But if you aren't I think you should read your manual. Every month or every ton of pellets. What do you do on your yearly cleaning.

Nope I am serious and have read my manual. My manual says on page 15 "Cleaning : The stove will need to be cleaned for approximately every 2 to 5 tons of pellets burned. The amount of pellets burned before cleaning will vary depending on the brand of pellets burned."

My cleaning consists of the what the manual says to do (the whole burn chamber, the compartment below the burn pot, the exhaust, ect.) with one exception that is not mentioned and that is the box that catches the fines with the cast lid held on by a wing nut.

Jim

 

[Hoot23]

I can see cleaning the exhaust once a year, but the the fines cover, heat exchanger, igniter chamber, fans, esp, and burn pot should be more often. Your not getting the most out of your unit when it's dirty.

 

[jimbolyard]

I can see cleaning the exhaust once a year, but the the fines cover, heat exchanger, igniter chamber, fans, esp, and burn pot should be more often. Your not getting the most out of your unit when it's dirty.

Well I am just following the manual that came with the stove that the manufacturer had printed. Oh and I do not have a igniter let alone a igniter chamber.

 

[Tonyray]

Well I am just following the manual that came with the stove that the manufacturer had printed. Oh and I do not have a igniter let alone a igniter chamber.

my "fines" box was clogged with sawdust & small broken pellets after just 3 months of burning.
I couldn't imagine going longer than a month without cleaning..
just because it works doesn't mean your getting the most heat it can produce..
kinda like a car that still runs even though the oil hasn;t been changed in a year..
but, it;s your stove...

 

[Hoot23]

Well I am just following the manual that came with the stove that the manufacturer had printed. Oh and I do not have a igniter let alone a igniter chamber.

The compartment below the burn part would be your igniter chamber. I know you have an older model. Not trying to give you he'll about not cleaning it, but you have to notice a difference in heat output once the inside gets coated with ash. It might still be running but do you have to keep adjusting your settings after awhile to get your desired temp?

 

[alternativeheat]

The compartment below the burn part would be your igniter chamber. I know you have an older model. Not trying to give you he'll about not cleaning it, but you have to notice a difference in heat output once the inside gets coated with ash. It might still be running but do you have to keep adjusting your settings after awhile to get your desired temp?

The P61 did not have an igniter, the P61A does. Other than that I have to agree, unless the stove is really over kill for the space being heated I would think by mid season there would be a real loss of heat potential. No competent dealer or installer would advocate total hands off with cleaning for an entire heating season. It's a testament to the Harman quality and burn capability though.

Last night I was really glad I had installed that flue liner straight up 25 ft instead of direct vent. We lost power, first time since the install. Not a trace of smoke in the house ( my wife thought the flame was pretty, women are kind of goofy sometimes). Funny, I got the generator going, got the house on generator and started back upstairs and the power came back on , was on all night. But got to witness the P61 in a crash situation, glad my choice of install went the way it did.