Harmen P43 or P68

[AZ23]

I think I agree, better to spend the little extra for the larger unit. I don't care about the looks of the unit but I am glad I went to see the p43 in person the other day, it's very tiny and almost would look funny in our hearth. The main thing obviously is the heat it provides, but I think I'll up[ with the P61a or P68

 

[chken]

I think I agree, better to spend the little extra for the larger unit. I don't care about the looks of the unit but I am glad I went to see the p43 in person the other day, it's very tiny and almost would look funny in our hearth. The main thing obviously is the heat it provides, but I think I'll up[ with the P61a or P68

I'm sure you'll be happy with your choice as many people here seem to like their P61.

Having said that, I'd just add one last bit of food for thought:

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/poll-how-many-bags-do-you-burn-on-the-coldest-days.121035/

That's a thread I started with a poll, asking how many bags of pellets people burn "on the COLDEST days". That was right when we were getting the polar vortex around the country, so the amount of pellets people were burning should have been fresh on everyone's minds. 85 people answered.

Only 11 of those 85 said they burned 3 or more bags a day, and several of those were actually pellet furnaces and boilers, not stoves. Even a 45k btu stove can have a 3 bag a day habit on the coldest day. For 2/3rds of the respondents, 2 bags or less was the most they burned on the coldest days. That's only about 27k btus. Seriously, most people here on this forum could get by on the coldest days with a 40k btu stove, according to their own votes.

Of course, as I think I said in another post, with your needs, you have lots of choices. Don't think you have to get the biggest stove. Bigger stoves have more areas that need cleaning, weigh more and are harder to move outside for an annual clean out, etc. Bigger is not always better. Remember, there are no wrong choices.

 

[alternativeheat]

I'm sure you'll be happy with your choice as many people here seem to like their P61.

Having said that, I'd just add one last bit of food for thought:

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/poll-how-many-bags-do-you-burn-on-the-coldest-days.121035/

That's a thread I started with a poll, asking how many bags of pellets people burn "on the COLDEST days". That was right when we were getting the polar vortex around the country, so the amount of pellets people were burning should have been fresh on everyone's minds. 85 people answered.

Only 11 of those 85 said they burned 3 or more bags a day, and several of those were actually pellet furnaces and boilers, not stoves. Even a 45k btu stove can have a 3 bag a day habit on the coldest day. For 2/3rds of the respondents, 2 bags or less was the most they burned on the coldest days. That's only about 27k btus. Seriously, most people here on this forum could get by on the coldest days with a 40k btu stove, according to their own votes.

Of course, as I think I said in another post, with your needs, you have lots of choices. Don't think you have to get the biggest stove. Bigger stoves have more areas that need cleaning, weigh more and are harder to move outside for an annual clean out, etc. Bigger is not always better. Remember, there are no wrong choices.

Good info, I read about this last week or so. For me the P61 was insurance in a house that could be tighter. I now know that the P43 in my case would probably have heated the house ( especially after we tighten the south wall a bit for next winter) but it's really tough to answer that question going in, when you have no pellet experience. My wife actually wanted us to get the P68, that would have been over the top. One thing with the p61 though is fast ramp up in auto room temp and it fits the room well. The P43 is almost cute by comparison but I've witnessed it's output, it's no slouch either. I do believe ramp ups would have been longer, less surface area etc. in the P43 just judging by the difference I have felt between the two stoves in service. By no means do I think we made the wrong choice, the P61 is working fantastically for us.

Now that is with my 1800 sq ft house and I have no problem with the stove throttled back when it's warm out ., the OP has 2600 sq ft ? I don't think the P43 is even rated for that sq ft is it ? A P61 sounds like the logical stove if to stay with a P series stove in that case. I think he needs to gear his stove for the sq ft he is heating. Getting that heat distributed is another matter but at least match the stove to the max sq ft to begin with, then you know the potential exists to heat the entire house... I wouldn't want to see him undersize and not be happy. I know the installers say it will work and all.

 

[chken]

Good info, I read about this last week or so. For me the P61 was insurance in a house that could be tighter. I now know that the P43 in my case would probably have heated the house ( especially after we tighten the south wall a bit for next winter) but it's really tough to answer that question going in, when you have no pellet experience. My wife actually wanted us to get the P68, that would have been over the top. One thing with the p61 though is fast ramp up in auto room temp and it fits the room well. The P43 is almost cute by comparison but I've witnessed it's output, it's no slouch either. I do believe ramp ups would have been longer, less surface area etc. in the P43 just judging by the difference I have felt between the two stoves in service. By no means do I think we made the wrong choice, the P61 is working fantastically for us.

Now that is with my 1800 sq ft house and I have no problem with the stove throttled back when it's warm out ., the OP has 2600 sq ft ? I don't think the P43 is even rated for that sq ft is it ? A P61 sounds like the logical stove if to stay with a P series stove in that case. I think he needs to gear his stove for the sq ft he is heating. Getting that heat distributed is another matter but at least match the stove to the max sq ft to begin with, then you know the potential exists to heat the entire house... I wouldn't want to see him undersize and not be happy. I know the installers say it will work and all.

The OP's 2600sqft is two floors of 1300. Also, lots of that space is walled off as bedrooms and baths, and is really not going to be heated all that much given that it's not an open plan. So, it looked like your average area for heating. I still think the on-site installers are going to have the best guesstimate of anybody.

 

[alternativeheat]

I still think the on-site installers are going to have the best guesstimate of anybody.

Probably so, they see more stoves in use than any of us..