How Your Harman Works -what your manual doesn't tell you..

[HarmanManP43]

Not trying to accomplish anything really. Everything else is explained but what those numbers means to the user...other than a warmer environment. Though, it would be nice to know that if I set it on 4, I am burning 4 pounds and hour or 96 pounds a day or about 2.5 bags a day.

Not sure if the math is right though on the pound per hour. If it is a 50k btu pellet stove, 50k btu per hour and there are about 8700 btu per pound, then (my math) says something like 5.75 pounds per hour (that would be at full throttle, at least for that stove).

I know this isn't an exact science, just trying to figure the relation of those numbers to burn rate. With temp setting I know what I am getting, usage is based on room temp.

Thanks and thanks for the welcome!


Rob

Stove temp mode will always give you a more steady consumption rate, however as stated above due to the control panel controlling only the exhaust temp the main factor affecting consumption will be the temperature of the room. The feed rate on Harmans is a max number only and the control panel decides how much to feed based on what you're asking from the stove.

In short there is no real accurate way to estimate this, it's always going to be variable. Howver if the temp outside remains reasonably steady i have found my consumption to be within a 1/3 of a bag day to day.

 

[rwreuter]

Thanks for the help....forums are great, people share their knowledge with the rest.......

 

[moshar]

No matter whether I increased or decreased the feed rate, it wouldn't stop feeding pellets between stove temps 5-7. What I finally did was adjusted the feed rate AND lowered the stove temp down to between 3.5 - 4 and this seemed to be much better as now the feed finally stops when stove gets up to temperature. Has been working well for a couple of days now and house is now comfortable.

Update 2/25/14: Pellet stove is now working GREAT! Just had a 'deep cleaning' done and I couldn't believe all the ashes that came out from below the holes in the pot, and all the chambers (looked like a sandbox when all the ashes fell out). I should have had this done at the beginning of season to avoid all my previous headaches.

 

[Marc1980]

I just purchase a used pc45 running on pellet . It runs good but i want to know what is the factory setting of the draft ajustement . I got a draft meter in order but wont come in before a couple weeks .. right now the setting is 1/2 hay open or close at 5 "o clock .....

 

[AccentraRRT]

I apologize in advance if this is a repeat question; I read through most of the thread and understand the knob adjustments much better. I just recently purchased and had installed a new Accentra stand alone pellet stove. I have only used in Stove temp mode, always dialed to the "H". I keep the feed rate at 3.5 as recommended by the installer.. And have varried the temp setting between 5 and 6 based on desired temp. The stove is installed in a finished basement (approx 400sqft) with open stairwell two two store open floor plan house (approx 1600sqft) this has kept the basement around 75, main level around 68 and 2nd floor around 70 with bedroom doors closed; all without supplemental oil furnace being used. I am going through about 1.75bags/day. My question is... Does this sounds reasonable?? And secondly since I shut down the stove this AM and did a quick clean out, I've noticed the burn is stopping about 1 inch from endge with the 1 inch of ash however the ash is very bulky looking.. I don't remember seeing this prior.. Is this okay? Any assistance you can provide, I greatly appreciate. I am a first time owner.

 

[TonyVideo]

I apologize in advance if this is a repeat question; I read through most of the thread and understand the knob adjustments much better. I just recently purchased and had installed a new Accentra stand alone pellet stove. I have only used in Stove temp mode, always dialed to the "H". I keep the feed rate at 3.5 as recommended by the installer.. And have varried the temp setting between 5 and 6 based on desired temp. The stove is installed in a finished basement (approx 400sqft) with open stairwell two two store open floor plan house (approx 1600sqft) this has kept the basement around 75, main level around 68 and 2nd floor around 70 with bedroom doors closed; all without supplemental oil furnace being used. I am going through about 1.75bags/day. My question is... Does this sounds reasonable?? And secondly since I shut down the stove this AM and did a quick clean out, I've noticed the burn is stopping about 1 inch from endge with the 1 inch of ash however the ash is very bulky looking.. I don't remember seeing this prior.. Is this okay? Any assistance you can provide, I greatly appreciate. I am a first time owner.

Sounds normal to me at those settings.

 

[jmack80]

Hello,
Thanks for the great thread. Back in March I purchased a P38+ as it was on close out. Maryland has a state grant so I had it professionally installed by the dealer. The grant covered the install, so it was pretty convenient. Anyway, I ran a few bags through it last year on stove temp and I'm pretty excited about this upcoming winter.

After reading the posts, I think I have a pretty clear understanding of the system, but can I just get 2 confirmations?

1. My understanding is that the P38+ can work in room mode, even without the auto ignition. It will just go into "maintenance mode" when the desired room temp is met. Is this correct. The manual really doesn't clarify that.

2. What/where exactly is the "room temperature sensor" on the P38+? Is it just the wire that is coming out of the back of the unit? Can it be cut/extended to run farther into the room?

Thanks for all of the help. I appreciate you putting this info out for the general public. The Dealer was pretty good, but couldn't really get into the tech specs of the 38. Said they mostly do 43s.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

 

[zrtmatos]

This a great informative post for all Harman owners. Thanks for this information. Of course I just use it on auto then manual and it never turns off for most of the season.

 

[08specB]

Ok so I have read this thread (the first page) several times to try and understand how my stove works. I have had my stove (XXV) for just a couple months however really only using it the last month since its been getting colder out. I have the stove set at between 75-80 degrees, on ROOM temp and the feed it set at 3. The sensor until last night was left curled up the way they sent it to me on the back of the stove. I kept the fan/blower setting all the way on high also while running the stove.

The room the stove is in is a living room and it along with all of the connecting rooms have cathedral ceilings. The living room, dining room, kitchen and foyer are ALL cathedral and the total square footage upstairs is about 1,350 sq ft. The hallway to the bedrooms it starts with regular 8ft ceilings (raised ranch).

I bring this up because my in-laws got their 52i insert installed this past week. Their settings are set to the same as mine but their stove shuts off when the room gets to temp and mine does not (theirs is also in alot smaller of a room). It runs constantly the entire time I have it running the room gets pretty hot. I called the place I got it from and they said I should turn the temp down to make sure the probe is working and if it is the stove will slow or shut down (when it gets satisfied). If the probe isnt working the status light he said will blink 4 times. I have not noticed the status light blinking so I will try lowering the temp and keep an eye on the status light.

Any tips or anyone have this problem?

 

[TonyVideo]

You should make this a separate thread as most won't see this.

 

[lbcynya]

Ok so I have read this thread (the first page) several times to try and understand how my stove works. I have had my stove (XXV) for just a couple months however really only using it the last month since its been getting colder out. I have the stove set at between 75-80 degrees, on ROOM temp and the feed it set at 3. The sensor until last night was left curled up the way they sent it to me on the back of the stove. I kept the fan/blower setting all the way on high also while running the stove.

The room the stove is in is a living room and it along with all of the connecting rooms have cathedral ceilings. The living room, dining room, kitchen and foyer are ALL cathedral and the total square footage upstairs is about 1,350 sq ft. The hallway to the bedrooms it starts with regular 8ft ceilings (raised ranch).

I bring this up because my in-laws got their 52i insert installed this past week. Their settings are set to the same as mine but their stove shuts off when the room gets to temp and mine does not (theirs is also in alot smaller of a room). It runs constantly the entire time I have it running the room gets pretty hot. I called the place I got it from and they said I should turn the temp down to make sure the probe is working and if it is the stove will slow or shut down (when it gets satisfied). If the probe isnt working the status light he said will blink 4 times. I have not noticed the status light blinking so I will try lowering the temp and keep an eye on the status light.

Any tips or anyone have this problem?

Hello and Welcome,

First, you need to optimize the placement of your temp probe to the room. Ideally, you want it 4ish feet off the floor on an inside wall, similar to a thermostat. If you can't do that, then you need to put it in a draft free area, away from exterior walls, where you can regulate the dial temperature vs. the actual temperature. If you find that spot, then you should get consistent temps, based on the delta. You say your room gets hot because it might need to reach 90 in order to satisfy a probe at 80 degrees, based on that location. For instance, if you find a spot that a 70 degree dial setting will yield a 75 degree room temperature, then your delta will typically be 5 degrees. Weather, wind, etc might vary this slightly, but you get the point. Large areas with the temp probe can be hard to regulate, in this case a Skytech wireless thermostat could be your BEST FRIEND.

If you have your igniter switch to manual, your stove will never shut off, just go to maintenance burn between calls for heat. In auto, stove will shut down.

Also, bump up your feed rate to 4 so the stove can do its job when it gets colder.

 

[08specB]

Hello and Welcome,

First, you need to optimize the placement of your temp probe to the room. Ideally, you want it 4ish feet off the floor on an inside wall, similar to a thermostat. If you can't do that, then you need to put it in a draft free area, away from exterior walls, where you can regulate the dial temperature vs. the actual temperature. If you find that spot, then you should get consistent temps, based on the delta. You say your room gets hot because it might need to reach 90 in order to satisfy a probe at 80 degrees, based on that location. For instance, if you find a spot that a 70 degree dial setting will yield a 75 degree room temperature, then your delta will typically be 5 degrees. Weather, wind, etc might vary this slightly, but you get the point. Large areas with the temp probe can be hard to regulate, in this case a Skytech wireless thermostat could be your BEST FRIEND.

If you have your igniter switch to manual, your stove will never shut off, just go to maintenance burn between calls for heat. In auto, stove will shut down.

Also, bump up your feed rate to 4 so the stove can do its job when it gets colder.

The probe itself is about 4-5ft off the floor as high as it can go on a piece of wood that separates two of the rooms (dining room and livingroom). It is on a wall that has no drafts or windows so I think I am good on that end. I do have a digital thermometer about 6-7 ft away from the stove on out hutch. It is an outside/inside weather station and by keeping an eye on the temp it is 1-2 degrees to what the stove is set to.

 

[lbcynya]

The probe itself is about 4-5ft off the floor as high as it can go on a piece of wood that separates two of the rooms (dining room and livingroom). It is on a wall that has no drafts or windows so I think I am good on that end. I do have a digital thermometer about 6-7 ft away from the stove on out hutch. It is an outside/inside weather station and by keeping an eye on the temp it is 1-2 degrees to what the stove is set to.

Igniter switch on auto or manual?

 

[08specB]

Igniter switch on auto or manual?

auto

 

[lbcynya]

auto

As long as it's not overheating my more than 3-4 degrees from setpoint, I wouldn't be concerned. Also, if it throttles way back that's a good sign too. You might be loosing enough heat to not allow it to fully execute a shut down. If you want to test this, set the temp knob to 50 degrees and see if it shuts down. If not, then you might have an issue.

 

[08specB]

As long as it's not overheating my more than 3-4 degrees from setpoint, I wouldn't be concerned. Also, if it throttles way back that's a good sign too. You might be loosing enough heat to not allow it to fully execute a shut down. If you want to test this, set the temp knob to 50 degrees and see if it shuts down. If not, then you might have an issue.

It DOES throttle back and burns a very low flame when it gets closer to temp. I did try and put it to 70 degrees one time and it did shut down but not for long. Thanks

 

[lbcynya]

It DOES throttle back and burns a very low flame when it gets closer to temp. I did try and put it to 70 degrees one time and it did shut down but not for long. Thanks

Perfect, that's why Auto isn't really necessary other than shoulder seasons. When it's cold, you'll always need heat. Not wasting pellets, IMO, and you avoid unnecessary igniter cycles.

 

[TonyVideo]

Room temp will always ramp up and down as needed to maintain the +/- 1 degree room temp setting. I consider when it ramps down it is saving me pellets vs a constant no holds bard like in stove mode. I use stove mode only when Temps ate in the teens or below and windy. I know I need heat at that point.

 

[Richard_Harvey]

Hello Everyone, total newbie here and in need of a little help from the experts. I have a "new to me" Harman P61A in my totally un-finished basement. I have installed a somewhat elaborate heat distribution system to get the bulk of the heat up to the main floor as I have no need to heat the basement. The system includes two 400cfm duct fans mounted way down-stream of the stove, an Aprilaire 600m humidifier w/additional 240cfm fan mounted post humidifier creating negative pressure inside the unit which "pulls" air into the unit and over the evaporative system, insulated 6" ducts and three strategically located floor vents on the main floor. This setup has been working very well for a few weeks while the temps have not dipped too low. But now that the colder weather has arrived I'm finding the stove is not able to keep my 2800sq two floor house warm enough on its own.

What I'm finding is the stove in either stove temp or room temp mode is not running hot enough at all, I have watched it for hours in both modes and I can see it throttle down. I have the best success running in room temp mode with the probe sitting on the concrete floor but even still the stove throttles down. I want this thing to run more like a full on furnace. Even set with feed rate at 6, temp maxed out and distribution blower at max the fire is not always flaming high, sometimes it's just a very tiny flame (seems that's called a lazy flame), which tells me the electronics are holding back. And by the way, I have way more than 1" of ash on the lip, more like 2.5 - 3 inches with electronics set as described above, using New England High Quality Pellets so near no ash.

So my quest is to find a way to get this thing to crank, run at as high a temp as possible and get all 61,000 hourly BTU's out of this thing, yup run it like a furnace. How is that possible...?

Thanks everyone......

Rich

 

[lbcynya]

Hello Everyone, total newbie here needed a little help from the experts. I have a "new to me" Harman P61A in my basement. I have installed a somewhat elaborate heat distribution system to get the bulk of the heat up to the main floor as I have no need to heat the basement. The system includes two 400cfm duct fans, a Aprilaire 600m humidifier w/additional 240cfm fan, insulated 6" ducts and three strategically located floor vents on the main floor. This setup has been working very well for a few weeks while the temps have not dipped too low. But now that the colder weather has arrived I'm finding the stove is not able to keep my 2800sq two floor house warm enough on its own.

What I'm finding is the stove in either stove temp or room temp is not running hot enough at all, I have watched it for hours in both modes and I can see it throttle down. I have the best success running in room temp mode with the probe sitting on the concrete floor but even still the stove throttles down. I want this thing to run more like a full on furnace. Even set with feed rate at 6, temp maxed out and distribution blower at max the fire is not always flaming high, sometimes it's just a very tiny flame, which tells me the electronics are holding back. And by the way, I have way more than 1" of ask on the lip. more like 2.5 - 3 inches set as described above.

So my quest is to find a way to get this thing to crank, run at as high a temp as possible and get all 61,000 hourly BTU's out of this thing, yup run it like a furnace. How is that possible...?

Thanks everyone......

Rich

My guess is improper venting or a dying ESP. I'd post this in the main forms to get access to more eyes. Post install,pics too.

 

[TonyVideo]

Yes tagging this request on an old post will limit responses. I will respond under a new thread.

 

[Jenfmi]

Just bought my first pellet stove- Harmon P43. I've read through the threads- great great information. I'm still a little confused. What is the difference when I have the stove on auto vs. manual when I have it set at 70 degrees, feed rate of 3, room temperature? In auto, does the stove kick out more heat or does the ignitor just come on more. Sorry for the stupid question, but just wanted to make sure that I'm running it as efficiently as possible.

 

[TonyVideo]

In auto and no heat needed the stove will shut down and use the ignitor to start back up. In manual room temp a maintenance fire will be maintained for a faster ramp up of heat. I use auto only in the shoulder or beginning and ending months. When it is cold out I put it in manual since it will never shut down and a faster response for heat.

 

[F4jock]

In auto and no heat needed the stove will shut down and use the ignitor to start back up. In manual room temp a maintenance fire will be maintained for a faster ramp up of heat. I use auto only in the shoulder or beginning and ending months. When it is cold out I put it in manual since it will never shut down and a faster response for heat.

Not to be a picky PITA but to be specific the stove MAY shutdown. If room temp setting is achieved and maintained long enough to trigger the shutdown cycle it will. If not, not. If at any time during the first part of the shutdown cycle room temp falls below setpoint the stove will begin feeding again w/o ignighter coming on. Since there is still fire or embers present it goes back into normal operation. Tony is 100% correct about manual mode. Some say that runni g in manual preserves the ignighter but I've run in auto for going on six seasons now and only just had to replace one.

 

[Jenfmi]

Great. Thanks for the responses.