Leaning towards a Harman. Best way to go?

[Kenny1]

Hello all. It's been a brutal winter here and the gas bills are just out of control. That and my wife and I decided not to put a fireplace in the hosue when we built as we couldn't make up our mind on how/what we wanted. My Dad introduced me to pellet stoves and I've done quite a bit of research.

Our home is 2500 sq ft. and has a very open concept. We were thinking of putting the stove in our great room, which has an 18 foot ceiling and that second floor has an overlook down. Even when the we're only heating the first floor (zoned heating installed in our home), the heat gets up to the second floor. So I'm quite confident that the stove placement would be ideal for getting heat to both floors. And the corner where the stove would sit is on an exterior wall, so venting would be cake.

The two local stove shops carry Harman and Avalon/Lopi and everything I've read seems to lead me to think Harman is a better choice. Right now, the XXV and P68 are the two in consideration. Any thoughts?

Only concerns are:

- Blower noise. The stove will sit in the room where we watch TV.

- Too much heat. Obviously the point is to create heat, but it could get quite hot since we spend a lot of time in the same room where the stove will be.

- My son. He's only two and obviously very inquisitive. I am thinking a good metal gate to corner the stove off will work.


Any thoughts on either Harman model? The goal is to reduce natural gas dependancy during the winter months. Budget --- There really isn't one. I want to make sure it's done right.

Thanks all.

Hi Scrib - you mentioned wanted to cut down on the cost of gas (I think you gave a figure of about 0.8814/therm). You may want to spend some time with the fuel calculator (https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/fuel_cost_comparison_calculator/). I make gas at $0.8814 (80% eff furnace) to be equal to pellets at about $125. Best bang for you buck may be to either improve insulation, or install a gas fireplace.

If you want the lowest cost per BTU, you should look at a wood stove. However, it will be more work.

If you are really concerned about your son, you may want ot do a search on Hearth Gate. See https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/34575/.

Pellet stoves do make noise. Some don't mind it, others cannot stand it.

Having said all that, I do really enjoy my Harman. However, if you primary goal is to save money, I would suggest you crunch the numbers a bit more.

Cheers


Kenny

 

[MassPellet]

It's called Hearthgate, and we bought ours at our stove shop but if you do an internet search you'll see it offered at several other places too.
It's specifically designed to keep kids away from the stoce, can be attached to the wall (ours isn't) and looks good too.

 

[rgros]

Hi Scrib,

My husband and I purchased a P68 about a month ago and we love it. Our home sounds very similar to yours. Its a little under 3000 sq feet with a two story foyer and great room and a balcony inbetween. We put the P68 in a corner in the great room and it does an excellent job of heating both floors of our home. When it gets really really cold, we might kick on the propane for 5 minutes to get the master bathroom up to a better temp for that early morning shower. But otherwise, we don't use the propane anymore. We also checked into the XXV which we loved for the looks. We ended up picking the P68 though after getting a chance to see both burn at the dealership. The P68 just seemed more capable of putting out a lot of heat.

As far as noise, we ususally run the P68 on high so you do need to turn up the tv a bit but not a crazy amount or anything. It doesn't get too hot in the great room for us. Maybe b/c of the angle that it sits in the room b/c it never blows directly on anyone. The gate you mentioned sounds like a good idea b/c the unit gets extremely hot and could definitely burn little hands.

Good luck with your choice. Either way you'll have a really nice stove.

- Rosemarie

 

[rowerwet]

One of my wifes relatives has a PC45, we visited them in central PA around Christmas, it was bitter cold and they have an old farm house. They love the stove and were able to get a great deal on it as at the time dealers in thier area thought it was only a corn stove and corn was at its huge high. They found out that there is a pellet kit for the stove (different air, burn pot and stirrer(?)) They are burning pellets and love it. And being in PA they are in an area that has corn all around them. The remote thermostat works great and they have to keep the upstairs bedrooms shut or they will be to hot to sleep in.

 

[Scrib]

Thanks all.

The info is most certainly helpful. We need to get the tile put down and I may wait a bit to see if the spring/summer bring any deals. Unless it's tough to find stoves during the off months?

 

[kinsmanstoves]

One of my wifes relatives has a PC45, we visited them in central PA around Christmas, it was bitter cold and they have an old farm house. They love the stove and were able to get a great deal on it as at the time dealers in thier area thought it was only a corn stove and corn was at its huge high. They found out that there is a pellet kit for the stove (different air, burn pot and stirrer(?)) They are burning pellets and love it. And being in PA they are in an area that has corn all around them. The remote thermostat works great and they have to keep the upstairs bedrooms shut or they will be to hot to sleep in.

I have the new version of the PC45 buring in the Brookfield Store and it rocks. Thumbs up all the way. The new version comes with both pellet and corn pots. Currently it has a $600 off sale.

Eric

 

[Scrib]

Another quick question... What are the venting requirements for these stoves? I was going to put it in the corner of a room, with a window about three feet from the stove. It seems I've read blurbs here and there about that not being a good idea? Interestingly, the web is full of install pictures where the stove is indeed near a window.

Opinions?

 

[tinkabranc]

On some of the Harmans, vent can be as close as 18" to a window/door
if using an OAK. If you have a specific model in mind, best to download the
manual to confirm for your setup

 

[Scrib]

What's an OAK?

On some of the Harmans, vent can be as close as 18" to a window/door
if using an OAK. If you have a specific model in mind, best to download the
manual to confirm for your setup

 

[tinkabranc]

outside air kit

 

[Scrib]

Pulled the trigger today on a P68. Got the $600 off and I'm hoping the credit comes through on the taxes next year.

The wife is a bit nervous about the little guy getting too close, so I ordered a hearth gate. Titled an area in the corner last week, so we're all ready to go. Got a 1/2 ton of pellets coming (can't recall the name, but they're the ones the store burns in their P68).

Looking forward to it

 

[kinsmanstoves]

Pulled the trigger today on a P68. Got the $600 off and I'm hoping the credit comes through on the taxes next year.

The wife is a bit nervous about the little guy getting too close, so I ordered a hearth gate. Titled an area in the corner last week, so we're all ready to go. Got a 1/2 ton of pellets coming (can't recall the name, but they're the ones the store burns in their P68).

Looking forward to it

Good luck and you should be real happy.

Eric

 

[bungalobob]

Good choice and a good deal, especially with possible rebate. Happy burning, we love our P68!

 

[TomPajak]

congrats on a very nice stove..
the gate will help alot because that stove gets hot on all sides...
keep a fan on to move that hot air from the ceiling to the ground due to your heating space being so open..a fan works WONDERS

 

[Scrib]

We'll definitely keep the ceiling fan in the room going and most likely the furnace fan. That was a recommendation from the dealer too.

Looking forward to getting it. Hopefully the hearth gate arrives before next Saturday!

congrats on a very nice stove..
the gate will help alot because that stove gets hot on all sides...
keep a fan on to move that hot air from the ceiling to the ground due to your heating space being so open..a fan works WONDERS