New guy here in New York with P43 saying thanks

[Lake Girl]

Temps have been between -35 and -40F at night with daytime not much better. Friggin' cold

We had the kids here for New Years since we couldn't get everyone together at Christmas. They got messing around with throwing boiling water outside in the cold temps - almost instant evaporation!

The avatar - my oldest daughter on our dock...

 

[jdinny]

Temps have been between -35 and -40F at night with daytime not much better. Friggin' cold

We had the kids here for New Years since we couldn't get everyone together at Christmas. They got messing around with throwing boiling water outside in the cold temps - almost instant evaporation!

The avatar - my oldest daughter on our dock...

That's cold. We snowmobile in the Adirondacks and the coldest we've ridden in was -25F.
Do you heat only with your stove in those temps, or do you have to run your boiler too?

 

[Lake Girl]

Just the Elena Air and ceramic heater upstairs for bedrooms with the extreme temps for now - mind you baking the turkey the other day helped!. We had an oil fired hot water tank with exchanger for forced air but removed due to exhaust leakage. Purchased another Elena to even the heat and for back-up but not installed yet due to planned renovations and exact location yet to be determined - sure wished it was in place now.

Temps are better tonight -23F ...finally on the rise.

 

[Hoot23]

Very nice install and congrats on the the p- series stove.

 

[dw06]

Welcome to the forum!! What a nice looking install, you did a GREAT job! The P43 is a great stove, I've had mine for 3 years and its been even better than I thought it would be. Really cut the heating cost and warmer to boot. Plus the fun of trying different pellets, although only difference I've seen between best and worst is amount of ash, and some have more carbon buildup in burn pot, which I learned to use a screwdriver to break it loose as tool supplied sometimes won't get under it to break loose.
You will enjoy the new stove, and any help needed just ask here as there sure are allot of fine members that know their stuff, and are quick to help!!

 

[jdinny]

Just the Elena Air and ceramic heater upstairs for bedrooms with the extreme temps for now - mind you baking the turkey the other day helped!. We had an oil fired hot water tank with exchanger for forced air but removed due to exhaust leakage. Purchased another Elena to even the heat and for back-up but not installed yet due to planned renovations and exact location yet to be determined - sure wished it was in place now.

Temps are better tonight -23F ...finally on the rise.

That's amazing heating your home with one stove in those temps, that's gotta be a great stove!

Very nice install and congrats on the the p- series stove.

Thanks for the kind words. We love the stove so far

Welcome to the forum!! What a nice looking install, you did a GREAT job! The P43 is a great stove, I've had mine for 3 years and its been even better than I thought it would be. Really cut the heating cost and warmer to boot. Plus the fun of trying different pellets, although only difference I've seen between best and worst is amount of ash, and some have more carbon buildup in burn pot, which I learned to use a screwdriver to break it loose as tool supplied sometimes won't get under it to break loose.
You will enjoy the new stove, and any help needed just ask here as there sure are allot of fine members that know their stuff, and are quick to help!!

Again, thank you for the kind words!
Thanks for the screwdriver tip.
And yes, this forum is awesome! The information is so good. It did help convince me to buy the P43 instead of a quad 1200, and I couldn't be happier with the way it's performed so far.

 

[jdinny]

Well, first real cold night with the P43.
4 degrees and snowing pretty hard.
I left the boiler thermostat off last night and set the stove on auto at 72 before I went to bed to see if it was worth it to save pellets.
When I got up this morning, the coldest part of the house was 67, and the family room was 69. The stove was just starting when I went downstairs. I turned it up to 75 to warm the house before wife and kid got up, and in about 15 minutes the family room/dining room was 72, and the kitchen was 69. This P43 works awesome!
I think I will continue to set it on auto before I go to bed, but leave it in manual during the day. It does keep the house very comfortable on manual!
With the P43, vent pipe, hearth pad, and battery backup I have $ 3103.00 total in this stove. I think it's the best 3 grand I've ever spent

I have a question for the Harman guys on here.
When the stove is running, I can still see two rows of holes in the burn plate. Is this normal, or should the whole plate be covered with ash? The feed is set at 4.
Thanks for any help.
John

 

[P38X2]

You might wanna leave it on "manual" during the heart of the burn season. You'll avoid the temp swings, and from the sound of things, won't burn that many pellets doing so. It'll also save wear on the igniter, though I wouldn't be too concerned about that.

Having a couple rows of pot holes exposed is normal, especially if you've just started the stove/recently scraped the pot. If they're still exposed after several hours of good burning, congratulations, you found yourself some clean burning pellets

 

[jdinny]

You might wanna leave it on "manual" during the heart of the burn season. You'll avoid the temp swings, and from the sound of things, won't burn that many pellets doing so. It'll also save wear on the igniter, though I wouldn't be too concerned about that.

Having a couple rows of pot holes exposed is normal, especially if you've just started the stove/recently scraped the pot. If they're still exposed after several hours of good burning, congratulations, you found yourself some clean burning pellets

Ok, thanks for the info.
I have been leaving it on manual until we go to bed at night, then I flipped it to auto just to see how it ran.
It's 4 degrees outside right now, and a toasty 74 in the house. That's warmer than we ever kept it on LP.
So far, I've burned Stove Chow, and the Tractor Supply branded pellets. The Stove Chow definitely made more ash than the TS stuff, but I think the heat was just as good with either.
I'm really diggin' this P43

 

[P38X2]

It's just the beginning of the addiction.

 

[jdinny]

It's just the beginning of the addiction.

I hear you!
Already schemeing to get a P38 for the basement

 

[scajjr2]

Roger that.
This is one helpful forum.
Any of you guys using a t-stat?

We just got our P43 a month ago and love it. We are also using a SkyTech 3301p wireless thermostat. I like it as it has 4 time periods per day you can program which works well for our household.

Sam

 

[jdinny]

Our P43 has been running since 3pm New Years Day.
The house has been between 72 and 75 during the day, and no lower than 67 at the far end at night.
I've been running it on room temp auto at night, and room temp manual during the day, our boiler is turned off. Figuring I'll save a few pellets at night as we always set our boiler thermostat down to 65-67 at night anyway.
The stoves been running for 54 hours and I just dumped my 4th bag in.
2 Tractor Supply premium
1 Stove Chow
1 Pres-to-Log
It's zero out on our deck right now, and 74 in the house
I'm extremely happy so far.
I am gonna look into that t-stat

 

[scajjr2]

We're finishing up 2 weeks vacation so I've been bypassing the programmed mode for just the thermostat mode. Running in room temp/manual, last couple days thermostat set to 75 while we're up (stove room gets up to like 77, downstairs stays 72, upstairs 69) set it down to 67 overnight. Though tonite with it forecast to be -5 or lower I may leave it at 70 overnite.

Sam

 

[Madcodger]

First, congrats on a nice install and welcome. Very glad you like your stove.

You mentioned changing one section of your vent (to 2' I think). Since you're making a change, you might want to consider a 4' or so vertical rise with a 45 degree downward termination at top (using a T with cleanout at the bottom of the vertical). Should you lose power (even though you wisely bought a battery backup), it will allow the stove to better vent and help avoid smoke in house. Just a thought...

Also, would like to hear your opinion on Presto's when you burn them. Have found them surprisingly good but they have multiple plants. I burn primarily Hamer's but they're not local to you, and the Presto's have been a close second. Green Supremes have been rather cool for me, in comparison, as others also note.

Best of luck, and welcome to the addiction. Must be something in these pellets that does it...

 

[jdinny]

First, congrats on a nice install and welcome. Very glad you like your stove.

You mentioned changing one section of your vent (to 2' I think). Since you're making a change, you might want to consider a 4' or so vertical rise with a 45 degree downward termination at top (using a T with cleanout at the bottom of the vertical). Should you lose power (even though you wisely bought a battery backup), it will allow the stove to better vent and help avoid smoke in house. Just a thought...

Also, would like to hear your opinion on Presto's when you burn them. Have found them surprisingly good but they have multiple plants. I burn primarily Hamer's but they're not local to you, and the Presto's have been a close second. Green Supremes have been rather cool for me, in comparison, as others also note.

Best of luck, and welcome to the addiction. Must be something in these pellets that does it...

Thanks for the compliments, much appreciated.
We thought about running the vent 3' or so up the side but decided against it.
We have a standby generator so I'm not real worried about natural draft. I just need the backup to get the generator switched on. That's primarily why I just did the straight through vent.
Thanks for the tip though.
I just dumped the first bag of Presto's in. Found them at HomeDepot. Hope they work decent, they are cheap..

 

[jdinny]

P38X2,
I see you installed the heat shields on your P38 awhile ago.
The minimum wall clearance from the back corner of the burn box was 9", and mine is at 14". My wall temp behind the stove seems hot to me, gonna pic up an ir thermometer today and check it, but I'd like to have the piece of mind that it's not gonna ignite
How did those shields effect the wall temp, and convection from the stove!
I did raise the dist. blower speed and that helped some.
Those shields look good on your stove.

 

[lorbs21]

I also just purchased a p43. Before installing I have to do / look at a few things. I have a question. I am going to do the corner install as well I noticed you put the thimble right against the corner of the wall. I think I have to do that as well bc I have a receptacle and a cold air return as well down the wall which gives me basically what u have to play with. Can u tell me the exact measurement from middle of 3" pipe to corner of wall? If that make sense(where u put your thimble at). Also I too have the downspout in the same place / set up. I am not that smart when it comes to construction but in the pics your hole is in the corner and outside it is on the other side of the downspout. How is that? Thanks again!


quote="jdinny, post: 1622073, member: 31609"]Well, first real cold night with the P43.
4 degrees and snowing pretty hard.
I left the boiler thermostat off last night and set the stove on auto at 72 before I went to bed to see if it was worth it to save pellets.
When I got up this morning, the coldest part of the house was 67, and the family room was 69. The stove was just starting when I went downstairs. I turned it up to 75 to warm the house before wife and kid got up, and in about 15 minutes the family room/dining room was 72, and the kitchen was 69. This P43 works awesome!
I think I will continue to set it on auto before I go to bed, but leave it in manual during the day. It does keep the house very comfortable on manual!
With the P43, vent pipe, hearth pad, and battery backup I have $ 3103.00 total in this stove. I think it's the best 3 grand I've ever spent

I have a question for the Harman guys on here.
When the stove is running, I can still see two rows of holes in the burn plate. Is this normal, or should the whole plate be covered with ash? The feed is set at 4.
Thanks for any help.
John[/quote]

 

[railfanron]

I think as you use it more you'll find out that the Harmans do burn anything. I got my p43 put in on November 1st and I've burned six different kinds of pellets and the difference between them is negligible.
Ron

 

[Tonyray]

I also just purchased a p43. Before installing I have to do / look at a few things. I have a question. I am going to do the corner install as well I noticed you put the thimble right against the corner of the wall. I think I have to do that as well bc I have a receptacle and a cold air return as well down the wall which gives me basically what u have to play with. Can u tell me the exact measurement from middle of 3" pipe to corner of wall? If that make sense(where u put your thimble at). Also I too have the downspout in the same place / set up. I am not that smart when it comes to construction but in the pics your hole is in the corner and outside it is on the other side of the downspout. How is that? Thanks again!


quote="jdinny, post: 1622073, member: 31609"]Well, first real cold night with the P43.
4 degrees and snowing pretty hard.
I left the boiler thermostat off last night and set the stove on auto at 72 before I went to bed to see if it was worth it to save pellets.
When I got up this morning, the coldest part of the house was 67, and the family room was 69. The stove was just starting when I went downstairs. I turned it up to 75 to warm the house before wife and kid got up, and in about 15 minutes the family room/dining room was 72, and the kitchen was 69. This P43 works awesome!
I think I will continue to set it on auto before I go to bed, but leave it in manual during the day. It does keep the house very comfortable on manual!
With the P43, vent pipe, hearth pad, and battery backup I have $ 3103.00 total in this stove. I think it's the best 3 grand I've ever spent

I have a question for the Harman guys on here.
When the stove is running, I can still see two rows of holes in the burn plate. Is this normal, or should the whole plate be covered with ash? The feed is set at 4.
Thanks for any help.
John

[/quote]
No.. burn plate does not need to be covered with or without any amount of ash..
I always see 1 or 2 rows of burn pot holes. most times. P61A .

 

[TonyVideo]

Doesn't matter on the number of holes. Just no burning pellets over the edge. Ash only. Number 4 feed rate is fine. Auto room temp at night is good to not waste pellets. This time of year since it warms up quite a bit during the day I leave it in room temp auto as well. Why accidently overheat on stove mode and waste pellets. Enjoy the warmth.

 

[lorbs21]

I also just purchased a p43. Before installing I have to do / look at a few things. I have a question. I am going to do the corner install as well I noticed you put the thimble right against the corner of the wall. I think I have to do that as well bc I have a receptacle and a cold air return as well down the wall which gives me basically what u have to play with. Can u tell me the exact measurement from middle of 3" pipe to corner of wall? If that make sense(where u put your thimble at). Also I too have the downspout in the same place / set up. I am not that smart when it comes to construction but in the pics your hole is in the corner and outside it is on the other side of the downspout. How is that? Thanks again!

 

[chken]

I also just purchased a p43. Before installing I have to do / look at a few things. I have a question. I am going to do the corner install as well I noticed you put the thimble right against the corner of the wall. I think I have to do that as well bc I have a receptacle and a cold air return as well down the wall which gives me basically what u have to play with. Can u tell me the exact measurement from middle of 3" pipe to corner of wall? If that make sense(where u put your thimble at). Also I too have the downspout in the same place / set up. I am not that smart when it comes to construction but in the pics your hole is in the corner and outside it is on the other side of the downspout. How is that? Thanks again!

Well, I had nothing to do with anyone's installation, but the difference between the measurement inside and the measurement outside, includes the thickness of the wall. If it's 2x6 construction, then you have 5.5" for the stud. ½" for the drywall on the inside. Then, you have the thickness of the plywood sheathing on the outside, ¾"? And, you have the thickness of the siding, clapboards, or whatever. Altogether, you're looking at probably a 7+" differential between the corner measurement from the outside and in.

The simplest thing to do is start from the inside. Put up your thimble, backward. Mark the center of the hole. You need a drill that can reach from the inside out, so it has to be more than 7". Drill a pilot hole level and straight. Of course, make sure you have no electrical wires running where you are drilling. Once you have your pilot hole on the inside and out, you now can cut your thimble hole with reasonable accuracy. Others probably have their own way of doing it, and better way, but that's how I did mine!

BTW, Jdinny, is that bald eagle, in your avatar near your home, or just an avatar. I have a bald eagle pair that are just starting a nest near me, and was wondering. The ospreys that used to nest there, would always screech when I walked in or out of the house, A good watch bird, but not exactly peaceful when you just want to sit on the deck! Just wondering what it'll be like if the bald eagle pair decide they like the nest and decide to stay.

 

[jdinny]

I also just purchased a p43. Before installing I have to do / look at a few things. I have a question. I am going to do the corner install as well I noticed you put the thimble right against the corner of the wall. I think I have to do that as well bc I have a receptacle and a cold air return as well down the wall which gives me basically what u have to play with. Can u tell me the exact measurement from middle of 3" pipe to corner of wall? If that make sense(where u put your thimble at). Also I too have the downspout in the same place / set up. I am not that smart when it comes to construction but in the pics your hole is in the corner and outside it is on the other side of the downspout. How is that? Thanks again!

From the c/l of the vent pipe to the wall is exactly 6"
I don't quite understand the question about the gutter pipe.
We loosened it up from the siding, installed the thimble, and replaced the gutter pipe.


Pics of install are here :
http://www.pbase.com/champ3jd/harman_p43_pellet_stove_install&page=all

 

[jdinny]

BTW, Jdinny, is that bald eagle, in your avatar near your home, or just an avatar. I have a bald eagle pair that are just starting a nest near me, and was wondering. The ospreys that used to nest there, would always screech when I walked in or out of the house, A good watch bird, but not exactly peaceful when you just want to sit on the deck! Just wondering what it'll be like if the bald eagle pair decide they like the nest and decide to stay.

Yes, about 15 minutes from my home.
I have 100's of photos of these beautiful eagles!
Might say it's one of my hobbys.