I've been a lurker for a little while here and I finally pulled the trigger on the 52i
This gem throws out some incredible heat. My search for a stove started a few months back when realizing how much money we spent on propane over the last 12 months....$4400. I told my wife I would NEVER do that again. So here I am, trying to supplement as much as I can in our 3400 sq ft rambler.
The insert is in my sunroom/living room with vaulted ceilings. Using my IR thermometer the air appears to pocket in the ceiling apprx 5-10* hotter than the ambient temp in the majority of the living area. Most of the house is an open floor plan but unfortunately for airflow the bedrooms are a little more secluded and suffer because of it. With the 52i set on 75-80*, these rooms are nearly 62-65* in the late night/early morning.
This delta prompted me try a few things:
-First was running furnace fan only, which produced no positive results (likely because 2 of my 3 air returns are in colder areas).
-Second option was to add a duct in the ceiling of the sunroom with a fan sucking the air into the two kids rooms. I'm EXTREMELY happy to report that it works and might I add it works incredibly well. With the stove set on 75* the two kids rooms hover at 75* with the doors shut or 71-72* with the doors open. In addition to evenly heating the kids rooms, the rest of the living space is much more comfortable. No longer is there a "wall of heat" when walking into our living area.
I'll post pics below with a brief explanation of each under the picture.
![New Harman 52i and heat distribution New Harman 52i and heat distribution](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/145/145890-6eac51a9401c488e4ac4066eb3872bbb.jpg)
Materials prior to start. This was about $350-400 in materials. There were a few items not pictured I had to buy locally.
.
Location determined and punched nail through attic side so I could cut from this side. Unfortunately I couldn't center the duct 100% due to a structural support.
![New Harman 52i and heat distribution New Harman 52i and heat distribution](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/145/145894-03d57360653a86f28bbd92325ab48f2e.jpg)
8" flex duct and inlet mounted.
![New Harman 52i and heat distribution New Harman 52i and heat distribution](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/145/145896-1553a966cc46c33ca14a4f41c704fd8f.jpg)
Finished view of duct inlet. I need to pick up a filter for it but it looks great.
![New Harman 52i and heat distribution New Harman 52i and heat distribution](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/145/145897-3232dd17b368b09e3b5d7fadb84505e4.jpg)
6" flex duct to 8"x8" vent in bedroom 1. Bedroom 2 looks similar so I wont bother with a pic.
![New Harman 52i and heat distribution New Harman 52i and heat distribution](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/145/145909-72b31cf4aaedd29cdba15dbd31270619.jpg)
Attic installation. The black duct is an existing return duct, the foil covered ones are new for this project.On this side of the fan there is the y-duct splitting to the two rooms.
![New Harman 52i and heat distribution New Harman 52i and heat distribution](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/145/145910-abd284bb07b2b59b2ba6335cd009132d.jpg)
Ignore the two marks on the left. Slight mistake on measuring that I need to patch now. Wiring up the switch for the new outlet for the fan in the attic. I used a remodel box here (don't shoot me code police
....) to avoid cutting a huge hole in the wall. On the opposite side of this was is the bathroom light and fan switch. I pulled power from here and ran switched power directly up into the attic.
![New Harman 52i and heat distribution New Harman 52i and heat distribution](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/145/145911-23696854352282cc613cbe14cf265145.jpg)
New switched outlet in attic. If I ever get to phase II (my bedroom) of this effort this plug will be ready for me.
![New Harman 52i and heat distribution New Harman 52i and heat distribution](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/145/145913-5bc99144048b30f7b1ade4979cb14c80.jpg)
My newly installed 52i cranking out some heat. The mantel is still loose and I'm still playing with the temp probe. Although the apprx location seems to be perfect right now.
![New Harman 52i and heat distribution New Harman 52i and heat distribution](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/145/145914-d7ccbcbf13a4dc114b509120d82262da.jpg)
My winters stash of pellets. 1 ton of North American blend (meh at best, tons of ash), 1 ton of AWF hardwood, and 3 tons of AWF pine softwood (excited to try these
)
I'd like to give a shout out to the forums for helping me make my stove choice and sparking my love for pellet stoves. Let me know if anyone has any questions.
Travis
![Smile :) :)](/talk/styles/default/xenforo/smileys/grin.gif)
The insert is in my sunroom/living room with vaulted ceilings. Using my IR thermometer the air appears to pocket in the ceiling apprx 5-10* hotter than the ambient temp in the majority of the living area. Most of the house is an open floor plan but unfortunately for airflow the bedrooms are a little more secluded and suffer because of it. With the 52i set on 75-80*, these rooms are nearly 62-65* in the late night/early morning.
This delta prompted me try a few things:
-First was running furnace fan only, which produced no positive results (likely because 2 of my 3 air returns are in colder areas).
-Second option was to add a duct in the ceiling of the sunroom with a fan sucking the air into the two kids rooms. I'm EXTREMELY happy to report that it works and might I add it works incredibly well. With the stove set on 75* the two kids rooms hover at 75* with the doors shut or 71-72* with the doors open. In addition to evenly heating the kids rooms, the rest of the living space is much more comfortable. No longer is there a "wall of heat" when walking into our living area.
I'll post pics below with a brief explanation of each under the picture.
![New Harman 52i and heat distribution New Harman 52i and heat distribution](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/145/145890-6eac51a9401c488e4ac4066eb3872bbb.jpg)
Materials prior to start. This was about $350-400 in materials. There were a few items not pictured I had to buy locally.
![New Harman 52i and heat distribution New Harman 52i and heat distribution](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/145/145891-cb9d3ee738efd0fc4fe5eae18e40c73e.jpg)
Location determined and punched nail through attic side so I could cut from this side. Unfortunately I couldn't center the duct 100% due to a structural support.
![New Harman 52i and heat distribution New Harman 52i and heat distribution](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/145/145894-03d57360653a86f28bbd92325ab48f2e.jpg)
8" flex duct and inlet mounted.
![New Harman 52i and heat distribution New Harman 52i and heat distribution](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/145/145896-1553a966cc46c33ca14a4f41c704fd8f.jpg)
Finished view of duct inlet. I need to pick up a filter for it but it looks great.
![New Harman 52i and heat distribution New Harman 52i and heat distribution](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/145/145897-3232dd17b368b09e3b5d7fadb84505e4.jpg)
6" flex duct to 8"x8" vent in bedroom 1. Bedroom 2 looks similar so I wont bother with a pic.
![New Harman 52i and heat distribution New Harman 52i and heat distribution](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/145/145909-72b31cf4aaedd29cdba15dbd31270619.jpg)
Attic installation. The black duct is an existing return duct, the foil covered ones are new for this project.On this side of the fan there is the y-duct splitting to the two rooms.
![New Harman 52i and heat distribution New Harman 52i and heat distribution](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/145/145910-abd284bb07b2b59b2ba6335cd009132d.jpg)
Ignore the two marks on the left. Slight mistake on measuring that I need to patch now. Wiring up the switch for the new outlet for the fan in the attic. I used a remodel box here (don't shoot me code police
![Wink ;) ;)](/talk/styles/default/xenforo/smileys/wink.gif)
![New Harman 52i and heat distribution New Harman 52i and heat distribution](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/145/145911-23696854352282cc613cbe14cf265145.jpg)
New switched outlet in attic. If I ever get to phase II (my bedroom) of this effort this plug will be ready for me.
![New Harman 52i and heat distribution New Harman 52i and heat distribution](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/145/145913-5bc99144048b30f7b1ade4979cb14c80.jpg)
My newly installed 52i cranking out some heat. The mantel is still loose and I'm still playing with the temp probe. Although the apprx location seems to be perfect right now.
![New Harman 52i and heat distribution New Harman 52i and heat distribution](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/145/145914-d7ccbcbf13a4dc114b509120d82262da.jpg)
My winters stash of pellets. 1 ton of North American blend (meh at best, tons of ash), 1 ton of AWF hardwood, and 3 tons of AWF pine softwood (excited to try these
![shock !!! !!!](/talk/styles/default/xenforo/smileys/shock.gif)
I'd like to give a shout out to the forums for helping me make my stove choice and sparking my love for pellet stoves. Let me know if anyone has any questions.
Travis