New Harman p43 that seems to be burning too many pellets

[Washed-Up]

On my P61, I get a bag a day when it’s cold out, -40f is about a bag and a half 1500sq ft one level

 

[Pete Zahria]

same as what? normal stove mode settings like 3-4 feed rate i would get 80 degrees.
Instead i am at constant 72 degrees at the low feed setting.. temp at #6...doesn't budge 1 degree above or below that..

Well, I did not see any mention of a temperature change in your first reply..
You mentioned now 72° constant. I missed the part where it used to be 80°.
Leaving that out, made it appear that you were still at 72, with half the pellets...

Dan

 

[Tonyray]

Yep,Just read this thread, and am still shaking my head.

What kind of a burn time would be considered normal for a bag of pellets? I realize there are variables, but I'm getting around 14 hours out of a bag and that is on the number 2 setting for feed rate. Something seems way out of whack as I was told somewhere around 24 hours out of a bag. This is a brand new Harman p43 and I am using Pur Heat pellets. I am loving the heat, but it's coming a

Well, I did not see any mention of a temperature change in your first reply..
You mentioned now 72° constant. I missed the part where it used to be 80°.
Leaving that out, made it appear that you were still at 72, with half the pellets...

Dan

Understand. My bad.. surprisingly, a pile of pellets stay in front of the auger and not in the auger as I was apprehensive of running the low feed rate. Of course this all goes out the window when outside Temps get 45-50 and above. It's just too warm to run stove mode.

 

[bogieb]

Understand. My bad.. surprisingly, a pile of pellets stay in front of the auger and not in the auger as I was apprehensive of running the low feed rate. Of course this all goes out the window when outside Temps get 45-50 and above. It's just too warm to run stove mode.

Which is why I don't understand when people have told me in the past that using feed rate will ruin the auger. The fire stays away from the auger, unlike the deep throat/at the auger burn when stove is idling.

 

[Tonyray]

Which is why I don't understand when people have told me in the past that using feed rate will ruin the auger. The fire stays away from the auger, unlike the deep throat/at the auger burn when stove is idling.

Agree. As in room manual.

 

[Tonyray]

Well, I did not see any mention of a temperature change in your first reply..
You mentioned now 72° constant. I missed the part where it used to be 80°.
Leaving that out, made it appear that you were still at 72, with half the pellets...

Dan

Think i posted to someone about that later on in this thread.

 

[shtrdave]

I go through slightly over a bag a day, if it gets down in to the teens or single digits it uses more of course. I run a Skytech remote stat set at 71 over night and 74 through the day, stove is set in room temp, manual, 3 feed rate. I have never tried messing with the feed rate. Heating just under 1K sq foot, low ceilings, I do think I lose a fair amount of heat through the 2 foot square vent/outlets for the heat pump that are in the ceiling. I had thought about trying to cover them some how. When they were put in they put cheap ones in with out any of the dampers in them.

 

[Tonyray]

Which is why I don't understand when people have told me in the past that using feed rate will ruin the auger. The fire stays away from the auger, unlike the deep throat/at the auger burn when stove is idling.

Interestiing side affect. My lower ashpan compartment was white powdery ash. Even the bracket that covers the exhaust tunnel.. never saw white before. The above compartment was normal looking pellet ash residue on the walls.

 

[Mt Bob]

I go through slightly over a bag a day, if it gets down in to the teens or single digits it uses more of course. I run a Skytech remote stat set at 71 over night and 74 through the day, stove is set in room temp, manual, 3 feed rate. I have never tried messing with the feed rate. Heating just under 1K sq foot, low ceilings, I do think I lose a fair amount of heat through the 2 foot square vent/outlets for the heat pump that are in the ceiling. I had thought about trying to cover them some how. When they were put in they put cheap ones in with out any of the dampers in them.

Velcro and some naugahyde. That is what I made for my camper vents, for camping in cold weather.

 

[scajjr2]

Filled the hopper last night at 8pm, set feed rate at 1.5. At 6:30 this morning it was 73 downstairs, 70 up, used 1/2 a bag in 10.5 hrs. Bumped the feed rate to 2, went food shopping. Got back an hr later, 76 down, 73 up. Put back down to 1.5 as sun is hitting the house now.

I've never had the fire be anywhere but away from the auger even in maintenance burn. But I've been using the Rutland Creosote Remover spray on the auger and the back of the burn pot for a few years now just in case. Helps keep speed bumps down during low burns and when cleaning a quick spray lets any that do form come right off easily.

sam

 

[Tonyray]

Filled the hopper last night at 8pm, set feed rate at 1.5. At 6:30 this morning it was 73 downstairs, 70 up, used 1/2 a bag in 10.5 hrs. Bumped the feed rate to 2, went food shopping. Got back an hr later, 76 down, 73 up. Put back down to 1.5 as sun is hitting the house now.

I've never had the fire be anywhere but away from the auger even in maintenance burn. But I've been using the Rutland Creosote Remover spray on the auger and the back of the burn pot for a few years now just in case. Helps keep speed bumps down during low burns and when cleaning a quick spray lets any that do form come right off easily.

sam

What mode were you using???

 

[shtrdave]

I had been thinking of trying to block two of them just to see if it actually makes a difference.

 

[mtnbiker727]

My P68 only uses over a bag a day when the highs are in the teens. I always run it on room temp manual set at about 75 degrees, which makes the small finished basement over 80 degrees and the kitchen between 72-74 degrees.

This winter most nights I turned it off when we went to bed and then on in the morning for a few hours, then on again in the afternoon/evening. If the house cooled down below 70 during the day, (usually late afternoon), my wife would kick it back on. We only left it on all night if it was going to be single digit lows. I think we saved a lot of pellets that way.

 

[mtnbiker727]

I have an absolute 43 and it is calculating out at 1 bag for 16 hrs. That's when the basement is warmed up and it isn't brutally cold (below 10). You know, as a first time pellet stove owner, I also expected much better. When the dealer looked the basement over he said the 43 would roast the basement out. I can say it adequately can keep the basement at a steady temp, but that is about it. We have a Hitzer 50-93 hard coal stove upstairs and it is truthfully amazing. In hindsight we should have bought a smaller coal stove for the basement. If available, hard coal is the only way to go!

Sounds like you didn't get a big enough stove, and your basement might not be insulated as much as the dealer thought.

What settings are you using?

 

[Phil79]

Hi All,

I recently had a P43 installed in my basement. I had an older P61 (not the auto light) which I used to burn roughly a bag in 24 hours (the stove was way to big for the area and basically was on the minimum maintenance burn all the time. When the temperature was around the 14 degree mark. my house is about 950sqft basement and same for the main level. This year I had 2.5" of solid foam insulation added to the outside and new siding and windows installed, I also had the attic blown in to bring it up to R60. This stove will barely get 12 hours out of a bag of pellets! I have contacted the dealer that installed it and he unfortunately didn't have anything very helpful to suggest. I'm just concerned that I've made a horrible mistake....I should have kept the old stove in place and not upgraded to new.

Does anyone have any suggestions for what I should be looking for?
I keep it set at 74 ish degrees room temp feed rate I've reduced to 3. my old P61 I used to keep at feed rate of 3 and room temp at the same....I figured being smaller and an auto light I would save pellets not double them we aren't even into the cold weather yet, I'm in Ontario Canada so we get down to -13 some nights, on rare occasions we can get down to as low as -22 so I am thinking I'd have to sleep beside the stove to put pellets in all the time.

 

[Washed-Up]

Do you have it on a hearth or concrete floor. Could you post a photo of your setup?

 

[Phil79]

Do you have it on a hearth or concrete floor. Could you post a photo of your setup?

I have it on a hearth.

 

[Tonyray]

We have a P61A.. burn 24/7 when the real cold hits..
have never got more than 12 hours from a 40lb bag unless during shoulder season when stove ramps down or off during the day.. could get 24 during the fall shoulder season. for 24/7 burning:
temps set around 73-74, feed at 3.. half fan speed.. P61A has large burnpot so takes lot of pellets.. I would think the smaller 43 would use less......seems backwards your pellet consumption. should not be burning more than the 61.. have no idea why...

 

[Washed-Up]

Yeah that’s very odd to be going through that much…same pellets as the P61? Are you using an outside air kit as well?

 

[Ricks]

Phil,

For your P43 installed in the basement. How is the basement insulated? If the floor and walls are not insulated then the concrete will act as a huge heat sink.

I have had my pellet stove installed in two different basements. The first the walls and floor were insulated. On medium the stove was too warm for the basement. In the next house the basement was not insulated. Only the ceiling was. I run the stove on medium and the basement is warm and comfortable. Not too hot.

I know you stated you add insulation, but first floor walls and attic wouldn’t affect the basement.

 

[bogieb]

I'm confused - are heating both floors with the stove? The P43 is rated for 800-2300 sq/ft. Trying to heat 1,900 sq/ft is a stretch since it isn't all one square, open room with an 8' ceiling (best case scenario for heating). If you are just heating your basement, then anything you did on the main floor doesn't really have any affect on usage to heat the basement.

Also, are you talking about actual bags of pellets between feedings, or hoppers full? The P61 hopper holds about 20 pounds more than the P43. You can get a hopper extension to basically double what the P43 holds so you don't have to feed it as often.

Is the temp probe in the same place? Placement can affect what it thinks it is trying to do.

The P61 was never shut off, correct? Since it wasn't auto-light, that is my assumption. That means it was probably feeding at a very low rate, and the feed rate of 3 meant nothing since the stove was just feeding enough to stay warm once it was up to temp).

Depending on the circumstances, the shutting down and restarting cycle can use more pellets. The temp is dropping in the basement, so the stove has to bring it back up and beyond before it shuts down. Although, at this time of year, I would not think that would be the case (depends on how the basement is insulated though). If the basement is not well insulated, then the stove could be short cycling (starting up within minutes of shut down), and that will used more pellets. When my stoves start doing that, I know it is time to put them in a constant burn mode. Try turning off the autolight and see what the usage is.

 

[shtrdave]

I agree with what bogieb said above. I have a P43 and I am only heating about 1000 square feet. I noticed the other day since it has been in the 20's here that it was not shutting down completely before it started up again, or it would restart after maybe 15 minutes of completely shutting off. So I moved it off auto to manual so it just stays lit. I run mine off a remote thermostat with 2° offset, so set at 72° it comes on at 70° and starts shutting down at 74°. I have been bringing in pellets twice a day usually.

 

[Ricks]

If the stove is in the basement and the walls and floor are not insulated, then they will absorb a lot of the heat the stove gives off. So to warm the basement up the stove needs to work harder. So to warm up a basement that is not insulated you either need a larger stove or run the stove longer.