What is your harman feed rate setting?

[jslinger]

Sort of. The VT's left a lighter color, but still hazed up pretty quickly. The second bag of okies dirtied it up quicker than the first, which makes be feel better about having bought 3 ton of VT's.
Maybe it's just because they travel so far, but there are a lot of holes in the okanagan bags. Way more than the the Vermonts. After I cut open the bag, there was a small pile of fines on the floor.
Now onto fixing the window condensation issue in our upstairs. Damn houses. If they breathe, they lose heat. If they are tight, they keep in moisture.

 

[katman]

So ylu have an extremely tight house--do you have outside air installed on the stove?

 

[Harman Lover 007]

So ylu have an extremely tight house--do you have outside air installed on the stove?

says so in his sig....just sayin'....

 

[XXV-AK]

I run mine at 3.5 rate and after a full cleaning done weekly including making sure the burn pot holes are not clogged ( I use a small nail) in the manual fig 39,40 I can run two days with the glass staying clean. AK

 

[Hoot23]

Feed at 3.5 and clean the glass every 2 weeks give or take a couple of days.

 

[notch]

So I decided to turn the knob down to 2.75. Success! At 3.5 1/3 of the glass would be dark brown within 1/2 day. Now, at 2.75, there is very light graying in the same amount of time.

Lots of smart people with tons of experience here, and there are certainly best practices that should be adhered to (like regular cleaning) but in the end, each installation is unique. Stove type, flue draft, prevailing winds, air infiltration rate, pellet brand (and batch), cleaning intervals and cleaning quality/effectiveness all factor into how a stove will perform, making each persons experience relevant only to their own installation and not necessarily pertinent to your situation.

If a feed rate of 2.75 keeps your glass cleaner, and that is more important to you than maximizing your heat output, then I say that is where you should leave it.

That said, most of us go through the "keep it shiny" phase with our new stoves but eventually come to realize that they are really just another appliance that has a job to do and only need to look good when we have company.

BTW, you are burning top of the line pellets and still your glass gets dirty. You may not want to see what happens with a bag of Maine's Choice

 

[Harman Lover 007]

Lots of smart people with tons of experience here, and there are certainly best practices that should be adhered to (like regular cleaning) but in the end, each installation is unique. Stove type, flue draft, prevailing winds, air infiltration rate, pellet brand (and batch), cleaning intervals and cleaning quality/effectiveness all factor into how a stove will perform, making each persons experience relevant only to their own installation and not necessarily pertinent to your situation.

If a feed rate of 2.75 keeps your glass cleaner, and that is more important to you than maximizing your heat output, then I say that is where you should leave it.

That said, most of us go through the "keep it shiny" phase with our new stoves but eventually come to realize that they are really just another appliance that has a job to do and only need to look good when we have company.

BTW, you are burning top of the line pellets and still your glass gets dirty. You may not want to see what happens with a bag of Maine's Choice

The OP will figure it out eventually. Running a Harman with a feed rate of 2.75 is like putting a block of wood under the accelerator pedal of you car. When the real cold of winter sets in, an upward adjustment will have to be made for desired heating performance. My sense is that with a more aggressive running of the stove he will see an improvement in the dirty glass issue.

 

[notch]

My sense is that with a more aggressive running of the stove he will see an improvement in the dirty glass issue.

+1.

XXV's, while great heaters, are sometimes purchased more for decoration and ambiance and less for utility - not that there's anything wrong with that.

Beauty is in the eye, but I'm guessing by January the OP will realize that twice a day glass cleaning is a PITA and the real beauty of the stove is the warmth.

 

[Andy S.]

I'm generally a "3" but sometimes tweak it depending on the amount of ash in front of the fire. I'm looking for an inch and "3" gives it to me most consistently. When it changes I adjust the setting to get it back. I should also note that I buy pellets by the bag as needed for a weekend lake house. The source can be anything from Walmart to a dealer to TSC.

 

[Central NH]

To keep your glass clean every spring take your XXV outside plug the shop vac or leaf blower into the fresh air intake and let her rip. Hair, dust etc. builds up in there and causes less air to come out of those little rectangle holes. I have the best luck on 3 keeps an inch in front of pot and gives the holes in pot clearance to keep ash from building up.

 

[exoilburner]

If everyone should set the FEED RATE to 4 why did they put that knob on there? When I get pellets with high moisture or am in a minimum burn situation the turning the FEED RATE down is the only thing that will stop the smokey burn and dirty glass on my Harman. Must be a more efficient burn with a lower setting. When the temperature drops turn the FEED RATE back up.

 

[HP52NOVA]

I have experimented with the burn rate settings covering all the options and read most of the posts and sticky posts here. In short what I found is that there are just so many variables with each stove install, making the burn rate and glass dirt level as unique as a finger print. if your venting/draft is anything less then ideal, if your OAK is not located where it should, if you have anything that could slowdown air flow at the end of your vent. You could have an old burn pot design and loose combustion cover (as I did). All of these and more will radically impact how good is your combustion and how efficient is your stove. I used to get my glass blacked out in 48 hours with burn rate of 3.5 and remove a full ash tray every day! got my stove repaired and no more black glass! Also, make sure not to use the decorative log as that would also degrade combustion. So, now even with the stove fully fixed - I can only go up to burn rate of 3, maybe 3.25. Anything over that and I get pellets over the edge. I have tried a few super premium pellets with the same results - I think its my venting. The stove seems to be giving me the same or similar BTU output when its very cold and I have not seen a difference when bumping it up, with the exception of wasting fuel (I run on room temp). So, I vote to keep it where it works for you, as long as you are not lower then 3. I agree that when you drop it under that magic number, a BTU reduction is visible when in need.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Oh boy. nothing quite like a Harman Feed Rate Limit setting debate .

Bear now runs for his bunker ......... .......

 

[SmokeEater]

Somewhere I read where each Harman is somewhat an individual and the feed rate should be set so that the burning pellets are about an inch from the tip point for the ash. Closer and you may have unburned pellets in the ash pan. Lower and your stove will not get to its max output. On mine the rate knob goes to 6 and it's set on a little more than 5. No unburned pellets in the ash pan and lots of heat when needed.

 

[MuchoBueno]

It has been on 4 for almost 2 months now. Before that I played around with the setting but 4 in room temp seems to be working great now.

 

[Harman Lover 007]

I have experimented with the burn rate settings covering all the options and read most of the posts and sticky posts here. In short what I found is that there are just so many variables with each stove install, making the burn rate and glass dirt level as unique as a finger print. if your venting/draft is anything less then ideal, if your OAK is not located where it should, if you have anything that could slowdown air flow at the end of your vent. You could have an old burn pot design and loose combustion cover (as I did). All of these and more will radically impact how good is your combustion and how efficient is your stove. I used to get my glass blacked out in 48 hours with burn rate of 3.5 and remove a full ash tray every day! got my stove repaired and no more black glass! Also, make sure not to use the decorative log as that would also degrade combustion. So, now even with the stove fully fixed - I can only go up to burn rate of 3, maybe 3.25. Anything over that and I get pellets over the edge. I have tried a few super premium pellets with the same results - I think its my venting. The stove seems to be giving me the same or similar BTU output when its very cold and I have not seen a difference when bumping it up, with the exception of wasting fuel (I run on room temp). So, I vote to keep it where it works for you, as long as you are not lower then 3. I agree that when you drop it under that magic number, a BTU reduction is visible when in need.

Your situation is definitely the exception to the rule and a setting of 3 for most of us with the larger BTU stoves would definitely be a hindrance. You aren't going to get the most out of your 52i but like you say, you have circumstances that are limiting you.

 

[Harman Lover 007]

It has been on 4 for almost 2 months now. Before that I played around with the setting but 4 in room temp seems to be working great now.

...hence the mantra "set it and forget it"

 

[bags]

I set it at 4. I took note the other numbers on the feed rate are blue and 4 is white on my CB. I think this is like that for a reason. I will set the feed rate down low and the temp dial with igniter on manual also if I am only wanting a little heat on the warmer days.

Other than that it's room temp manual fan on high with whatever temp desired dialed in. I keep it simple and have experienced great results. I remember running in circles at first playing with all the knobs, dials, and adjustments. What a waste of confusing time that was! I do think one should experiment some to figure out optimal settings because temps change and so does the need for heat. Quit trying to out smart your Harman though. It can be a waste of time. They are perfectly capable of taking care of that issue on their own so let them do it for you.

SET IT AND FORGET IT holds very true.

 

[dotman17]

There are a lot of assumptions being made here. The first is there are several in the thread that think we are going to have really cold weather coming. I live in the PNW where temps in the winter typically average in the high 30s to low 40s during the day and low 30s at night. I have a Harman Accentura and run it at '3' all the time as I am burning Douglas Fir pellets. The setting is perfect. There are lots of variables in this deal and not a one size fits all configuration.

 

[gfreek]

On my P38+. Feed rate 3, more when needed occasionally, Blower @ 12 o'clock, been around zero degrees here ..

 

[GeHmTS]

During normal operations, I set it to 4. I did have to adjust it to 6 once when I put some wet pellets in the stove because it was dying out at 4. Sure some spilled over, but it was the price I paid for these wet ones.

 

[bags]

I vary feed rates for heating demands or how I am running the stove or what I would like it to do in a given outside temp or situation. For example, right now I am on feed rate .05 or less. It is almost to the red hash mark. I'm running room temp manual just to keep a small flame going and the fan kicking out heat. Temp knob is at 75* or around 5. More of an ambiance deal with the benefit of additional heat.

It is COLD here and has been. I have the OWB burning and it alone is doing pretty much all of the heating requirements currently but the wife likes the 68 rolling flames and kicking out heat although it is nominal. I was going to shut it all the way down today for a thorough clean and fire door gasket replacement but I was lazy about it being so cold and pushed it off until tomorrow.

If I wasn't running the Woodmaster now I would likely have the stove set on room temp auto and at about feed rate 2-3 myself and it would do the heat needed. That or I would be on room temp manual and feed rate 1.5 - 2 likely and it is cold here. I hardly ever have to go above feed rate 2-3 no matter what here. I can set it on 4 and set the room temp to let it do its thing but I prefer to keep a flame going.

If it is in auto ignite set this way it rarely goes out because there is always a heat demand. Switching to manual ignite guarantees it never goes without a flame.

 

[dotman17]

On my P38+. Feed rate 3, more when needed occasionally, Blower @ 12 o'clock, been around zero degrees here ..

Great pic!

 

[Jeff S.]

I have the same glass issue. I'm new to pellet stoves after 14+ years with wood. We bought the Absolute 43 for a combination of looks and function. It's not meant to heat our house, just supplement. We liked the bigger glass to see the fire. I didn't have this problem with the woodstove. I also know burning any wood product produces soot/ash. But to have to clean it 2x a day seems wrong. The feed rate setting on the Absolute 43 is calibrated differently than the rest of the Harmans. Mine is a percentage. There is a factory default mark that i had it at but have changed it a few times since we've had the stove. Default mark is 66%. I have it set at 45% currently. How does that correspond to your knob settings of 1-9? I am running in room temp mode, set at 80* for most of the day. at night it goes down to 75 for 5 hrs. I am venting through an existing woodstove chimney with 3" pipe coming out of the stove to the cieling going to 4" inside triplewall chimney. total run of about 16' split in half ( 3" and 4" ). I tried a few different pellets, mostly New Englands i bought from my dealer. Got a few bags of TS hardwood pellets to run thru shortly and 3 bags of Green Supreme from HD which i see are NE pellets. Just cleaned the glass. My feeling is, on the glass cleaning, I spent $4000+ on this, I would expect a better airwash system. Harman's got a really good reputation for a good stove, my reason for buying it. I'm sure it's curable, and no, it's not the end of the world, but it sure is frustrating....

 

[Cody901]

I have the same glass issue. I'm new to pellet stoves after 14+ years with wood. We bought the Absolute 43 for a combination of looks and function. It's not meant to heat our house, just supplement. We liked the bigger glass to see the fire. I didn't have this problem with the woodstove. I also know burning any wood product produces soot/ash. But to have to clean it 2x a day seems wrong. The feed rate setting on the Absolute 43 is calibrated differently than the rest of the Harmans. Mine is a percentage. There is a factory default mark that i had it at but have changed it a few times since we've had the stove. Default mark is 66%. I have it set at 45% currently. How does that correspond to your knob settings of 1-9? I am running in room temp mode, set at 80* for most of the day. at night it goes down to 75 for 5 hrs. I am venting through an existing woodstove chimney with 3" pipe coming out of the stove to the cieling going to 4" inside triplewall chimney. total run of about 16' split in half ( 3" and 4" ). I tried a few different pellets, mostly New Englands i bought from my dealer. Got a few bags of TS hardwood pellets to run thru shortly and 3 bags of Green Supreme from HD which i see are NE pellets. Just cleaned the glass. My feeling is, on the glass cleaning, I spent $4000+ on this, I would expect a better airwash system. Harman's got a really good reputation for a good stove, my reason for buying it. I'm sure it's curable, and no, it's not the end of the world, but it sure is frustrating....

I also am curious about what to set the percentage at. With this cold I have mine set at 80% and stove temp 5. It steady changes the percentage on the screen but never goes to 80.


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