Looking At P68 - Is it overkill?

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TomR

New Member
Nov 12, 2011
56
Central CT
Last year I installed a Wood Stove insert in my fireplace and overall I really like it. I saved a considerable amount of money over heating oil and the house was warmer. Unfortunately because the fireplace is located on one end of the house I am having some difficulty really getting the heat to circulate through the house, especially to the second floor. The stove also takes some effort to keep running, a problem for me when I am working long hours.

I am considering adding a Pellet Stove, in our living room, on the other end of the house from the fireplace (which is located in a Den). I am most interested in the Harman products and am looking at the Harman P68 to run through the day and at night when I'm not always available to maintain the wood stove. I also figure that now (August) is the time to buy - I see Harman is running a sale...

Question - Will the P68 be "overkill", when combined with the Wood Stove for a 2,500 square foot house? I see that some of Harman's smaller stoves are considerably less money, but I'm assuming that they aren't nearly as efficient at throwing heat. I would like to avoid wishing I had gotten the bigger stove but at the same time I don't want to be throwing money away. Will the P68 really be able to cover 2,500 square feet when the temps get below freezing?

Note - The house is fairly well insulated. I added full attic insulation last year and insulated the ceiling of the basement. The windows are older Andersons. I would say they are OK but not great.

Thanks for your feedback.
 
dont forget, you can use a thermostat on these things, so, it is a bit different than your wood stove......overkill? no. What about a P61A? Save a couple hundred. Talk to a few dealers, see what they think, decide who is credible, and act from there.
 
If you don't mind spending a few extra dollars for the P68, It will be a good choice for you. I don't know the design or layout of your house but the P68 does create plenty of heat and the Harman come with a probe to minitor the heat in the room the stove is in. Just depends whether you want to run the stove in room temp mode or stove temp mode. Stove temp mode would be tthe stove constantly running a a fixed feed rate. Room temp mode would be running in tsat mode. I'm not a huge fan of the room sensing probe as I prefer to have my tstat located in a differnt room than the stove. Really boils down to personal preferences. Good luck and let us know how it works out for you.
 
Overkill...No such thing in my book!;)
x2 pcat we considered the PS35 briefly,then thought about the CAB50,before taking the PS50......glad we went with the 50 !!
 
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Last year I installed a Wood Stove insert in my fireplace and overall I really like it. I saved a considerable amount of money over heating oil and the house was warmer. Unfortunately because the fireplace is located on one end of the house I am having some difficulty really getting the heat to circulate through the house, especially to the second floor. The stove also takes some effort to keep running, a problem for me when I am working long hours.

I am considering adding a Pellet Stove, in our living room, on the other end of the house from the fireplace (which is located in a Den). I am most interested in the Harman products and am looking at the Harman P68 to run through the day and at night when I'm not always available to maintain the wood stove. I also figure that now (August) is the time to buy - I see Harman is running a sale...

Question - Will the P68 be "overkill", when combined with the Wood Stove for a 2,500 square foot house? I see that some of Harman's smaller stoves are considerably less money, but I'm assuming that they aren't nearly as efficient at throwing heat. I would like to avoid wishing I had gotten the bigger stove but at the same time I don't want to be throwing money away. Will the P68 really be able to cover 2,500 square feet when the temps get below freezing?

Note - The house is fairly well insulated. I added full attic insulation last year and insulated the ceiling of the basement. The windows are older Andersons. I would say they are OK but not great.

Thanks for your feedback.

If your wood stove is keeping the place warm enough...

The stoves will heat the AIR, so ultimately more air flow will get you more heat upstairs, and if part of your downstairs is cold, you could try a floor fan, and blow it back into the wood stove room. (The stove will heat the colder air and cause it to circulate back to the fan)

Things to consider -

Pellet stove sounds like what you need, for when you are out of the residence.

The price difference between the 61 and 68 should be around 200$. For me, that 200$ was negibile in the long run, because if I needed the extra heat, I'd want it. Also more BTUs faster recovery times, which I need, because I will be setting back the temperature.

Now since you are already using a wood stove, you can probably use a smaller pellet stove to warm that specific area of your home, and with the room sensor it will ramp up once your fire starts dying.
 
I'm with Moe, no such thing as overkill. Better to have the extra heating capacity and not need it then vice versa right? I mean after all, you have a spare tire for the car but don't plan on ever using it right?
 
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P-68 doesn't always need to put out 68,000 BTU's....

I say go for it! If you like your woodstove, your gonna love the pellet stove. Full automation and a warm house when you come home.... No oil/gas/propain man :)
 
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Thanks for the replies. I am going to the stove shop on Saturday to look at my options. I'm really torn now between the XV and the P68. My wife likes the looks of the XV and I like the horse power of the P68.
 
Thanks for the replies. I am going to the stove shop on Saturday to look at my options. I'm really torn now between the XV and the P68. My wife likes the looks of the XV and I like the horse power of the P68.

Just a suggestion, But go with what the wife wants...Love smooth sailing!LOL
 
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Bigger is better, if I had to do it over again I probably would have went with a Classic Bay 1200 for that extra kick when it gets down to 20 below zero here about a dozen times in the winter ... Santa Fe works hard, but can't keep up with that..
 
ah, the classic dilemma of...."the big gun" (p-68) or "the pretty one" (XXV)..this one plays out almost daily in our shop....wives usually win this one, so I'll congratulate you on your new Harman XXV ==c, its a super stove...enjoy.
 
My trick was I didn't show the woman the XXV and just the CB/Harman/Euro, she decided they all looked the same and didn't care which one I picked.
 
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