Hartman p38 or p43

Bioburner said:

Was just in local building store and they were closing out liters of hand sanatizer that was 70 percent booze for $3. Next isle was gel starter quarts for $7

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How's that stuff taste? Does it lead to a bad hangover?

Jasbolto said:

I went with the P43

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Good choice, congrats. Out of curiosity, what did your dealer recommend?

Dealer hopefully knows the heating needs of the homes in the area. Good luck. Look forward to pics of install. Weather prediction for tomorrow rain and snow, high 38

Jasbolto said:

He recommend the P43 said he would not sell me a P61 that it would be too big for my house and a waste of my money

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Lets hope he was right.

Jasbolto said:

I am looking at the p38 and p43 I would like to get the 38 because it is a little cheaper but don't want to find out that it is not big enough for my house. I have a 1400sq ft cape built in the 50s I just blew some extra insulation into the attic and the eves and I live in Bedford NH anyone's opinions would be welcome.
Jason

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Keep in mind, IF the control board goes on the P38, and you can not find a replacement board which is going to happen soon, Harman suggest turning the P38 into a P61 with the P61 control board, different wiring harness and you will have to cut the hopper to fit the P61 board in place. AND if not under warranty, that is very costly.

P38X2 said:

I believe the all the 38's ship with the room temp probe. Mine has it. I believe when Harman switched to the new style controls, that became a factory inclusion.

Interesting to see the difference of opinions in regard to BTU requirements.

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nope.....the circuit boards changed to the "old" P61 boards.....and you can put a room temp probe on it, but none of the ones Ive seen actually have the probe included. My money is on the p43.....probe AND autoignition......

MSmith66 said:

Keep in mind, IF the control board goes on the P38, and you can not find a replacement board which is going to happen soon, Harman suggest turning the P38 into a P61 with the P61 control board, different wiring harness and you will have to cut the hopper to fit the P61 board in place. AND if not under warranty, that is very costly.

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no, they do not suggest this. There is a retrofit kit to adapt the new board to the old P38....and yes, somewhat pricey. The old P38 boards are no longer available from harman....some dealers had the foresight to buy them prior to them being discontinued, but I have to think they will be running out soon. The retrofit kit is are $200 or so, and requires some cutting of stee, to install (templates are included in the kit). You cannot turn a P38 into a P61 by nature of the fact that the stove body is different....the P61 stove body is larger.....

Also, the electronics are warranted for 2 years.....this change happened well over a year ago, so, likely very few existing "old board" P38's are still covered under warranty.

Lousyweather said:

nope.....the circuit boards changed to the "old" P61 boards.....and you can put a room temp probe on it, but none of the ones Ive seen actually have the probe included. My money is on the p43.....probe AND autoignition......

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Hmmmm. Maybe it's a dealer based deal. I paid less than retail and had the sensor included. It came off the pallet that way....at least from what I saw in my house during installation. Mine looked factory installed all coiled up and zip tied with the zip tie tail secured under a bolt on the back. The manual does list it as an optional part REQUIRED to run the stove in room mode but goes on to state most consumers use the stove in room mode. Perhaps Harman got tired of hearing justifiably pissed off customers asking why they can't use the stove they shelled out $2k+ for in the mode Harman claims "most" customers use without paying an additional $25 for something that likely costs under $5 to manufacture.

It would be like buying a car with AC....but you have to pay to charge the system first.

Lousyweather said:

no, they do not suggest this. There is a retrofit kit to adapt the new board to the old P38....and yes, somewhat pricey. The old P38 boards are no longer available from harman....some dealers had the foresight to buy them prior to them being discontinued, but I have to think they will be running out soon. The retrofit kit is are $200 or so, and requires some cutting of stee, to install (templates are included in the kit). You cannot turn a P38 into a P61 by nature of the fact that the stove body is different....the P61 stove body is larger.....

Also, the electronics are warranted for 2 years.....this change happened well over a year ago, so, likely very few existing "old board" P38's are still covered under warranty.

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Just had to turn a P38 into a P61 with the advise of Harman themselves. They no longer have the P38 boards.

MSmith66 said:

Just had to turn a P38 into a P61 with the advise of Harman themselves. They no longer have the P38 boards.

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How likely is board failure and what causes it?...heat I assume? How long and involved was the retrofit?

My older stove has the original board but rarely sees use these days.

MSmith66 said:

Just had to turn a P38 into a P61 with the advise of Harman themselves. They no longer have the P38 boards.

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there is a retrofit kit available.....1-00-7738111, but, even with the changeout, this DOES NOT make the old P38 a P61. The p61 stove body is/was larger in size than the p38, by several inches in wodth and height, and the bin on the P38 is smaller by about 20 lbs.....just sayin'

Lousyweather said:

there is a retrofit kit available.....1-00-7738111, but, even with the changeout, this DOES NOT make the old P38 a P61. The p61 stove body is/was larger in size than the p38, by several inches in wodth and height, and the bin on the P38 is smaller by about 20 lbs.....just sayin'

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Dang! Lol

Disregard my last post. Gfreek started a thread on this topic.

P38X2 said:

How likely is board failure and what causes it?...heat I assume? How long and involved was the retrofit?

My older stove has the original board but rarely sees use these days.

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most common cause of board changeout is the potentiometers wearing out- some folks change the pot, others change the board. Other issues might be heat, surges, customers who think they have the skills to "fix" an old board and dont

OK , so were not talking impossible to find, proprietary replacement parts, correct?

P38X2 said:

OK , so were not talking impossible to find, proprietary replacement parts, correct?

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no....cant get the pots from harman, but they are online, and for not much money....you just have to be able to un-solder and solder a circuitboard....

Lousyweather said:

no....cant get the pots from harman, but they are online, and for not much money....you just have to be able to un-solder and solder a circuitboard....

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I've seen them on ebay pretty cheap and I can solder. My P43 is brand new with the 2-year warranty. How long do thhey usually go before they have to be replaced?

Bioburner said:

Was just in local building store and they were closing out liters of hand sanatizer that was 70 percent booze for $3. Next isle was gel starter quarts for $7

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Keeps the pellets from catching a cold, too.

SteveB said:

I've seen them on ebay pretty cheap and I can solder. My P43 is brand new with the 2-year warranty. How long do thhey usually go before they have to be replaced?

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warranty on electricla parts is 2 years. Should be covered- dont mess with it and call your dealer.....they should take care of it under the warranty obligations for the stove.

Lousyweather said:

warranty on electricla parts is 2 years. Should be covered- dont mess with it and call your dealer.....they should take care of it under the warranty obligations for the stove.

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Ya, I wasn't really worried about it now, was just wondering if they usually last for 3 years, 5 years, 10 years. I'm sure they don't crap out at the same age in every stove, was just wondering if any of you dealers/service people had a general ballpark figure. No worries

Thanks!

SteveB said:

Ya, I wasn't really worried about it now, was just wondering if they usually last for 3 years, 5 years, 10 years. I'm sure they don't crap out at the same age in every stove, was just wondering if any of you dealers/service people had a general ballpark figure. No worries

Thanks!

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they can last for as long as the stove can...keep them safe with surge protector, pure sine wave when using generator, and don't get it wet or feed it after midnight....wait, thats gremlins....don't get it wet.

Delta-T said:

don't get it wet or feed it after midnight....wait, thats gremlins.....

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So thats were them stove gremlins come from?

Delta-T said:

they can last for as long as the stove can...keep them safe with surge protector, pure sine wave when using generator, and don't get it wet or feed it after midnight....wait, thats gremlins....don't get it wet.

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oh! yea, good point, T, with the upcoming potentially disastrous weather and power outages we may see, a generator which does not have a pure sine wave output can potentially fry a circuitboard, and it wont be covered under warranty.
(note to self: order more circuitboards today)