Hello... completely new, and ready to purchase a p43 HOWEVER...

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Kara K

New Member
Nov 14, 2012
39
Pennsylvania
hello, my DH and I are about to purchase a p43 harman to heat our 2 story duplex 1100sq ft, (we live in one side, the thought was to place it in the kitchen which is also where the upstairs leads, the kitchen is at one end of the house... (hopefully that makes sense)) we are hoping this cuts our oil consumption, the dealer said that the p43 would be our best bet, i informed him we have no insulation except in our attic and our joining wall of the duplex (my father insulated the other half of the house over the summer b/c we rent that side out...) ... dealer was confident this would have no trouble heating our house... I am skeptical, its not an open floor plan, but it is small the kitchen is our coldest room, my concerns, questions are:

1. will the heat circulate well enough throughout the house if we cut holes in the ceiling and insert corner fans in doorways...
2. the only spot in the kitchen we have available is a corner unit that surrounded by windows....

I am trying to firgure all this out on my own b/c my husband is disabled and is unable to help... please can someone help, thank you so much for your time and advice!!! So much
 
My first suggestion is you insulate all exterior walls. That is an insane amount of oil to heat that area.

If you had a window stuck open and that was the reason you were burning all that oil, would you A) install a pellet stove? or B) close the window?

Not trying to be a smart a$$ but trying to make you see the big problem more clearly.
 
yes, however that is not possible at this time... we do not have the money to do so... but thats next on the agenda :)
 
im not trying to be smart either, however our resources are very tight and limited, my father has built several houses for a living we all realize part of the problem, there is nothing we can financially do about that right now though... again im not trying to be smart either we are trying to do the best we can given our circumstances
 
You have the $$$$ for a stove but not insulation? I would use the stove money to insulate your walls.

Your goal is to decrease your heating costs and this is where you need to start. Your oil costs will drop by a huge amount just doing that.

Make the stove your next big purchase.
 
the stove would cost $3000... to have someone insulate the house would be twice that amount...even the dealer realizes this... and from what he said, this would be our best choice and that we woulc go through roughly 3 ton of pellets 4 at the max??? so why is he saying that, hopefully not just to sell a stove, he said over and over i don't need to lie, we sold 600+ last year... many people put these in older homes with no insulation, we have insulation in our attic now, you lose 60% of your heat via the attic.... oil was $4.00 a gallon.... its not the entire problem our oil furncase is 30 years old, and the forced air ventilation throughout the house is poor... I dont know
 
Am I the only one who thinks a p43 looks like a toilet? The hopper looks like the tank, all it needs is a handle and then here's johnnnnnny crapper.

Just my .02

Brad
 
well its within our budget... im not too concerned about its looks as long as it does a decent job... im not too picky
 
Why did you delete the fact you burned $3600/year in oil from your first post?
 
BC YOU DIDNT EVEN ANSWER MY QUESTIONSSSSSS why in the heck are you acting like this.... my god I just want some help here.... man, im so sorry i freakin posted here
 
you cant even imagine what the heck i have been through the last 2 years of my life... my husband has NO LEGS.... i am trying to do this chit on my own.... i just want some honest help
 
do you have your all mighty pellet stove stuck up your a$$, god i just wanted someone to help with my questions
 
Have you considered a less expensive stove? A refurbished Englander to suite your needs is about half that of the Harman.
 
thank you someone with some kindness and something to offer.... well, i looked for the best.... i need something with very little maintenance and such, i do everything myself, so everything kept pointing to the harman.... but i will def. look into it... thank you very much
 
I would try to insulate if possible. All the money spent purchasing and installing the wood pellet stove and you still haven't solved your problem. Creating that heat may be cheaper but if it is escaping the exterior walls what's the point? I don't think you are addressing the problem and other please chime in but I think if you saved up, you would have a better ROI if you insulate first.

As for the stove, I love my Englander 25EP (55-TRPEP refurb). I got mine from a local discount store but check out http://www.amfmenergy.com/manufacturer-refurbished-stoves.html or craigslist. Good luck.
 
Kara,

I hear what you are saying. Try and listen to what others are saying. 3600 dollars worth of heating oil is a lot of heating oil. So 2500 dollars worth pellets would be an improvement but not a solution. There are companies out there that will fill your walls with expanded foam insulation and fix the cause of your problem. Then a pellet stove would start to make more sense.

Peace

Brad
 
yes, and i completely agree... however to insulate our house would be well over 6000-8000, what do we do?
 
we looked into the expandable and the blow in.... believe me
 
As you can see, I own 2 Harmans. Haven't had a problem with either of them. Wouldn't own any other brand.

Will it heat your space? Probably.

Is that what you wanted to hear?

BC YOU DIDNT EVEN ANSWER MY QUESTIONSSSSSS why in the heck are you acting like this.... my god I just want some help here.... man, im so sorry i freakin posted here

...And I gave you help.


you cant even imagine what the heck i have been through the last 2 years of my life... my husband has NO LEGS.... i am trying to do this chit on my own.... i just want some honest help

And I gave you my honest opinion. I'm sorry you and your husband are in that situation and commend you for taking more of a load on your shoulders. I sincerely wish the best for you.

do you have your all mighty pellet stove stuck up your a$$, god i just wanted someone to help with my questions

Are you serious?
 
thank you for your apology, i infact apologize for my words as well... i realize my insulation issue, my whole family does.... so i guess i was on the defense bc i already know this, and we cannot change the fatc right now, so we are trying to think of the best solution for the problem at this time, again my apologies sincerely
 
and im also sorry for the bruins comment
 
I would like to add that you should contact your local code enforcement or fire department about adding holes in your ceiling/floor this may be against code. I want to tell you some of the things I unaware of before I purchased and installed my pellet stove. It is more of a space heater - if you need the heat upstairs put it upstairs. If the kitchen is what you want to heat (and the downstairs) put it there. My install is in a finished basement of 900 finish sq ft but I keep half of that shut and the air will travel upstairs which is an open concept. Right now my down stairs living room is 79 (t-stat is directly across from the stove) and the upstairs is 70.

I am by no means an expert as I just installed my stove a month ago but make sure you put it where you want the heat.
 
i was trying to read the manual requirements for installation guidelines... can it go near windows? we have a ton a new windows on the new (and insulated ;)) part of our kitchen.... but from what I read it cant be near windows that open and I wrong?
 
Kara, I completely understand your dilema. I was in a similar situation when I decided to buy my wood burning insert. Wood worked best for me because wood can be acquired for free or cheap. Whether you go with wood, pellet or even coal I totally understand the need of getting a better heater in first, because it is the less expensive step, then saving up and better insulating the house. I did it and continue to do it in that same sequence, and it has worked out very well for us. I can see how the first few replies in this thread could have added to your frustration. I'm very sorry to hear your husband is recently disabled. The good news is, 1100 sf is a very manageable amount of space to heat with a space heater. Good luck.
 
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