All right: my unexplained P61 mysteries

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alternativeheat

alternativeheat

Minister of Fire
Dec 19, 2013
3,803
Cape Cod, Ma.
#1 I've read my manual, I've read forum news articles and forum posts. I get that an inch border to the ash line on the burn pot is cool. My stove hasn't seen that yet. Is that just a test location when run on full out as the article indicates or are you guys striving for this in normal run mode ? I have increased my feed to about 3.75, the flame seems thicker and the house temp seems to rise more quickly than on the lower setting I had it at. Leads me to question 2.

#2 My dealer said that I could run the P61 at feed rate 4. In stove temp I was unsure about that setting and found what I thought was good at 3.5. Then I changed pellets and went to room temp manual mode and down to feed rate 3. Does feed rate directly relate to pellet use differences between these two modes ?

#3 Fan speed. I'm running the stove between low fan and medium. I seem to get the best distribution throughout the house there. However the stove will take off with a high fan regardless of a lower setting sometimes. I assume it's just evacuation of high temps building in the stove. Or should I turn it to low ? This is in room temp manual as well. I'm off stove temp now have been for two full days now.

Thanks for any and all insight ! Yes I read the FAQ above.
 
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Increase your feed rate until you get ash forming about 1 inch from the edge of the burnpot. You can run Harman stoves all the way up to 6. The feed rate is basically an adjustment for different types of pellets. If you change types or brands of pellets you may have to change the feed rate but don't worry that settings higher than 4 will hurt the stove.

4 is just a recommended starting rate. Once you have determined the proper feed rate for your pellets leave the feed rate alone and let the control panel determine how many pellets to feed.
 
3 on feed rate in room temp mode does not directly correlate to the inner dial 1-7 on the temp dial in stove temp mode. In stove temp the feed is set by the inner numbers on temp dial. That scale will just feed fuel to keep esp at a set temp. You just set it by feel, basically it is a low to high dial.
 
rickwai said:
3 on feed rate in room temp mode does not directly correlate to the inner dial 1-7 on the temp dial in stove temp mode. In stove temp the feed is set by the inner numbers on temp dial. That scale will just feed fuel to keep esp at a set temp. You just set it by feel, basically it is a low to high dial.
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Ok so does one ignore the feed rate dial when in stove temp then?
 
AndrewChurchill said:
Increase your feed rate until you get ash forming about 1 inch from the edge of the burnpot. You can run Harman stoves all the way up to 6. The feed rate is basically an adjustment for different types of pellets. If you change types or brands of pellets you may have to change the feed rate but don't worry that settings higher than 4 will hurt the stove.

4 is just a recommended starting rate. Once you have determined the proper feed rate for your pellets leave the feed rate alone and let the control panel determine how many pellets to feed.
Click to expand...
See this is where I'm curios About that one inch line. In the article on running your Harman it states to form that one inch line booting the stove up on full output. But a lit of folks here say to run it with the one inch line all the time.
 
alternativeheat said:
Ok so does one ignore the feed rate dial when in stove temp then?
Click to expand...
You say that you read the sticky above (or in my sig). I would suggest that you read it again to fully understand feed rate on a Harman. I understand that you are having fun with your new Harman, but constantly changing the feed rate serves no purpose. It works the same way in RT mode or ST mode. The overwhelming majority of us are set between 3.5 and 4.5, SET IT AND FORGET IT.
 
alternativeheat said:
See this is where I'm curios About that one inch line. In the article on running your Harman it states to form that one inch line booting the stove up on full output. But a lit of folks here say to run it with the one inch line all the time.
Click to expand...
The so called "one inch line" is an adjustment of the feed rate when running the stove wide open (stove temp/auto/7) so that the ash lip is about one inch from the edge of the burnpot. This process takes at least 30 minutes and may require several tweaks of the feed rate to get the one inch.
When you are operating your stove normally, depending on the quality of your pellets, the ash will build up and get pushed off over the lip. Many/most of us, because we can't help ourselves, give a quick scrape to the upper burnpot a couple of times a day to clear that ash for a more effective burn.

Edit: the purpose of the above is to set the feed rate maximum so it won't ever overflow the burnpot when the stove is calling for max heat. Example: cold stove, house at 55, desired set temp 74.
 
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The only time I might achieve 1" of ash near the burn pot edge is during very cold weather when the stove rarely ramps down to maintain
the set temperature. Otherwise a fluctuation of 1 1/2 to 3" ash accumulation is typical (on my stove) and the flame is often close to the heat exchanger/auger.
This is in manual setting--room temp mode-- feed rate 4.
Jerry.
 
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Harman Lover 007 said:
You say that you read the sticky above (or in my sig). I would suggest that you read it again to fully understand feed rate on a Harman. I understand that you are having fun with your new Harman, but constantly changing the feed rate serves no purpose. It works the same way in RT mode or ST mode. The overwhelming majority of us are set between 3.5 and 4.5, SET IT AND FORGET IT.
Click to expand...
Yes but I can't read too much about this stove, its rather an interesting unit. I'll read it again, 3rd time.
 
alternativeheat said:
See this is where I'm curios About that one inch line. In the article on running your Harman it states to form that one inch line booting the stove up on full output. But a lit of folks here say to run it with the one inch line all the time.
Click to expand...

The only time you will have pellets 1 inch from the edge of the burn pot is when the stove is running at max. I forgot to say when you set the feed rate you should do this by putting a large load on the stove. You can achieve this by turning the t-stat up to the max temp or open windows.
 
jmart said:
The only time I might achieve 1" of ash near the burn pot edge is during very cold weather when the stove rarely ramps down to maintain
the set temperature. Otherwise a fluctuation of 1 1/2 to 3" ash accumulation is typical (on my stove) and the flame is often close to the heat exchanger/auger.
This is in manual setting--room temp mode-- feed rate 4.
Jerry.
Click to expand...
EXACTLY!!!!!!!!!
 
AndrewChurchill said:
The only time you will have pellets 1 inch from the edge of the burn pot is when the stove is running at max. I forgot to say when you set the feed rate you should do this by putting a large load on the stove. You can achieve this by turning the t-stat up to the max temp or open windows.
Click to expand...
I'm 15 min into the full out test right now, this minute. So far I have feed rate five and the ash is approaching the one inch mark. I'll know in about 15 minutes if I have to back that off to say 4.5. Then what ? Obviously turn the stove down to my desired temp, but do I leave the feed rate at that max and the stove will take care of what it wants or is will that be my top "go to" feed rate. Sorry to sound so thick but once I get this in my head I may become the next biggest advocate around here for other newby's, so bear with me !!
 
alternativeheat said:
I'm 15 min into the full out test right now, this minute. So far I have feed rate five and the ash is approaching the one inch mark. I'll know in about 15 minutes if I have to back that off to say 4.5. Then what ? Obviously turn the stove down to my desired temp, but do I leave the feed rate at that max and the stove will take care of what it wants or is will that be my top "go to" feed rate. Sorry to sound so thick but once I get this in my head I may become the next biggest advocate around here for other newby's, so bear with me !!
Click to expand...

In case I wasn't clear you should have burning pellets about 1 inch from the edge of the burn pot with ash filling the the space between the pellets and the edge of the burn pot. Once that happens you have determined the proper feed rate for those pellets. Leave the feed rate alone, set the desired temperature, and let the control board do the rest.
 
Yes, don't fart around with it after that....unless you change pellets, at which point you should really ONLY worry about it if they're drasticly inferior pellets.

Also, I'd imagine you may wanna crack a window for a bit. Prob hot as hell in there right now.
 
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P38X2 said:
Yes, don't fart around with it after that....unless you change pellets, at which point you should really ONLY worry about it if they're drasticly inferior pellets.

Also, I'd imagine you may wanna crack a window for a bit. Prob hot as hell in there right now.
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My wife is dieing in the living room but my studio where this computer is is perfect, IMO ! But hey, if she can't figure out to move , well what can I say. Actually we were out for that biopsy reading ( not malignant thank God )and out to supper after, so the stove could have used cranking up anyway.

Just about 30 min now, the feed is just about on 5, the ash line keeps blowing away on me but while it's there it's just about that 1" mark, close enough anyway.. Isn't that a bit high ?
 
alternativeheat said:
My wife is dieing in the living room but my studio where this computer is is perfect, IMO ! But hey, if she can't figure out to move , well what can I say. actually we were out for that biopsy reading and out to supper after, so the stove could have used cranking up anyway.

Just about 30 min now, the feed is just about on 5, the ash line keep blowing away on me but while it's there it's just about that 1" mark, close enough anyway.. Isn't that a bit high ?
Click to expand...

It's only too high if pellets start falling over the edge. Harman stove are very durable and remember your stove won't run at its maximum setting very often. You just want to set it so if it needs to run that high it can.
 
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AndrewChurchill said:
It's only too high if pellets start falling over the edge. Harman stove are very durable and remember your stove won't run at its maximum setting very often. You just want to set it so if it needs to run that high it can.
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Ok, I'm catching on now, thanks for sticking it out guys ! ! I think my test was a success and that ceramic dish we keep water in has steam coming out of it, so I turned the room temp back down to 76 ( that keeps most of my house at 72). I left the feed at 5. I'll see how it goes from there. I don't get that if most folks find they run between 3.5 and 4.5, why is mine running at 5 ?
 
alternativeheat said:
Ok, I'm catching on now, thanks for sticking it out guys ! ! I think my test was a success and that ceramic dish we keep water in has steam coming out of it, so I turned the room temp back down to 76 ( that keeps most of my house at 72). I left the feed at 5. I'll see how it goes from there. I don't get that if most folks find they run between 3.5 and 4.5, what is mine running at 5 ?
Click to expand...

Some people believe by setting their feed rate lower they will use less fuel but what they're really doing is limiting the maximum BTU's the stove can put out. They also run the risk of not having their house warm during cold snaps.

I should also say it's possible that some pellets may actually need a lesser setting.
 
AndrewChurchill said:
Some people believe by setting their feed rate lower they will use less fuel but what they're really doing is limiting the maximum BTU's the stove can put out. They also run the risk of not having their house warm during cold snaps.
Click to expand...
Well the stove needs to be fed to make heat, I get that. Also, when I had mine at feed rate 3 for a while there and it got cooler out ( warm weekend last week) it recovered slower than at 3.75 - 4. Now I'm at 5 sheesh. I've seen posts in the forum where people got scolded for running a feed of 5 ?
 
Sure hope you don't try and mix in some corn. Whole new game as the denser fuel can make for a fuel rich fire and leave the stove coated in soot. That's not in the Harman manual.
 
Bioburner said:
Sure hope you don't try and mix in some corn. Whole new game as the denser fuel can make for a fuel rich fire and leave the stove coated in soot. That's not in the Harman manual.
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No corn here, just POINTE Spruce and DF mixed equal parts. But that 40 min experiment chewed some serious pellets considering the time frame ( I had just filled it, so easy to see the drop), I hope the stove doesn't call for that too often !!
 
alternativeheat said:
Well the stove needs to be fed to make heat, I get that. Also, when I had mine at feed rate 3 for a while there and it got cooler out ( warm weekend last week) it recovered slower than at 3.75 - 4. Now I'm at 5 sheesh. I've seen posts in the forum where people got scolded for running a feed of 5 ?
Click to expand...

There are some stoves on the market, Breckwell's Big E for example, that state in their manual that you shouldn't run them on high for more than a specified time, 2 hours for the Big E. That's why some people say you shouldn't run the stoves on high.

However, Harman stoves are fine running them at the highest setting. You get what you pay for and you made an excellent choice.
 
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Went thru a ugly amount of biofuel today(90lbs) as the high stayed below 0. Could have been far worse is we burnt propain at $5.20
 
AndrewChurchill said:
There are some stoves on the market, Breckwell's Big E for example, that state in their manual that you shouldn't run them on high for more than a specified time, 2 hours for the Big E. That's why some people say you shouldn't run the stoves on high.

However, Harman stoves are fine running them at the highest setting. You get what you pay for and you made an excellent choice.
Click to expand...
So far so good, it seems to match the house. The P61 took me a long time to decide on but it's all mine now ! I like that it can idle down, still flame along and ramp up for fast recovery. It took one run through by the stove shop showing us differences in maintenance between a couple of different model, then the P series was a no brainer. It then came down to which one. The rest obviously is answered in my choice.
 
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AndrewChurchill said:
There are some stoves on the market, Breckwell's Big E for example, that state in their manual that you shouldn't run them on high for more than a specified time, 2 hours for the Big E. That's why some people say you shouldn't run the stoves on high.

However, Harman stoves are fine running them at the highest setting. You get what you pay for and you made an excellent choice.
Click to expand...
Nothing like good heavy steel or good engineering or both, something that usually costs some money.
 
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