Considering XXV P43 trade

We've had our P43 for 3 months now. There is heat one can feel radiating from the sides and top, but more from the sides as the distribution blower is taking the rising heat off the exchangers and out the front. But nothing like a wood stove (we went from an old HearthMate wood/coal cast iron stove to the P43).

Now this is while it's burning. We run in room temp/manual so while there is a small fire going during the idle burning between the calls for heat, nowhere near as much heat radiating off the stove sides during that.

Sam

jslinger said:

To start off, I know that I am considering trading more stove for less stove.
My wife has spent her entire life heating with a wood stove. She absolutely loves the radiant heat given off by wood stoves. It wasn't really an option for us, so we went with a pellet stove.
Even though I wanted the P43, she loved the way the XXV looked. So we went with the XXV.
We have had our XXV for a little over a year, and I am extremely happy. But she still longs for the radiant heat of a wood stove. We were concerned the P43 wouldn't be big enough for our house, but we have only gone through 95 bags so far this year. And I know the P43 is capable of doing more more than that.
I was wondering, for those of you who have P series stoves, can you feel the heat coming off of it when standing next to it? Obviously it is no wood stove, but the XXV only really gets warm to the touch. It gives off almost no heat.
Any input is appreciated.

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The P43 gives off radiant heat but the P61 gives off more in my experience. Either will radiate heat around the area, though in 25 deg weather or colder where the stove ramps up a bit more you get enough that you want to back up a little bit if you get too near the stove.. The heat is all the way from the lower chamber sides to the top incidentally. I would say that most of the heat that makes it to my dining room from where the stove is in the living room is radiant heat, as the blower is blowing past that doorway down the length of the living room to a hallway door and stairway to the upstairs. Anyway, just because there is an ash chamber at the bottom of the stove doesn't mean it isn't hot down there. The glass is pretty hot too. Lets just say you won't find a cat laying on the stove at night and you aren't touching it when it's cranked up, especially the sides. When ramped down you can quickly touch the stove but you won't linger at it. We keep a water pot on top of the stove, when it's cranking the water starts to produce some steam but it doesn't actually boil. My wife loves sitting next to the stove while she knits, feeling the warmth from the side and watching the glow in the room with the lights down low. However, the P61 also uses more pellets than your XXV, it has a large hopper for a reason . If you don't need more stove than the P43 or XXV, I wouldn't get a P61. And the XXV is quieter.

If I were you I would head off to a dealer and have them demo a P43 for you. In terms of maintenance the P series are simpler, have the dealer demo that part too. That's actually what convinced me finally after months of thinking, to go P series. Both the radiant heat and the simpler cleaning. They definitely are more utility looking than the beautiful cast iron Harmans. But we too wanted some radiant heat. And we get that, maybe like a wood stove when it's early or late in it's heat curve ( been a long time since I heated with a wood stove but I remember the heat curve), or a coal stove as it warms from it's tending..

That's it for my description, you need to go feel it for yourself or more importantly your wife needs to be with you. It's a big move, you have a beautiful stove in that XXV ! THe P's dress up fairly nice, we have nickle trim on the ash shelf and lower door and a slate insert in the ash door. My wife doesn't like the nickle door, I do so we just went with this much nickle ( actually I think it's brushed stainless) and did not go for the door. The dealer had a partial kit he sold to me for $60.

I have a P38+, the radiant heat you are looking for is not there ..I miss it also. Having used a wood stove and coal stove for years it's just not the same..

gfreek said:

I have a P38+, the radiant heat you are looking for is not there ..I miss it also. Having used a wood stove and coal stove for years it's just not the same..

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It is a little different because of the blower but I got to tell you on the P61 some nice heat comes off those sides. It's not like that on the P38 ? Right now I have the P61 ramped up to 80 deg in room temp mode and feed at 4.5 for a fast house warm up and I had to move from my chair where I normally sit beside it about 3-3.5 ft away. Kind of hot on the face that close up.

jslinger said:

Thanks for the help so far. I will certainly take the wife down to the dealer and check out a P43. I will give them a heads up so they can have really going before we get there. It also depends on what they will give me for my XXV. (I was recently offered $500 trade on a $6,000 vehicle)
Is my reasoning sound as far as stove size goes? When it was a high of -5, we were going through around 1.75 bags per day. I figure the P43 can do that, therefore putting out enough BTU's to heat my house.

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For a comparison of pellet use in your situation you might be best off asking the dealer. I can tell you that the P61 eats pellets. Single digits is good for over 2 bags per day, teens two bags per day, 20's at night and 30's in the day 1.75. I have no comparison of that against either the P43 or the XXV except that the p61 is 61,000 BTU rated. One would guess the P43 would use less but it's just a guess. Maybe a P43 user will chime in. However , at that much depends on your house too.

You will probably do better selling the XXV than on a trade.

500 way to low for that stove , You will be better selling it instead of a trade . I own A P43 live in a 1200 sq foot house wish i had a bigger stove . I hear you should get around 50 % or so of what you pay for a harman . I just had mine serviced by my dealer who has been great he said buy the biggest you can afford dont worry about it being too big . I love my pellet stove great heat much more clean and safer than wood . good luck

Looked at Btu specs and don't think the P43 will do it.. I wouldn't go smaller than what you have. However don't forget about the $250 off coupon..

gfreek said:

Looked at Btu specs and don't think the P43 will do it.. I wouldn't go smaller than what you have. However don't forget about the $250 off coupon..

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He has not stated what size house he is heating. It sounds like the XXV is not over worked though and that has 50,000 BTU capability. The P43 has 43,000. I don't know the answer here. What I do know is that if 50.000 is mostly idling along in severe weather, he doesn't need 61,000. To move to a P it's P43 or P61 and the p61 will hog pellets by comparison to what he has I think ( just a guess) or otherwise be on a low burn a lot.. Again, we don't have a lot to go on without knowing the layout and size area being heated.

Don't do it. You are longing for radiant only provided from a traditional wood stove, not a pellet stove. Obviously the P is steel and the XXV is cast, but the even heat from cast is considered a premium in the stove world. Long term, the XXV has a few more btu's, looks nicer (IMO), quieter, mirrored glass when not in use. That and you'll end up paying more for less by the time you buy new and sell used...