It's a way to kinda manually control temp. In essence you are forcing the fan on all the time by never allowing the stove to achieve the temperature you set it at so it just keeps trying.
Question About Harman Manual Igniter Position
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To me that means the modes are pretty much the same as I'd say 1/2 hour is within experimental error given lack of rigid experimental controls.
Golfeur
Member
F4jock Exactly the same settings 1/2 hour less with 1 bag for me here is not worth the trouble to function Temp room and used the igniter 12 times a day and also have the distribution fan that always works to keep the maximum heat in the house
Tonyray
Minister of Fire
ok... but is it producing heat with the feed on #1, temp on 75, room/manual as was instructed?
and what speed is the dis blower set at?
Sure it is. But as I said, run that way you are controlling the room temp with feed rate instead of thermostat. It will also work in Room / Auto that way and you'll never cycle the igniter either because temp will never be satisfied.
Tonyray
Minister of Fire
ok.. understand. I think.
it's to keep the blower constant in room/manual during maint[ or as I call it.simmer mode.]
I also assume that once weather get super cold that setup won't cut it and regular running [ feed rates of 3-4 ]would be exspected to heat your house or would the constant blower compensate..? guess it would depend on how tight house is...I know with my not well insulated house, a steady blower pushing heat is needed around the clock in the frigid days.
now how about pellet consumption would that be more ? less?
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It will always be less pellet consumption with the feed rate lower.... Run it as low as you can, while still maintaining your comfort level. My feed rate is more controlling over stove output than the temperature dial will ever be. Doesn't matter if it's on room temp or stove temp. I never need go over 2 on the feed rate. Never consume more than 32-38lbs a day...
Tonyray
Minister of Fire
"
very interesting..
I'm using this method today even though it is completly contrary to Harmans rules of running the stove...
"lowering the feed rate is like putting a brick under your gas pedal"
is the term most used...causes unburned pellets, room never gets to temp you desire, dirty stove etc as stove needs to be run HOT. but I Imagine with the blower running constant this method works.
I know my stoves Inards so I will be doing it your way and will see if it suffers any downsides..
Seems that with that low feed the flames will never ramp up.. not enough pellets but we're talking keeping a constant flame here so maybe that compensates and high flames not needed off and on. hope u understand what I;m getting at here..
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Yep. Mine operates totally differently than what everything states. I only use stove mode myself, but while documenting auger cycle times, I have found that turning up my feed rate in fact ALWAYS runs the auger cycle "ON" time longer. Stove temperature goes up as well as pellet consumption. Even if the temperature/# dial is turn down to 1.... My auger cycle does not change at all with the temp/# dial.
alternativeheat
Minister of Fire
But Cory obviously your house is tight and very well insulated. In a house like Tony's or mine ( mine a little larger and certainly old construction, his with more glass) when the wind kicks up out of the WNW at 40+MPH and it's in the teens, single digits on down lower even, your feed rate system fails. Anything works in this shoulder season and down into the upper 20's. That's why we have P61's for that cold weather, we need fire, fire makes heat ! Otherwise we could have bought P43's, or in my case a 35i. And actually for a good part of the winter could probably have gotten away with P43's and certainly you could. Point being right now I could probably stick a propane torch in the stove for a fire and it would heat the house, it's 47 deg out.
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Correct, with all those factors, it's still irrelevant that the stove operation is still differentiating from the standard operation. I have done my testing starting with a cold home also. (58* inside, 21* outside) Multiple tests and doumentations.
Example: Set feed rate @ 4.... Change temperature/# dial anywhere from 4 down to 1, and the auger cycle stays the same... Again, don't forget that this is stove temperature mode testing. The number dial is only supposed to increase heat output when turned up.
alternativeheat
Minister of Fire
You have to hit a point of diminishing return if your house requires enough heat. Turn the heat up all you want but if there is no fuel it's going to run real long to recover a house, if at all. It's like too small a nozzle in an oil burner, you can actually hit a point where it runs so long to recover the house temp it uses more fuel than a bigger nozzle that recovers quickly. So I'm going to say that your house doesn't require a whole bunch or heat. Mine on the other hand ( running in room temp in cold weather unless backing up with oil) in the cold weather does best at feed rate 4ish. Even 3 will use more fuel. And it's also fuel dependent. But my average feed is around 4. In Stove Temp I run three and have run two because I'm running a fixed fire and if it's warm out the house will heat, if it's cold out the oil will kick in.
Correct. I realize all of this. My testing takes all factors into consideration. Nothing will change the fact that the stove outputs more heat, and more fuel consumption with the feed rate set to higher settings. I can tell you to the second, how much the auger cycle runs with each increment of the dial, down to 1/4 number intervals.
alternativeheat
Minister of Fire
Tonyray
Minister of Fire
I have to agree with Alternateheat..
it's seems like a good pellet saving constant blower operation that is good for Shoulder season like now..
I doubt if it will work on anything other than a tight as a Baby's A... dwelling.
Can't see a feed rate of #1 giving me enough heat on those 20-30 degree or lower days..even with the blower running constant..
but I will try it just to prove myself wrong or right.
alternativeheat
Minister of Fire
Tony I think jags tried this last year ( i should let him speak for himself but at the moment he isn't here so he can correct me when he is LOL) and as we got into winter he ended up with feed rates much higher and I want to say I recall something about room Temp Mode too.
Right now my stove is in RT mode set at 70, it's 46 out and just started dropping. The stove has been on about 3-4 times today. Once around 5:30 this morning for an hour cause I kicked it up a bit. Again mid morning near noon all on it's own. Once mid afternoon and I'd say it's due to come on any time now. The dining room has been 71-72ish all day, so it's a bit cooler over the mantel. The hopper level has hardly moved. But the trick is central heat is set to 68, last night I didn't quite hit the mark on the room temp dial for 70 and teh heat tripped on instead of the stove for one cycle. You can't really run in Room temp and use oil together or one or the other will run rather than alternating or one helping the other. You gotta get into Stove Temp Mode when running dual fuel. At least so around here.
bogieb
Minister of Fire
My place is small enough that a 1/1 stove temp / auto setting gets even the bedrooms to overheating after a while even when it is 18* outside. But, that isn't the dead of winter when there is tremendous cold pressure coming into the bedroom from above and below, along with heavy winds.
When I had the Hastings, in the coldest times I ran it in the mode where it would idle unless heat was called for, but the blower always was on (unlike room temp/manual - I tried it the other night with 5/4 settings and the blower went off when temp was satisfied). The Hasting's blower would go to a lower setting while idling, but it never shut off and would go back to high when the thermostat requested heat. So, it is possible that stove temp/auto has a place in the repertoire for me. Ill just have to play around when it gets cold enough to warrant it.
When I had the Hastings, in the coldest times I ran it in the mode where it would idle unless heat was called for, but the blower always was on (unlike room temp/manual - I tried it the other night with 5/4 settings and the blower went off when temp was satisfied). The Hasting's blower would go to a lower setting while idling, but it never shut off and would go back to high when the thermostat requested heat. So, it is possible that stove temp/auto has a place in the repertoire for me. Ill just have to play around when it gets cold enough to warrant it.
Pete Zahria
Minister of Fire
Pete Zahria
Minister of Fire
Tonyray
Minister of Fire
yes..
I assume the temp probe would always be picking up the heat from say hot water baseboards [ in my case about 4 feet below the probe] and results would be a probe always being satisfied and a stove that never fires back up " in Room/auto mode"
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alternativeheat
Minister of Fire
Indeed, I want to witness this first hand so may experiment too.Too warm out tonight though.
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alternativeheat
Minister of Fire
The hottest radiator in this house is about 8 ft away from the probe. The P61 radiates heat and so the stove is about 12 ft from the thermostat, though the thermostat is facing away in the next room . It just doesn't work in Room temp they fight each other..
alternativeheat
Minister of Fire
I was running my p61 in stove temp auto tonight actually, I just flipped it back to Room Temp and it's shutting down presently. It's 45 out now.
Your other point is valid too Bogie, mid winter is a whole different scenario, when the whole structure is under severe cold thermal attach 24/7. That can't be compared to now, least not in this dwelling.
It does work during shoulder season with the milder colds. When it drops and more heat is required then yes, you must bump up the feed rate to accommodate the extra heating demand to maintain a comfortable temp.
Only a minor draw back that I've experienced is some ash will want to slightly dam up in front of the burning pellets. Really doesn't affect anything. This is easily and quickly removed when you do the quick scrape and pot clean when you load a bag of pellets like I do. Or just on occasion when I feel it won't hurt or just because.
This is the most conservative in pellet use I have found. Room temp mode with manual igniter. Temp dial set at 5 or right close so the fan blows continuously ( I keep mine on high but you can pick your speed) and feed rate of 1 or slightly less but not on the red hash mark.
Not sure about stove temp because I simply do not use it but Cory has input on that. Probably much the same. BTW, my house is fairly tight but no super insulated craziness just typical stuff and lots of windows and glass doors. It is way better than some older balloon framed joints I've hung my hat in though without a doubt. On a 1 - 10 I'd give it about an 8 for insulation and envelope tightness.
When it gets real cold I do set it and forget it much the same way with feed rate somewhere between 3 to 4.
Only a minor draw back that I've experienced is some ash will want to slightly dam up in front of the burning pellets. Really doesn't affect anything. This is easily and quickly removed when you do the quick scrape and pot clean when you load a bag of pellets like I do. Or just on occasion when I feel it won't hurt or just because.
This is the most conservative in pellet use I have found. Room temp mode with manual igniter. Temp dial set at 5 or right close so the fan blows continuously ( I keep mine on high but you can pick your speed) and feed rate of 1 or slightly less but not on the red hash mark.
Not sure about stove temp because I simply do not use it but Cory has input on that. Probably much the same. BTW, my house is fairly tight but no super insulated craziness just typical stuff and lots of windows and glass doors. It is way better than some older balloon framed joints I've hung my hat in though without a doubt. On a 1 - 10 I'd give it about an 8 for insulation and envelope tightness.
When it gets real cold I do set it and forget it much the same way with feed rate somewhere between 3 to 4.
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