When I bought my Harman p-38+ 10 years ago Harman was all the rage and that's why I bought one mainly. Now I'm looking for a a new stove, more BTU's and in reading some of the consumer reports etc I don't see Harman in any of these reviews. Is there a new leader in Pellet stoves now?
What's the best stove these days?
- Thread starter BURN2BURN
- Start date
-
Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.
We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.
We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
How much trouble did you have with your Harman ? I've had my P38 + for 10 years. If I were to replace it I'd do another Harman..
ABusWrench
Feeling the Heat
7th winter with our P61a. Will be north of 42 ton run thru it when this season is over. Absolutely ZERO problems! Have replaced NOTHING! Just good, timely maintenance. If and when we replace or add a second stove (want to put a P43 in our sun room) it will be a Harman, ONLY! IMO
I've had to replace the blower only. I built a new, larger cottage and this stove isn't quite doing it so I'm moving it to the basement and looking for a larger one, maybe a P61 OR a Comfortbilt HP22
Tonyray
Minister of Fire
Ssyko
Minister of Fire
Enviro Maxx half the price of a p68 same efficiency and btu
mtnbiker727
Feeling the Heat
Tonyray
Minister of Fire
You bought a good reliable stove.. price isn't everything..
Ssyko,
Aren’t they both ~ $4500? Oops, I see that the Enviro is a bit under $4000 but not really half the price of a P-68.
Hugh
Last edited:
Ssyko
Minister of Fire
yeah I was a lil Off on that, i got mine for less than half And the average retailer won’t sell one for That price. My bad. But it is less expensive and has been a heat beast and problem free. Not to mention only a couple enviro issues on the boards this year. And last. Can’t say that about the Harmans.
Being the odd man out, I paid 1300 for my ugly black USSC 6039 over 20 years ago and it runs just fine. In fact it produces just as much heat (maybe more) than when it was new because I tweaked it a bit. I've never replaced anything on it in 20+ years but a couple stirrer rods because the heat of combustion tends to oxidize them away. Original everything from convection fan to combustion fan.
Needs a cabinet paint job this summer because the finish is getting thin but other than that, no issues.
I bought for it's multi fuel capability. I mostly burn corn or a corn pellet mix 3 parts field corn to 1 part pellets of any type. My prerequisite on pellets is find the best price and buy them. I don't care, hardwood, softwood or balsa wood. Makes no difference. Only reason I run pellets is it mitigates the clinker issue when burning corn.
4 ton a year average x 20+ years is a helluva lot of tons, anyway you cut it and no replacement components ever, but I do maintain the unit carefully and keep it and the venting clean all the time.
The key to good, reliable operation is constant and ongoing maintenance and cleaning the fly as from not only the stove itself, but the venting as well.
Very happy with my $1300 buck investment. She's paid for herself many times over in fuel cost savings.
Would I buy a Harman, no way. Not spending mega bucks for a pretty face, especially a pretty face with limited fuel capability. it's the limited fuel capability that eliminates many units from my consideration plus my unit is 100% end user programmable (via the control board algorithms) to custom tailor all the operating parameters for any biomass, pelletized fuel). Most units today cannot achieve that level of user defined operation.
I can roast ANY biomass in mine and I have. Wood pellets, cherry pits, field corn, pelletized wheat straw, pelletized corn stover and even pelletized DDG, though my main source of fuel is and always will be Midwestern dent field corn at my 75-25 ratio though I can run 100% corn if I want to (with the clinker issue of course).
Might be a manual light unit (no automatic ignition) but that eliminates one consumable part and it only takes about 3 minutes from a stone cold unit to heat with a manual light. Toss in a hand full of pellets, ad a touch of gelled firestarter, a match, close the door, hit the on button and in 3 minutes it cooking along. Extremely easy and no consumable electric ignition cal rod to replace,
I'd say for 1300 bucks it's a helluva deal so long as you can do without the fru-fru that Harman's come with. I know I'd rather spend the difference between a Harman and what I have on something I enloy, not a pretty face unit.
It's for heat, not for show....
Needs a cabinet paint job this summer because the finish is getting thin but other than that, no issues.
I bought for it's multi fuel capability. I mostly burn corn or a corn pellet mix 3 parts field corn to 1 part pellets of any type. My prerequisite on pellets is find the best price and buy them. I don't care, hardwood, softwood or balsa wood. Makes no difference. Only reason I run pellets is it mitigates the clinker issue when burning corn.
4 ton a year average x 20+ years is a helluva lot of tons, anyway you cut it and no replacement components ever, but I do maintain the unit carefully and keep it and the venting clean all the time.
The key to good, reliable operation is constant and ongoing maintenance and cleaning the fly as from not only the stove itself, but the venting as well.
Very happy with my $1300 buck investment. She's paid for herself many times over in fuel cost savings.
Would I buy a Harman, no way. Not spending mega bucks for a pretty face, especially a pretty face with limited fuel capability. it's the limited fuel capability that eliminates many units from my consideration plus my unit is 100% end user programmable (via the control board algorithms) to custom tailor all the operating parameters for any biomass, pelletized fuel). Most units today cannot achieve that level of user defined operation.
I can roast ANY biomass in mine and I have. Wood pellets, cherry pits, field corn, pelletized wheat straw, pelletized corn stover and even pelletized DDG, though my main source of fuel is and always will be Midwestern dent field corn at my 75-25 ratio though I can run 100% corn if I want to (with the clinker issue of course).
Might be a manual light unit (no automatic ignition) but that eliminates one consumable part and it only takes about 3 minutes from a stone cold unit to heat with a manual light. Toss in a hand full of pellets, ad a touch of gelled firestarter, a match, close the door, hit the on button and in 3 minutes it cooking along. Extremely easy and no consumable electric ignition cal rod to replace,
I'd say for 1300 bucks it's a helluva deal so long as you can do without the fru-fru that Harman's come with. I know I'd rather spend the difference between a Harman and what I have on something I enloy, not a pretty face unit.
It's for heat, not for show....
Tonyray
Minister of Fire
Long way to rant about being anti harman but was entertaining read.. happy with my non touchscreen ugly 2012 P61A harman but respect your points..
Actually, I'm not anti anything, Harman's included. I'm frugal. Why would I spent 4 grand on a unit when I spent 1300 bucks to do the same exact thing....make heat and make heat with a large variety of biomass fuels. My impetus when I bought this one (remember I had one before this one, a Englander positive draft 2 auger prone to burnback, not a good thing unit). Did a lot of shopping around 20 years ago when I bought this one, Harman's included and weighed the costs versus benefits versus the flexibility before I bough it and I have not ever been disappointed at all.
I'm not anti Harman. I am against spending 4 grand when I can spend appreciably less to achieve the same result. Besides, the more I save, the more funds I have to do things I enjoy doing, like going on guided hunts and buying firearms. All good with me. My philosophy is, whatever blows your dress up is good with me. 4 grand versus 1300 blows my dress up just fine every time.
The other underlying thing I like about this unit is it isn't complex. Granted, the control board is expensive to replace (never replaced one though I do have a spare just in case). No fancy controls to fail, no hidden ash traps to clean out and all the combustion components are easy to get to and service. never had to saw off a combustion fan to access the drive. 5 nuts and 2 wires and it's out on the bench to be cleaned. Same with the convection fan, 4 nuts, 2 wires and off it comes. Auger drive, same deal. Stirrer drive, same deal. I like stuff simple and easy to access because it comes completely apart every spring to get cleaned and lubricated. I would like a larger ash pan because corn produces a lot of fly ash which necessitates emptying it more often. Other than that aspect, it's fine. Still on the original firepot (though I do run 2) so while one is in the stove, the other is soaking in a pail of water to loosen the hard carbon so I can remove it. Takes about 5 seconds to pull the pot, another 5 seconds to install the cleaned one.
Just frugal. Why I burn basically free corn. Why pay 200+ bucks a skid for pellets when my fuel is basically free (I just have to go fetch it). I do add pellets for the clinker issue but a pallet of pellets will last me 2 seasons (One if I'm burning hard which I am presently)
it's not particular about pellets or corn for that matter. So long as the corn is dry and clean (which it is) and the pellets are long and brown (which they are. it's all good.
Bottom line is, whether you pay 4500 bucks or 1300 bucks, they only produce 'X' amount of BTU's. I can do 1300 much easier.
So no, not anti anything, just frugal.
I'm not anti Harman. I am against spending 4 grand when I can spend appreciably less to achieve the same result. Besides, the more I save, the more funds I have to do things I enjoy doing, like going on guided hunts and buying firearms. All good with me. My philosophy is, whatever blows your dress up is good with me. 4 grand versus 1300 blows my dress up just fine every time.
The other underlying thing I like about this unit is it isn't complex. Granted, the control board is expensive to replace (never replaced one though I do have a spare just in case). No fancy controls to fail, no hidden ash traps to clean out and all the combustion components are easy to get to and service. never had to saw off a combustion fan to access the drive. 5 nuts and 2 wires and it's out on the bench to be cleaned. Same with the convection fan, 4 nuts, 2 wires and off it comes. Auger drive, same deal. Stirrer drive, same deal. I like stuff simple and easy to access because it comes completely apart every spring to get cleaned and lubricated. I would like a larger ash pan because corn produces a lot of fly ash which necessitates emptying it more often. Other than that aspect, it's fine. Still on the original firepot (though I do run 2) so while one is in the stove, the other is soaking in a pail of water to loosen the hard carbon so I can remove it. Takes about 5 seconds to pull the pot, another 5 seconds to install the cleaned one.
Just frugal. Why I burn basically free corn. Why pay 200+ bucks a skid for pellets when my fuel is basically free (I just have to go fetch it). I do add pellets for the clinker issue but a pallet of pellets will last me 2 seasons (One if I'm burning hard which I am presently)
it's not particular about pellets or corn for that matter. So long as the corn is dry and clean (which it is) and the pellets are long and brown (which they are. it's all good.
Bottom line is, whether you pay 4500 bucks or 1300 bucks, they only produce 'X' amount of BTU's. I can do 1300 much easier.
So no, not anti anything, just frugal.
Last edited:
Tonyray
Minister of Fire
To answer the OP's question,
"What is the best stove these days?" Simple answer, they are all good when maintained correctly. The best for you may not be the best for me. I'd purchase a new one on what my wallet can afford plain and simple, but be ready to have issues if you assume it's a plug and play unit because none are.
"What is the best stove these days?" Simple answer, they are all good when maintained correctly. The best for you may not be the best for me. I'd purchase a new one on what my wallet can afford plain and simple, but be ready to have issues if you assume it's a plug and play unit because none are.
Similar threads
