Harman P68 pellet consumption

[The Grintch]

This will be my first season burning pellets. I purchased 5 tons of pellets and they have been sitting safely in my garage.

I'm curious how many tons of pellets other p68 owners have burnt in previous seasons.

I'm thinking 5 tons should be enough but if i need to pick up some shoulder pellets I would like to start the hunt.

Thanks

 

[jtakeman]

Variables will play into how much you'll actually use. We would need more info to assist in getting you somewhat close. Squarefeet of the heating area and oddities like vaulted ceilings.

A close figure for a 2K sqft home in New England averages around 3 to 4 tons at approx 72*F.

 

[Harman Lover 007]

This will be my first season burning pellets. I purchased 5 tons of pellets and they have been sitting safely in my garage.

I'm curious how many tons of pellets other p68 owners have burnt in previous seasons.

I'm thinking 5 tons should be enough but if i need to pick up some shoulder pellets I would like to start the hunt.

Thanks

The P68 is a beast but it depends on what you are going to be doing with the stove such as...is it going to run 24/7? How large a space are you heating and to what temp? Are you going to run stove temp or room temp? You get the picture.
To answer your question I would think 5 tons would be plenty but there's nothing wrong with trying some shoulder stuff so you know what you like. A Harman will burn anything so don't be afraid to try several brands. As a point of reference, I have to keep the wife warm so my P61A runs 24/7 from late November to late March and I burn between 3 1/2 to 4 tons.

 

[john193]

I average a bag a day north of Philly from mid Nov to early Apr. usually get away under 3 tons keeping the house 70 to 72.

Yes we don't have the same stove but the consumption and output of the Vernon is similar to the p61/68

 

[Bioburner]

Last season we had to start burning on October 13. Still had to burn on Memorial Day as the day high was 55. Hope we don't have that long of a heating season again. 5 tons used, but also heated domestic H2O.

 

[The Grintch]

Thank you all!

I know every situation is different. I just wanted some ball park numbers. I think I will pick up few other brands just to see if I can tell the differance.

I figured I'd let the stove run 24/7, on stove temp, and keep the house between 70 and 72.

 

[Harman Lover 007]

Thank you all!

I know every situation is different. I just wanted some ball park numbers. I think I will pick up few other brands just to see if I can tell the differance.

I figured I'd let the stove run 24/7, on stove temp, and keep the house between 70 and 72.

That's a good place to start.....and I guarantee you will make yourself crazy trying all different combinations.....that's the fun of it!

 

[CTBossfan]

As mentioned variables will play a factor. My observations from 1 winter of stove experience. On average through the heating season I used 1 1/2 to 2 bags per day (24hrs). Heating a good sized house with lots of large older windows and average insulation in Connecticut. Kept the stove in manual mode so that it never shut off except for cleaning. I had 4 3/4 ton to start the season and probably bought another 30-40 bags during the season. So heating my house strictly with pellets used about 5 1/4 ton. I think you fine with the 5 tons. As others mention I would pick a few pellet brands to try them out, that should give you a buffer also. The other thing that could be a variable was last winter was cold and stayed cold right into early May. I suppose if we had a warm winter the usage would drop.

 

[john193]

As mentioned variables will play a factor. My observations from 1 winter of stove experience. On average through the heating season I used 1 1/2 to 2 bags per day (24hrs). Heating a good sized house with lots of large older windows and average insulation in Connecticut. Kept the stove in manual mode so that it never shut off except for cleaning. I had 4 3/4 ton to start the season and probably bought another 30-40 bags during the season. So heating my house strictly with pellets used about 5 1/4 ton. I think you fine with the 5 tons. As others mention I would pick a few pellet brands to try them out, that should give you a buffer also. The other thing that could be a variable was last winter was cold and stayed cold right into early May. I suppose if we had a warm winter the usage would drop.

Have you had a chance to check out the how your harman works sticky? I had my xxv for 3 seasons before I sold it with the house and during that time I almost always used auto. The reason being, I found the stoves fuel consumption went up by as much as half a bag a day for me. In discussing with my dealer he agreed that manual does consume more fuel, but, he said the manual setting can be better suited on really cold days. I've had the stove chow through a bag overnight in manual but never in auto even on the coldest nights. Auto ramps up and down quite a bit which I think makes it a little more frugal. Switching the ignitor to manual will force the stove into maintenance burn during "no call for heat."

 

[CTBossfan]

Have you had a chance to check out the how your harman works sticky? I had my xxv for 3 seasons before I sold it with the house and during that time I almost always used auto. The reason being, I found the stoves fuel consumption went up by as much as half a bag a day for me. In discussing with my dealer he agreed that manual does consume more fuel, but, he said the manual setting can be better suited on really cold days. I've had the stove chow through a bag overnight in manual but never in auto even on the coldest nights. Auto ramps up and down quite a bit which I think makes it a little more frugal. Switching the ignitor to manual will force the stove into maintenance burn during "no call for heat."

No I haven't and wanted to let the OP know how I was running the stove so they could decide. I have read the sticky and many other conversations about this subject. The reason I didn't run in auto I bought my stove used and everything works fine but the ignitor and I knew that when I bought it. I don't know if I can justify buying a new ignitor to save on pellets. The previous owner said the ignitor failed several times being replaced under warranty. Maybe there was to small of a temp swing and it cycled on off a lot I don't know. My P68 shouldn't have to work as hard this year I just added a stove to the basement so that should off set some. Which could make running in auto a better option this year if I replaced the ignitor. Sounds like a no brainer if i could save money it's just I don't want to buy the ignitor and have it fail in 1 or 2 seasons cause then it would be at best a wash in cost. The other thing that is nice about manual is sometimes you just need that low idle heat to maintain the temp.
As far as ramping up and down I think it operates the same in manual or auto depending on the need to maintain the temp. Auto would just give it the option to turn off vs going into idle mode.

 

[The Grintch]

Thanks CTBossfan, great information!

 

[subsailor]

No I haven't and wanted to let the OP know how I was running the stove so they could decide. I have read the sticky and many other conversations about this subject. The reason I didn't run in auto I bought my stove used and everything works fine but the ignitor and I knew that when I bought it. I don't know if I can justify buying a new ignitor to save on pellets. The previous owner said the ignitor failed several times being replaced under warranty. Maybe there was to small of a temp swing and it cycled on off a lot I don't know. My P68 shouldn't have to work as hard this year I just added a stove to the basement so that should off set some. Which could make running in auto a better option this year if I replaced the ignitor. Sounds like a no brainer if i could save money it's just I don't want to buy the ignitor and have it fail in 1 or 2 seasons cause then it would be at best a wash in cost. The other thing that is nice about manual is sometimes you just need that low idle heat to maintain the temp.
As far as ramping up and down I think it operates the same in manual or auto depending on the need to maintain the temp. Auto would just give it the option to turn off vs going into idle mode.

My igniter failed twice while the stove was under warranty but not since. When the current one was installed, the tech told me that Harman had changed the design and the new one was more rugged that the previous ones.

 

[Don2222]

The P68 is a beast but it depends on what you are going to be doing with the stove such as...is it going to run 24/7? How large a space are you heating and to what temp? Are you going to run stove temp or room temp? You get the picture.
To answer your question I would think 5 tons would be plenty but there's nothing wrong with trying some shoulder stuff so you know what you like. A Harman will burn anything so don't be afraid to try several brands. As a point of reference, I have to keep the wife warm so my P61A runs 24/7 from late November to late March and I burn between 3 1/2 to 4 tons.

Hi HL

What is the max feed rate setting that you use? Do you use stove temp or room temp? How many sqft do you heat with the P61a?

I got 2 P61a's to heat the house with this year and I am wondering if I run both and start them with 2 full hoppers then I will not have to refill them as often as if I only had one? ?

 

[Harman Lover 007]

Hi HL

What is the max feed rate setting that you use? Do you use stove temp or room temp? How many sqft do you heat with the P61a?

I got 2 P61a's to heat the house with this year and I am wondering if I run both and start them with 2 full hoppers then I will not have to refill them as often as if I only had one? ?

I never touch my feed rate, it's a set it and forget it setting and mine is just a little under 4. During the day when the house is empty I maintain 65 deg and when the wife is home it gets cranked up to 74 deg. I use room temp/auto. I am heating about 2000sf.

 

[CTBossfan]

My igniter failed twice while the stove was under warranty but not since. When the current one was installed, the tech told me that Harman had changed the design and the new one was more rugged that the previous ones.

Thats good to know. It's a Dec 2008 date code and I see yours is around the same age so that could be.

 

[DoWnAqT]

I heat about 2300 sq ft. with 9 ft ceilings and burn about 5-6 tons... This year I will be trying out the PF-100... So hopefully that will be more even heat with less pellets. I'm thinking I'm going to need a bigger blower for the furnace. The blower is kind of weak.

 

[Tonyray]

I average a bag a day north of Philly from mid Nov to early Apr. usually get away under 3 tons keeping the house 70 to 72.

Yes we don't have the same stove but the consumption and output of the Vernon is similar to the p61/68

hi pellethead..
North of Philly also. Bucks County here..
Harman P61A . 2months old..

 

[Enigma869]

This is my first season with my P68. I burn 24/7 and have 3 full ton left plus about 5 bags. Because of that, I suspect the five ton I bought probably aren't going to cut it. I run my stove in "stove temp" mode and usually maintain about 72 degrees. I do turn it down slightly at night. How much of the 5 ton have you burned, thus far?