18 year old Harman P68

[BigT]

Hello everybody!

New member here. I saw a couple threads about aging pellet stoves but I am looking / hoping others have the same experience with the same stove.

I’m wondering what item or components are most likely to need attention, fail or would be worth spending on for a refresh.

I bought my P68 for its first winter in 2008.
It’s been very little trouble the whole time and has been a pleasure to use.
Over the years I have replaced the combustion motor once, auger motor twice due to noise, 1 burn plate, two ignitors, the control board once due to dead spots in only one of the potentiometers, one esp probe and the glass once. I clean it regularly, deep clean every couple years. There is some gunky soot near the very bottom of the ashpan area. I scrape that off during a deep clean. I’ve also scrubbed and refinished it once due to a couple spots of surface rust on the very top because an intermittent water leak above it that was fixed years ago. It still looks great!
I run it with side heat shields for clearance to the walls in a corner installation.

It’s been my primary heat since I’ve owned it although I do have electric baseboards that I avoid using at all but I have at times for convenience.

It doesn’t seem to be in any trouble.
When I bought it, I went in looking to replace a gas stove with a larger one. The shop owner suggested it saying he had customers with pellet stoves over 20 years old still going strong. I’m hoping to keep it until I sell the house which isn’t on the horizon now but I am only a handful of years away from retirement age myself.

I have always repaired and maintained all my appliances, cars, and home myself and I have no problem spending money for maintenance vs many thousands for a new unit.

Thanks for any input!

 

[sandpipe]

My Invincible insert is 31 years old! Yikes. I replaced all of the things you did except for the glass and auger motor. Don't have an igniter-- use a propane torch. House came with the Harman and electric baseboards I had to run those one winter for a week while waiting for a motor. That was a wake up call when I got the electric bill. After that I had an Empire propane wall unit installed for emergencies like -20 degF.

 

[johneh]

My Envrio is starting its 24 season. I burn 4 tons a year. Deep clean after
Every 2 tons, replaced 1 circulation fan and one combustion fan, nothing else
Most likely the best investment I ever made. Keep it clean is the biggest thing
and use a Surge protector

 

[BigT]

Wow thanks. That’s very encouraging! I will stop worrying about it for now and keep on maintaining as I have been. I go through only 2-3 tons / season give or take some.

And yes, the cost of using the electric heat is shocking
When we bought the house we vowed to never ever use it. We couldn’t have afforded back then and the rate has more than doubled over just the past 2 years. Prior to the gas stove we bought a nice big jotul firelight cat stove. I loved that thing but the work was too much.
Just saw some pellet stove maintenance and emergency repair kits on the web for 3 - 500. I will not be getting any of those! The prices of those parts have sure skyrocketed it seems. I have a couple bearings put aside for the combustion motor, I had to hit it with a bit of wd-40 last season so I’ll probably replace that soon.

Thanks for the info!

 

[Washed-Up]

Get some synthetic 3in1 oil…if it’s the yellow and blue can of WD 40…3in1 will be better for it.

 

[BigT]

I haven’t used that stuff since forever ago. But will do.

 

[Tim_M]

My Invincible T FS is 33 years old and still has all original motors. I’ve been running it pretty much 24/7 for the past 14 winters. I had to replace the ESP when I first got it - I bought it non-working for $125. Since then I’ve had to get my board repaired (a common issue with these models), fixed a burn hole at the mouth of the auger tube, and had a buddy weld some patches on my burn pot. A few years ago I ordered a backup combustion motor off Amazon but it’s still sitting on a shelf in my garage. By today’s standards it’s as basic as it gets - no igniter, pressure sensor, etc - but that means less to go wrong.

 

[Ricks]

My Whitfield Quest is over 30 years old. It is a very simple stove. Over the years I have replaced the blower motors (yes it has two), the auger, auger bushing and plate, and the firebrick.

I have had it in three houses and will be moving it to my fourth house. No plans to retire or replace it.

 

[BigT]

That’s awesome. I’m glad to hear they can last that long with proper maintenance.

 

[johneh]

It is all in how they are maintained. Learn how to clean it. How to get it ready for
summer and starting it in the fall. Learn how everything works and how to
diganoise, disassemble and repair. This is the way to keep your stove a peak
performance for many, many years

 

[Tim_M]

One thing I’ve learned over the years of burning my Harmon stoves is the importance of the seal on the hopper lid. Any significant air leakage through the lid will cause the fire to burn too hot at the mouth of the auger tube, which over time can degrade the thinner steel in that area and eventually lead to holes.

 

[BigT]

Yes, I catch my wife leaving bits of pellets there when she fills it. It’s still soft and effective and I’ve just recently rebuilt the latch.

 

[zrock]

Up until last year or the year before i always kept a complete set of blowers/fans, and snap disks just incase.. Now i have replaced all of that including the main board in mine due to a over sight. Who ever owned the stove before me put one of the blowers in upside down so i could not see the oil port so it never got oiled over the years and seized up and took out my main board.. strange part is it did not take the board totally teh fans would surge until it came off startup mode and then everything was good. I found over the years that the blowers will always go during the coldest time and where i live its a 2 week wait to get anything up here.

 

[Whitenuckler]

Yes, I catch my wife leaving bits of pellets there when she fills it. It’s still soft and effective and I’ve just recently rebuilt the latch.

I fill using a 5 gallon bucket. It keeps the debris down, as the buckets are filled from the bags in the garage. I also have a small handheld vacuum to clean the top. The dust can accumulate there over time.