Anybody out there have any knowledge or info helping me to decide which to buy, p43 or absolute43. Price is the same for either as the absolute is a display that that dealer will discount and the p43 is a new model that has to be ordered. My main concern is maintenance . I just sold a St Croix Hastings that was a great stove except for the maintenance which was a BEAR for an old timer. Any advice is appreciated.
buying a harman p43 or absolute43
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Marc S.
Member
I like my Absolute 43 and you do not find a lot of reviews on them. My big initial problem was general maintenance. Once I figured out what I was going wrong I have had no problems. Aesthetically i think it is a nice stove also. There is a section in here created by techs; good posts talking about their horror stories on calls.
Thanks for the reply. I like the looks of the absolute also just don’t know if there are any hidden issues. Where’s the horror thread?
Marc S.
Member
Pellet Stove Technician therapy thread
Ya that’s not right, and I’ve definitely heard stories like that. I’ve also driven 2.5 hours for a 100% free to customer warranty call on a power surge issue that shouldn’t even have been covered under the warranty. I’ve also had customers who I personally showed how to clean their stove three...
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ABusWrench
Feeling the Heat
I would say the P43. Proven design and puts out a bunch of heat. That said, unless you stick it in a tight corner a P series stove is very straight forward and very easy to maintain. Parts are easily available, both oem and aftermarket. ALL stoves need maintenance. Scrape the burn pot daily and dump the "huge" ash pan when its full, which depends on type of pellets you burn. I can go at least 2 weeks before dumping the ash pan with ashy hardwood pellets. Hope this helps.
That helps a lot. Being a spendthrift the big discount is hard to walk away from. That being said this is all about cleaning and if one is easier than the other that’s what I’m buying. Thanks again
I agree. P43 is still a old tried and true Harman design. Easy to clean and troubleshoot. I am not a big fan of the touch screen control. The 3 knob control is cheap to replace and works well. The Absolute 43 is a Hearth and Home design. They seem to be more interested in increasing profit margin.
I’ve had my p43 for eight seasons now, as primary heat. When temps are above 38, I use a heat pump. Put in a new ignitor this year, but found I really didn’t need it. I shut down and do a good cleaning about every 2 tons. Empty the ash pan every 3-4 weeks. Burn 24/7 when it’s cold. I used about 5 tons last year. I’ve changed the door gasket twice. That’s it!
Ssyko
Minister of Fire
Thanks for the replies, I am leaning hard toward the P43. The dealer really trying to sell me the absolute and it is a good price but when I pinned him down about which one was easier to clean he said he thought the P43 was. Probably give it a day or so and order the P43. hope I keep getting replies. It is making my choice easier. thanks to all again
bogieb
Minister of Fire
Can't go wrong with the P43. I believe it has a larger ash pan than the Absolute, but I could be wrong on that. My P43 heats my main floor and I dump the ash pan every 2-3 weeks. If I ran better pellets it could go longer (or if I stirred the ash in the pan to help it settle). As long as you keep the area under the fire pot cleared each cleaning and check the fines box every so often, along with cleaning exhaust and dumping ash pan, it will be a set and forget type thing.
One thing I don't like is "Less Loading with 50lb Hopper". XXV has 65lb and I wish it was more on very cold nights. Eats pellets like they are not there at -20f. They do make extension for P43 Amazon product ASIN B07JWH7G69
I have used a 2 season absolute 43 and it works fine. I used a accentra for 9 years and the cleaning of either model is basically the same. Main thing is to scrape at least every other day or so. Yes the ash pan is smaller on the 43. I like the digital readout and it's features especially the scheduling so you can adjust the temperatures in 4 times in a 24 hr day. I always drop the temperature down at night, saves fuel.
Marc S.
Member
Wow P43 ash pan must be way bigger than my Absolute; 2 or 3 weeks. I may be able to get away with that in early fall but if I am in constant burn and it is cold out, I am dumping about 1 x a week. I just don't like having ash overflowing my pan.
bogieb
Minister of Fire
I think your Absolute's ash pan is about the size of the Hastings that I had previously. that stove I had to empty the ashes every week. The P43's pan is much bigger.
I have an extension on both my stoves. Can hold about 2.5 bags in the P43 and 3 bags in the P61a..
After reading all the replies I ordered the p43.It was hard to pass up the discounted Absolute and the dealer was really pushing it but I agree with ABusWrench and am not sold on the touch control. Figured I would stay with the tried and true p43 and take advantage of the easy maintenance. Thanks for all the replies
Was true when the TC first came out but not any more, prices are dropping, touch screen was over $600.00 dollars when it first came out it's down to about half that now.
TC control board
manual control board
Overfireinthehole
Minister of Fire
You should be happy with the p43. The p series are the best pellet stoves on the market in my opinion.
If you look around, you can find both of the boards mentioned cheaper elsewhere; still about a $130-$140 difference between the two.
Oh I'm sure you can I just used that as an example because they are reputable. Even at the 130 - 140 price difference it's not like it cost a fortune more because of TC like some people make it out to be. I expect as Harman adds the TC to more of the line up the price gap will continue to close or at least that has been the trend so far.
hinkle
Member
P43 is a great machine. Only had to replace the distribution fan on mine after 8 years, nothing else. Dump the ash pan after each ton and scrape the burn pot every other day. Post-ton cleaning will require laying on the floor to blow out the exhaust duct with an air tank and scraping the interior, I hit the heat ducts too but it makes a big mess using an air compressor. Wear gloves too as its easy to touch the exhaust fan which will tear your fingers up. Gloves recently save myself some digits. Get familiarized with the fines box as thats about the most time consuming part, but its really only a wing nut and maybe 8 screws to get to. You can probably even go as far as cleaning out the fines box every two tons, but it's easy enough while the stove is cool that you might as well clean it while rolling around on the floor. A good cleaning still only takes 3-4 beers or 30 minutes, depending on how thirsty you are. It's easy enough that I'd clean someone else's for a 6 pack. The stove top is good for brewing tea too. I'm testing if its capable of cooking in a cast iron dutch oven currently too, just haven't had the time yet.
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