Buying my first pellet stove

[Jacques909]

Hello everyone,

I'm new to this site and have been doing a lot of research in the last couple of days on which pellet stove stove I should purchase. I decided that I will be going with a Harman pellet stove.

Last year my fiance and I bought our first house a 1200sq ft ranch built in the late 1980's. Over the course of the year we spent around $2600, roughly 770 gallons of oil. So hopefully with a pellet stove we will be saving some money coming this winter.

The pellet stove that we are considering to purchase is the Harman p43. So considering the size of our home, living in Maine, and being a ranch style home do you guys think that 43,000BTU's would be enough?...

Thanks,

 

[MountainSean]

First off, congratulations on picking a Harman they make a fantastic stove as tons of people here will tell you. As for how well the stove will heat your house it depends on the layout of the house, location of the stove and how well insulated you are. 43k BTU's will do a decent job of heating that house as long as it is fairly open and the stove located centrally with decent insulation but you may have a couple cool rooms. If it is on one side of the house the other side will get pretty chilly and unless you have phenomenal insulation you will want something to help at the far end especially for the cold snaps.

 

[jlupi]

I have a 1500 sq foot ranch. was going through 900g of oil/yr. last yr added the small quad castile to the LR to help out (my house has crappy fiberboard insulation from the 60s in the walls). last yr we used 50g of oil. bed rooms were cool (no cooler than we kept the whole house the last couple yrs due to $$$) and most of the house was much warmer.

 

[smwilliamson]

that will be fine if you have moderate insulation in the walls...where in Maine and welcome!

 

[tsmith]

You will enjoy the Harman, they are good stoves. Welcome to the Forum there are a great bunch of people here to help ya out.

 

[Jacques909]

Thanks Guys Its a big purchase but I know it will pay it self off in a few years. I Love Maine winters but dont like being cold in my house lol

 

[briansol]

remember, 43k btu's is max the unit will produce, running full out, and not accounting for fuel performance, etc.
in general, stoves more more efficient in the mid feed ranges.

my stove is rated to 37k and i rarely run it on 5 to get that mark. its 2 most the time, 3 on those really cold nights. 4 one or 2 days a year. 5 is basically worthless after a few hours. there's not enough air and the pot over-flows.

 

[Aquion]

I use my stove to heat around 1200 sf on the upper level of my ranch. Our insulation is pretty good. The stove is not centrally located. I usually run the stove on level 2 or 3 (out of five). I hit level 4 a few times last year. Level 5 is insanity, however, I'm glad it's there should I ever need it. My stove is rated to 55k BTUs. I don't think you'll be upset with too much stove. Too little stove will probably bother you.

 

[bugize]

Well...for 2 years I heated with a Harman accentra insert...which is 42,500 btu's....when it got really cold I had to fire up the Harman coal stove in the basement, upstairs is about 1100sq ft.
Now...a pellet stove is more efficient than a insert.
Moving to a new place today...I already installed a P68 for 1500sq downstairs...with a upstairs that is on a separate oil zone, and going to try and heat as much of that,that I can with the pellet stove.
So...I guess my point is...I would get at least the 50k one...the xxv,or a Accentra stove or a p61....that's if you don't want to use any oil what so ever,to heat with.
Not sure what part of the state you are in,I highly reconnmend Rocky's in Augusta....service is wonderful.

 

[Jacques909]

I get your point. I thought about it myself and have been debating. On the Harman website the p43 is $2899, P45 $3700, XXV 3799 50K btu, and then the P61 $3599, which is about $700 more than the p43 but more BTU's.. Does this seem to be the better choice for my situation?..

 

[Lake Girl]

Welcome to the forum. More BTUs are always a better option if you can afford it ... able to turn it up rather than turn on the oil Hopefully your lay-out allows for a central location.

Make sure you have surge protection. Who's doing the install?

 

[Bioburner]

I believe the extra money for the pc45 is for the multi fuel ability. Probably not for you in your area. Corn may be the fuel for me this season. Corn here is now about 8 cents a pound.

 

[smoke show]

Corn here is now about 8 cents a pound.

here too. what do you have/use for corn transfer/storage?

 

[Harman Lover 007]

I get your point. I thought about it myself and have been debating. On the Harman website the p43 is $2899, P45 $3700, XXV 3799 50K btu, and then the P61 $3599, which is about $700 more than the p43 but more BTU's.. Does this seem to be the better choice for my situation?..

As others have said, a lot depends on your home layout. I have the P61A and almost never have to run it flat out. The increased cost for you is definitely a consideration but with the P43 you may use more pellets trying to reach your desired comfort zone. Lots of Harman owners here with a wealth of knowledge. Welcome!

 

[Bioburner]

We use a 150bu gravity box and have a simple screen system to take out fines. Five gallon buckets to bring into house. Average burn of 22quarts per day. About three miles from farmer and elevator.

 

[MCPO]

The P43 should do it very nicely. I`m heating a whole lot more with my P-38 and never have to turn it up high. Your amount of oil usage tells me that your house isn`t that hard to heat.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

the P-43 is a solid unit, harman makes great stoves , looking at your description and assuming insulation isnt too bad she'll get it done for ya. nice stove

 

[Lousyweather]

well, what the heck....P61 here....14 years old, and now only burn oil for hot water....not too far from you, maybe a bit warmer here, 2000 square feet, house built in 1988, 15" of fiberglass in the attic....5 tons per year. I'm fairly certain you'll like the p43, but would suggest entertaining the p61a...maybe too much cash, but it WILL do the job....a couple things:

1. Buy your pellets early
2. try to get a whole season's worth ahead of time
3. buy from a reputable dealer- talk with friends, hang out at the store and chat with actual owners....this is pretty important
4. have it installed according to the manual, or, install it yourself, just follow the specs
5. don't agonize about the pellets, the stove will burn anything, but get premium pellets (some folks here...well, read the forums!)
6. don't scrimp on pipe...get a good one....we might argue over this, but your big box store pipe pretty much sux
7. seal all joints, and no joints in the wall
8. might wanna start the stove outside and really heat it up to burn off the oils and cure the paint- can set off your smoke detectors!
9. and all the other stuff I forgot...its late!