...P68 
My P38 had no problems heating my house....until a short lived, double digit sub zero cold snap came last winter. Temp went from an easy to maintain 70-72 down to 66 in a relatively short time. Could've used oil to supplement the stove but I decided to let the stove chug it out. Like I said, it was a short cold spell and all was well after that...kind of. I'd be lying if I said it didn't leave a bad taste in my mouth.
A couple weeks ago, a relative mentioned needing a new stove to replace his 17 year old St. Croix Afton Bay. We agreed on a price and off went the P38.
I initially was going to buy a P61 due to "significantly" shorter brochure listed height, compared to the P68. When I went to my dealer and looked at em side by side, there wasn't the claimed 4 or so inch height difference. It was more like 1". The brochure listed height of almost 40" is incorrect. I figured go big or go home so i went with the P68. Installation was a direct swap once I removed the redundant hearth pad I used for the P38. Getting it in the house still in the box was interesting. Actually it sucked.
I fired her up for the always noisy paint curing session and wasn't disappointed. Alarms every 3 min for an hour or so. Ya, with the windows open and fans going. The build date on the stove is from late Aug and the box and manual both had a sticker on them that said "New Paint 258H",
whatever that means. Maybe it's Harman's high burnoff smoke formula.
The combustion motor is MUCH quieter than the 38 was, leading me to think the 38's motor was getting a little flaky, or more likely, the fan needed a detail cleaning or replacing. The noise the 38 made, to me, sounded like an unbalanced fan. Anyway, I love the fact this one is quieter. The distribution air noise is quite a bit louder, but not obnoxious. The stove's outlets are a diff shape than on a P38, though I'm not sure that's the reason for the increased dB. The distribution motor used on the 68 is no longer made by Dayton, or so I was told. I know the Dayton sticker is no longer there. Perhaps the difference in sound is due to the motor, or possibly a slightly different fan design. If it is a different blower, I wonder if Harman changed it to eliminate customers taking the Grainger route. I love the increased glass/door size and the increased working area. The hopper capacity is another huge bonus. Also, the control panel being safely tucked behind the door is another very nice feature.
I'm 100% confident this stove will heat the house with plenty to spare. Of course, being a bit sick in the head, I'll miss that little P38 that worked so hard to keep my family warm.
Here's a pic of her with heat shelds, side anti-singe vase technology and front anti-sear finger guard in place. Kid friendly P68
![[Hearth.com] Farewell loyal P38, hello.......](https://www.hearth.com/talk/data/attachments/115/115034-b2945aae8e8921b76bcc691690eccc15.jpg?hash=m1akm624dS "[Hearth.com] Farewell loyal P38, hello.......")
My P38 had no problems heating my house....until a short lived, double digit sub zero cold snap came last winter. Temp went from an easy to maintain 70-72 down to 66 in a relatively short time. Could've used oil to supplement the stove but I decided to let the stove chug it out. Like I said, it was a short cold spell and all was well after that...kind of. I'd be lying if I said it didn't leave a bad taste in my mouth. A couple weeks ago, a relative mentioned needing a new stove to replace his 17 year old St. Croix Afton Bay. We agreed on a price and off went the P38.
I initially was going to buy a P61 due to "significantly" shorter brochure listed height, compared to the P68. When I went to my dealer and looked at em side by side, there wasn't the claimed 4 or so inch height difference. It was more like 1". The brochure listed height of almost 40" is incorrect. I figured go big or go home so i went with the P68. Installation was a direct swap once I removed the redundant hearth pad I used for the P38. Getting it in the house still in the box was interesting. Actually it sucked.
I fired her up for the always noisy paint curing session and wasn't disappointed. Alarms every 3 min for an hour or so. Ya, with the windows open and fans going. The build date on the stove is from late Aug and the box and manual both had a sticker on them that said "New Paint 258H",
whatever that means. Maybe it's Harman's high burnoff smoke formula.
The combustion motor is MUCH quieter than the 38 was, leading me to think the 38's motor was getting a little flaky, or more likely, the fan needed a detail cleaning or replacing. The noise the 38 made, to me, sounded like an unbalanced fan. Anyway, I love the fact this one is quieter. The distribution air noise is quite a bit louder, but not obnoxious. The stove's outlets are a diff shape than on a P38, though I'm not sure that's the reason for the increased dB. The distribution motor used on the 68 is no longer made by Dayton, or so I was told. I know the Dayton sticker is no longer there. Perhaps the difference in sound is due to the motor, or possibly a slightly different fan design. If it is a different blower, I wonder if Harman changed it to eliminate customers taking the Grainger route. I love the increased glass/door size and the increased working area. The hopper capacity is another huge bonus. Also, the control panel being safely tucked behind the door is another very nice feature.
I'm 100% confident this stove will heat the house with plenty to spare. Of course, being a bit sick in the head, I'll miss that little P38 that worked so hard to keep my family warm.
Here's a pic of her with heat shelds, side anti-singe vase technology and front anti-sear finger guard in place. Kid friendly P68
