Harman 52i stove limits and/or install issues

[HP52NOVA]

This is my first season using the stove, as some of you may know or recall, Harman basically rebuilt my stove a few weeks ago due to multiple issues which basically rendered it useless out of the factory (quality issues under new management?). Now, that we are up and running, I am trying to assess what the true expected capacity of the stove and its limits – or maybe my install is not so solid causing other problems.

Here is my setup: the house was built in 2008 and is rather tight, no drafts. It is almost 5000SQF in total (main floor and second are 4300). The stove is side vented by going up about 4 feet and then horizontal for about 6 feet. It replaced a propane gas “decorative” fire place. I do have an OAK.

The stove is installed on the main floor with a very open plan and has multiple stairways to the second floor. When the temp is down to 20s-30s outside, I find its heating my entire house to a comfortable 74. However, when we go down to the single digits – it was struggling to keep the family room at 72-73 running on full and parts of the house dropped to 65-67. My propane furnace kicked in when it got down to 70 across the hall and was helping the stove. I have a heat pump on the second floor – I think it’s getting some help as it was not constantly on emergency heat as last year. So is this normal, given the size of my house and setup? Or should I see more heat from the stove?

I am burning Hamer and Truman pellets – I find that I cannot take the burn rate all the way up to 4. If I do that, I get a lot of unburned pellets in my ash tray and the flame gets very dirty, especially overnight as I may get a full tray of unburned pellets. The max burn rate I can run with good results is 3, but it seems I get less heat by doing that. I scrape the burn pot every time I put pellets in – about twice a day – two bags a day these days. Is this normal? The stove and vent are clean. It almost seems the stove cant burn at a high burn on 4 without overrunning itself. My dealer said that the OAK may be confusing it as its bringing in very cold air during the night impacting the combustion. it also sounds my vent is not ideal. Is that true?

My OAK is right next to the vent, same level. The vent terminates sticking out about a foot outside and down with termination cap. The vent termination is only a foot away from my siding and one of the windows – so I am getting some soot on the house and the top of my window. Is this normal? Should I extend/modify the vent? How do you clean the siding from the soot? How damaging is this?

Thanks for all the help guys, this forum is great. Wish I found it before the install and before my dealer left the building and the business! We need more pellet smart people around, guiding newbies like me

 

[bogieb]

I don't know anything abut inserts, but my guess is that if you are heating 5000 sq/ft to 72 degrees when it is 25F outside, then you are doing dang good. At lower temps, I would expect it to need an assist from other heat sources.

Heck, I have two stoves to heat <1600 sq/ft. granted, the layout isn't open and the far end is over an unheated garage, but you are getting 3x the area heated. As for the rest, I will let others with experience in you specific stove take care of those questions.

I will say, that the termination cap for the P61a is about a foot away from my siding - facing into prevailing breeze, and I haven't had any sootiness yet (KOW). I've had the Harman going since last winter. take that for WIIW, being a different stove.

 

[jackman]

I have a similar house to yours (4300 sq ft built in 2006) on 2 levels. My stove is on the lower level which is a walk out basement. My venting is similar as well. I'd say that you're doing very well heating your place. I always need supplemental heat on the upper level using a heat pump. I also had some soot on the siding from the vent which my dealer resolved by installing an additional 3' extension with a 45 degree elbow to move the exhaust farther away from the house. When it gets below freezing I'll use 2 bags a day. Most of the time it's a bag a day. I scrape the burn pot whenever I drop in a bag.

So, all in all, I think your install and stove are working at optimum. You should give it some more time and adjust your expectations accordingly.

 

[john193]

Given the large house, I think it is a testament to the stove and the good insulation of your house that you can even maintain 70's when it's in the 20's out. As others have mentioned, the stove is likely tapped out when it gets any colder. Keep in mind that the 52i is rated for 52K BTU input, meaning your max output is probably in the 75-80% of that figure. I'd bet your propane furnace is rated in the 100K range, given the size you are trying to heat.

 

[Trickyrick]

I have the accent ra insert at 48000 btu and you are getting everything you should expect... I heat just over 1/2 what you are and as the temp drops below 0 or the wind really kicks up I too have to supplement...

To prove this grab last years gas bill and tell us how much you used in the same month. I bet you will find that 52000 btus and hour in your home didn't do it before you got the stove either.