About to pull the trigger on a Harmon63 for my 2,400 sq ft but FIRST wanted to get your opinion on this . I have an oil furnace that I know will run maybe 20% of the time for hot water . I’m hoping the furnace doesn’t need to come on except for maybe bedroom heating (upstairs) or extreme cold . I live in eastern PA and pellets are about $300/ton. I’m guessing I’ll need 3-4 tons . In your opinion will this Harman pump enough heat to the downstairs living area to about 72-74 degrees and keep the furnace off? Financially , I paid about $2,500 in oil fill ups alone and want to see if this investment is the right one for my wife and I. All comments and suggestions are welcomed! Thanks!!
Harman absolute63
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Whitenuckler
Feeling the Heat
Where are you putting it? You say pumping heat to the downstairs? That would only work if you had duct work. Sounds like you have a boiler like I had here before (before my time, now heat pumps, electric heaters and pellet stove)
NS P-68
New Member
Depends on many factors. Layout of your home, insulation level ,amount of heat loss in your home . Just to name a few. Many experienced people on here will tell you " a pellet stove is a space heater" Its not a central heating system.
It can be done... but it not a simple yes or no answer.
I think the best advice is to buy the biggest BTU stove you can and see what it will do. They can alway be turned down if required.
A reputable dealer can give advice as to placement of the stove according to the layout of you're home for optimal performance. The key is reputable ...and not just someone interested in making the sale.
Good luck!
It can be done... but it not a simple yes or no answer.
I think the best advice is to buy the biggest BTU stove you can and see what it will do. They can alway be turned down if required.
A reputable dealer can give advice as to placement of the stove according to the layout of you're home for optimal performance. The key is reputable ...and not just someone interested in making the sale.
Good luck!
It’ll be placed in dining room area towards the back of the house . Directly in line with the hallway that leads to the kitchen and living room . Professional came over and said that would be the best place for it and could keep my mobile thermostat in another room in order to get the entire downstairs area at the preferred temp
Whitenuckler
Feeling the Heat
Ok when you said downstairs I started to think about the basement. If it goes in a remote room (as opposed to a great area) then you will still have the issue of getting the heat out of the dining area into the rest of the first floor. Then of course if you can't move the heat it may not reach the stairs the way would like to go upstairs. Might as well put it in the living room where you can enjoy it.
The first rule is that a pellet stove is a space heater
To heat a whole or part of a home, you need a forced-air furnace
If you are lucky and your stove does heat the downstairs, you
will find the room the stove is in to warm, and the farther you
get away from the stove, the cooler it will be. Some people find that fans
help by blowing cool air towards the stove . Install an OAK (outside air kit)
to minimise drafts
To heat a whole or part of a home, you need a forced-air furnace
If you are lucky and your stove does heat the downstairs, you
will find the room the stove is in to warm, and the farther you
get away from the stove, the cooler it will be. Some people find that fans
help by blowing cool air towards the stove . Install an OAK (outside air kit)
to minimise drafts
Whitenuckler
Feeling the Heat
I don't want to talk you out of a pellet stove, but have you considered heat pumps? They heat and cool, and work well down to fairly low temperatures. They are similar though in that they only heat/cool well were the "heads" are. If you have 200A service or can get it, you could get a couple of heat pumps to reduce your oil consumption.
Think of my downstairs as a four square…. Dinning room and family room right next to each other (open floor plan) a 10-12 ft hallway then the kitchen and living room next to each other (more enclosed space) . Having the stove between the dinning room and family room directly inline with the hallway to the kitchen and living room. He said it’ll easily keep the dining and family room cozy and the kitchen and living room would be a few degrees cooler . You just never know until you install it 🤷🏼♂️
Whitenuckler
Feeling the Heat
I guess the hallway has some other area's like a bathroom ect.? Do you have 8 or 10 ft ceilings? I can see for sure that DR and FR with the open floor plan will work out well. Does the hallway have the stairs going up as well? I don't think you would get much heat into your KIT and LR, you would still need heat for those rooms. If that is a separate oil zone, then you could add some heat with oil. If the DR and FR were another oil zone, then that could be shut off when the pellet stove is on. You will get some heat upstairs too as heat rises.
I don't believe you could just have a couple of degrees difference between the two sides of your house.
bogieb
Minister of Fire
Having the stove pointed directly down the hallway is huge in making sure some of the heat gets to the farther reaches. I had a corner set up in my living room before I put in my P43 (no choice becuase of the width of the Hastings did not give me the clearance from the side wall that I needed). The heat would be trapped. Even with lots of fans going, the bedrooms were about 10* colder than the main part of the house.
When I put in the P43, it was just enough smaller, that I could aim it straight down the hall and I no longer have to run supplemental fans. The bedrooms now run about 2* colder except on the very coldest days (they are over an unconditioned garage that gets down to 30F or lower at times). Of course YYMV and there are other considerations depending on your house layout and natural air convection - as others have mentioned. I also have a stove in the basement (it was my original stove, but the air convections would not allow for heating of the main floor very well).
PS - the red dot is the thermostat that I run the P43 from.
![[Hearth.com] Harman absolute63](https://www.hearth.com/talk/attachments/main-floor-layout-p43-air-flow-schematic-with-stat-location-webp.338528/ "[Hearth.com] Harman absolute63")
When I put in the P43, it was just enough smaller, that I could aim it straight down the hall and I no longer have to run supplemental fans. The bedrooms now run about 2* colder except on the very coldest days (they are over an unconditioned garage that gets down to 30F or lower at times). Of course YYMV and there are other considerations depending on your house layout and natural air convection - as others have mentioned. I also have a stove in the basement (it was my original stove, but the air convections would not allow for heating of the main floor very well).
PS - the red dot is the thermostat that I run the P43 from.
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