harman advance thinking of upgrading to p68

[akboom]

so I live in interior alaska range from 90 above to 65 below lol. my house in well insulated open floor plan in floor heat and about 1800 square feet. last winter was not bad had some cold stretches that were about -50 to -60 that hung around for a few days. I still use about 30 gallons of oil a month heating water and garage floor and crawl space. I have a harman advance came with the house had it for two years works great had some issues but figured them out wish I knew about this site earlier lol. but anyways
thinking about putting a p68 in the house and putting advance in the garage. would i notice the 20,000 btu difference in the house? would it be worth dropping the money for it? I'd like a little more heat for those cold days. and I figured I'd stick the advance in the garage to cut the oil use down even more that stuff ain't cheap!!

 

[P38X2]

Well it's certainly gonna have much more output. Some additional hopper capacity is a plus as well. It may not have the looks of the Advance, but it does look tough. The glass is a bit larger than the other P series stoves, but not really in the same league as your current stove, but it'll still light the room up pretty good with fiery ambience.

I recently upgraded from a P38 to a 68. 99% of the time, my 38 heated my 2400' just fine, but there were a couple -15 degree days last year that it lost it a bit. I could've simply turned the oil burner on like a smart man, but I chose the caveman route of "more fire". Don't regret my decision one bit. Absolutely love this stove and it hasn't even been that could yet.

If you've got the coin, I say go for it. I think all Alaskans owe it to themselves to have the biggest stove Harman makes.

65 below?! W T F

 

[akboom]

yeah the glass is no issue I just care about btu's. yeah the coin is there I just wanted to make sure it was worth the upgrade I love the advance and is great I just need a little more heat. I played with the idea of a wood stove butt ughhh I grew up with one and don't have the time in the summer to cut wood and hate the thought of gathering wood in winter. thanks for your reply. yes -65 two years ago we hit -70 in the low laying areas. it sounds bad but after -40 you couldn't tell the difference it's just cold!! but love it been here all my life 27 years

 

[Harman Lover 007]

yeah the glass is no issue I just care about btu's. yeah the coin is there I just wanted to make sure it was worth the upgrade I love the advance and is great I just need a little more heat. I played with the idea of a wood stove butt ughhh I grew up with one and don't have the time in the summer to cut wood and hate the thought of gathering wood in winter. thanks for your reply. yes -65 two years ago we hit -70 in the low laying areas. it sounds bad but after -40 you couldn't tell the difference it's just cold!! but love it been here all my life 27 years

If you go with the P68, you can expect your pellet usage to increase when you are trying to combat those really cold days and nights. How many tons do you burn per year now?

 

[Lousyweather]

yup....more heat= more pellets used.....plan accordingly.

 

[P38X2]

yeah the glass is no issue I just care about btu's. yeah the coin is there I just wanted to make sure it was worth the upgrade I love the advance and is great I just need a little more heat. I played with the idea of a wood stove butt ughhh I grew up with one and don't have the time in the summer to cut wood and hate the thought of gathering wood in winter. thanks for your reply. yes -65 two years ago we hit -70 in the low laying areas. it sounds bad but after -40 you couldn't tell the difference it's just cold!! but love it been here all my life 27 years

I'd like to see AK someday, preferably in the summertime, but I'm also intrigued by those blisteringly cold temps.

Can you see the aurora on a regular basis? In SW NH it's extremely rare, especially with this dud of a solar max we're having.

 

[akboom]

yeah they out all the time they been good the last two years. I use roughly a bag a day for 7 months just depends on weather.

 

[P38X2]

Nice. Must be a very energy efficient house. What are the insulation R value codes up there?

 

[akboom]

I should re phrase that they are not out in the summer time on account it's light for 24hrs a dang day. it's sounds crazy but after a summer of working like crazy I am so ready for winter the snow the cold the dark lol it's when I get to relax some. I love it where I live there are no property taxes no sales tax. when you buy property it's yours to do as you wish no rules or restrictions. on the downside cost of living is high. most of us up here offset that by many ways. either you love it or hate it that's for sure. thanks for all the replies guys !!

 

[Lousyweather]

I should re phrase that they are not out in the summer time on account it's light for 24hrs a dang day. it's sounds crazy but after a summer of working like crazy I am so ready for winter the snow the cold the dark lol it's when I get to relax some. I love it where I live there are no property taxes no sales tax. when you buy property it's yours to do as you wish no rules or restrictions. on the downside cost of living is high. most of us up here offset that by many ways. either you love it or hate it that's for sure. thanks for all the replies guys !!

no sales tax or property tax??!! dont let em hear that in the Ash Can! Means you arent paying "your fair share" (ie: paying for the unfortunate have-nots)

 

[akboom]

2x6 construction Ty vex wrap 4 inch spray foam and layer of batt insulation house was built well. only major loss is the garage doors they are next to impossible to seal well at -50 !! lol I won't go in the ash pan then the codes up here are pretty lean fact is unless your doing a construction loan no enforced codes. I see some awful bad stuff out there but up here sometimes you make do till you got the money. on the bright side we got a local company starting to make pellets and am excited to give them a try. as of current I get pellets from Canada they are premium pellets from vanderhoff bc. cost is 320 a ton. local pellets I've heard will be going for 290 a ton. either way the heat I get from a bag of pellets is a lot more then I get from 4.07$ a gallon heating oil.

 

[Enigma869]

65 below?! W T F

I'm more shocked that a temperature of 90 degrees has ever been recorded in Alaska! The average high temperature for many parts of Alaska in its warmest month is in the mid-sixties.