the diagram also shows the whacky "top extension kit" that you'd need to use (or something similar) to separate the intake from the exhaust. in the end this configuration is sort of cost prohibitive for most people. I've never told anyone they couldn't do it, but i do explain that in many circumstances its not necessary, though you may like to have it. So many people balk at the cost of installation as it is, why get them all riled up about fresh air intake, when it is not "needed" (even if desirable) or is going to add more $$ to the bill that they already want to haggle about? Raise your hands members with an insert who have a full reline and fresh air intake running up the chimney in parallel.....not so many I think, for these very reasons I'd assume.
Harman P35i Chimney Liner Rumble
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tonyd
Feeling the Heat
I clean my insert outside on a dolly. I had the cast iron top removed to lighten the load and reinstalled it outside. When I lit the stove I heard the rumble. I noticed the weather stripping sticking out around the hopper (not the lid). After repositioning the gasket the rumbling stopped. Pulled the gasket out, rumble, sealed hopper, no rumble. It is definitely A cause for the rumble.
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c_mantle said:
Okay, here's what I found... the dealer came out and looked at the stove. I left it off so it was cold when they got here. After pulliing it out and inspecting the rear of the stove which all looked good he lit the stove and watched it burn. It didn't take long to start making the rumbling sound... he discovered that by opening the door latch slightly that it would stop... upon further inspection of the door, he decided it may be that the door wasn't making a good seal. The next day he brought another door over from the display unit in the showroom and we quickly took of my door and replaced it with the one he brought. When we started the stove it didn't take long before the rumbling started, and proved the door theory wrong.
I had mentioned the flame guide as suggested by two other contributors to this thread, and he said he had the curved one in his truck if I wanted to try one. So he left one with me and I shut down the stove to let it cool. A few hours later I removed the flat flame guide that came with my P35i, and replaced it with the curved flame guide. I definetly like the way the stove burns much better with the curved flame guide! The rumbling has decreased by 90% and now it is a pleasant rumbling that sounds like a normal fire sound, rather than a sort of resonant frequency vibration that could get very loud and have long durations with the flat flame guide in place.
I also notice that the flame is more consistent across the burn pot and the ash on the edges of the burn pot is more completely burnt with the curved flame guide.
Thanks alot you guys for suggesting the flame guide!... It seems to really improve stove performance and greatly reduce unwanted vibration.
As for picking the P35i over the Accentra, I really liked the smaller look of the P35i insert, and my back really liked carrying that up the 21 stairs to my back deck and around a corner into my living room. I also knew that the stove should be good and reliable because it is a P Series stove made into an insert, and the P Series stoves have a proven track record. The Accentra is a nice stove, but it is such a monster, and the P35i is so much smaller and only 7000 btu's less in output I believe. I also just liked the looks of the P35i better for my family room. The lower price is also an attractive feature.
I have a 2400 sq ft house with an oil fired force hot air furnace and two zones. So far the P35i has had no problem heating my entire downstairs to 70 degrees with temperatures outside in the upper 30's and lower 40's and the oil furnace off. I think it will do a nice job this winter offsetting my oil usage significantly. Last year I used 520 gallons total, I'm hoping to get that somewhere in the 350 gallon range or less.
tjnamtiw
Minister of Fire
It sure as HELL won't be Kwanzaa or any Muslim holiday!
tjnamtiw
Minister of Fire
Lousyweather said:
No, Kwanzaa is a Black holiday and I couldn't come up with the name of a Muslim holiday unless they celebrate Best IED of the Year.
tjnamtiw
Minister of Fire
P35i update! Today is January 29th, 2011 and I have been burning my P35i for nearly 3 months now, and I am loving it! So far I have reduced my oil usage by half, as compared to last year at this same time.
I have burned 39 bags of New England Wood Pellets so far this season, and I think the 2 tons I started with will be just about right to carry me through until spring.
Here's how I have been using my pellet insert to offset my oil usage. My house has a oil fired forced hot air furnace with 2 zones. We keep the downstairs zone set to 58 at night, so the furnace rarely comes on. The downstairs zone is programmed to jump up to 66 in the morning just before we get up. While the oil furnace is warming up the downstairs zone I give the pellet stove a quick cleaning each morning by scraping the burn pot, quickly brushing the heat exchanger with a small paint brush, cleaning the glass, and fill the stove with pellets. This takes about 15 minutes at most. Then I light the pellet stove at about 7:30am. By this time my programable thermostat sets the downstairs zone back down to 58 and the pellet stove maintains and heats the entire downstairs zone for the rest of the day until I shut it down at about 10:30pm. The oil furnace never fires again for the rest of the day. Even on the coldest days, I have not used more than 1 bag of pellets.
During the day, the upstairs zone is set at 58, and at night it goes up to 64 while we are up there sleeping. We use an electric blanket to warm up the bed, then shut it off before we fall asleep. This uses far less electricity than having the furnace set at a higher temp, which heats the entire zone.
Rarely will the heat come on in the upstairs zone during the day, and it only comes on a few times during the night while we are up there.
By shutting down my pellet stove at night and giving it that quick cleaning each morning, it keeps the stove very clean and burning efficiently. I have performed 2 full firebox cleanings so far (after every 15 bags or so) which takes about an hour and a half, and I empty the ash pan about once every week or week and a half as needed.
I have found the maintenance to be very easy so far, and don't mind it a bit. It is part of my morning routine now, and only takes a few minutes. By not letting the pellet stove run all night, I am not heating my downstairs when I am not in the space, and I make my supply of pellets last longer. With the oil heat set at 58 overnight, the furnace rarely comes on because the zone never cools below the set point. Yes, it is cool downstairs in the morning, but firing the oil for 15 minutes warms it up quickly. And no... it does not cost more to heat the downstairs zone up from 60 to 66 than it would if I left the thermostat set to 66 degrees all night.
Will make a final post at the end of the season to report total oil offset with my 2 tons of pellets and this method of using the pellet stove.
I have burned 39 bags of New England Wood Pellets so far this season, and I think the 2 tons I started with will be just about right to carry me through until spring.
Here's how I have been using my pellet insert to offset my oil usage. My house has a oil fired forced hot air furnace with 2 zones. We keep the downstairs zone set to 58 at night, so the furnace rarely comes on. The downstairs zone is programmed to jump up to 66 in the morning just before we get up. While the oil furnace is warming up the downstairs zone I give the pellet stove a quick cleaning each morning by scraping the burn pot, quickly brushing the heat exchanger with a small paint brush, cleaning the glass, and fill the stove with pellets. This takes about 15 minutes at most. Then I light the pellet stove at about 7:30am. By this time my programable thermostat sets the downstairs zone back down to 58 and the pellet stove maintains and heats the entire downstairs zone for the rest of the day until I shut it down at about 10:30pm. The oil furnace never fires again for the rest of the day. Even on the coldest days, I have not used more than 1 bag of pellets.
During the day, the upstairs zone is set at 58, and at night it goes up to 64 while we are up there sleeping. We use an electric blanket to warm up the bed, then shut it off before we fall asleep. This uses far less electricity than having the furnace set at a higher temp, which heats the entire zone.
Rarely will the heat come on in the upstairs zone during the day, and it only comes on a few times during the night while we are up there.
By shutting down my pellet stove at night and giving it that quick cleaning each morning, it keeps the stove very clean and burning efficiently. I have performed 2 full firebox cleanings so far (after every 15 bags or so) which takes about an hour and a half, and I empty the ash pan about once every week or week and a half as needed.
I have found the maintenance to be very easy so far, and don't mind it a bit. It is part of my morning routine now, and only takes a few minutes. By not letting the pellet stove run all night, I am not heating my downstairs when I am not in the space, and I make my supply of pellets last longer. With the oil heat set at 58 overnight, the furnace rarely comes on because the zone never cools below the set point. Yes, it is cool downstairs in the morning, but firing the oil for 15 minutes warms it up quickly. And no... it does not cost more to heat the downstairs zone up from 60 to 66 than it would if I left the thermostat set to 66 degrees all night.
Will make a final post at the end of the season to report total oil offset with my 2 tons of pellets and this method of using the pellet stove.
Mr. Heat Miser said:
Now that you've opened the bin a few times, have you noticed any problem with the paint scraping off the hinges to the lid? The display in the store near me has almost all of the paint on the hinges scraped off due to opening and closing the lid.
I'm about to pull the trigger on this model.
I have an appointment with the installer for measurements of my metal fireplace.
TIA,
Charles
crwalter said:
Hi Charles,
I just looked at my hinges, and they look good. One small chip in the paint on the right hand hinge, but that doesn't bother me. That may have been there all along as far as I know anyway. You can buy some flat black touch up stove paint and give them a coat after each season if you want. The floor models in the store take a beating from people opening and closing and touching them over and over. Not to worry, I have been very happy with mine so far, and the maintenance is really easy too. That's a big plus! I shut mine down each night, and give it a quick cleaning in the morning before lighting it, which keeps it nice and clean and burning great!
Thanks for the reply.
I know that the floor sample takes abuse, even though it has not been set up.
The hopper lid hinges are looking really bad on that unit. I don't even know what year that one was made.
Since that would not be a reflection of "real world" use, I thought I'd ask. I'm not worried about an occassional touch up, just constant touch ups. Glad to hear that this should not be an issue.
The installer will be at my house at 4:00 p.m today to take measurements. I'm not sure what he'll say, since I think the existing zc fireplace is too small. The guy in the store thought I was nuts when I was asking about removing the existing zc fireplace and putting in the insert with a zc kit.
I know that the floor sample takes abuse, even though it has not been set up.
The hopper lid hinges are looking really bad on that unit. I don't even know what year that one was made.
Since that would not be a reflection of "real world" use, I thought I'd ask. I'm not worried about an occassional touch up, just constant touch ups. Glad to hear that this should not be an issue.
The installer will be at my house at 4:00 p.m today to take measurements. I'm not sure what he'll say, since I think the existing zc fireplace is too small. The guy in the store thought I was nuts when I was asking about removing the existing zc fireplace and putting in the insert with a zc kit.
crwalter said:
If it is the P35i you are looking it, it was made in 2010. Last year was the first year they made the P35i. I think it came out in the Spring of 2010 sometime. It is however based on the P-Series Harmans that have been around for many years and are a proven design. Some modifications were made to make it into an insert, and to keep the costs down.
summit
Minister of Fire
get the flame guide for a new accentra insert and your 35i will work fine. this flame guide has a curve in it that kills the turbulence associated with this noise.
smwilliamson
The Stove Guy
camdids said:
This type of install requires a special cap which allows outside air to be sucked into the chimney from the top and a sealed damper plate below. Look and read the technical drawing closely!
Irish916
Member
Mr. Heat Miser said:
Thank you for sharing your experience on this unit. This unit was recommended by my local stove store to replace my ZC propane insert. Does anyone have any idea what a good price would be to have this installed? I saw another poster said an installer was coming. I want to make sure I don't get taken to the cleaners. Thoughts?
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