Harman p61 autolite conversion

[RKSpeed]

Found a Harman p61 on Facebook marketplace for $100, lady said she had it looked at and it needed a new control board. I figure for $100 even if it needs a new board I'll convert it to autolite for $650 and I'll have a nice stove. Get the stove home, it's filthy, I don't think anyone ever cleaned it since it was new. Draft motor was almost seized from dust and cat hair. Clean it all out, spray some lub on draft motor, stove works perfect, board is fine.

So anyways, I'd still like to convert it to autolite and replace the manual p38 in the house. If I bought the parts separately would it be cheaper than ad a kit?

 

[Don2222]

Hello
The kit maybe easier.
I did a double upgrade to a P38 Once to make it an autolite. I also upgraded P61s to autolite.
Why not upgrade both of your stoves??
Here are pics of one of my P61 autolite upgrade.

A good tool for the Harman pusher arm and questions when doing the auto ignition upgrade?

Hello The auto ignition upgrade kits for the Harman P61 vary depending upon serial #. This one that I got for units below 6400 may have changed also. I did an upgrade with I believe the same kit and I had to notch the ash pan to slide it back in. The burn pot on both lower sides seemed to hang...

www.hearth.com

P38 autolite parts for upgrade similar to p61

Can a Harman P38 be upgraded to auto lite?

Hello If the newer Harman P38s have the older Harman P61 control board, then is it possible to change it to the P61A control board and change the burn pot and ad the ignitor?

www.hearth.com

More pics on a p38 cleaning & fixing

Harman PP38+ not feeding pellets?

Hello Just found a PP38+ which is a nice little stove that belts out the heat! However it does not feed pellets for many, many reasons!!! Has anyone had all these problems? So I pulled out the test cord and checked the feed motor. It turns fine so that is not the problem. The control panel...

www.hearth.com

 

[RKSpeed]

Hi Don, I was hoping you would respond to this thread. I had previously read both of the above posts you recommended

"Why not upgrade both stoves?"

I'm cheap I think is the simplest answer. The pellet stove in the house is our main heat source so once it's lit it runs 24/7 so really no need to keep lighting it over and over. The main reason for the conversion is for my wife, she's not a huge fan of running a blow torch to start it back up if it does go out. Also, in the warmer months it would be nice to just have the stove go out instead of just idle all day.

The kits seem to run around $650 best case scenario. $1300 seems a bit rich for my blood. Maybe I could sell old control boards and make some money back.

Could I modify the old p61 burn pot to accept igniter bracket? Seems like just two nuts welded to inside of pot. Maybe it's bigger than non Auto lite burn pot

 

[Don2222]

Hi Don, I was hoping you would respond to this thread. I had previously read both of the above posts you recommended

"Why not upgrade both stoves?"

I'm cheap I think is the simplest answer. The pellet stove in the house is our main heat source so once it's lit it runs 24/7 so really no need to keep lighting it over and over. The main reason for the conversion is for my wife, she's not a huge fan of running a blow torch to start it back up if it does go out. Also, in the warmer months it would be nice to just have the stove go out instead of just idle all day.

The kits seem to run around $650 best case scenario. $1300 seems a bit rich for my blood. Maybe I could sell old control boards and make some money back.

Could I modify the old p61 burn pot to accept igniter bracket? Seems like just two nuts welded to inside of pot. Maybe it's bigger than non Auto lite burn pot

The igniter burn pot is larger so the igniter and cradle will fit. If the old board works you can sell it on Craigslist and get a few bucks. I have WiFi T-Stat on mine so we can turn it on before we get home. Just connect the stat in series with one of the wires to the room probe.

 

[natelive]

Found a really good buy on a Harman P38 that may need a new control board. If I purchase, I was wondering how difficult is the conversion to the P38+? Anyone done the conversion? Tips, advice is always appreciated!

 

[Don2222]

Found a really good buy on a Harman P38 that may need a new control board. If I purchase, I was wondering how difficult is the conversion to the P38+? Anyone done the conversion? Tips, advice is always appreciated!

Yes, I have done it. The control panel upgrade kit comes with a template to cut the sheet metal out more so the new control board will fit. You need a nice electric Sabre saw to do this. The rest is easy, just snake in a new wire harness and clip it onto all the motors and fans and vacuum switch.
I did that and then got the P43 burn pot and put in an igniter. I used the p43 wire harness with the 2 igniter wires and the p43 control panel and guess what? It auto lites just like the P43 - LOL

 

[rickwai]

Yes, I have done it. The control panel upgrade kit comes with a template to cut the sheet metal out more so the new control board will fit. You need a nice electric Sabre saw to do this. The rest is easy, just snake in a new wire harness and clip it onto all the motors and fans and vacuum switch.
I did that and then got the P43 burn pot and put in an igniter. I used the p43 wire harness with the 2 igniter wires and the p43 control panel and guess what? It auto lites just like the P43 - LOL

I did the exact same thing to my P38. Worked out great

 

[Don2222]

I did the exact same thing to my P38. Worked out great

The P38 is tricky, did you cut the panel hole in the side of the stove larger, to get the auto lite circuit board in? I did that when I upgraded and Old P38