Harman P61A Feed Rate Adjust

[cory127]

I tried adjusting the feed rate on my P61A last night and I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong . . . Put it in stove temp mode, turned it all the way up to 7 and set feed rate at 6. I was expecting pellets to be dropping off the edge, but they never did. Let it burn like that for almost an hour and a half and the pellets never got within a couple inches of the edge. Is this normal? I'm burning New England pellets.

 

[HarmanManP43]

I tried adjusting the feed rate on my P61A last night and I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong . . . Put it in stove temp mode, turned it all the way up to 7 and set feed rate at 6. I was expecting pellets to be dropping off the edge, but they never did. Let it burn like that for almost an hour and a half and the pellets never got within a couple inches of the edge. Is this normal? I'm burning New England pellets.

Try using room mode. Lots of us have found found that in stove mode the stove doesn't seem to want to put out Max heat.

 

[Tonyray]

Harman P61 also..
my pellets are never close to the burnpot edge... never have been & prob never will be.
People can get really hung up on the [required?] ash/pellet line and feel there's something wrong when the stove is really operating normal.
I use room temp/manual feed rate 3.5... pellets are always burning closer towards the auger regardless of room or stove mode...

 

[HarmanManP43]

Harman P61 also..
my pellets are never close to the burnpot edge... never have been & prob never will be.
People can get really hung up on the [required?] ash/pellet line and feel there's something wrong when the stove is really operating normal.
I use room temp/manual feed rate 3.5... pellets are always burning closer towards the auger regardless of room or stove mode...

With such a low feed rate they will never get close to the edge. If 3.5 suits your needs then that's fine. Some require more heat output for their homes.

If the op wants to figure out his true Max feed rate he needs to max out the stove. Stove mode doesn't seem to do this.

 

[cory127]

Try using room mode. Lots of us have found found that in stove mode the stove doesn't seem to want to put out Max heat.

Will give that a try and let you know how it works.

 

[alternativeheat]

Will give that a try and let you know how it works.

Unless someone has updated it, the last I knew in Room Temp mode the vent temp was allowed to go up to 500 deg. In Stove temp if I understood it correctly, it does not get that hot. Takes more feed to get the stack to 500 deg than less than 500deg.

My stove runs noticeably hotter with a feed rate of 4 or more than it does 3.5 or less in the real cold weather. This time of year it doesn't matter what you set the feed rate at , the stove will only use what it needs which isn't much at the moment. In fact it's shutting down at the moment ! Tomorrow night is supposed to be cold, in the teens. I will be sure to have my feed rate set around just over 4. When someone sets their feed at 3 for instance, they are just limiting the stoves potential top output. Maybe their house doesn't require the output, in which case it probably doesn't require a stove with 61000 BTU input either ( obviously, since it never sees that usage). Just sayin.

 

[Harman Lover 007]

I tried adjusting the feed rate on my P61A last night and I'm not sure if I'm doing something wrong . . . Put it in stove temp mode, turned it all the way up to 7 and set feed rate at 6. I was expecting pellets to be dropping off the edge, but they never did. Let it burn like that for almost an hour and a half and the pellets never got within a couple inches of the edge. Is this normal? I'm burning New England pellets.

I'm going to assume you've read the Harman Sticky. If not, click on the link in my sig. Its a good read for a new Harman owner. Given your description, I'll bet you ran through some pellets in that hour and a half! The idea is to get the ash line to about an inch from the edge but that isn't gospel. Most of us Harman owners run the feed rate between 3.5 and 4.5. There are some here who just don't understand that concept but we keep trying.....enjoy your new stove, it looks great.

 

[cory127]

Guess I should have read the manual first . . .

Setting the feed limit # for maximum burn: With the unit burning
in "AUTO", turn to "Stove Mode" and put the fan on "H". Set the
Temperature Dial to #7. Allow the unit to burn for about 30 minutes
and check ash on front of burn pot. Fig. 18. If the ash line is larger
than 1", turn the feed limit from #4 to #5. Allow another 30 minutes of
burn time and check again. If , at #6 setting, a 1" or less ash bed is
not obtainable, it is not a problem. The 1" ash bed is only a maximum
burn rate and at most normal settings the ash bed will be larger.

 

[HarmanManP43]

The feed rate is just a limiter. Its the max amount of the pellets the stove is allowed to feed.

If its 55 degrees outside and your running your stove. The stove will burn the same amount of pellets at feed rate 3 then it will at 7 as heat demand will be low.

When its negative 20 outside if your stove is on feed rate 3 then you are holding back your stove (assuming you're not running trash pellets through it).

 

[Harman Lover 007]

Guess I should have read the manual first . . .

Setting the feed limit # for maximum burn: With the unit burning
in "AUTO", turn to "Stove Mode" and put the fan on "H". Set the
Temperature Dial to #7. Allow the unit to burn for about 30 minutes
and check ash on front of burn pot. Fig. 18. If the ash line is larger
than 1", turn the feed limit from #4 to #5. Allow another 30 minutes of
burn time and check again. If , at #6 setting, a 1" or less ash bed is
not obtainable, it is not a problem. The 1" ash bed is only a maximum
burn rate and at most normal settings the ash bed will be larger.

See above^^^^ read the sticky when you get a chance.

 

[cory127]

The feed rate is just a limiter. Its the max amount of the pellets the stove is allowed to feed.

If its 55 degrees outside and your running your stove. The stove will burn the same amount of pellets at feed rate 3 then it will at 7 as heat demand will be low.

When its negative 20 outside if your stove is on feed rate 3 then you are holding back your stove (assuming you're not running trash pellets through it).

Thanks. Finally figured out yesterday what the feed rate actually does. Basically tells the stove at what point it's pushing unburned pellets into the ash pan. I was concerned that at Max rate, I wasn't pushing any pellets over the side. Based on the manual, though, doesn't sound like it's a problem.

 

[HarmanManP43]

It's completely incorrect to believe that a high feed rate wastes pellets. This is only true if embers are falling into the ash pan.

 

[TonyVideo]

I would say your quality of pellets is high so you are reaching maximum heat quicker so you will never achieve it. Set it on 4 and enjoy. It is my understanding that in room temp mode it will bypass 4 anyway if more heat is needed. I also on my P68 was never able to achieve the 1". My P45 I was able to do and it ended up at 4 anyway which is what Harman recommends anyway for maximum efficiency. They have done more testing than myself. I burned through 2 bags needlessly to come to the same conclusion.

 

[Harman Lover 007]

It is my understanding that in room temp mode it will bypass 4 anyway if more heat is needed.

That isn't correct but the rest of your post is spot on.

 

[TonyVideo]

Thanks for the correction. I thought I read somewhere that 4 and auto will run past if needed. I did run the P68 at max and it sure burned through pellets. I have no need to do this but wanted to make sure walls and an entertainment center close by would still be ok and they passed.

 

[TonyVideo]

My P68 is corner mounted with the correct distance to the walls and the max temp on the walls was 125 degrees using a laser IR gun. The OP will have no issues running at 4 feed rate I am sure. When it gets in the teens I run in stove mode anyway as it seems to not use as many pellets as it is consistent and as the temp drops outside from the intake air it drops more pellets as needed to keep the exhaust temp constant. In room temp mode it cycles up and down too much for my liking. My temp cord is curled up and dangling in the back off the ground. It does maintain the temp where I sit within 1 degree however. I put a thermometer by my chair to see if it really did it. The Harman is a very nice unit with the versatility and easy to clean. I am a happy owner.

 

[HarmanManP43]

My P68 is corner mounted with the correct distance to the walls and the max temp on the walls was 125 degrees using a laser IR gun. The OP will have no issues running at 4 feed rate I am sure. When it gets in the teens I run in stove mode anyway as it seems to not use as many pellets as it is consistent and as the temp drops outside from the intake air it drops more pellets as needed to keep the exhaust temp constant. In room temp mode it cycles up and down too much for my liking. My temp cord is curled up and dangling in the back off the ground. It does maintain the temp where I sit within 1 degree however. I put a thermometer by my chair to see if it really did it. The Harman is a very nice unit with the versatility and easy to clean. I am a happy owner.

I love the Harman too... My old Lopi was such a bear to clean i almost ditched pellets completely. My P43 is undersized for my house but it does the job keeping the downstairs at 72 and upstaris at 68. Sadly at 4 tonnes so far for the season and almost out. However my neighbors with identical houses (2004 builds) by the same builder do $3.5k of oil a year and my house is much warmer. So no complaints!

I have to run room mode as stove mode doesnt quite cut it.