Harman p61a/p61-2

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corkman

Minister of Fire
Hearth Supporter
Dec 3, 2009
721
SE,Mass
does anyone know of any differences in these stoves. I'm looking at one tomorrow and its a p61-2. Curious as to what the -2 and a are all about
 
Looking at the manual, it looks at if the -2 does not have an igniter so you have to manually started. There is a thread that suggests you can upgraded with an igniter, but I am unsure if that is the case.
 
thank you bogieb. it has an igniter and auto/manual switch.this unit has a different control board than the one you posted.
 

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I am pretty sure they can be upgraded with and igniter but it also requires a new board etc; Question is: Is it worth the cash lay out? I believe Don2222 has done some of these conversions. I know I have seen stuff about it. It might require different burn pot too..... Not sure what all it entails but I am pretty certain it has been done.

I do remember something with the control boards and the older models have stove temp instead of constant burn. Black ESP wires vs. red etc;
 
That is a good stove no matter if the price is right and depending on condition or parts needed. Same platform as the PC45's. Basically the same box, stove, etc; with the exceptions of the 45 being set up for corn / multi-fuel too. I am sure the older ones are a bit different than the new 61's as there are many similarities between my 45 and new P68 but then again they are very much alike but very different at the same time.

All boils down to newer technology but even the newer 68 is still like an old solid tank of a car but has some thrills and frills of stuff like GPS and cruise control with power windows etc;
 
That control board looks just like my P61a, so there may not be any difference at all at this point.
 
So I went to look at it today. Something doesn't seem right. Customer claims to have bought it new 2 years ago at fuel and flame in Dartmouth ma.cant find paperwork. Stove looks well used for a 2yr old. A few things I noticed about the stove. Door seems very loose on hinge pins and need to lift up on the door to get it to engage the latch. Body of stove had a lot of minor scratches on it. Stove is direct drive and not chain driven. What bothers me is I can't confirm the age of it. The control board seems to be updated compared to what is standard in a p61-2. Like I said earlier it has igniter with the auto/manual switch. Home owner said dealer did some work to the board s while back but can't remember what exactly but did say that it has had igniter since day 1. I brought my harman diognostic with me but there is no port on the board for it. The knobs on the board also look different from my p68 and advance. There is no date stamp on rear of stove which is odd for a 2yr old stove..stove has black esp wire. Stove is disconnected and could not see it run
 
It seems to me a P61-2 is the precursor to the P61a. I bought mine with a born on date of 2013. Check the tag on the back for the build date - that will tell you how old it is; even my 2012 P43 has that tag in back. They may have bought it 2 years ago, but they either bought it used or it sat in a warehouse (or worse) for a while.

However, I found this thread and it has me confused and thinking I have a P61a-2 :confused:, but may give you some insight as to P61a, P61-2 and p61a-2 (start about comment #12).
 
Does it have a serial #? If so, and you have a Harman dealer near you, they can call up Harman and they will be able to tell you what the correct stove designation is and maybe the born on date. I bought what the seller was calling a PP38++; turns out it is a P43 according to Harman. Unfortunately, Harman doesn't like to talk to owners, just dealers.

My P61a was built July 2013 and has the diagnostic port, so I would be suspicious that that stove is older (it doesn't make sense to me that the "board work" that was done would downgrade to an earlier version anyway).
 
I meant to get the serial number while I was there but forgot. I sent him an email earlier so hopefully he will get back to me soon with the serial number
 
I am also suspicious of the stove had already been worked on because most Harmans 2 years old never need any work done on them. Seller kind of contradicts on that one. And simply the wear and tear on it you see. For a door to be sagging on hinge pins it has had to been used a bunch and / or abused IMHO. The serial # will tell you all you need to know if you have success getting any answers there.
 
Stove is on Craigslist for $1700 and wording of the ad has changed since I brought these things to their attention. The original ad said the stove was 2yrs old and that part had been removed from the ad. Seller was also adamant about the stove being 2yrs old but had no paperwork to show date of purchase. Seller has not responded to my request for the serial number. So buyer beware. Something I forgot to mention also was that seller showed me where she said stove was installed. There was no evidence of any wall patchwork either on the interior or exterior of the house. There's a whole lot that doesn't ad up here
 
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Hi don. I was hoping you would chime in. What's your take on what's going on here. Stamp on stove says it's a p61-2. However the control board does not match and I'd obviously not the original The board that's in it looks just like the one in my p68. Identical except there is no DDM port
 
And the truth comes out. Just heard back from seller. Turns out the stove is 7/8 yrs old and seller says serial number isn't legible
 
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Well then, that is a whole different thing than they said before.

However, Harman's are tough and just about bullet proof, and as Don mentions, the autolight feature is already there. They can be cleaned up and repainted and run fine. The fact that it has an "upgraded" board (not to the latest, but not the original) also isn't a bad thing. Maybe offer $1300? I think I would still think it was a pretty darn good price if she came down to $1500.
 
Hi don. I was hoping you would chime in. What's your take on what's going on here. Stamp on stove says it's a p61-2. However the control board does not match and I'd obviously not the original The board that's in it looks just like the one in my p68. Identical except there is no DDM port
Harman made a manual p61 about that time frame that had a burn pot with the bolts for the igniter cradle and with a wire harness that had the Yellow and light blue wires for an igniter and put a manual light board with no auto switch on it. They called it a P61-2
 
I made an offer in the stove and I'm waiting to hear back. So have you seen these board before without a ddm test port
 
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My P43 doesn't have one - but is otherwise identical to the P61a.
 
Hmm. That's interesting. Can't say that I've seen any stove without the ddm port. So your board looks just like the one in my 2nd post?still havnt heard back from seller. He may have moved on
 
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I'm pretty sure when I looked at it the other day, it didn't have one - had to go down to the P61a to see what you were talking about for the diagnostic port. Will check again tonight when I get home (hopefully I'll remember :rolleyes:)
 
On some stoves, the DDM port is not visible unless you remove the side panel. Not 100% sure how long Harman has had them so I won't say, but it's been many, many years.
 
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On some stoves, the DDM port is not visible unless you remove the side panel. Not 100% sure how long Harman has had them so I won't say, but it's been many, many years.
Nice to know - I'll keep that in mind.
 
Hmm. That's interesting. Can't say that I've seen any stove without the ddm port. So your board looks just like the one in my 2nd post?still havnt heard back from seller. He may have moved on
I was mistaken, the P43 does have the ddm port. Sorry for the misinformation I gave you ;em
 
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