Harmen p68

[Jimmyspirits]

Hi. First post here as I’m in the market for a pellet stove. Interested in a stove for a 3000 sq ft house. Looking into the P68 and wondering what a reasonable used one should sell for. Have my eye on one and they’re asking $2200 saying the board and ESP just changed. Looks in decent shape based on pictures. 2006 date. Also, and looking at the pictures, I don’t see the availability for a fresh air kit. Thanks much. Jim

 

[Mt Bob]

There is a place for a FAK hose behind a rear cover. It may have never been cut out of the cover, being a 06. I don't really know what the market is there. Here, I would never pay that much, but is a lot like used cars/vehicles, markets are different in areas. 1- why are they getting rid of it, 2-- it looks nice, how does the firebox look?

 

[Jimmyspirits]

There is a place for a FAK hose behind a rear cover. It may have never been cut out of the cover, being a 06. I don't really know what the market is there. Here, I would never pay that much, but is a lot like used cars/vehicles, markets are different in areas. 1- why are they getting rid of it, 2-- it looks nice, how does the firebox look?

Thank you sir. I asked the question, but they did not respond to it, but I will ask it again why they are no longer in need of it. See if I can get a picture of the firebox.

 

[Tonyray]

Concidering a new P68 starts around 5200.00, myself as a long time harman burner would deff contemplate it. maybe...
never bought used harman so don't know prices... 2008 is long in the tooth but motors can be replaced if had to,

"2nd MT Bob on the availability of OAK." [ fresh air intake].... it's there...

new board is good news.. pricey part..
i would look for any rust just like a car for starters.. surface rust can be sanded and cleaned......
P68 is a heat beast.... largest ashpan and burnpot..
lot of major parts to check if working such as, Ignitor, exhaust blower, distribution blower, auger, [feeds the pellets] etc..
the pix of the burnpot looks fine,, ok to be dirty but not ok if any cracks or splits in the metal.

 

[Mt Bob]

Well, the pot is a disaster, probably had problems lighting itself, I see no fire brick, if it has been burned long without them, stove may be warped.

 

[Jimmyspirits]

Well, the pot is a disaster, probably had problems lighting itself, I see no fire brick, if it has been burned long without them, stove may be warped.

Yikes on the pot. Contributor above said dirty but okay if not cracked. He said he has the bricks he just removed them to see there was no rust behind there for the picture and he also said no trouble lighting it. Could it be just dirty from lack of cleaning? Thanks for all your assistance.

 

[Jimmyspirits]

Concidering a new P68 starts around 5200.00, myself as a long time harman burner would deff contemplate it. maybe...
never bought used harman so don't know prices... 2008 is long in the tooth but motors can be replaced if had to,

"2nd MT Bob on the availability of OAK." [ fresh air intake].... it's there...

new board is good news.. pricey part..
i would look for any rust just like a car for starters.. surface rust can be sanded and cleaned......
P68 is a heat beast.... largest ashpan and burnpot..
lot of major parts to check if working such as, Ignitor, exhaust blower, distribution blower, auger, [feeds the pellets] etc..
the pix of the burnpot looks fine,, ok to be dirty but not ok if any cracks or splits in the metal.

Thank you sir. What would you pay if all checks out? Are these older units similar and efficiency as the new ones? Not sure how you can find out 2006 statistics on the units if you’re able to tell me where to locate that I would greatly appreciate it.

 

[Tonyray]

Thank you sir. What would you pay if all checks out? Are these older units similar and efficiency as the new ones? Not sure how you can find out 2006 statistics on the units if you’re able to tell me where to locate that I would greatly appreciate it.

Other than harman making p series with or without an ignitor am pretty sure there is no difference in output. Really shouldn't be as the pellets and board determine the btu output. Harman has upgraded the board few times or more since then. I would offer 1900 IF everything works as should. Reason being a board cost them around 270.00 plus an ESP probe 117.00 so they put few bucks into it. They will get 2K for it. Maybe not 2200. Between u and I a new P68 is over 5K. If all works on this one it's deff worth 2K - 2200.00.

 

[Jimmyspirits]

Other than harman making p series with or without an ignitor am pretty sure there is no difference in output. Really shouldn't be as the pellets and board determine the btu output. Harman has upgraded the board few times or more since then. I would offer 1900 IF everything works as should. Reason being a board cost them around 270.00 plus an ESP probe 117.00 so they put few bucks into it. They will get 2K for it. Maybe not 2200. Between u and I a new P68 is over 5K. If all works on this one it's deff worth 2K - 2200.00.

Thanks for your replies. Going to look at it tomorrow. Hard to swallow the price for a stove 17 years old so I hope they’re as good as they say.

 

[Mt Bob]

If you don't need a pot, it may well soon. When you let them sit with carbon in them, attracts moisture, and metal will separate in layers, come up when you clean pot. it's Harman's biggest unit, almost 68,000 btu input. Probably 1500-1800 out here. Only issue with a big P is if the room size is small, but there are ways around that.

 

[Jimmyspirits]

If you don't need a pot, it may well soon. When you let them sit with carbon in them, attracts moisture, and metal will separate in layers, come up when you clean pot. it's Harman's biggest unit, almost 68,000 btu input. Probably 1500-1800 out here. Only issue with a big P is if the room size is small, but there are ways around that.

Awesome thanks much!

 

[Tonyray]

Thanks for your replies. Going to look at it tomorrow. Hard to swallow the price for a stove 17 years old so I hope they’re as good as they say.

They are...mine is the P61A. Built 2012 and same stove but next size down. Chugs along 24/7 year after year. Replaced 1 ignitor so far.

 

[scajjr2]

P68 is a great stove. Have a P43 into it's 10th heating season and no issues, no parts ever replaced. If all it really needs is a thorough deep clean (which you should do if you buy it no matter what the owner said they did), $2200 is a fair asking price. We paid $2700 for our P43 in 2013, they are over $4k now.

sam

 

[Jimmyspirits]

They are...mine is the P61A. Built 2012 and same stove but next size down. Chugs along 24/7 year after year. Replaced 1 ignitor so far.

View attachment 311028

Beautiful!! Thanks.

 

[Jimmyspirits]

P68 is a great stove. Have a P43 into it's 10th heating season and no issues, no parts ever replaced. If all it really needs is a thorough deep clean (which you should do if you buy it no matter what the owner said they did), $2200 is a fair asking price. We paid $2700 for our P43 in 2013, they are over $4k now.

sam

Awesome thanks for the encouraging words.

 

[Mt Bob]

I still say, and others feel free to argue, there is no stove easier to clean, service and maintain, than a P series Harman.

 

[Jimmyspirits]

I still say, and others feel free to argue, there is no stove easier to clean, service and maintain, than a P series Harman

P68 is a great stove. Have a P43 into it's 10th heating season and no issues, no parts ever replaced. If all it really needs is a thorough deep clean (which you should do if you buy it no matter what the owner said they did), $2200 is a fair asking price. We paid $2700 for our P43 in 2013, they are over $4k now.

s

P68 is a great stove. Have a P43 into it's 10th heating season and no issues, no parts ever replaced. If all it really needs is a thorough deep clean (which you should do if you buy it no matter what the owner said they did), $2200 is a fair asking price. We paid $2700 for our P43 in 2013, they are over $4k now.

sam

Well pulled the trigger and got the stove. Paid $1800! Looks in very good shape. Ran it for a bit in the guys driveway. Seems good. Not sure I’ll get it going this season but very excited for next!!

 

[Tonyray]

I still say, and others feel free to argue, there is no stove easier to clean, service and maintain, than a P series Harman.

No argument here. P61A. Same inards. Ezpz.

I still say, and others feel free to argue, there is no stove easier to clean, service and maintain, than a P series Harman.

 

[Mt Bob]

Well pulled the trigger and got the stove. Paid $1800! Looks in very good shape. Ran it for a bit in the guys driveway. Seems good. Not sure I’ll get it going this season but very excited for next!!

View attachment 311050

Nice. Now pray pellet prices don't continue to rise.

 

[mtnbiker727]

Congratulations! I love my P68. I use it in room temp, igniter switch down to disabled. The stove gets cooking hot, and then when the desired temp is reached it idles down into maintenance mode. The stove stays hot like a good old fashioned wood stove, but then will ramp up and blow a LOT of hot air into the room if needed. In the shoulder seasons, I'll run it for a few hours in the morning, and a few hours at night. When it's cold all day and all night, I'll let it run 24/7. How you use it will depend on the size of your area and how much insulation, etc.

Check out these threads to learn more about your stove: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/how-your-harman-works-what-your-manual-doesnt-tell-you.91030/

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/manual-or-auto.82295

 

[Jimmyspirits]

Nice. Now pray pellet prices don't continue to rise.

Oh crap is that’s what’s going on?? I have only burned wood for 40 years and never paid for it with $$$, just sweat equity. Had a tree business. Actually still do just enough tree work to get my firewood. Just getting to be way too much work. Still split about 5 chords by hand every year with just a maul, sledge and wedge.

 

[Jimmyspirits]

Congratulations! I love my P68. I use it in room temp, igniter switch down to disabled. The stove gets cooking hot, and then when the desired temp is reached it idles down into maintenance mode. The stove stays hot like a good old fashioned wood stove, but then will ramp up and blow a LOT of hot air into the room if needed. In the shoulder seasons, I'll run it for a few hours in the morning, and a few hours at night. When it's cold all day and all night, I'll let it run 24/7. How you use it will depend on the size of your area and how much insulation, etc.

Check out these threads to learn more about your stove: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/how-your-harman-works-what-your-manual-doesnt-tell-you.91030/

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/manual-or-auto.82295

Wow thanks for the great information. What do you mean you have the igniter switched off? Do you mean on manual mode? How would it relight then? If you had it switched to that this is all very new to me having burned wood for 40 years. TY!! Jim.
Started reading the links posted so
Starting to learn more of what you speak. Thanks

 

[ABusWrench]

When you switch to "manual" mode the stove won't shut off, it goes into "maintenance" burn. Keeps some heat flowing and doesn't shut down and then restart. Some use this for a more constant heat, others to save the ignitor. I myself use manual to keep the temps more constant, if the stove shuts down upon reaching set temp, I get a large temp drop by the time the stove restarts, stove is in basement.

 

[Tonyray]

Wow thanks for the great information. What do you mean you have the igniter switched off? Do you mean on manual mode? How would it relight then? If you had it switched to that this is all very new to me having burned wood for 40 years. TY!! Jim.
Started reading the links posted so
Starting to learn more of what you speak. Thanks

we call it simmer mode whereas when temperature is reached, the auger will drop a few pellets now/then just to keep the flames alive.
so it will not shut down unless u run out of pellets.... good for a house like mine. 1920's, not well insulated, warms up then decides to cool down faster than i need so keeping the fire alive work best for me...

 

[Jimmyspirits]

When you switch to "manual" mode the stove won't shut off, it goes into "maintenance" burn. Keeps some heat flowing and doesn't shut down and then restart. Some use this for a more constant heat, others to save the ignitor. I myself use manual to keep the temps more constant, if the stove shuts down upon reaching set temp, I get a large temp drop by the time the stove restarts, stove is in basement.

Thank you for that Just blew the whole unit out today whilst I still have it on a dolly in my garage.