Help me select 1st stove: Harman p43 or p68

[gvmelbrty]

Bioburner... Yes, the house was built in 1994, but is well constructed.

Don2222: I have a Lopi Endeavor (wood burner) in storage that one day will probably end up in that family room. So for now, we're gonna use one pellet stove. .. I've been a wood burner for years, but job/family circumstances now necessitate moving to an easier-to-use heat source.

Tedinski: The floor plan was provided to me by the selling realtor who used a professional CAD service. I scanned it and made changes/additions using Pixelmator on my Mac.

Thxs everyone for your input. As I said, I was leaning toward the larger P68 and many of you agree that is probably the safer choice.

It also sounds like an OAK is a good addition.

Does anyone have any advice concerning my last question about the proper length of the exhaust pipe?

 

[Stoveman 77]

If you go with location #1 I would go straight thru wall up 3' 90 deg vertical cap no outside air

 

[gvmelbrty]

If the power goes out to the stove would having exhaust longer than than 3 ft help draw residual smoke up the pipe or is 3ft enough? Why do you say no outside air kit? Thxs.

 

[krooser]

Your winters are pretty mild compared to what we have in the upper midwest and NE... average highs for you in December are probably high 40's...here in WI we are in the 20's. And you don't get a lot of single digit and below zero hell, either.

I'd still go with the smaller stove.

BTW... for those who have never been to Albuquerque there is an overlook on the west side of town on old Route 66 (Central Avenue IIRC) called Angels Overlook or something like that. On occasion I would park my truck at an old truck stop up there and take an overnight break or just a nap... wake up in the morning with the sun coming up over the mountains... a stunning view day or night. A truly beautiful part of America.

 

[EastMtn]

110,000 btu's from a 20-yr-old propane gas furnace. Registers are on the floors.

Hello neighbor.
What community or city are you located in? This makes a difference in NM. Considering that the house was built in '94, yes go with the OAK. It's better to pull the air from a fresh source. Regarding the OAK if you go through the roof I would highly suggest Selkirk DT pipe. It's one pipe for a clean look, it uses the inner exhaust pipe to warm to the outer pipe's fresh air before entering the stove. You will have to really hunt to find someone to install it because the brand is not known in NM but it is well worth the effort. If using the outside wall, which is actually what I would suggest, you want 3 to 5ft of vertical pipe. It's not necessary to go above the roof eaves. If you download a Harman manual it will diagram their recommended install locations and clearances to combustibles. It would be ideal if the install were on the windward side of the house when using an OAK but also is not necessary. We are the windiest state in the 12 western states.

This is an excerpt from the P43's manual:
The vertical portion of the vent should be three to
five feet high and at least three inches from a combustible
wall. This vertical section will provide natural draft in the event
of a power failure.

I like the location of the ceiling fan in the central room and master bedrooms. With the bed and bath in the center of the house being warmer, reversing the flow of the ceiling fan will promote convection. Also, as you mentioned earlier, it would be a great idea to put a floor fan in the doorway of the master bedroom to push the cold air out toward the stove in the sitting room allowing the heat to circulate into the master easier. I keep trying to tell my wife this but she is dead set against having a fan blowing in our bedroom.

 

[gvmelbrty]

Krooser, your right, except for the occasional storm, highs in the 40's in December.

EastMnt, the house is near Sandia Park in the East Mountains, I assume you're in the area as well? ,,, thxs for all the info you provided.

 

[EastMtn]

Krooser, your right, except for the occasional storm, highs in the 40's in December.

EastMnt, the house is near Sandia Park in the East Mountains, I assume you're in the area as well? ,,, thxs for all the info you provided.

I live on Sedillo Hill right up against Cibola Forest boundary at 7300ft.
If you look in the wood pellet pricing reports at the top of the forum page I wrote a report for pellet costs in our area.
Good luck and happy stove hunting.

 

[gvmelbrty]

We looked at buying a house up your way before we found this one. Good to have a pellet person nearby. .. I was going to start asking about pellets next. I'll be sure to read your report. Thxs.

 

[Enigma869]

My experience with Harman is that the square footage estimate that they state their stoves will heat is quite conservative. I had a Harman Accentra insert in my last house, which I believe was rated for heating 1500 square feet. My home was a bit over 3000 square feet and on all but the very coldest days (where the high temperature didn't get much higher than 15 degrees), my first floor was always around 72 degrees with the second floor at a steady 68 degrees. The thing I've learned about pellet stoves is that the floor plan makes all the difference in the world. As much of an advocate as I am for pellet stoves, if I owned a home with a chopped up floor plan, I probably wouldn't own one. I've been in those homes, and find that the room the stove is in is about 100 degrees while the rest of the house is freezing. If you have more of an open floor plan, the lower BTU stove will have zero issue keeping up with 2000 square feet. If I'm not mistaken, the Accentra I had in my last house was 45K BTU's. Having said all of that, I just installed a P68 in my new home last week, and it's a SUPERB stove. I suspect that even at zero degrees, this heat monster is going to have no problem at all keeping my house as warm as I (i.e. my wife) want to keep it.

John

 

[gvmelbrty]

Think of it this way

How long are you going to have it?
It the heat or the $1,000 worth more?
Do you need 68,000 BTU's?
Will you have regrets with an under sized stove in January?
Do you want to put your shorts away for the winter?

I'm going to have it until it dies - 10-15 years? ... The heat is worth more than the $1000. ... 68,000 btu's? Not sure, but considering the cubic volume of air that needs to be heated due to the tall cathedral ceilings, I'd say yes. ... If the stove I choose turned out to be undersized I'd have major regrets. ... I know my wife and Staffordshire Terrier (short hair) would love to be extra warm if it were possible.

Going through that questionnaire kinda makes the stove choice rather obvious: P68.

 

[Stoveman 77]

You can go 5 ft but three is sufficient ,don't like the theory of 20 deg or colder coming right in to the firebox !

 

[Stoveman 77]

You can go 5 ft but three is sufficient ,don't like the theory of 20 deg or colder coming right in to the firebox !

The 43 will handle 1500 sq feet

 

[gvmelbrty]

You can go 5 ft but three is sufficient ,don't like the theory of 20 deg or colder coming right in to the firebox !

Ok, 3 to 5 ft with the pipe.

I hear your concern about the outside air kit (OAK). ... I believe the counter argument would say that since a pellet stove is a big air pump, that 20 degree air is going to get sucked in from somewhere and a directed pipe going straight to the firebox is better than air coming from underneath the doors, windows, etc., depending on how well-sealed the structure is of course.

 

[Bioburner]

An OAK is preferred over having door cozies and window film. Our Newf found the biggest air leak. A warped door frame. She probably wont like me getting it fixed.

 

[P38X2]

My experience with Harman is that the square footage estimate that they state their stoves will heat is quite conservative. I had a Harman Accentra insert in my last house, which I believe was rated for heating 1500 square feet. My home was a bit over 3000 square feet and on all but the very coldest days (where the high temperature didn't get much higher than 15 degrees), my first floor was always around 72 degrees with the second floor at a steady 68 degrees. The thing I've learned about pellet stoves is that the floor plan makes all the difference in the world. As much of an advocate as I am for pellet stoves, if I owned a home with a chopped up floor plan, I probably wouldn't own one. I've been in those homes, and find that the room the stove is in is about 100 degrees while the rest of the house is freezing. If you have more of an open floor plan, the lower BTU stove will have zero issue keeping up with 2000 square feet. If I'm not mistaken, the Accentra I had in my last house was 45K BTU's. Having said all of that, I just installed a P68 in my new home last week, and it's a SUPERB stove. I suspect that even at zero degrees, this heat monster is going to have no problem at all keeping my house as warm as I (i.e. my wife) want to keep it.

John

Seems you and I had similar experiences with our "small" stoves and ended up going BIG. I'm hesitant to recommend the 43 because if he needs more, it ain't gonna be there, but it seems it could work very well in the OP's situation. High 40's in Dec? Piece of cake. Might take a bit longer to heat due to the high ceilings, but it'll prob coast along nicely once it's up to temp. The ceiling fans will move the warm air nicely.

 

[gvmelbrty]

I wanted update this thread by first thanking everyone who took the time to help guide our pellet stove purchase and installation. Thank you all very much.

We decided to go with the larger P68 and first impressions are that we're glad we did. Our cathedral ceilings really add a lot of cubic space, so the extra heat provided by the larger stove was definitely the way to go.

Here's some pics of the install...

p68 arrives.
(broken image removed)

The installer was also a tile setter, so he made the hearth pad on site.
(broken image removed)

Zach inspecting the work.
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Exhaust pipe installed.
(broken image removed)

OAK installed (using a custom-made adapter). Stove installed 11" from wall, as suggested in this thread.
(broken image removed)

The first burn. It took about 30 seconds for Ruby to make her new friend.
(broken image removed)

 

[P38X2]

Looks great. I think Ruby is wondering why the hopper lid isn't latched

 

[Brewer]

Nice install.......looks great! .......surge protector?

 

[gfreek]

OMG that is a great picture !! Ruby, Ruby Ruby...Nice install and right choice me thinks... enjoy the heat.. Surge protector ??..

 

[gvmelbrty]

Thanks for the compliments.

Yep, that hopper latch is closed now - good catch though.

And I will definitely will be adding a surge protector - actually a UPS ... currently waiting for Harman to answer my UPS questions via their Facebook page (after waiting a week for an answer via email).

 

[The Grintch]

Congrats!! I have a p68, my house is 2,450 sf, cathedral ceilings and it has no problem keeping my house 74.

You will be happy and not look back!

 

[Bioburner]

You can call Harman, they have offices in Minnesota.

 

[THE ROOSTER]

Nice install! I always enjoy seeing pictures of the process.

 

[Sniz]

Nice stuff! Loving my p68 as well. It rocks

 

[Lousyweather]

Looks great. I think Ruby is wondering why the hopper lid isn't latched

Im thinking that she is wondering whats gonna happen this Spring when the stove gets shut down and bees and birds are going to reside in the pipe........

HINT: be sure to cover that outlet come spring......very attractive place for critters to reside during the off-season......