Is a brand new Harmon pellet stove P43 worth the price NEW?

[RancherPacker2]

I am closing in on 80 years old. I have used a 1992 Austroflamm Integra pellet stove for years and years but the last couple years it has given me nothing but trouble. I fix it - new wiring harness 3 times, new distribution fan 2x, new control boards, other minor stuff. Now it's doing it all over again. Not running at all. I am tired of it and it's getting too hard to get down there on the floor to trouble shoot constantly, clean and repair. I just want a newer stove that will be at least the majority of the time trouble free. After my research it seems a Harmon P43 is a good one to consider. And a local store (50 miles) sells them new. What are your thoughts on buying new in today's throwaway society? Or should I consider getting another used older P43? I just need reliable heat all winter, gets below zero here must have reliable heat.

 

[Oregun]

I bought a used harman for $2200 that had been used only one season. But if you want a better stove you are running out of time to find a deal. You don't need the stress this winter. Good luck.

 

[Whitenuckler]

I saw only one used P43 on FB MP. It looked like half price. I bought mine new a couple of winters ago. I doubt I could have found a used one, although I was not really looking. I like starting out new for something that I plan on using all the time. That way I control how it is used and maintained. Now that I know the stove well, I'd certainly buy a used one, as I could probably determine the condition. Simple things like what it was plugged into can make a difference. Some people have no surge protection. I have whole home surge protection on my panel, local surge outlets, and my stove runs on a sine wave inverter.

 

[Oregun]

You didn't say where you are located. Here is one in Washington.

 

[stoveliker]

You didn't say where you are located. Here is one in Washington.

Zip says Ellensburg WA

 

[bogieb]

Both my P43 & P61a are going strong after 12-13 years, and they are my only source of heat (not really, but I don't use my other sources). I bought the P6a new in January 2024 and April 2015 I bought the P43 used at a couple of years old for stupid cheap (they were moving to FL and ran out of time to get rid of it).

The thing I have to say about buying new: if you can afford it without struggling, the peace of mind a new stove will give you may be worth the price. I wouldn't have any qualms about buying a new Harman, and indeed would buy a new stove myself if I needed one since I am on much better financial footing than I was in 2015.

 

[stovelark]

Of course a new stove is always nice. If you depend on it for most of your heat, it sounds like a good move if you can get one and have it installed. Good luck.

 

[jp99]

New stoves are great. I bought my PC45 new. I will say any components likely to fail will fail early with a new stove (electronics most likely), where one a few years old will have already had those early failures happen and been fixed.

My PC45 is 18 years old now. I have replaced:

Vacuum switch (6 months)
Distribution fan (10 years)
Door gaskets (13 years)
Auger tube erosion (hole in it) (12 years)
Auger (18 years)

 

[zrock]

Dunno that comes down to your skill set and whether you have to hire it out or fix it yourself.. If you have to hire the repairs out then the cost of multiple repairs can easily outweigh the cost of a new stove. My old Big E i have replaced everything in it and it runs like a top and actually works better now than it did when i got it, but i did all the repairs myself.

Looking at your list of repairs it makes me wonder if you have dirty power coming into your stove or your buying someone's cheep import clones. Its very rare that a wire harness needs to be replaced unless it rubs though and then usually those can just be repaired. When i got this old girl years ago i put it on a pure shine backup, randomly one of the blower motors would come on for a split second. It would happen so rarely that i could never find where it came from or what was doing it. One day i figured i would hook a fan up to the Pure shine and run the battery down and let it recharge, the fan instantly went up in smoke tried another fan and it did the same thing. Tossed the pure shine out and just put it on a quality surge bar, shortly after that the control board partially went out and had to replace.. I noticed after that that the random fan start up had stopped and i quit having to replace motors and sensors as it seemed like a yearly thing something would go out.. 5 years now and i have not had to replace anything. I figure the pure shine had a failed board in it and was randomly surging the stove..

 

[johneh]

As A retired tech, I would never buy a Harman too fussy, too many bells and whistles
They seem to have forgotten what a stove is used for (HEAT A SPACE). Then again
All the new stoves have forgotten the KISS principle: KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID
Just my buck's worth (a buck is the new penny). Guess I am just getting to be a grumpy old man

 

[bogieb]

As A retired tech, I would never buy a Harman too fussy, too many bells and whistles
They seem to have forgotten what a stove is used for (HEAT A SPACE). Then again
All the new stoves have forgotten the KISS principle: KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID
Just my buck's worth (a buck is the new penny). Guess I am just getting to be a grumpy old man

Isn't the P43 just about as simple as you can get? I don't see where they have changed it - just a basic stove with minimal electronics.

 

[johneh]

Isn't the P43 just about as simple as you can get? I don't see where they have changed it - just a basic stove with minimal electronics.

You are right; I should not have lumped it in with the newer stoves stuffed with electronics.
My apologies to all Harman users if I offended anyone!

 

[Ahoragi]

I bought a new Harman p43 two years ago for $6000 installed (pad, exhaust included). Good thing is we get 30% tax rebate on it BUT I do wish I went with what I used before and saved a few grand because the p43 has failed to impress me and eats through alot of pellets. It is a nice looking stove and pretty simple to use though.

 

[Washed-Up]

Dammit @johneh stop being so literal, basic and respectful

 

[bogieb]

You are right; I should not have lumped it in with the newer stoves stuffed with electronics.
My apologies to all Harman users if I offended anyone!

Eh, gave me something to groan about - LOL. I only said that since that was what the OP was looking at. The P-series is great IMO. I wouldn't have any of that fancy electronic stuff in any pellet stove of mine. The less the doodads the better during power outages - saves on battery/generator usage when they are plain stoves.