My Mistake

[jcbart]

Wanted to advise anyone out there thinking of purchasing a Harman P61a stove. Don't. Not because it's a bad stove. I absolutely love my new Harman P61a. However, for the stinkin' couple hundred bucks extra I should've gotten the P68 and had the extra 7,000 btu at my disposal. Last night was the first real cold night here in Philly as it dropped to about 30. Cold, but not ridiculous by any means. And light winds so there was no wind chill factor. The main floor, where the stove is located, was only at 70 at 6am despite running it pretty high all night. I now realize that a great stove can't overcome very poor insulation, and I wish I would have just gotten the damn P68. Anyone thinking of a P61a, do yourself a favor and get the P68. The small extra cost is well worth it.

 

[newf lover]

We finally added insulation in our attic last spring and now I'm thinking my P68 is almost too much for our house! I'm assuming it's a money thing that you don't add insulation, but it will be a good investment if you can swing it. I wish we had done it 20 years ago. What kind of pellets are you burning? You might be able to improve your temps by burning a better pellet. Unless the area you're heating is ridiculously large, I don't know how your P61 can't do better than 70, even with poor insulation.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

The best payoff is to seal air leaks (OAK the stove as part of this if it isn't already OAKed), install insulation, and put in good energy efficient windows (simple shrink wrap plastic window insulation kits can pay for themselves in way less than a heating season).

They all pay for themselves quickly.

 

[jcbart]

I was thinking it might be the pellet quality. I ordered 2-1/2 tons of the Homestead Premium pellets, but I also have a ton of Hamer Hot Ones. I'm burning the Homesteads now because I want to save the Hamers for the really cold days. Next year I'm ordering 4 tons of Hamers. No more cheap bargain pellets. And I will most certainly have to look into insulating the house better, both in the attic and crawl space.

 

[cuznvin]

I was thinking it might be the pellet quality. I ordered 2-1/2 tons of the Homestead Premium pellets, but I also have a ton of Hamer Hot Ones. I'm burning the Homesteads now because I want to save the Hamers for the really cold days. Next year I'm ordering 4 tons of Hamers. No more cheap bargain pellets. And I will most certainly have to look into insulating the house better, both in the attic and crawl space.

Im burning the Homesteads and they are working just fine. I am not even running the stove on high..

 

[PA_Clinker]

A 7,000 BTU disparity should not make or break your stove install. From what I gather, the P61A max is 61,000 BTU that's roughly 7lbs./hour of pellets assuming 8,000 btu/lb. Maybe there's something wrong with the stove or install? That's one heck'uva stove and 30 degrees is a mild winter night. Something's wrong, but not your choice in sizing of the unit, IMHO. That's a beast!

 

[TLHinCanada]

The square footage of the house and whether it is 1 or 2 storey would be helpful.