New Harman 52i Pellet Stove User

[Kyle6286]

Greetings All!

We're happy to be brand new owners of a Harman 52i pellet stove insert. We had it installed yesterday, and although we're in New England and approaching spring weather, we're trying to get a little use out of it. Plus, we're excited to use it!

Having read the manual, I still have a few questions. While we've only had this thing running on and off for a few hours, I'm finding that it doesn't appear to be as hot as I had anticipated. The people installing it suggested to leave the fan setting and burn mode on auto, especially being a new user.

Any tips or recommendations that may help us? Do people have better success with keeping the fan on manual and set to a higher setting?

We're running Vermont pellets that were delivered from the same place from which we purchased the pellet stove. I apologize if I left out any relevant information, but if so, please let me know and I will update my post.

I've attached a pic for reference. Hope it works!

Thanks!

 

[miteclipse]

Congrats on the new stove. What settings are you currently on? Every situation is different so you'll receive many opinions. For me, I like feed rate set at 3, room fan on L, and temp is adjusted accordingly. I like room fan on L because it will ramp up when needed. In my opinion, if the room fan is on medium or high, warm air wil just be blown. I also run on auto. If in room temp mode placement of the room temp sensor will play a factor as well.

 

[Kyle6286]

Congrats on the new stove. What settings are you currently on? Every situation is different so you'll receive many opinions. For me, I like feed rate set at 3, room fan on L, and temp is adjusted accordingly. I like room fan on L because it will ramp up when needed. In my opinion, if the room fan is on medium or high, warm air wil just be blown. I also run on auto. If in room temp mode placement of the room temp sensor will play a factor as well.

Thanks! My wife was toggling between auto and manual, with the manual set around 70%. Obviously, having had this stove for two days now, we have a lot to learn and play with, but I'm just wondering about the efficiency and feed rate when comparing the auto vs manual. After making this thread, I went back last night and did some reading on some of the sticky threads which talk about all of this stuff, so I guess it will be trial and error.

I guess my only question now, or concern, is that our couch is about 10 feet or so from the stove and I don't really think I can feel the heat from the stove. It almost seems as though the fan is blowing the heat towards the ceiling a little, or at least that's what I think when I stand right in front of the stove. Like I said, I'm sure I just need to play around with the settings and get used to it, but I guess I was expecting to be HOT! with it running at 70 in the same room as the stove.

 

[miteclipse]

Manual - Distribution fan will turn off once the set temperature is reached. Stove will then go into a maintenance burn which you could have been feeling the radiant heat. Fan will kick back on if the set temperature is low. Stove will not shut off until it is set to off or runs out of pellets.

Auto - Distribution fan will remain on. Stove may turn off once the temperature is reached. Will turn back on when it has to.

70 is a warm temperature and not really hot. You could try stove mode, that tends to be more on the hotter side.

 

[Kyle6286]

Manual - Distribution fan will turn off once the set temperature is reached. Stove will then go into a maintenance burn which you could have been feeling the radiant heat. Fan will kick back on if the set temperature is low. Stove will not shut off until it is set to off or runs out of pellets.

Auto - Distribution fan will remain on. Stove may turn off once the temperature is reached. Will turn back on when it has to.

70 is a warm temperature and not really hot. You could try stove mode, that tends to be more on the hotter side.

Great, thanks very much for the info!

 

[Kyle6286]

Last dumb question - assuming the feed rate is the same (I lowered it to 35% today), you'll use more pellets to keep the house heated at 72 versus 68, correct, or does the stove somehow heat to a warmer temp and thus put out warmer heat?

 

[johneh]

I'm just a dumb country boy but in my world
more heat means more fuel
Less heat less fuel
But like I said I'm just a dumb country boy

 

[Tonyray]

if you want to see how hot your stove can get, put it on stove or constant mode for a couple hours. Even at 70 degrees it can get pretty hot.

 

[miteclipse]

More pellets will be used with the lower feed rate as it will take longer to reach the set temperature setting.

 

[Paulinator]

Pretty much what I do. We use Douglas fir pellets out West here. I clean it weekly, (except I was out of town last weekend). Do a deep cleaning monthly. Harman runs like a champ. we have an L shaped fireplace, so the probe is behind the Insert. It works for me. The cat enjoys it.

 

[Tonyray]

Last dumb question - assuming the feed rate is the same (I lowered it to 35% today), you'll use more pellets to keep the house heated at 72 versus 68, correct, or does the stove somehow heat to a warmer temp and thus put out warmer heat?

no dumb questions here....
it's how we all learn... that said,
70 degrees is not what i would call hot.. it's just warm..
Auto mode will use the least amount of pellets usually.
manual mode will use a bit more. maybe...?.
stove or constant mode will use the most as it is a non stop force of heat..
that said, with stove mode though,, you can run it lower at 70 degrees BUT,
SINCE IT WILL BLOW HEAT FOREVER and not ramp down like auto mode,
you will eventually be lot warmer at 70 degrees after a while using stove/constant mode and not use as much pellets.
I run stove mode and I can lower my fan speed to almost #1 and be warmer than auto mode at 70 with the fan speed at medium .:
note:
disregard the above when the temps outside are above 45 or so..
as your living space will hit 80 degrees or more.
better to use auto mode then.

 

[Mt Bob]

You have some learning to do.The 52 is a time proven very good insert.However,it(and most pellet stoves) are space heaters.They do not produce massive hot air,as a wood stove will do,but are more efficient.Size of room,height of ceiling,house heat loss all are factors.A ceiling fan is a good friend.I cannot feel the heat from my 35k LPG direct vent wall furnace at 10 feet,what I feel is the room warming up.Feed rate on a Harman sets the max the pellets will feed,the exhaust sensor sets the stove burning temperature.In my,and others,set it so you always have 1/2" to 1" of ash before the end of the burn pot,and let the exhaust probe handle the rest.However,the "ash" measurement is not always,should be checked only after stove has been running on high,for a bit.It will vary during warm up and cool down stages.There's some more food for thought,lol.Stay warm.

 

[Rpezz]

Greetings All!

We're happy to be brand new owners of a Harman 52i pellet stove insert. We had it installed yesterday, and although we're in New England and approaching spring weather, we're trying to get a little use out of it. Plus, we're excited to use it!

Having read the manual, I still have a few questions. While we've only had this thing running on and off for a few hours, I'm finding that it doesn't appear to be as hot as I had anticipated. The people installing it suggested to leave the fan setting and burn mode on auto, especially being a new user.

Any tips or recommendations that may help us? Do people have better success with keeping the fan on manual and set to a higher setting?

We're running Vermont pellets that were delivered from the same place from which we purchased the pellet stove. I apologize if I left out any relevant information, but if so, please let me know and I will update my post.

I've attached a pic for reference. Hope it works!

Thanks!

Nice stove I had the 52i-tc installed about 3 weeks ago in a 2300sq home and the boiler hasn’t been on yet. I also burn the same pellet Vermont I also just started burning Lowe’s Green Team they seem to be a pretty good pellets. I did need to turn down the feed rate from 65 to 55. Also if you don’t have it already I highly recommend the wireless Room Sensor. Made an huge improvement no the temperature I was looking for. Did you happen to get your stove from Fredericks Farm?

 

[bbechtel16]

I run mine room temp mode blower all the way up for max circulation, thermostat 70-75. I like the switch the igniter to manual once it's going but this time of year I go back to auto ignite so it shuts off once it's warm instead of chugging inefficiently and making everything black. Feed limit 3-4 for now but you'll be able to dial that in in January. Also make sure your room sensor wire is in a good location. You will probably need to experiment with it. You don't want it getting direct hot air but you don't want it in an outside draft either. Not sure how tight your house is. Extending the wire usually helps.

 

[Kyle6286]

Appreciate all of the responses and help, everyone. Two things I've noticed now that we've had this for almost a week:

First, the room temp probe is sticking out at the top left of the insert, and this was set up this way by the installer. I was actually told to keep it there. It sounds like this may not be right? My concern on it being so close to the stove is that the temp is artificially inflated due to its proximity in location to the blower. I don't know how long the wire is, as I haven't checked it yet. I guess I assumed the person installing knew the best location.

Second, my wife noticed the paint inside the stove already flaking. We've only used one bag so far, as it's been in the 50's this past week. Is this normal?

Appreciate the help again!

 

[Rpezz]

Appreciate all of the responses and help, everyone. Two things I've noticed now that we've had this for almost a week:

First, the room temp probe is sticking out at the top left of the insert, and this was set up this way by the installer. I was actually told to keep it there. It sounds like this may not be right? My concern on it being so close to the stove is that the temp is artificially inflated due to its proximity in location to the blower. I don't know how long the wire is, as I haven't checked it yet. I guess I assumed the person installing knew the best location.

Second, my wife noticed the paint inside the stove already flaking. We've only used one bag so far, as it's been in the 50's this past week. Is this normal?

Appreciate the help again!

Mine did the same thing I wouldn’t worry about it mine is only 3 weeks old. I also highly recommended the wireless Room Sensor made a big improvement on the temperature setting.

 

[Rpezz]

Appreciate all of the responses and help, everyone. Two things I've noticed now that we've had this for almost a week:

First, the room temp probe is sticking out at the top left of the insert, and this was set up this way by the installer. I was actually told to keep it there. It sounds like this may not be right? My concern on it being so close to the stove is that the temp is artificially inflated due to its proximity in location to the blower. I don't know how long the wire is, as I haven't checked it yet. I guess I assumed the person installing knew the best location.

Second, my wife noticed the paint inside the stove already flaking. We've only used one bag so far, as it's been in the 50's this past week. Is this normal?

Appreciate the help again!

If you don’t mind me asking who was your installer?

 

[Kyle6286]

If you don’t mind me asking who was your installer?

A local place here in RI. I don't want to give out any names since I'm not well versed in this subject and I don't want seem like I'm painting a bad picture of them. Just stated what I was told at the time of installation. Whether or not that info was wrong, I guess I'll find out here lol. Sorry I couldn't answer you!

 

[Kyle6286]

It sounds like the probe placement is fine. I just looked at it on Amazon, sold directly from Harman, and the description states to coil it up and place it to the side of the unit 2-5' up on the wall. If anything, I may need to move it slightly since it's only sticking out a few inches. I guess I will tape it to the wall or something.

 

[Rpezz]

A local place here in RI. I don't want to give out any names since I'm not well versed in this subject and I don't want seem like I'm painting a bad picture of them. Just stated what I was told at the time of installation. Whether or not that info was wrong, I guess I'll find out here lol. Sorry I couldn't answer you!

No worries I am also in RI pretty sure we had the same installer. Also you can extend your sensor if needed if you don’t plan on using the wireless room sensor.

 

[Tonyray]

Appreciate all of the responses and help, everyone. Two things I've noticed now that we've had this for almost a week:

First, the room temp probe is sticking out at the top left of the insert, and this was set up this way by the installer. I was actually told to keep it there. It sounds like this may not be right? My concern on it being so close to the stove is that the temp is artificially inflated due to its proximity in location to the blower. I don't know how long the wire is, as I haven't checked it yet. I guess I assumed the person installing knew the best location.

Second, my wife noticed the paint inside the stove already flaking. We've only used one bag so far, as it's been in the 50's this past week. Is this normal?

Appreciate the help again!

the sensor on my freestanding Harman is just peeking out above the hopper on the back left side.
[picture was taken back when i was exprimenting] with where to put it . had it all over the place before finding the sweet spot.. Your placement is fine.....

 

[alternativeheat]

The 52i and also the XXV rely heavily on the blower to heat your room. You're not going to get a lot of radiating heat off of a 52i in my experience but yet it still heats your house. But on another note the blower is stronger yet quieter than say that of a P61 which gives more of a combo of radiated heat and blown heat. Added to that we are in the least demanding portion of the heating season right now, it will run hotter in January but even so other than the glass you will probably still be able to touch the cast iron parts of the stove.