New Harman Owner-Pellet Consumption Question

[GMax57]

Greetings, I have a new Harman P61. Very happy with it but seems to use a lot more than the estimated one bag per day of pellets. Here are the details so you experienced users can weigh in.

House is 1500 Sq ft, on slab (no basement), decently insulated. Downstairs is open floor plan. Stove is located in corner at one end of room on outside walls. Slab floor has tile overlaid with laminate wood flooring. Traditionally had been difficult to heat due to cold radiating from floor tile. Laminate floor new this season.

Running stove in constant burn mode, we like this better than room temp mode with constant on/off cycling. Dealer suggested may use less pellets in constant burn. With outdoor temps in low 40's and upper 30's for the last couple of weeks, stove set to number 1-2 on temp control, feed rate 3.5, blower 1/3 to 1/2 speed. Using mid-grade Pro Pellets that we received from dealer with stove, but have two ton of premium for use later. Dealer says they get 20% more heat from premium grade.

Stove keeps area about 72 degrees which is great. However, I am getting 19 hours from a 40lb bag of pellets, less than the 24 hours dealer says is average and way less than the 40 hours Harman says for low heat setting on stove.

Last night was first real cold, 18 degrees at 8 am. Stove set to 3 with blower on 2/3rds. House was warm but got 15 hours out of the last bag. At this rate I am going to use a lot more than the 3 ton we estimated for the season, based on a bag per day average and a 150 day season, November through March.

Does all this seen normal? We love the stove, just trying to get a feel for what the pellet consumption should be. I have read the post on how the Harman works, very helpful. Thanks for feedback.

 

[Golfeur]

I have a harman p68 and I think your consumption is normal

 

[jackman]

Welcome to the forum. What you describe sounds normal. I have a similar space and when the outside temps get to the teens I can burn almost 2 bags/day. Try running the stove in room temp and set the igniter to disabled. When the igniter is disabled the stove will not auto shutdown. You might also want to try a different brand of pellets. YMMV.

 

[Washed-Up]

Welcome to pellet warmth…jackman has said pretty much what you need to try…with my P61 and similar sq footage I’ll use over a bag a day when it’s cold but I’ve also messed around trying different settings, using box fans as well as installing ceiling fans to help move the air around and it definitely helps. I keep mine at 4 and 4 but with auto ignite, room temp sensor coiled up behind the stove. These seem to work the best for my layout. Keep us posted

 

[GMax57]

We do use three ceiling fans, that helps. Glad to know things are normal. Thanks for the replies.

 

[Washed-Up]

When it’s really cold, I use 20” box fans(with an air filter attached to it) and blow the colder air down the hall towards the stove and it work pretty well too

 

[bogieb]

Even with the overlay on the floor, it is probably sucking up more heat than you would like unless either some sort of insulation material or an air gap was introduced when you put down the laminate.

I'm not sure about using less pellets using constant burn. I experimented a lot with my stoves and found that room temp auto is usually best until it gets toward the single digits or is super windy out. But what is best for my situation may not necessarily correlate with your situation. So, try experimenting around with different settings.

Also, as others have said, the quality/type of pellet being burned can make the difference in consumption. Of course the really good pellets are also more expensive than middle-of-the-road pellets, so again, it depends on your specific circumstances. I can get away with the middling pellets without sacrificing too much extra usage, so in the long run, the savings more than covers that.

 

[zrock]

remember when manufacturer's set out the consumption specs they test these in optimal conditions and burn the best pellet they can find for the test. Usually in a consumer setting you can cut their number in half and that will be closer to real world.

 

[Dataman]

Sounds normal to me. I run Harmon XXV and use about .5-2 bags. Depends on the temp outside. Run it full speed on temp in Manual Mode. Next few days it's burning zero pellets (It's Warm and Furnace Running).

I also use couple of box fans with 20" air filter on them. I attach them with big rubber bands. Amazon product ASIN B07115GHM6