New Harman settings

[April]

Hi guys,
We're brand new to pellet stoves. Our Harman Accentra Pellet insert was installed on Thursday. DH & I are struggling to come to terms on the running of this. This is in our living room which is our main hanging out space. This is where we watch tv and I have a chair near the stove where I knit. I love the stove, and wanted this in our living room rather than in the basement so that I could enjoy the ambiance and warmth. The problem comes because DH wants maximum efficiency all the time which includes blasting the fan so that we can't hear the tv, and there is constant white noise. How much efficiency are we losing by turning down the fan when we are watching tv or are sitting and knitting? The noise of the full blast fan ruins the atmosphere for me. I do not mind the sound of the pellets feeding. I don't mind a little white noise fan, but the big fan noise bothers me. I would love to hear from others to know if I just need to deal with it, and find a new spot in the house, or if DH & I could come to a compromise.

We purchased this stove due to our enormous oil bills, so we do need efficiency.

 

[DAKSY]

Turn the setting to LOW. It doesn't change anything on the stove other than the blower speed (& noise)...The heat won't be distributed as far into the room with the lower setting, but it'll warm you eventually...

 

[lessoil]

We also have our stove in the living room 12'X12'. It is on the loud side but we end up raising the volume on the tv.
The sound of not burning oil. As Daksy stated you can turn the blower speed down. Works well when it is not too cold out.
Many people have stated to have the stove in the room you spend most of your time in. Also remember it is a space heater.
A big space heater. Enjoy the heat and not seeing the oil truck show up as often.
I guess we may be used to the noise??? For us, 500 gal of oil have been replaced with 4 tons of pellets.

 

[April]

Thanks Bob. Are you saying that it will eventually heat the house, or heat the room I am in? We're also experimenting with pellets. I'm wondering if that will make a difference in the heat output.

 

[April]

54% less oil is compelling lessoil. I would love that. I think part of the issue for me is when the blower is loud, I get a headache, so I would have to leave the room. I see you're in Maine. I'm in Portland. What pellets do you use, and where do you purchase them? This stove is new, and there is a learning curve. The guy who installed it told my husband that we needed to have the fan on high to heat the house, so that is what is driving him. I don't mind having it on high when we're sleeping or when we're not in the room, but not when I'm right next to it.

 

[DAKSY]

Thanks Bob. Are you saying that it will eventually heat the house, or heat the room I am in? We're also experimenting with pellets. I'm wondering if that will make a difference in the heat output.

Your stove makes heat. Heat will always rise. The distribution fan simply pushes it farther away from the stove before it rises. The higher the blower setting, the farther it'll be pushed. The lower setting will not push the heat as far. If you run the stove for hours on end, it will warm areas farther away, but how warm those areas get will be dependent on how far away they are& how much insulation you have...

 

[Cincinnati Kid]

Hi guys,
We're brand new to pellet stoves. Our Harman Accentra Pellet insert was installed on Thursday. DH & I are struggling to come to terms on the running of this. This is in our living room which is our main hanging out space. This is where we watch tv and I have a chair near the stove where I knit. I love the stove, and wanted this in our living room rather than in the basement so that I could enjoy the ambiance and warmth. The problem comes because DH wants maximum efficiency all the time which includes blasting the fan so that we can't hear the tv, and there is constant white noise. How much efficiency are we losing by turning down the fan when we are watching tv or are sitting and knitting? The noise of the full blast fan ruins the atmosphere for me. I do not mind the sound of the pellets feeding. I don't mind a little white noise fan, but the big fan noise bothers me. I would love to hear from others to know if I just need to deal with it, and find a new spot in the house, or if DH & I could come to a compromise.

We purchased this stove due to our enormous oil bills, so we do need efficiency.

I have the same stove that you do installed in our family room. When its 20 degrees or below that outside, I will turn the fan up to medium. When its over 20 degrees outside, I typically have the fan on a low setting. I also run the stove in room temp, manual setting.

 

[Harman Lover 007]

54% less oil is compelling lessoil. I would love that. I think part of the issue for me is when the blower is loud, I get a headache, so I would have to leave the room. I see you're in Maine. I'm in Portland. What pellets do you use, and where do you purchase them? This stove is new, and there is a learning curve. The guy who installed it told my husband that we needed to have the fan on high to heat the house, so that is what is driving him. I don't mind having it on high when we're sleeping or when we're not in the room, but not when I'm right next to it.

Your Harman will burn anything but Tractor Supply was selling Maine Wood Pellets (MWP) for $192 ton in Sanford this week. They have a Windham store as well..don't know about Portland area though. Both HD and Lowes sell pellets as well. Been right around $209 for a while now. If I could suggest, click on the link in my signature. That will help you get your stove set the way you need it for a baseline and then you can adjust the fan speed to your desired comfort level while you're in the room. Welcome to the forum.

 

[Centurion]

I also had the Harman Accentra and my wife and I loved it. Along with what the others have said, we would turn the fan down low while in the room and turn it up when we left the room. That stove can run 24/7 safely and it will keep your home comfortable. For my 2 story cape with an open stairwell in the living room the downstais would stay at 72* and upstairs typically around 68*. Enjoy your stove and savings!

 

[subsailor]

If you set your temp for 72 with the blower on low, the stove will do whatever it takes to maintain the 72 temp. If it beeds a larger fire it will create one. The shotter the stove gets, the stove will automatically ramp up the blower speed to maximize the heat out put, and conversly it will lower the blower speed if the stove burns at a lower temp. If the blower is run a max and the stove isn't burning real hot, the air is being pushed through the heat exchanger too fast fo it to pick up any heat and you could end up defeating your purpose.

 

[tonyd]

Tell your Dh my theory with running the stove with the distribution blower on max is that the fan cools the heat exchangers to the point where you are blowing cooler air into the room. Acting as an air conditioner trying to cool the fire. ( never letting the steel get hot) vs With the blower at a lower speed, the exchangers are staying hotter so you are getting hotter air into the room not wasting the btus the fire is producing. Maybe that will help .

 

[will711]

Welcome April. I run ours on low fan all the time just a little white noise heats our place fine but, as Bob said depends on how well home is insulated what kind of windows and where you are located how much sq. footage are you trying to heat. We love to see some pics of your new stove.

 

[April]

Thanks so much everyone! You all have helped immensely. Dh & boys are off to see The Hobbit again, but I will show him the posts when he gets back. This forum is super helpful! Thanks a lot.

 

[will711]

Thanks so much everyone! You all have helped immensely. Dh & boys are off to see The Hobbit again, but I will show him the posts when he gets back. This forum is super helpful! Thanks a lot.

Now is your chance to experiment turn fan to low, knit, watch some tube ,have a good time see how temps in house are.

 

[DOLLARBILL]

My XXV makes much less noise than the Bixby it replaced and its in the Livingroom we have just gotten use to it I guess and it is awful nice to not see the oil truck show up but once a year, we still heat our hot water with it .... that will get fixed in the spring !

 

[April]

Hi guys, just following up. Your posts helped dh & I come to terms on the stove. We tried not blowing so much when we were in the room yesterday, and there was no huge change in the temperature to the rest of the house. We've box relaxed! I do agree with Tonyd, I do agree with you, that it felt warmer without the fan blowing so hard. All in all, we're loving the stove, and dh is agreeing that blowing the fan at full speed isn't necessary.

 

[will711]

Thanks for the follow up . Another satisfied member Still waiting for pics.

 

[April]

 

[will711]

Very Nice Enjoy the heat.

 

[tonyd]

Your tv is in the exact spot mine is in. Back it down when watching tv and bump it up a little when you retire. Do the little maintenance it requires and you and the DH will enjoy your stove like we have.