New Harmon question

[MichFish86]

Hi folks,
I just got my new Harmon p43 installed yesterday and I'm working on getting used to the ins and outs of ownership. This forum has been a great resource.

I'm wondering if I should be going through pellets as fast as I am. At the rate I'm on, I'll be burning through 3 bags of Cubex pellets in the first 24 hours. Does that sound high? Given that the stove is advertised to run on about a bag a day, I was disappointed to find it burned through a full hopper while we slept. The stove is admittedly working pretty hard with single digit lows last night, and a 1200 sq ft fairly drafty house, but I still thought I'd better check.

The stove is adjusted to feed rate 4, room temp 75.

This is probably discussed in other threads but I didn't have any luck searching for info. Thanks!

 

[Bioburner]

Admitting that the home is drafty may well be your bigger problem. Is the home warm? You have the stove set to 75 and that can take some fuel. What was your old fuel consumption? My newer home takes less than two bags a day but the old but insulated garage takes that and more to get to 50.

 

[Harman Lover 007]

Hi folks,
I just got my new Harmon p43 installed yesterday and I'm working on getting used to the ins and outs of ownership. This forum has been a great resource.

I'm wondering if I should be going through pellets as fast as I am. At the rate I'm on, I'll be burning through 3 bags of Cubex pellets in the first 24 hours. Does that sound high? Given that the stove is advertised to run on about a bag a day, I was disappointed to find it burned through a full hopper while we slept. The stove is admittedly working pretty hard with single digit lows last night, and a 1200 sq ft fairly drafty house, but I still thought I'd better check.

The stove is adjusted to feed rate 4, room temp 75.

This is probably discussed in other threads but I didn't have any luck searching for info. Thanks!

With those settings and a P43 you are probably on track to rip through some pellets, especially at those outside temps. Try cutting back to 70-72 and see what happens.

 

[P38X2]

Is your room temp sensor in a good spot? What was the actual temp in your house according to your old T-stat? Don't assume your sensor is reading things correctly. For example, if I set mine for 75, it would probably end up being 85 in the house.

Again, was your T-stat showing 75, or close to that? As 007 said, try lowering it a bit. Thst stove should have no problem whatsoever heating that space, so perhaps your home has a bit more heat loss than you think. If you don't have an OAK on your stove, get one. It'll make a HUGE difference cutting down the drafts in there. After that, the next thing I'd recommend is looking into where your heat loss is occurring. Additional insulation in the right areas always has excellent ROI.

Also, you may wanna invest in a humidifier. Dry heat generally feels colder than moist heat. Think 90 degrees in AZ vs FL. Since you seem to have a lot of heat loss, DO NOT make it too humid in there or you WILL get mold growth. Get yourself a hygrometer and keep it around say 35. Keep an eye on your windows for condensation. If you see water or ice, back off on the humidifier till it stops, then back it off a touch more.

3 bags a day is normal for your stove running at full tilt. If it was an older stove, I'd say clean her up.

You must have had a hefty fuel bill before you switched to pellets, yes?

 

[lbcynya]

See the "Harman" sticky at the beginning of the forum for some basic help.

PS - Better check to make sure you have a Harman, not a Harmon. I guess Harmon's are cheap, Chinese knockoffs of the real thing... (JK )

 

[ironpony]

try stove temp so that it stays on and keeps the temp more even. works for me

 

[MichFish86]

Oops. Total rookie move on the "Harmon" instead of Harman thing. I'll turn down the setting to 70 and see if it cuts down on pellet usage, but it sounds like no one thinks there is anything wrong with the stove or pellets. I figured it was just my learning curve showing up. Using the room temp function it does do an outstanding job of maintaining the 75 it's set at. The stove and the house's thermostat are on opposite ends of the room but both agree the room is at 74-76. I should turn it down anyway, but I was trying to defrost myself and my wife after keeping the furnace set at 63.

I just bought the house last month so I can't speak to the typical energy usage. It has a 5 year old propane furnace which did a good job, but at $2.85/gallon for propane in Maine, I felt like buying a quality pellet stove right away would be a good investment.

To answer another question - I do have the OAK. I tried sparing no expense on this endeavor, which is why I ended up with a Harman and a professional install. Just really wanted to make sure everything is working as good as it can be. Next investment will be better insulation and windows I think.

 

[Lake Girl]

Congrats on the Harman and welcome to the forum. Pics or it didn't happen