new p68 buyer

[jjc1800]

last week my local dealer had their annual heat wave sale, discounting every unit that they sell. i went in to look at the harman p68, enviro maxx-b, and m55. i really liked the enviro m55 but i didnt know if the 55000 btu's would be enough for my 2300 sqft house. the maxx had the btu's that i was looking for but i just didnt like how it looked, plus from what i was told the cleaning process is more detailed and more often with the enviro than the harman. with that being said i got the p68. the p68 was $500 off in the store plus i had an online coupon for $100 off bringing the stove to $3099.00, still $600 more than the enviro stoves that i was looking at ( . never thought that i would be spending this much money , but i have learned that if you dont spend the money right the first time, you will spend twice as much the second time around. i will be picking it up later on this week, and probably won't install until the end of summer. i hope that i have as much success as the other p68 owners on here. im thinking about installing it myself because the dealer said that the hardest part of the install would be putting the hole in the wall, if i do i will be leaning on you guys for support. on a side note should i be getting my pellets now or should i just wait? my dealer said the only increase that he could see coming might be a fuel surcharge by the truckers delivering the pellets to the stores.

 

[AVIVIII]

Congrats!

I am a very happy P68 owner who looked at all of the same stoves that you you did and ended up with the Harman.

If you get the Harman (Hearth & Home Tech.) vent kit (comes with OAK) you just have to cut a 6" x 6" square through the wall and siding and you are good to go. Look out for studs and electrical in planning where you want your stove.

I'd shop for pellets and get used to the pricing and you will be able to see the fluctuations. However, I would be hesitant to buy a large quantity of a product that I hadn't personally tested/experienced. That being said, my P68 happily eats anything that I run through it, even absolute garbage pellets. However, I much prefer the 'Super Premiums,' specifically Vermonts and Okanagans. I ran mine for 4 weeks straight on VTs and the only cleaning I did was a couple burn pot scrapings and knocked the soot off the heat exchangers.

 

[kinsmanstoves]

last week my local dealer had their annual heat wave sale, discounting every unit that they sell. i went in to look at the harman p68, enviro maxx-b, and m55. i really liked the enviro m55 but i didnt know if the 55000 btu's would be enough for my 2300 sqft house. the maxx had the btu's that i was looking for but i just didnt like how it looked, plus from what i was told the cleaning process is more detailed and more often with the enviro than the harman. with that being said i got the p68. the p68 was $500 off in the store plus i had an online coupon for $100 off bringing the stove to $3099.00, still $600 more than the enviro stoves that i was looking at ( . never thought that i would be spending this much money , but i have learned that if you dont spend the money right the first time, you will spend twice as much the second time around. i will be picking it up later on this week, and probably won't install until the end of summer. i hope that i have as much success as the other p68 owners on here. im thinking about installing it myself because the dealer said that the hardest part of the install would be putting the hole in the wall, if i do i will be leaning on you guys for support. on a side note should i be getting my pellets now or should i just wait? my dealer said the only increase that he could see coming might be a fuel surcharge by the truckers delivering the pellets to the stores.

Anyone of those stoves has enough BTU to heat your house. Please search through some older posts to get your self familiar with how a pellet stove works. 98% of the time you will never obtain full power of your unit. That would be 8.5 pounds of pellets per hour.

Eric

 

[Wood Heat Stoves]

I would always recommend trying a couple of bags of pellets before you buy a large quantity. Even different batches from the same manufacturer can vary in quality. Some of the problems could be a lot of "fines" or dust, which can lead to auger jamming, and contaminates such as dirt, which can cause "clinkers" or unburned chunks of material that can block the flow of air through the burn pot. Also, some pellets may work better than others with your particular stove. Storing pellets fort a long period of time before burning can lead to moisture absorbsion, unless you have a really dry location, so I would wait until next season to buy them.

 

[richg]

Buy your pellets now and don't look back. This petroleum spike and middle east unrest will only cause prices to rise in the near future.

 

[pfmaloney]

If you get the Harman (Hearth & Home Tech.) vent kit (comes with OAK) you just have to cut a 6" x 6" square through the wall and siding and you are good to go. Look out for studs and electrical in planning where you want your stove.

I have the Harman vent kit for my accentra insert. When I have the insert pulled out, I can feel a steady flow of air coming through the OAK, so I was curious if I should cap the vent during the summer months? I would imagine the warm, humid air is not good to pump into the stove during the off-season.

 

[heat seeker]

I'm wondering the same thing. I plan to cover the opening, since we have a lot of wasp activity around here, and they would love getting in there. I will also cover my horizontal vent for the same reason. Last thing I need is a wasp nest inside the stove. I can just envision the blockage they'd cause, as well as an angry wasp mob flying out at me when I open the stove door in the fall…ugh!
Keeping the humidity out of the stove seems like a good idea to me.

 

[DexterDay]

Plug all openings (Flue, OAK) with (Your choice here). I use old rags. Dont want my A/C sneaking out, or Hot air sneaking in. Whatever it is you use, make sure to REMOVE at the beginning of next season.

Also I use a product called Damp Rid in the stove. I put one under the burn pot in the ash pan. Soaks up all the moisture. Also spray the inside down with either Pam cooking spray or WD-40. Whichever is closer. Pic wont load of Damp Rid. Can be bought at most Dollar stores, Wal-Mart, etc. (Cheap too)