new XXV is a glutenous pig, why?

[BGStG1aholic]

I just replaced an old 1990 Avalon 900-PS a friend recently gave me with a brandspankin'new Beautiful enamel Harman XXV .

The XXV sure is purdy but the old Avalon was much more efficient(so far) only burning a bag of pellets approx. every 20 hours compared to the new Harman which is devouring a bag every 13-14 hrs. to keep the same room temp. as the Avalon was. I started out on the room temp. mode for the first day then called the dealer to get some tips on adjusting it properly. She told me to run it on stove mode to be more efficient. I tried that for the last day and it's still eating just as much.

It's hooked up to a horizontal exhaust 2' long after exiting the stove via a 45(same as the Avalon had, same location). Exhaust fumes outside smell quite clean and no smoke detectable during the day. Outside air is not yet hooked up(same as Avalon was('nt)). Am using same pellets(100% doug fir) also.

Here's what I'm running the stove at:

-Feed Adjuster - 4
-Stove Temp. - Medium
-Igniter - Auto(to keep dist. fan blowing at lower settings)
- Thermostat at #4 thru #5 (#3 at night)

Hopefully I'm scewing up on my adjustments(fine tuning) somewhere here as it is quite depressing to buy a 4 thousand dollar state of the art stove only to have it be outdone by a 24yr. old relic that was given to me.

Any tips, helpful comments greatly appreciated

Thank you

 

[Jim H.]

Depends on how cold it is outside as well......also give it a couple days to get up to temp (house) and it will go into a lower burn. I get anywhere between
30 hours when temps stay closer to 40 but will only get about 12-15 hours when temps get closer to 0. I also put mine on a thermostat to actuall go off at night when I go to bed if the temps stay in the 30's or so.....then it goes on before I get home. Colder temps and I keep it going all the time. My 2 electric bill for the last couple months were 79 and 115 and it was cold outside! The electric company sent me a comparison showing my 1982 2x4 constructed bilevel to be more efficient then the newly built efficient neighbors! LOL So you see, I do use my pellet stove House is all electric by the way. Baseboards.......Good luck with your new stove! Love mine

 

[Lake Girl]

Congrats on the new stove? Have you kept the Avalon as back-up? Get the OAK hooked up - they are recommended and likely are part of the efficiency equation. I'll let the Harman gurus have their say

 

[BGStG1aholic]

yep, got the avalon hooked up and ready to run at the other end of shed(w/oak). I'm storing it so I figured it may as well be hooked up for use if needed.

Gonna hook up the OAK on my new XXV today but I figure it's not a big deal as there are still a few drafts in here and shed is not sealed up tight yet.

 

[DOLLARBILL]

I have an XXV and when its really cold go through two Five Gallon Buckets in a twentyfour hour period that keeps the house @ 70 plus (three bedroom Log Home two stories) when it gets below zero well we use much more ! Ive also noticed the better the pellet the less I use ! Good Luck and Im sure youll figure it out !

 

[jslinger]

I am not sure I agree with the dealer's suggestion of running in stove temp mode in order to be more efficient. I heat a 1900 sq ft house (above grade) with my XXV, and have averaged less than one bag per day this winter. I prefer to run it in room temp mode, and let the stove figure out how much to burn to keep the house the temp I want it.
I agree that it seems strange that it would burn more than your old stove. There must be something wrong going on to make this occur. I cant imagine your old stove is more efficient than your XXV.
I would give it a few more days of running in room temp mode, with the OAK hooked up.
I am sure others will weigh in with more specific advice.

 

[IHATEPROPANE]

I am not sure I agree with the dealer's suggestion of running in stove temp mode in order to be more efficient. I heat a 1900 sq ft house (above grade) with my XXV, and have averaged less than one bag per day this winter. I prefer to run it in room temp mode, and let the stove figure out how much to burn to keep the house the temp I want it.
I agree that it seems strange that it would burn more than your old stove. There must be something wrong going on to make this occur. I cant imagine your old stove is more efficient than your XXV.
I would give it a few more days of running in room temp mode, with the OAK hooked up.
I am sure others will weigh in with more specific advice.

Is this your sole source for heat?

 

[chken]

I just replaced an old 1990 Avalon 900-PS a friend recently gave me with a brandspankin'new Beautiful enamel Harman XXV .

The XXV sure is purdy but the old Avalon was much more efficient(so far) only burning a bag of pellets approx. every 20 hours compared to the new Harman which is devouring a bag every 13-14 hrs. to keep the same room temp. as the Avalon was. I started out on the room temp. mode for the first day then called the dealer to get some tips on adjusting it properly. She told me to run it on stove mode to be more efficient. I tried that for the last day and it's still eating just as much.

It's hooked up to a horizontal exhaust 2' long after exiting the stove via a 45(same as the Avalon had, same location). Exhaust fumes outside smell quite clean and no smoke detectable during the day. Outside air is not yet hooked up(same as Avalon was('nt)). Am using same pellets(100% doug fir) also.

Here's what I'm running the stove at:

-Feed Adjuster - 4
-Stove Temp. - Medium
-Igniter - Auto(to keep dist. fan blowing at lower settings)
- Thermostat at #4 thru #5 (#3 at night)

Hopefully I'm scewing up on my adjustments(fine tuning) somewhere here as it is quite depressing to buy a 4 thousand dollar state of the art stove only to have it be outdone by a 24yr. old relic that was given to me.

Any tips, helpful comments greatly appreciated

Thank you

Strange. Possible differences:
• stove efficiency - can't be different enough to matter, and the newer stove should be more efficient than the old one, you would think.
• environmental conditions - while it seems like everything was the same, could it be possible that the temps have been colder with your Harman than with your Avalon?
• stove adjustments - as long as the stove is burning cleanly, can you tell if perhaps you're sending more heat up the vent pipe with the Harman? How's the ash production, about the same?

 

[john193]

Stove temp doesn't change the stoves efficiency. That would require the stove to extract more heat. And last I checked, the heat exchanger doesn't change with the setting.

There isn't really anything to tinker with on a harman. It's the reason people buy them.

How long have you had it?

 

[rwreuter]

I have an XXV and when its really cold go through two Five Gallon Buckets in a twentyfour hour period that keeps the house @ 70 plus (three bedroom Log Home two stories) when it gets below zero well we use much more ! Ive also noticed the better the pellet the less I use ! Good Luck and Im sure youll figure it out !

How much fits in a 5 gallon bucket? Just curious is all.

 

[jslinger]

Is this your sole source for heat?

Yes. We have a boiler in the basement that handles DHW. So I suppose there might be some heat coming off that. But I doubt much makes its way upstairs. We haven't turned the baseboard heat on since we got the stove.

 

[IHATEPROPANE]

Yes. We have a boiler in the basement that handles DHW. So I suppose there might be some heat coming off that. But I doubt much makes its way upstairs. We haven't turned the baseboard heat on since we got the stove.

Dang.....your usage is equivalent to two electric space heaters. Seems awfully low for Vermont. Pretty sweet.

 

[jslinger]

Yeah. Relatively new house with 2x6 construction. I am pretty surprised too. I bought 3 tons in August, expecting to use at least that. Looks like I will have some left over.

 

[BGStG1aholic]

Strange. Possible differences:
• stove efficiency - can't be different enough to matter, and the newer stove should be more efficient than the old one, you would think.
• environmental conditions - while it seems like everything was the same, could it be possible that the temps have been colder with your Harman than with your Avalon?
• stove adjustments - as long as the stove is burning cleanly, can you tell if perhaps you're sending more heat up the vent pipe with the Harman? How's the ash production, about the same?

quite strange indeed I also thought...

environmental conditions - It's actually a bit warmer outside now(about 5 degrees) running my new XXV than when I ran my Avalon.

stove adjustments - adjusted it to how dealer advised and got no improvement in efficiency AT ALL. Stove seems to be burning cleanly as the exhaust smells clean, looks clean(no smoke outside), inside stove is not creosoted whatsoever. Ash production seems to be the same as my Avalon which was minimal.

heat coming out vent pipe you ask? - YES! - The exhaust pipe(same size) on the Harman seems to get hotter than the exhaust pipe on the Avalon used to get.


I'm feeling like the guy who picked up the most beautiful girl at the dance, spent a buttload of money on her and well ... you know the rest

I hope my relationship with my new woman improves as I'm now thinking I should have bought the big ugly stove that really puts out rather than this beautiful one that just looks pretty sitting in the corner.

Kinda getting bummed out as it's been a few days now and have tried different settings to no avail. I did my research(I thought) before buying this stove and was in the belief this is one of the VERY best stoves available. Did I just get a lemon or does it get better as it's used a bit????

 

[Tonyray]

Have Harman P61A,
heating 1200 sq ft [not too well insulated 2 story house..
go thru a bag in 12-14 hrs...
have read here where users go thru 2, and 3 bags or more a day...
region and insulation[or lack of] will vary the milage...

 

[BGStG1aholic]

Have Harman P61A,
heating 1200 sq ft [not too well insulated 2 story house..
go thru a bag in 12-14 hrs...
have read here where users go thru 2, and 3 bags or more a day...
region and insulation[or lack of] will vary the milage...

Yes, I've seen where some go thru a lot of pellets in situations different than mine.

It makes it easier for me to see how my new expensive stove is performing(or lack of) because I have the benefit of comparing an old pellet(24yrs.)stove I just removed prior to installing this new XXV. The only difference is the weather, it is about 5 degrees warmer now and I'm burning a heck of a lot more pellets with my new stove in this warmer weather than the old one was - quite frustrating

I'm actually thinking of firing up my backup stove to use as my main heat if this thing does'nt start performing as it should. I am very very unimpressed with this new XXV stove so far.

I was initially blaming myself for not knowing how to properly run it but after doing what the dealer told me for a few days and trying to fine tune it with a few tips I read on here with no success I'm about to throw in the towell if this beauty continues to be a turd. Please, please - I'll listen to any suggestions, one and all ...

Any input greatly appreciated,

Mr. Major Bummed Dude

 

[Bioburner]

One member had a Bad gasket on a new stove. That can make the ESP sense cooler exhaust and ramp up the feed and blow out more heat out the venting. Check things accordingly.

 

[Ctcarl]

My p35i is heating a 1800 split level with a bag and a half a day.I have had this baby for a good 6 weeks and have to say it's been treating me and my family right. We really love it.I did a ton of research and don't regret my decision at all.Hope you find the good In Your harman

 

[BGStG1aholic]

One member had a Bad gasket on a new stove. That can make the ESP sense cooler exhaust and ramp up the feed and blow out more heat out the venting. Check things accordingly.

Bad gasket? Meaning possibly door gasket? I've had a small black(soot) spot on the glass 1" x 2" coming from bottom right corner in the same are where the rope gasket on the door is schoddily spliced together - dealer tech. told me the gasket would "break-in" which it has a bit as the small soot spot is now only 1/2" x 1" long with a 2" white non-opaque plume going to the top. Maybe it'll just fix itself, I sure hope so as the dealer is 180 miles away and don't do house calls.

 

[alternativeheat]

When I assess my p61 pellet use it seems high compared with what should be sort of equal with my old coal stove. But with coal I did not heat the entire house without some oil backup. The p61 does the entire house. Stands to reason its using a little more fuel than I figured on. All is well very happy. Are you sure you are not getting heat out to places you had not with the old stove?

 

[Harman Lover 007]

In your OP, you say you are running in auto in order to run the distribution fan on lower setting. What speed are you running the fan on given the settings you say you have?

 

[DOLLARBILL]

How much fits in a 5 gallon bucket? Just curious is all.

about a bag and a half

 

[DOLLARBILL]

Bad gasket? Meaning possibly door gasket? I've had a small black(soot) spot on the glass 1" x 2" coming from bottom right corner in the same are where the rope gasket on the door is schoddily spliced together - dealer tech. told me the gasket would "break-in" which it has a bit as the small soot spot is now only 1/2" x 1" long with a 2" white non-opaque plume going to the top. Maybe it'll just fix itself, I sure hope so as the dealer is 180 miles away and don't do house calls.

Hey dont give up you have a very good stove something is wrong find the problem have it fixed and move on it can not be much of anything !my settings are as follows room temp 70 degrees.manual feed feed rate 3/4 three bedroom loghome two stories and I never burn more than a bag bag and a half a day never more than 3 or four and a half ton a year winter comes here early and leaves late this year its been colder so I figure Ill burn a ton ton and a half extra and I confess as I age i like it a bit warmer ! Good Luck ! Ohhh BTW if you live close to Maine and decide to sell let me know ill take it off your hands !

 

[The Maniac]

I do not have a xxv i do have a p43 . i run my stove room temp blower on high and it keeps my place 75 np . Now my brother does own a xxv. He keeps his blower on high set at 80 room temp lol keeps his house at 78 or so . His house is almost 200 years old . It is a 2 story cape here in maine and its been plenty cold lol ..When I go there I know not to wear only a tee shirt . He has had alot of heart trouble and its hard for him to stay warm that why he CRANKS it up . The stove has no problem pumping out the heat . I hope you get it figured out . I would try room temp make sure you have your sensor properly placed . Try the fan on high also just for fun see what happens . Also his feed rate is on 4 like you . When it is cold he does use alot of pellets but man is it warm in there hehe . Good luck I know you have a nice stove there .

 

[jp0469]

about a bag and a half

How is that possible? Premium pellets are about 40 - 45 lb/cubic foot which would mean that a 5 gal bucket would only hold 27 - 30 lbs.