Pellet burning newbie - Harman P68

[bdaoust]

I bought a house back in October with a Harman P68 and been told it's a pretty good stove.

The house is a Cape - little under 1,300 sq ft. with good thermal windows and decent insulation (although I have a feeling I'm going to need some in the future as the snow on the roof melts off in spots)

A few questions -

1) Pellet consumption - I've used both hardwood and softwood and although softwood seems to throw off more heat, both seem to burn just as quickly.

I've experimented with stove temp (at 4 and feeder at 4) and room temperature - at a little below 70 and feeder at 3-4). One bag seems to be consumed in about 10 hours if temperatures around in the high teens or low 20's. I've been thinking of keeping a log for more accurate stats.

I've heard people say they burn a bag a day. I often wonder if they mean a full 24 hours. I easily burn at least 2 bags if burning 24 hours at the above settings. Stove is located in my basement. I keep one side of the basement closed off.

2) Oil Heat as a supplement - when I go to work, I usually turn the stove off and keep the oil heat (hot water baseboard heat) way down to like 60. Then when i get home, I just use pellets. Not sure if this is a good approach. One reason I got into this habit is that I've heard stories (and the previous homeowner of my place) froze pipes just burning pellets. Is that Thermal Guard thing the only option to prevent this?

3) Air intake - On the P68 there isn't a damper. On the outside of the house, there is an exhaust pipe come straight out of the house. Inside the pipes runs vertical (inside) about 7 feet and then goes horizontal outside the house. How to I check the air intake? I hear the air ratio is important, so I want to make sure there is nothing I'm missing.

Thank you,
Brian

 

[Chain]

With regard to number two question above:

I have basically the same set up as you and previous to buying my new Harman P61A this year, I would only run my then Lopi pellet stove when getting home from work and on the weekends. This year with the new Harman, I've made it my primary heat source and now burn pellets 24/7 every day. Back a few weeks ago I made the mistake of not running my fuel oil boiler enough to keep it from freezing one small section of copper pipe that was exposed to a draft near a basement window. Keep in mind this was during about a week straight of 10-20 below zero weather with even colder wind chills.

Fortunately I thawed out this section before any major issues occurred with the baseboard heat. As a result of this experience, I considered installing the Thermal Guard. Instead, what I now do is make a point to run the oil burner a few times per day whenever the outside temps. get below 20 degrees. Since it has antifreeze in the line, I'm pretty confident running the boiler this way 3-4 times per day is enough to keep the pipes from freezing. During longer, even more colder stretches of time, I'll run it once every 2-3 hours just to be sure. The key is to make a point to really monitor the weather and run the boiler accordingly. I should also point out that my baseboard piping is all completely covered with pipe insulation where ever it's exposed in my basement (the one exception being the previously uncovered spot above the basement window where I'm sure it froze due to wind chill...it's now completely covered).

If you'd rather not have the hassle of monitoring the weather and manually running your boiler, by all means, I'd install the Thermal Guard. Most everyone in here who have them claim they work very well.

 

[imacman]

.....2) Oil Heat as a supplement - when I go to work, I usually turn the stove off and keep the oil heat (hot water baseboard heat) way down to like 60. .......One reason I got into this habit is that I've heard stories (and the previous homeowner of my place) froze pipes just burning pellets. Is that Thermal Guard thing the only option to prevent this?.......

IMO, the ThermGuard is the easiest & most worry-free method. Set it, turn it on, and forget about any frozen pipe problem. I was one of the very first on the forum to buy one, and have never regretted the purchase.

 

[Bioburner]

Welcome. Your harman is smart and takes care of the air etc. Just do the routine cleanings and keep the ESP clean and the stove will do you right. Basement installs are hard to get the warm air upstairs effeciently and probably the reason for the higher pellet use. Just turn it down when you leave and
you probably be happier with the faster warmup as wood and pellet stoves do not work like a furnace with the fast warm up but deal with thermal mass more.

 

[Mr. Spock]

1) Pellet consumption with have a lot to do with that heat going out the poor insulation in that roof. I have 1000sq ft very well insulated and when the temps are in the teens about 1 per 24 hours house at room temp 74 deg.

2) Experienced baseboard members have chimed in ...

3) Sounds like that config is just above the max EVL of 15 for a 3" pipe.
If you have 1 tee clean , 1 90 deg , 7ft vertical and 2ft (?) horizontal. (2 * 5) + (7 * .5) + (2 * 1) = 10 + 3.5 + 2 = 15.5EVL.
Keep it clean! If you have a 4" - no worries.

 

[Fixedblade]

I have a P68 and have used it for 5 seasons now to heat my very old 3000 square foot home. I heat it exclusively during normal weather with the pellet stove and it can burn up to 2.5 bags a day if it's really booking. One subzero days with a wind I add some heat from my oil hot air furnace or my wood furnace but the Harman does the lions share of heating my home.

 

[Dollabill]

I have a three bedroom log Home and use a Harman XXV to heat the whole place !The only time I ever use the furnace now is for hot water ! I also run it just to circulate things when I do my weekly cleaning never had a problem yet keeping toasty warm i have thought about installing a unit in the basement to keep the floors warm