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nspackrat

Pellet Stove on External Timer?

nspackrat
16 years ago

Hi - New here!

Just installed a Harman P61A stove. Up here in Canada it's starting to get a little cool overnight - down around 40 deg.

It would be nice to have some warmth in the morning but rather than run the stove all night I'm thinking of putting it on an external timer set to come on a couple of hours before we get up. This would be a heavy duty grounded timer not one of those little ones you get to control lighting, etc.

Just wondering if anyone has done this with their stove.

Thanks for reading...

Comments (2)

  • pellethead
    16 years ago

    Why not just run the stove in room temperature mode and let the let the stove adjust the temperature automatically?

    Here is a post from Hearth.com regarding setback thermostats for Harman pellet stoves.

    All Harman pellet units can utilize a setback thermostat. The thermostat must be:

    1. Millivolt compatible
    2. Have gold contacts
    3. be low voltage
    4. be low current

    Harman reccommends the following Honeywell units for this use:

    RTH230B
    RTH6300B

    If there is a jumper between Rh and Rc, it must be removed from the terminal block of the thermostat. The thermostat must be connected in series with the room sensing probe using the Rh and W terminals of the thermostat. Except with the P38, which has no room sensing probe, the set-back thermostat MUST be used in conjunction with the room sensing probe.

    there are two modes of operation as well:

    Occupied Mode: (someones home)
    Set the thermostat to its max temp setting. The stove room-sensing probe will control room temperature, so set the desired room temp on the stoves temp dial.

    Unoccupied Mode: (noones home)
    Program the thermostat to the desired set-back temp. When the thermostat opens (is satisfied) the stove will go into a 4-blink status. If the stove is a auto-ignite model and the auto/manual switch is in auto, the stove will shut down. When the thermostat closes (calls for heat) the 4-blink status will reset and the stove will ignite.
    If the stove is a manual ignition model, or an auto-igniting unit with the selector switch set to manual, the stove will go into the 4-blink status when the thermostat opens (is satisfied) and the stove will go to a minimum burn and stay there until the thermostat closes (calls for heat). When the thermostat closes, the 4 blink status will reset automatically.

    Consult your owners manual for a description of the 4-blink status. This error occurs when the contril board senses the room sensing probe isnt connected or has failed. This happens with the thermostat in series, since when the thermostat opens (is satisfied), there is a loss of continuity in the room-sensing circuit. The 4 blink status automatically resets when the board recognizes the room-sensing probe has been reconnected (ie: when the thermostat closes and calls for heat).

  • nspackrat
    Original Author
    16 years ago

    Thanks Pellethead for your reply. However, I always run the stove in "stove mode". I find that in stove mode it seems to use on average fewer pellets per day. Pellets are kinda pricey here in Nova Scotia - about $260/ton.

    We are trying to get heat to the upstairs - stove located in basement of a split entry. I figured that a timer would be an easier solution.