Help, Which Pellet Stove to Buy?

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Rick @ Great Northeast

New Member
Jan 25, 2012
19
upstate N.Y.
I could use some advice from the owners and users of pellet stove inserts. I'm not new to wood burning as I have burned wood in fireplaces, good wood stoves and wood stove inserts. I'm debating between two wood pellet inserts , One is a Harman Accentra and the other is a Quadra-Fire Classic Bay 1200. Both dealers are close by (within 20 miles). Looked at and saw both burn into a fireplace setting, one has top feed pellets the other bottom. The reason I'm leaning towards the Accentra is because it's cast iron, BTU's are about the same as the Quad, but I think the clean up on the Accentra is the easiest. The rail slide out system in the Harman seems the ticket as you do not have to break venting system in fireplace system to clean and I do like cast better then sheet steel. Please tell me your choice.
Rick
 
Come on guys, I know eveyone will have a fav, but I would like to need to make a final choise this weekend as I can book a date for install. One thing I forgot is should I have liner the full length of chimny or the 5' that one deales said I could also do to save money?
Rick
 
Rick @ Great Northeast said:
Come on guys, I know eveyone will have a fav, but I would like to need to make a final choise this weekend as I can book a date for install. One thing I forgot is should I have liner the full length of chimny or the 5' that one deales said I could also do to save money?
Rick
Click to expand...

Do the full liner. It's worth the extra cost. I had the same option given to me by my dealer and asked around and everyone told me to do the full liner.

I can disconnect mine by unhooking two clips and running a Linteater up from the bottom to clean the entire length. I'll never have to go on the roof and don't have to worry about cleaning the "rest" of the chimney. I don't envision having to pull my insert out to do the annual cleaning because everything I need to get to can be accessed through the removable side panels.

I'm also partial to cast iron over steel. I looked at the Accentra and the Mt. Vernon, didn't really consider the other models.
 
John97 said:
Rick @ Great Northeast said:
Come on guys, I know eveyone will have a fav, but I would like to need to make a final choise this weekend as I can book a date for install. One thing I forgot is should I have liner the full length of chimny or the 5' that one deales said I could also do to save money?
Rick
Click to expand...

Do the full liner. It's worth the extra cost. I had the same option given to me by my dealer and asked around and everyone told me to do the full liner.

I can disconnect mine by unhooking two clips and running a Linteater up from the bottom to clean the entire length. I'll never have to go on the roof and don't have to worry about cleaning the "rest" of the chimney. I don't envision having to pull my insert out to do the annual cleaning because everything I need to get to can be accessed through the removable side panels.

I'm also partial to cast iron over steel. I looked at the Accentra and the Mt. Vernon, didn't really consider the other models.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your thoughts, can I ask what is a linteater and is it how long?
 
Harman makes a fantastic product......

Quadrafires Classic Bay is a time tested Beast. But because the Quad has to shut down and restart (unless you run it 24/7 in "On" mode) I give the edge to the Harman...

Having Room temp and Stove temp, along with Auto and Manual modes. Means it can "idle" when temp is satisfied.

Owning a Quad, I might be biased. . . . . Nope...... Love my stove. Was a great 1st stove to learn the basics and principles of pellet burning. But I will soon be moving on..

If you want a "Easy" stove... Thats a monster heater?? Go Quad.
If you want a stove that you can grow with and "tweak" over the years. And grow with you as a burner?? Then Harman
Welcome to the Forums.
 
Rick @ Great Northeast said:
I could use some advice from the owners and users of pellet stove inserts. I'm not new to wood burning as I have burned wood in fireplaces, good wood stoves and wood stove inserts. I'm debating between two wood pellet inserts , One is a Harman Accentra and the other is a Quadra-Fire Classic Bay 1200. Both dealers are close by (within 20 miles). Looked at and saw both burn into a fireplace setting, one has top feed pellets the other bottom. The reason I'm leaning towards the Accentra is because it's cast iron, BTU's are about the same as the Quad, but I think the clean up on the Accentra is the easiest. The rail slide out system in the Harman seems the ticket as you do not have to break venting system in fireplace system to clean and I do like cast better then sheet steel. Please tell me your choice.
Rick
Click to expand...

I bought the Accentra this year with a liner up to the top of the chimney and I love the stove! Easy to maintain and plenty of heat even without burning some of the hotter pellets noted throughout this site (green supreme & pacific hardwoods).

Best of luck with whatever stove you decide on!
 
Ive owned a quad and now a harman. Quad was a simpler stove, built very well, and much quieter. Harman is built like a tank, only has to be cleaned every few days, but is much noisier. Both good stoves, but if you have the chance you really need to listen to them both when they are operating. Pay attention to the amt of noise the fans and auger motors make.

Regarding cleaning, my older quad was much simpler and easier to clean. It required daily cleaning, but I'm a maintenance fanatic and I'm just programmed to keep all my stuff maintained constantly. The burn pot and panels on my harman advance are more of a pain to take off and clean behind.
 
Well thank you all for your input, Great forum here with lots of Great advice and help with Pellet stove issues. Today the Harman Dealer installer came to inspect my fireplace and chimney for the installation of the Harman Accentra Insert. All was in great condition, and I decided to go for the Harman just because of the easier way it slides out for yearly cleaning and also because it's cast iron construction along with good name, and of course feedback from here. Going to have full 20 foot ss lining along with what they call flex cap/flashing, explained to me as like a rain cap that I now have over my 13" flue. Installer is to use K-wool insulation all around smoke shelf in chimney. Pellet insert will be installed February 3 rd. Thanks again for the reply’s.
Rick
 
I have run, and worked on three different brands of pellets stoves. Englander, US Stove Co. (which I own), and a Harman. I know the price difference for the Harman compared to the other two is fairly signifiant, but I believe the extra $ is worth it. The Harman is hands down my favorite, and my next stove will be a Harman.
 
Rick @ Great Northeast said:
Well thank you all for your input, Great forum here with lots of Great advice and help with Pellet stove issues. Today the Harman Dealer installer came to inspect my fireplace and chimney for the installation of the Harman ss="spellchecked_word">Accentra</SPAN> Insert. All was in great condition, and I decided to go for the Harman just because of the easier way it slides out for yearly cleaning and also because it's cast iron construction along with good name, and of course feedback from here. Going to have full 20 foot ss lining along with what they call flex cap/flashing, explained to me as like a rain cap that I now have over my 13" flue. Installer is to use K-wool insulation all around smoke shelf in chimney. Pellet insert will be installed February 3 rd. Thanks again for the reply’s.
Rick
Click to expand...

I'm new to burning pellets so I can't give you much input on stove comparisons. I had an Accentra FS installed last month and couldn't be happier. Have been heating 1600 sq ft with no propane since the day of the install. Have been burning about a bag a day, keeping the house between 71-73, but we haven't had much cold weather. I clean once a week including fines box and fans which takes about 45 minutes.

Good Luck!!
 
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