HELP!!!!

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MommyOf4

Feeling the Heat
Oct 4, 2012
361
Southern MD
We are thinking about purchasing and installing a wood pellet stove. Our contractor suggested the Heatilator Eco-Choice CAB50 model to heat our 2100 sq foot home. Has anyone have any experience with this model? Is there anything we should know about before/after installing? We've never owned one previously.
 
Paging the D's.

Member('s) The D's has a Heatilator CAB50 since last season. Hang in there, they'll be here to offer assistence. ;)
 
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This will be my second season with the cab50. No complaints yet. Heats 1400 no problem but it depends on how insulated and open your house is. The thermostat works perfectly. Easy to clean and from my understanding the guts are the same as a few of the better stoves. 3 bag hopper is a bigger deal then you can appreciate until you buy one.

Last year I paid around 2k for stove, installation, hearth pad and 1 ton of pellets. What are they charging you?




Now, I did run into a hiccup at the end of last season where I had to hit the reset a few times. Don't know if it is a problem yet until this season kicks in (it worked fine after hitting the reset) since the manual says you may need to do it.
 
How about some info on the home's layout? How old is it? How well is it insulated? What part of the country do you live in? Do you want to heat the entire house? All of that info can help us to help you.

what he ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ said
 
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The heataltor is a nice budget stove, From what i have seen it does have the same parts as it's bigger brothers but lacks heat exchangers like its counter parts.....We had one as a demo in our store last winter did well did not have any issues with it....
 
If that was the case, I would look for another brand stove.

Tom C.

Heatilator is a Quad and Quads(non MT V AE) do this too! After several years of mine doing it and coming home to a cold house! I wanted to smash mine. So I just burned low and steady(24/7 and eat way too many pellets for me) once it got cold! If you burn it 24/7 and its a non issue. Prolly why most that own them just burn em 24/7. ;em
 
Heatilator is a Quad and Quads(non MT V AE) do this too! After several years of mine doing it and coming home to a cold house! I wanted to smash mine. So I just burned low and steady(24/7 and eat way too many pellets for me) once it got cold! If you burn it 24/7 and its a non issue. Prolly why most that own them just burn em 24/7. ;em
Thats your opinion. I know a member here thats burned a 1200 for 4 years for sure with no misfires.
 
Thats your opinion. I know a member here thats burned a 1200 for 4 years for sure with no misfires.

Had a couple mis-fires, 2 yrs ago... But I replaced ignitor and no problems since. I also burned low and slow (24/7 for 2 yrs) but last year, and so far this year, I am back on the Stat (let it run when it needs). Has started and stopped a dozen times or so this year already. With tonight being no exception (running now).

After replacing the ignitor, I bench tested it. Still works :( I had the feed gate closed to much to allow enough pellets in to ignite..
All that and it was my fault anyways. :mad:

We are thinking about purchasing and installing a wood pellet stove. Our contractor suggested the Heatilator Eco-Choice CAB50 model to heat our 2100 sq foot home. Has anyone have any experience with this model? Is there anything we should know about before/after installing? We've never owned one previously.

This is basically a Quad in disguise. Uses all the same parts as a Quadrafire. Blowers, motors, burn pot, thermocouple, etc. Just doesn't use a tube type heat exchange system. As for daily cleaning. I ran my Quad all last season and only pulled the clean out knob, maybe a dozen times (when fire is out). Which, if you run the stove off the stat, it will shut down several times a day. So when you walk by, just pull the knob.

Quads and Heatilators burn pretty clean. Probably pump more air through the burn pot than most other models. Burning a good pellet, I can go weeks without needing to touch the stove. Other than filling the hopper.

Welcome to the Forums. Other info is still needed though. House size, insulation, etc.
 
Paging the D's.

Member('s) The D's has a Heatilator CAB50 since last season. Hang in there, they'll be here to offer assistence. ;)

Sorry we're late getting your page - LOL.

We have the PS50, not the CAB50.... but basically the same stove. LOVE IT! We're heating about 1100 sq. ft. with high ceilings and ceiling fans in living area and kitchen. Does more than an adequate job. We don't have alot of experience (installed March 2012), but would buy it again. Had to hit the reset a few times; no biggie.

It's easy to clean, easy to use (low, med., high). Yes, the manual says to shut it down daily to pull the bottom of the burnpot to dump any ashes that may be clogging holes. So far we've done that. In the bitter cold of winter we may not do it every day - jump off that bridge when we get to it.

That's about all that I (Deb) have to contribute... Dave may be along to answer further if his work day isn't too crazy.
 
i've got the ps50. same stove w/ smaller hopper.
my first thought is your house is a bit more than twice the size of mine.
many new stove owners are slightly disillusioned when they expect to heat the whole house evenly.
and this is the case almost no matter what stove you use.
that being said, i love my stove. i think i may have had that misfire issue here once or twice the beginning of the season.
but my feed gate is closed as far as it goes as dex had mentioned.
i'll be leaving it that way though as i am always here and i just reset the stat when that has happened.

once it gets really cold, i just run 24/7. i find if i run it on high and get everything nice and hot, that makes the low setting more efficient till it cools back down.
for me the controls being so simple is a good thing. less to go wrong and cheaper to fix if and when anything does fail.
but if you want a stove that takes full care of itself (settings wise) and allows you flexibility and set it and forget it usability in all situations. (the times when it's not always cold) you may want to look for something else.

though you could buy the cab50 and a second stove for the price of some of the high end things out there.
the guts on the heatilators are top notch imo. the auger is a flexible design that is pretty near jam proof. (and it self reverses if it does encounter undue resistance)
plus the firebox is so utterly uncluttered with nooks and crannies, it makes cleaning exceptionally easy.

get good pipe. get the O.A.K is my suggestion. and be sure you have a really good surge suppressor. all three of these issues/items are discussed in great detail here onsite.
 
Since 08 no misfires, on really cold days cycles 20 times a day. Zero parts replaced so far, do have some spares though.
 
We are thinking about purchasing and installing a wood pellet stove. Our contractor suggested the Heatilator Eco-Choice CAB50 model to heat our 2100 sq foot home. Has anyone have any experience with this model? Is there anything we should know about before/after installing? We've never owned one previously.
You don't list your location....any chance you're in eastern Ohio? Forum member Eric at Kinsman stoves is a dealer of these....he gives discounts to Hearth.com members.
As I remember, he gave the unit very good reviews.
 
You don't list your location....any chance you're in eastern Ohio? Forum member Eric at Kinsman stoves is a dealer of these....he gives discounts to Hearth.com members.
As I remember, he gave the unit very good reviews.

Very good reviews and great prices!

He has had either the PS-50 (season before last) or CAB-50 (last) burning in his shop for the last 2 seasons. So you can 1st hand see how well they heat.

I dont remember how bad he abused the CAB, but the PS-50 from the season before last, was drug through the trenches! The day I seen it, the ash was a couple inches above the burn pot. It looked like a volcano ;) Still purring away.
 
.....I dont remember how bad he abused the CAB, but the PS-50 from the season before last, was drug through the trenches! The day I seen it, the ash was a couple inches above the burn pot. It looked like a volcano ;) Still purring away.

Was that during our epic "who can burn the longest w/o cleaning/opening the door" contest?
 
Was that during our epic "who can burn the longest w/o cleaning/opening the door" contest?

Yep. That was the 2010-2011 season. That stove was filthy. I was still in the keeping mine Super Clean Mode. So it looked quite scary!!!

Now I have laxed a little. And only cleaned the Quad Twice, last season. I only burned a little over a ton through it, so it was every 25-30 bags. Could have gone longer, but the glass was in Bad shape :( With company coming over, Mama wanted it clean :)
 
I run mine on thermostats in HIGH or MED. No misfires last year after I learned to tune them to pellet length. I go about 3-4 days between cleanings and sometimes a week. It REALLY depends on quality/ash content of pellets you're using.
 
No misfires if you jump the thermostat and just run it like any other stove....let er run! FYI the heatilators are very good burners.....though I imagine by the new B415 efficency standard...EPA for stack temp loss, without proper heat exchangers I bet the are barely 60%
 
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No misfires if you jump the thermostat and just run it like any other stove....

Any other stove lights when needed(stat calls for heat)! No need to waste fuel idling for nada! Fall and spring is where the stat option is most needed. Why run a stove for 24 hours when you really only need some heat for a few hours in the mornings? And NO I don't want to stand there to make sure it lights either! I'd rather wake to warmth! >>
 
Thank you for all the info! My house is about 2100 sq ft. We will be putting it in the finished basement. We live in the DC metro area. There's A LOT of draft in the basement. :(
 
basement installs are a whole topic unto themselves.
 
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Basement install are another can a worms. Before you'll feel the heat upstairs, You'll need to over power the heat loss and the heat sinks of the cement/concrete down there. I'd go with the biggest beast you can find and consider a stove that has ducting options to get the heat upstairs(if your allowed by local code).

Best bet is the pellet furnace or furnace add on! Yes, more money, But you'll be warmer even when it gets really really really cold out!
 
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