Newbie needs help with Harman p68 vs Enviro Max

P38X2 said:

I'd think about getting 2 stoves if yer gonna go full pellet heat. Unless you can run some fancy ductwork, or work miracles with box fans (noisy!), 10+ degrees warmer in the stove room is not likely to happen, IMO. It'll probably be more like 20+ to get your desired temps upstairs. The P68 doesn't screw around. Get too close to it and you'll find yourself cursing saying a lot of HOLY **** and WTF!

How bout two P38's? There's a guy on these forums that has one in his man cave and another that heats the entire first and second floor of his house.

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Good option but 2 P38s will be like $6K?

That seems to be a stretch to get heat back to the bedrooms. Others may have some better idea.

Bioburner said:

That seems to be a stretch to get heat back to the bedrooms. Others may have some better idea.

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Making heat magically move upstairs and then back to the beds rooms. Been there done that! Don't work that great without ducting.

The colder the weather the worse it gets!

AKA Englander stoves.

Good number of members have them and Mike can usually get you through most problems.

jtakeman said:

Good option but 2 P38s will be like $6K?

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Pricey, yes. Just throwing the idea out there.

Where in relation to that floor plan would you place your stove in a basement room? How often do you use your family room in the basement? If not that often is your answer, installing a stove on your main level and just using oil for the basement room would save you a decent amount of coin. Heck, if you used the basement room all the time, you'd still save a ton of money, assuming that basement is insulated adequately.

With the stove on the first floor, as long as you don't expect the bedrooms to be the same temp as the general stove area( say 6-7 degrees diff), I can't see why that wouldn't work very well. A well placed quality (quiet and efficient) fan will help out quite a bit. Remember, a pellet stove is a just a big space heater.

R SEIF said:

Ok thanks i found a site where they sell refurbished ones not sure if it makes a difference.

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AMFM ?,can save enough to get a fair amount of venting.

I think I'd scrap the single big stove downstairs idea, just going by the folks who've tried and posted their results. If you'd said the stove would be somewhere VERY near the stairs, I'd say MAYBE, but still probably not. IMO, it ain't worth the hassle.

In case Bioburner went nite nite.....

http://www.amfmenergy.com/

R SEIF said:

Ok thanks i have baseboard heating so ducting to existing is not an option .

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I wanted to throw another idea into the mix. What about getting a pellet furance to tie into the existing baseboard system. Is it possible to tie the pellet furnace into the existing system so that either fuel can be run as primary in a redundant capacity. In this way the oil is still on the books for insurance purposes as primary heat but kept offline and the cheaper pellets are used in the furnace. Or even use one fuel as a baseload and the other source for peaking purposes.
Otherwise 2 stoves sounds like the other good option for your layout. You have a lot of walls but a second stove upstairs can handle it with
≈ 6 difference to the farthest room.

I have the Max-M, and was concerned in a similar way(getting heat upstairs). The heat rises naturally, so my son even has to open his window sometimes. As someone said, stair location is a factor. 2500 is a great price, but remember that you probably wont get a warranty. If you do, be sure a certified enviro tech installs it, or you can kiss the warranty goodbye. Only thing I dont like about the max, is the noise level. Not horrible, but not quiet either. Heat factor is excellent, as I rarely run the unit beyond setting #3 out of 5. Heats the whole house too, only cost me about 1200 for heat last year.

Cathedral/vaulted ceilings upstairs?

R SEIF- Sorry bout the like/unlike if it shows up in your alerts. I got the gorilla thumb syndrome on my phone

Vaulted ceilings are another think to take into consideration. While not necessary, ceiling fans will help even out any heat stratification. Did I use that term correctly? I'm wicked smaat They may help considerably in the bedrooms, possibly eliminating the need for a pesky box fan placed in the upstairs hallway.

R SEIF said:

Ok what type of house are you in?I i am in a high ranch [super] which is a little bigger than a high ranch & if i install the unit downstairs when you go down my stairs i have a 4 foot hallway that opens up to a big finished well insulated family room but the unit will be about 14 to 16 feet from the stairwell.How long have you had your stove & any problems?

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My house is weird, its an "A" frame house with an extension. My upstairs isn't very large, only 2 small bedrooms above the original "A" frame. I also have a mostly open floor plan, that helps. Any rooms that are closed, have openings close to the ceiling to allow hot air in. This will be my second year with the Maxx stove. I did have problems early on, but was able to handle them on my own. Since then, smooth sailing. The maxx will give you the heat you want, its one step below an actual furnace. But, it does sound like you may need some fans in appropriate places.