Harman P43 or Quadrafire classic bay 1200 ??

08specB · Mar 31, 2014

Ok so I am a noob so please do not fault me please just educate me. I live in Ellington, Ct and have a raised ranch. We have a fireplace downstairs however we really do not use the downstairs much. I want to put a free standing Pellet Stove upstairs in my living room and vent it out the wall (facing down the hallway towards the bedrooms). The upstairs is about 1,350 square ft (all rooms above the garage) however the livingroom, dining room, kitchen and foyer are cathedral ceilings. As I understand it I am going to need to figure I need to heat about 1,800 square ft but correct me if I am wrong.

I just started looking at stoves and I like Harman and Quadrafire specifically the Quad classic bay 1200 and the Harman P43 (which I havent seen yet). I have a couple dealers near me and I saw the quad classic bay insert run and it was very quiet. I was kinda of set on the Quad but in reading some reviews although the quad is quiet the Harman is more efficient.

In my situation wanting to spend $2,200-$2,500 on a stove for what I need what would you choose and why? Also if I do not have the proper sized stove for my square footage please also let me know.

Thank you,

Jay

jdinny · Mar 31, 2014

We were facing the same choice. We liked both of the stoves.
We were lucky enough to find a dealer that had them both running, and had a very competent employee that showed us the way the stoves worked and how to maintain them.
The p43 was easier to care for which was a big plus for my wife being home alone several times a winter while I go north to the Adirondacks snowmobiling, and we liked the fact that the P43 also gave off a lot of convective heat.
We bought the P43, and it's been running 24/7(except for once a week cleaning) since Jan. 1st.
We have an 2100 sq. ft. cape chalet with an open floor plan, and the heat has been off all winter, with the exception of my 90 yo moms room, and my sons room.
The stove has kept our house a cozy 70 to 75* through out this brutal cold winter. It burns any grade of pellet without a whimper, cleaning is extremely easy, and it has been very easy on pellets, not burning any where's near the amount I originally expected.
We paid 2500 out the door for the stove, and after the vent pipe, wall thimble, hearth pad, and battery backup, we self installed it for 3100.00 total.
We are very happy, to say the least with this P43.
A friend has a Classic Bay, and it too does a good job, although we felt the P43 was the stove for us.
I have some photos of the install here: http://www.pbase.com/champ3jd/harman_p43_pellet_stove_install&page=all
Hope this helps some in your purchase.

08specB · Mar 31, 2014

jdinny said:
We were facing the same choice. We liked both of the stoves.
We were lucky enough to find a dealer that had them both running, and had a very competent employee that showed us the way the stoves worked and how to maintain them.
The p43 was easier to care for which was a big plus for my wife being home alone several times a winter while I go north to the Adirondacks snowmobiling, and we liked the fact that the P43 also gave off a lot of convective heat.
We bought the P43, and it's been running 24/7(except for once a week cleaning) since Jan. 1st.
We have an 2100 sq. ft. cape chalet with an open floor plan, and the heat has been off all winter, with the exception of my 90 yo moms room, and my sons room.
The stove has kept our house a cozy 70 to 75* through out this brutal cold winter. It burns any grade of pellet without a whimper, cleaning is extremely easy, and it has been very easy on pellets, not burning any where's near the amount I originally expected.
We paid 2500 out the door for the stove, and after the vent pipe, wall thimble, hearth pad, and battery backup, we self installed it for 3100.00 total.
We are very happy, to say the least with this P43.
A friend has a Classic Bay, and it too does a good job, although we felt the P43 was the stove for us.
I have some photos of the install here: http://www.pbase.com/champ3jd/harman_p43_pellet_stove_install&page=all
Hope this helps some in your purchase.

Thank you for the info

Hoot23 · Mar 31, 2014

You could go with a p38 for that square footage

TonyVideo · Mar 31, 2014

I looked at the 38 but the 43 has auto ignition which I now use in the shoulder season. Cool nights and warm days. Unit in room temp mode and it shuts down a few times in the day and re-lights itself when cooler in the evening.

smg64ct · Apr 1, 2014

I have a classic bay in my basement and it's been a great stove, but I would go with the P43.

Hoot23 · Apr 1, 2014

TonyVideo said:
I looked at the 38 but the 43 has auto ignition which I now use in the shoulder season. Cool nights and warm days. Unit in room temp mode and it shuts down a few times in the day and re-lights itself when cooler in the evening.

The p38+ has auto ignite and it's in your price range. But I would get the 43 also. Never know when you might need the extra power.

08specB · Apr 1, 2014

Thank you for the tips guys it is greatly appreciated. The P43 is about $100 more than the 1200 however the place also gives a free ton of pellets with their stove purchases. I understand the Harman has a smaller hopper however it is cast iron and has better tech inside. I also understand quad and harman are owned by the same company.

I would go with the P43 as I think the P38 may be pushing it for the space I am looking for. I also would want more of a stove than less and have it blasting all the time.

kniffin50 · Apr 1, 2014

what towns are those shops in?looking for a 1200 and a ton of free pellets would be a nice bonus. thanks Rusty

08specB · Apr 1, 2014

kniffin50 said:
what towns are those shops in?looking for a 1200 and a ton of free pellets would be a nice bonus. thanks Rusty

Phelps in Vernon ct sells quads and gives 1/2 ton and squier lumber in monson mass sells harman gives 1-2 tons depending on the stove

kniffin50 · Apr 1, 2014

thanks for the info. been a woodburner with two stoves for many years, going to get rid of one and replace with pellet. this is new to me to.both are good stoves but I'm leaning towards the quad because my brother has had one for many years with no proplems. so much info makes my head spin. good luck Rusty

08specB · Apr 1, 2014

kniffin50 said:
thanks for the info. been a woodburner with two stoves for many years, going to get rid of one and replace with pellet. this is new to me to.both are good stoves but I'm leaning towards the quad because my brother has had one for many years with no proplems. so much info makes my head spin. good luck Rusty

Where are you from? This will be my first stove as this is my 1st house.

08specB · Aug 28, 2014

ended up buying the harman XXV and its install date is set for 9/3. I feel like a kid before Xmas

yrock87 · Aug 28, 2014

wow, that is a step up from what you were originally planning!

08specB · Aug 28, 2014

yrock87 said:
wow, that is a step up from what you were originally planning!

Yea the wife wanted all the pretty accessories on the P43 ao after all that for $400 more I could get the xxv so at that point what the hell. Lol

Plus it's cast iron, more btu's and a bigger hopper and it's pretty

smg64ct · Aug 29, 2014

08specB said:
Yea the wife wanted all the pretty accessories on the P43 ao after all that for $400 more I could get the xxv so at that point what the hell. Lol

Plus it's cast iron, more btu's and a bigger hopper and it's pretty

Good choice

Vinelife · Aug 30, 2014

The classic bay throws a lot of heat ..

thundercracker · Sep 1, 2014

Hi, I'm considering an insert too. I will be using the stove to heat just about 1000sq.ft.of my first floorand will use oil to heat my 2nd floor, which is about 1200sq.ft.

I saw the quad 1200 in action.and will as look at the p43. Will these stoves best sufficient for my needs? Is there's any benefit of a larger stove, I.e..more BTUs?

Also anyone have any ideas as to how much burning pellets as a supplement with oil mights save me in oil? I'm hoping till use half the oil with the pellet stove.

Thanks in advance

08specB · Sep 2, 2014

thundercracker said:
Hi, I'm considering an insert too. I will be using the stove to heat just about 1000sq.ft.of my first floorand will use oil to heat my 2nd floor, which is about 1200sq.ft.

I saw the quad 1200 in action.and will as look at the p43. Will these stoves best sufficient for my needs? Is there's any benefit of a larger stove, I.e..more BTUs?

Also anyone have any ideas as to how much burning pellets as a supplement with oil mights save me in oil? I'm hoping till use half the oil with the pellet stove.

Thanks in advance

If you are going to be doing an insert on the lower floor the heat will rise. With that being said it depends on the style of your house and floor plan to see what would best work for you. I would start a thread on here asking what you should go with with your current situation. As far as the pellets are concerned 3 tons of decent pellets will run about $800 which is about the cost in the winter time of one tank of oil. 3 tons of pellets SHOULD last for the winter depending on how much square ft you are looking to heat and what size stove you have. I went with a bigger stove just because of the deal I was getting and my wife liked the bigger stove more so why not.

thundercracker · Sep 2, 2014

08specB said:
If you are going to be doing an insert on the lower floor the heat will rise. With that being said it depends on the style of your house and floor plan to see what would best work for you. I would start a thread on here asking what you should go with with your current situation. As far as the pellets are concerned 3 tons of decent pellets will run about $800 which is about the cost in the winter time of one tank of oil. 3 tons of pellets SHOULD last for the winter depending on how much square ft you are looking to heat and what size stove you have. I went with a bigger stove just because of the deal I was getting and my wife liked the bigger stove more so why not.

thanks for the reply. the saleguy said that i shouldn't realistically expect the one fireplace insert to heat the whole 2 floors of the house, so i dont need a bigger unit than the 1200. i like the idea of keeping the house warmer in the main living areas during the winter. i hope to save at least $800-1000 in heating costs. i moved into the house in january and used at least 4 fill ups which was about $600 each fill up. i dread thinking about using oil from october - april.

thanks again.

08specB · Sep 2, 2014

thundercracker said:
thanks for the reply. the saleguy said that i shouldn't realistically expect the one fireplace insert to heat the whole 2 floors of the house, so i dont need a bigger unit than the 1200. i like the idea of keeping the house warmer in the main living areas during the winter. i hope to save at least $800-1000 in heating costs. i moved into the house in january and used at least 4 fill ups which was about $600 each fill up. i dread thinking about using oil from october - april.

thanks again.

I agree with him we have 600 sq ft downstairs and 1300 sq feet upstairs. We are having a free standing stove vented out the wall upstairs because we do not use the downstairs much. It will eventually be turned into a play room and we do not want our child near a hot ass pellet stove. Our bedroom and hers is on the opposite side of the house (above the garage) so the heat would not travel that far if we did an insert. Inserts are nice and you w ill be surprised how much heat comes upstairs and hopefully you will use less oil.

If you are anywhere near Monson Mass check out Squier Lumber, that is where we got out stove. They have the best prices around and give FREE pellets with the purchase.

killie11 · Sep 2, 2014

08specB said:
I agree with him we have 600 sq ft downstairs and 1300 sq feet upstairs. We are having a free standing stove vented out the wall upstairs because we do not use the downstairs much. It will eventually be turned into a play room and we do not want our child near a hot ass pellet stove. Our bedroom and hers is on the opposite side of the house (above the garage) so the heat would not travel that far if we did an insert. Inserts are nice and you w ill be surprised how much heat comes upstairs and hopefully you will use less oil.

If you are anywhere near Monson Mass check out Squier Lumber, that is where we got out stove. They have the best prices around and give FREE pellets with the purchase.

Hello, did your stove come with a a coating or just metal? A friend of mine has the same stove and its warm to the touch but does not burn you.

08specB · Sep 2, 2014

killie11 said:
Hello, did your stove come with a a coating or just metal? A friend of mine has the same stove and its warm to the touch but does not burn you.

It's their black color and it's cast iron so I assume it would get pretty hot. Not sure about a coating honestly

killie11 · Sep 2, 2014

08specB said:
It's their black color and it's cast iron so I assume it would get pretty hot. Not sure about a coating honestly

Ok, yeah my friends has some kind of red hard coating on it. He paid about as much as I did for my p61A. The good thing besides looking nice is that its warm to the touch all over the stove save for the glass.

08specB · Sep 2, 2014

killie11 said:
Ok, yeah my friends has some kind of red hard coating on it. He paid about as much as I did for my p61A. The good thing besides looking nice is that its warm to the touch all over the stove save for the glass.

I've seen the red color I was told it's just painted diff then the black one I got. I got the harman xxv.

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