Help! Which Pellet Insert 35" Opening

What about a Harman P35i?

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder......

Have the Thelin Providence...Love the heat it puts out when it works. Last year was our first year with it and had no fewer than 4 service calls to get it working. Thelin was very good in helping resolve the issues as well as the folks at Stoves and Stuff. A little nervous going into this season because the warranty is up in Oct. Keeping our fingers crossed.

Floor model never used. Thelin stepped up and gave us a new control board. Igniter had to be replaced also. Amongst other probs.

LGTWhit said:

Hey all, new forum member here looking for advice. My wife and I are done with the propane bills so we would like to install a pellet insert in the corner of our living room replacing a gas Napoleon fireplace. We wanted the Harmen Accentra 52i but it's too wide and don't want to do any demolition. The next option we see is the Thelin Providence which is visually appealing but the company as a whole gets mixed reviews. We are looking to purchase ASAP so are looking for advice. We have a budget under 5k installed. Important buying factors are ease of use, low maintenance and of course, reliability. Going here...

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About five years ago I put a St. Croix York insert ( http://stcroixstoves.com/wood-pellet-stoves/pellet-insert-ashby-p )in my fireplace. My fireplace was wide in the front, but, the fireplace angled back to narrower dimensions and that's where I had to make sure the stove would slide in far enough. It puts out enough to heat (40,000 btus) my home (2400sf) all winter. My house was heated downstairs by oil and upstairs by electric. At night, the 4 bedrooms upstairs have electric heat(if necessary). I do have a fan, on the door frame, (fireplace room) to help circulate the warm air out and a small fan, on the floor across from the doorway, to force cold air back into the fireplace room. It takes 2 or 3 hours before the convection air loop works properly throughout the house. I put the thermostat (for pellet stove) in the kitchen (right next to the oil furnace thermostat) and I keep it on 71 during the day and 70 during sleeping hours.
I use 3 less tanks of fuel oil every winter. The stove, chimney pipe, and complete installation was under $5000. Burning pellets has made my house warmer and less expensive to heat. Also, you might consider ( if you have the room) to put a free-standing pellet stove in front of the fireplace, instead of using an insert stove.

I'm running my E2 tonight--you'll be very happy with this quiet yet powerful stove!

LGTWhit said:

Got quoted $775 for install and $3699 with $100 off coupon. My goal was to be under $5k so we are moving forward. Going to Mt Tom Energy this sat. as I have reserved a matte black Quad E2. The installer says he has the same stove and would not do it any other way. Good enough for me lol! Now the search for pellets....

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Just looked at that e2 insert. Nice stove man.

LGTWhit said:

Got quoted $775 for install and $3699 with $100 off coupon. My goal was to be under $5k so we are moving forward.

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That 10% off seems to be the standard dealer offered discount. Squeeze em for any more and they get real squirmy. It's a good profit for them and some will work on the accessories or even some free pellets to start you off.

What seems to be a real deal is your install quote. Since it includes a removal of the Gas Unit and it's venting, and will require all new PL venting installed, is that price inclusive of everything?

Hey, just checking in on your post. I recently went with the 52i and I pulled out the propane setup I had. Mine was similar to yours, although I had a little more room. I'm curious though, you will need a zero clearance box with your pellet stove, right? Did you contractor quote the unit with a zero clearance box? I'm guessing your propane stove is zero clearance and probably bolted directly to the studs of the house, right? BTW- the E2 is bigger than the 52i. When you factor the cast surround, the e2 is 46in wide, while the Harman 52i is 41 and 13/16 wide. E2 appears to be an all around larger unit. Be sure to check those clearances to combustibles as noted on the web site. Like you, I wanted to keep my wood mantel setup, but when you factor the clearances required to combustibles, it was simply not possible. Good luck and hope all goes well with your install.

I've uploaded the file that shows the side by side comparison. The e2 is bigger in most every way. For my 52i I had to purchase a separate zero clearance cabinet that Harman made for the stove. When I look at the install manual for the e2, I don't see that item mentioned, which is odd. So you'll need to confirm that the e2 supports zero clearance installations. Make sure your installer is someone who installs stoves. We don't want to be reading about you in the paper. General contractors that don't install stoves should be avoided.

Phew- that's good news. Sounds like you have the right guy. Have you taken a rough measurement of the inside of your wooden fireplace surround (from the edge of the tile as it hits the wood to the other side)? I'm wondering how much width you actually have there.

Both the Harmon or the Quad are terrific inserts, both manufacturers (the same now I guess) won't deal direct with customers, so the real question is "how is the dealer/shop reputation?" If you have any concerns, now is the time to project. And in the same line I always recommend using one of the dealer suggested installers.

About the install, I've seen 3 Quads installed in old zero clearance units (wood & gas), and all were "Cut & Gut" jobs. Sounds gruesome but it's pretty efficient. They layout a drop cloth, start disassembling everything loose (glass face, gas connection, controller and burner, logs, fake brick walls, etc), then go to work with a Sawzall to cut out the inner fire box flooring. The outer box of the zero clearance unit secured to the wood studs will remain mostly intact. The interesting question is always the venting. Does your present NG unit vent Up&Out, or does it vent straight back?

And I'm always curious how they secure the NG supply pipe. I once got a call to do a Cut&Cap in the basement for a year old insert install. Turns out it was the first time the homeowner pulled out the inset, and noticed that the old NG stubout and capped valve were within a few inches of the sliding insert. Details, details.