Stove Problems By Brand

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LuvMyPellets

Burning Hunk
Nov 15, 2012
128
Delaware
Threads with folks asking for help!
So having nothing else to do I went the first 20 pages which takes it back to around Oct 1. I read the threads to make sure it was not a user error but in fact an actual service problem. By Stove Mfg I counted. It would be interesting to do it for an entire heating season. Not in any way scientific not is it probably accurate but as I said interesting nonetheless.

Harman- 13 issues
Enviro- 5 Issues
Breckwell- 5 Issues
Englander- 3 Issues
Drolet- ECO 65- 2 Issues
All the remaining only showed up once
Lopi
Astroflamm
Regency
Summers Heat
Magnum
St Croix
Napoleon
Astoria
Quadrafire
Winrich
Ecotek
Pelpro
 
Harman is the most popular stove so it only makes sense that most issues reported are with Harmans.
 
Yep nothing runs like a "HARMAN"lol
 
Threads with folks asking for help!
So having nothing else to do I went the first 20 pages which takes it back to around Oct 1. I read the threads to make sure it was not a user error but in fact an actual service problem. By Stove Mfg I counted. It would be interesting to do it for an entire heating season. Not in any way scientific not is it probably accurate but as I said interesting nonetheless.

Harman- 13 issues
Enviro- 5 Issues
Breckwell- 5 Issues
Englander- 3 Issues
Drolet- ECO 65- 2 Issues
All the remaining only showed up once
Lopi
Astroflamm
Regency
Summers Heat
Magnum
St Croix
Napoleon
Astoria
Quadrafire
Winrich
Ecotek
Pelpro

Funny you brought this point up. Harman stoves seams to always have the most problems. But to be fair Harman is the most popular stove, there's a lot of them out there.
 
Why don't we average all the stove owners so we can come up with a percentage of problematic stoves?
 
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Why don't we average all the stove owners so we can come up with a percentage of problematic stoves?

Because most people who post about their stove have issues. The well behaved stoves don't get much discussion time.
 
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If you think that is true you have been sadly misinformed! There is probably 10 times more of the cheaper stoves sold every day than the harmens!
I new I shoulda got a quad.lol
 
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If you think that is true you have been sadly misinformed! There is probably 10 times more of the cheaper stoves sold every day than the harmens!

Yea maybe in Canada...taxes too high.
 
Threads with folks asking for help!
So having nothing else to do I went the first 20 pages which takes it back to around Oct 1. I read the threads to make sure it was not a user error but in fact an actual service problem. By Stove Mfg I counted. It would be interesting to do it for an entire heating season. Not in any way scientific not is it probably accurate but as I said interesting nonetheless.

Harman- 13 issues
Enviro- 5 Issues
Breckwell- 5 Issues
Englander- 3 Issues
Drolet- ECO 65- 2 Issues
All the remaining only showed up once
Lopi
Astroflamm
Regency
Summers Heat
Magnum
St Croix
Napoleon
Astoria
Quadrafire
Winrich
Ecotek
Pelpro
I've thought about doing a tally some time, but never got around to it. Further, I thought people would naturally be a little defensive about the brand with the most problems. Of course, we all know that the brand with the most problems is the most popular brand in this group of owners, so whether that's more probs than average or less, is impossible to say without taking a survey on what stove everyone has. Didn't someone do that recently?
 
Everyone picks on the big dog
 
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Believe me I had no fear posting the info. People on here are actually quite civil. Get on a camera forum and listen to the Nikon guys having at the Canon guys or on a car forum and listen to the Ford vs Chevy etc. Pellet stove sales are very hard to track. I would surmise as did one other person that the box store stoves are way higher in unit sales than Harman is. For stoves sold in the Stove dealer setting Harman is probably outselling everyone else by a pretty good margin.
 
Threads with folks asking for help!
So having nothing else to do I went the first 20 pages which takes it back to around Oct 1. I read the threads to make sure it was not a user error but in fact an actual service problem. By Stove Mfg I counted. It would be interesting to do it for an entire heating season. Not in any way scientific not is it probably accurate but as I said interesting nonetheless.

Harman- 13 issues
Enviro- 5 Issues
Breckwell- 5 Issues
Englander- 3 Issues
Drolet- ECO 65- 2 Issues
All the remaining only showed up once
Lopi
Astroflamm
Regency
Summers Heat
Magnum
St Croix
Napoleon
Astoria
Quadrafire
Winrich
Ecotek
Pelpro
If you check craigslist you'll find that the Englander and USSC have the most folks that want to unload them. I believe Harmon comes in at a close second.
 
Believe me I had no fear posting the info. People on here are actually quite civil. Get on a camera forum and listen to the Nikon guys having at the Canon guys or on a car forum and listen to the Ford vs Chevy etc. Pellet stove sales are very hard to track. I would surmise as did one other person that the box store stoves are way higher in unit sales than Harman is. For stoves sold in the Stove dealer setting Harman is probably outselling everyone else by a pretty good margin.

I once posted a question on a legal advice forum and you should have seen the hoards of trolls questioning and belittling me because they disagreed with my position on the subject. The people here are a much more civil and pleasant bunch.
 
I once posted a question on a legal advice forum and you should have seen the hoards of trolls questioning and belittling me because they disagreed with my position on the subject. The people here are a much more civil and pleasant bunch.
No offense to anyone, but I would imagine that a lot of the people here are working class beer chuggers that sit around fires all night, what's to get all excited about?
 
LuvMyPellets, You just had to go there! You are such a Kettle Stirrer! We all get along well here and ya just have to start some crap. LOL!

Well, all righty then. Boxing gloves on and ready to swing my .02 cents worth. Better watch your back since I am a member of the Harman's Angels now. LOL! Big papa and Harman Lover might be knocking on your door later after dark.

Another possibility within the realm of this survey is that many (if they ever even post here) might be too busy working on most of these box store brands or others. Maybe they have decided to pay the utility company and don't want to talk about it or gave up because of lack of support and parts availability. I have a cousin that fits into these categories. I knew nothing much about pellet stoves myself. After carefully looking at many and researching in depth I went with, yep you guessed it, a HarmAn. Look at their warranty for starters compared to most others. That speaks volumes. I am very happy so far. In comparison to many of the cheaper stoves the construction, material quality, and craftsmanship could not be compared in my opinion. Also remember that everything breaks and machines break down. A fact of life. Avoiding theses issues is a key to happiness.

Was I happy to spend more. Nope! Am I happy I did? Hell yes! To each there own and I'm not knocking any brand because I'm too busy watching my Harman burn effortlessly without problems. I wish everyone else the best with theirs too. If you like it and it serves you well then Great! Another fact is I came here for awhile first and was asking about what to buy (pros and cons of each). Nobody else with other brands stepped up to back what they had. Where are all of these others??? Makes you wonder?? I am not being a Harman snob and believe me if I had problems or did not believe in what I see as a damn good stove then I would speak up loudly and tell everyone. If I found the same quality and dependability for less money I would jump on it. Why not? An added consideration or factor to get true results would also be to point out the real issues for said problems. Is it quality or human error? Crappy performance or an uneducated or unknowing operator?

I did get one guy saying he was happy with his Lopi. I can understand that because I have an old insert and it's a tank. Well built also. Again, my opinion. There was also one other who liked his Quad. Two out of thousands here.I was considering an Enviro for a long while. Honestly, I was considering every brand but wanted what was best for me. I went to several different dealers and some sold the same brands while others had the one they pushed like pimps selling cheap used hookers.

After driving out of town an hour to visit a shop that sells Harman, Enviro, Quads, and a few others (with working displays) of each and about every model unit each manufacturer makes I had my mind made up. I was fortunate enough to have hands on side by side comparisons. This place had a huge show room but nothing fancy and no free Star Bucks coffee with about 20-30 something stoves displayed. Too many to count but believe me there was no shortage. This guy owns a small town Indiana family HVAC business, pellet stove shop, and an Ace Hardware all in one large well organized shop and has for decades.

They have an A+ BBB rating with a long list of excellent reviews all the way around. Many rave about him and his family and their business. I understand why now. I am a contractor and have zero tolerance and patience for most things. He and I hashed it out for hours on everything and every brand. I rolled into his shop with a ton of research done and knowledge from here and elsewhere. He gladly donated a lot of his time and wanted to ensure I had no other questions or concerns. Time was long but very well spent. I know enough to know this fellow had it together and knew his stuff thoroughly and well. A total professional with no bs or favoritism going on. Very straight forward, no frills, honest, and simply down to earth. My kind of dude. He makes money off of every brand he sells but he likes happy customers more. I bought from him although he is a little farther away than several others. Once things settle down I'm making another 1 hour trip and going to buy him lunch.

This is another huge factor with stoves also that should be included in this study. The fact that you can get what you need (parts, service, advice, etc;) or at least get some guidance to resolve issues you might encounter.
 
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BTW, He and his family (brothers, sisters, in the business etc:) heat their homes with Harmans. Not the game changer in my decision making process but I took note.
 
Why can't we all just get along???????????????? :(

Someone's always stirring the pot! We're here to help whoever has problems with whatever stove they got sucked into buying, being it's a Pelpro or a Harman.
 
If you think that is true you have been sadly misinformed! There is probably 10 times more of the cheaper stoves sold every day than the harmens!

Could it be because they don't last as long?? Paper plates don't last as long as quality dishes either. Ouch! Ha hahahahaha! We are having some fun now, huh people? I see the vicious cycle of stove love rearing it's ugly head. How's the weather?
 
I think it's important to remember that a lot of these different brands have the same parts in them. They are all really the same thing but with different ways of accomplishing that goal and that is to burn pellets. Sure there are different designs as far as heat exchangers and ash traps etc. Any brand can and will have problems, whether it be a design flaw like Harmans burn pot issue with the five holes near the auger, or a certain brand chewing up ignitors. Some problems are parts that simply go bad like combustion blowers or distribution blowers, or safety switches. One important thing to keep in mind is the stress that some of these components are under, combustion blowers operate at some pretty high temps with corrosive gases in the exhaust. I think all brands have issues at one point or another. The best stove for you is the one you like, that is easy for you to clean and easy to get parts for, because I can guarantee you that no matter what stove you have, at some point something is gonna break.
 
Why can't we all just get along???????????????? :(

Someone's always stirring the pot! We're here to help whoever has problems with whatever stove they got sucked into buying, being it's a Pelpro or a Harman.

Nice shot! Made me laugh so hard I have tears in my eyes. (Seriously, I'm still chuckling) You made me about roll out of the chair. However, tears of laughter are much more pleasant and very different than the tears of sadness from a Quad purchase. Touche' WW3 has just commenced. Take your battle stations! Chuckle, Chuckle!
 
It's a blast being in good company! I enjoy this forum a lot. Maybe we should kick it up notch and throw the trucks, cars, bikes, tractors, and everyone's favorite colors into the mix. LOL! If you can't have fun then you might as well hang it up. Everyone have a good day!
 
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