When to buy pellet stoves (in Boston MA), cost of install etc.

bdud · Feb 25, 2015

Pellet-King said:
Pellet stove will hardly make a dent in heating bill's, that's alot of space to heat my friend, Pellet stoves are just a space heater, one room can be hot, other's cold and also if the T-Stat is in the same room as your stove rest of your house will be colder, invest in going to NG or look into getting a new Adams Maunfacturing 98% efficiency Oil furnace, they can be had rather cheaply on Ebay around $2k and it will increase the value of your home, remember pellet stoves are alot of work maintaining loading and cleaning..........I wouldn't do it

As pellet-king said pellet stoves are a lot of work maintaining loading and cleaning and they are just a space heater. You overheat one or 2 rooms to get a good temp in another. I have a ~2100 sqft 1991 house previously with an oil furnace and a Harman Accentra insert. Watching the flame is nice but it is noisy if in the same room as your tv and the lugging of pellets is tiresome and then there is the space they take up plus getting them stacked.

For me NG was not an option and I did not like oil heat and my oil furnace was getting old. I went with a Windhager pellet boiler using a grant from MA, they might still be running one, http://www.masscec.com/solicitations/residential-central-wood-pellet-heating This is a far better solution. No worry about frozen pipes, controlled heat in each room like you have with your existing oil furnace and it only calls for a clean after ~3 tons.
I had 3.5t of pellets delivered in bulk, pumped in my silo, on Saturday, which cost $850. I had last filled up May last year and pellets are used in the boiler and the stove, these are my sole sources of heat. For summer I turn the pellet boiler off and use a hot water heat pump.

TheOscarGuy · Feb 26, 2015

bdud said:
As pellet-king said pellet stoves are a lot of work maintaining loading and cleaning and they are just a space heater. You overheat one or 2 rooms to get a good temp in another. I have a ~2100 sqft 1991 house previously with an oil furnace and a Harman Accentra insert. Watching the flame is nice but it is noisy if in the same room as your tv and the lugging of pellets is tiresome and then there is the space they take up plus getting them stacked.

For me NG was not an option and I did not like oil heat and my oil furnace was getting old. I went with a Windhager pellet boiler using a grant from MA, they might still be running one, http://www.masscec.com/solicitations/residential-central-wood-pellet-heating This is a far better solution. No worry about frozen pipes, controlled heat in each room like you have with your existing oil furnace and it only calls for a clean after ~3 tons.
I had 3.5t of pellets delivered in bulk, pumped in my silo, on Saturday, which cost $850. I had last filled up May last year and pellets are used in the boiler and the stove, these are my sole sources of heat. For summer I turn the pellet boiler off and use a hot water heat pump.

I must confess I had not read about replacing with a pellet boiler (is it same as pellet furnace?) I am going to read up on it. It does sound expensive if the rebates are that high but worth a look. May I ask how much was the complete system and install for you?
Thanks.

TheOscarGuy · Feb 26, 2015

HP52NOVA said:
First thing you are doing well is coming here, pre purchase and discuss. Wish I would have done that. I was exactly in your situation last year and just finishing up my first season. There is a learning curve, both on the purchase and research then on the install and then on operating the stove. Each one deserves a large chapter in a book. I have a similar sized home and needs, so I can share some of my experience here:

On what stove - both stoves you noted are top of the line inserts, you can be happy with both. As a Harman owner, I will side with the Harman, but I never owned a quad. We had our share of issues with our Harman, but overall are very happy with our purchase. I like that I can run it 24/7 and the simplicity of its design to maintain. I would not choose the stove based on looks or how nice the flame looks. If you can, go in the store and ask the sales guy or a tech to show you how to take it apart and explain the parts. Then you will know better what you will face to do when it’s in your home and you need to handle it. As minimum, review the vendor maintenance videos and read the install guide well, even if get a pro to install it.

On costs - buying and installing is a high upfront cost - at around 6K you are right around the expected number. However, as pellet fuel is going up and oil went down, it will take some extra time to pay that back, if at all. You also need to factor in your time cleaning and maintaining as well as yearly cleaning, service calls, unexpected issues, cleaning tools, vacuum, pellet containers, etc... $6K is only your starting point in this journey. Before we bought the stove we invested in massive energy improvements that cut my propane bill by half – especially around the attic and general insulation. Adding a stove to an inefficient house may only transfer the problem, not fix it.

On installation – this part is more important than the stove selection! I cannot stress enough how important this is. Make sure you are buying from a reputable company that have been there for a while and will continue to be there. Ask for references on projects they have done and see if you can talk to people that worked with them. Doing it right is critical to the success of the project and you will need to lean on them, especially during that first year. Do not compromise on that, even if it adds more $. Get the best dealer/installer your area has – preferably buying and installing with the same company. When you hit that first blink light, bad igniter, glass crack or just not knowing any better – you will thank yourself for that.

On lifestyle – running a pellet stove will change your life style, at least a bit. You become an OPERATOR. You need to be there to load it twice a day, clean it every week, do major cleaning every month. If it’s in your family room it will make noises, so if you like it to be nice and quiet – forget it. You are running a FIRE and its needs to be fed. You also need to carry about 200 bags (250 in my case) of pellets around every year, haul it from the store, stack it, etc. You need to sign on this line – it will not run itself and its not hands off. I like it, make sure you (and your wife and kids) do as well.

Read the sticky notes about installation in this forum, they have some very good info. Ask your installer about backup battery setup and buy UPS/surge protector.

I have an OAK, and if I was you I would also get one.

Hope this helps, good luck.

Thanks. Your and other posts have prompted me to look at the insulation in the house more closely. We already have an energy audit coming up, so we will wait till they come down and see what we have.
I also appreciate the detailed response you have given. I had not given too much importance to install, but now I will ask more questions!

thundercracker · Feb 26, 2015

TheOscarGuy said:
Hello,

Hi
i live in Dedham/Norwood area, and I bought my Harman 52i(nsert) in october 2014 from Norwood fireplace (same owners i think as Natick fire). My full stove, chimney liner and install cost (no OAK) was $5000, and that was with a Harmon $100 off coupon and a Norwood fire $100 coupon found in that value pak coupon mailer that comes in the mail everyso often.

My Question to you #1 - do you have access to natural gas? If so, then it might be worth the cost to convert to NG. NG home heating is nice, i used to have it at my old house, and it's great, even heating, about 1/3 cost of oil. The pellet stove is a big space heater, but it wont reach all areas of your 2nd floor. If i could covert to NG now, i would do it in a heartbeat, but i'm in a no NG access area. you have to remember with a pellet stove there is weekly and monthly cleanings, plus filling the hopper (daily), and space for storing the pellets. so having a pellet stove is a bit more involved than just turning up the thermostat.

1. We are in Boston, MA. We have been getting quotes of ~4K for the Accentra and 4.5K for the quadfire (there are some variations depending on what trim/color you choose). Are the prices set in stone, or will I get better prices when its spring/summer, when no one is buying these stoves? Is there any sense in waiting, strictly due to price you pay for the stoves? I am thinking of getting it locally from a dealer and having them installed, is there any other source you would recommend that would sell and install stoves for us (non-local, perhaps online vendor)? We like both of them and will be happy with either.
i dont think prices seem to vary that much. i looked at 3 places total, and all places were quoting same prices.

2. This will be in insert. We are getting quotes of ~$450-550 for chimney liner/parts and $700 for labor for install. Is that a fair price, or there are cheaper prices elsewhere? We looked at a dealer in Natick and another one in Shrewsbury Mass and the costs are generally constant for both stove and installation. Does it make sense to travel a bit more?
> YOu could try, but I would guess the money you save by going farther out might be neglible once you factor in your time, gas to get out there,etc. since you know what you want, you could just call and see if they'd quote you a price over the phone.

3. Wooden Pellets quotes we are getting are generally in 300s. Is that fair, or are we looking at wrong places? Again, we asked these two dealers for pellet cost -- we haven't looked into other vendors yet.
pellet costs range from about $250 from home depot (if/when you find them) to $350+. no tax, but delivery charges if you need it. there's southshorepellets.com (hanover i think) and pellets r us in acton and woodpellets.com that can deliver pellets. you have to also consider the delivery cost too. you should have them deliver as many tons as you can store (based on what you think you need for the winter). I bought lacrete pellets, based on this site reviews, and the availabitlity. I bought 3.6 tons (180 bags). started burning probably in late october. I have about 70 bags left. I only burn from about 7a-10p, that translates into 1.5 bags/day (probably a bit less) then i use the oil furnace at night, because the upstairs cant' be adequately heated with the stove, and i have a 6 month old that i dont want to get chilled.

In summary:
- it's a good thing you're doing your massave audit, it' helps a lot. we did ours last march and had them blow in extra attic insulation for only $200 (subsidized).
- check to see if you can convert to Natural gas, over time, it will pay for itself and be less hassle than the pellet stove.

good luck

TheOscarGuy · Feb 26, 2015

thundercracker said:
- it's a good thing you're doing your massave audit, it' helps a lot. we did ours last march and had them blow in extra attic insulation for only $200 (subsidized).
- check to see if you can convert to Natural gas, over time, it will pay for itself and be less hassle than the pellet stove.

Did they offer you the option when they came in? We have ours next March and its supposed to last for 5 hrs. I am wondering if I should just get it done when they are there, if its offered at that point.
Our town has natural gas but I have seriously not looked into it as I was sure it will be a whole lot cost I don't want to deal with right now. All the houses in our lane has oil, but I do know (since we had another house in same town) that the town has NG available.

TimfromMA · Feb 26, 2015

TheOscarGuy said:
Did they offer you the option when they came in? We have ours next March and its supposed to last for 5 hrs. I am wondering if I should just get it done when they are there, if its offered at that point.
Our town has natural gas but I have seriously not looked into it as I was sure it will be a whole lot cost I don't want to deal with right now. All the houses in our lane has oil, but I do know (since we had another house in same town) that the town has NG available.

Just because NG is in your town, doesn't mean it's on your street. Even if it is, hooking up can be quite expensive.

thundercracker · Feb 26, 2015

TheOscarGuy said:
Did they offer you the option when they came in? We have ours next March and its supposed to last for 5 hrs. I am wondering if I should just get it done when they are there, if its offered at that point.
Our town has natural gas but I have seriously not looked into it as I was sure it will be a whole lot cost I don't want to deal with right now. All the houses in our lane has oil, but I do know (since we had another house in same town) that the town has NG available.

no, they dont offer to do the attic insulation on the same day as the assessment.
when our massave guy came in, he replaced a lot of our incandescent bulbs with those cfl bulbs (free), and he did swap out an old rotary dial thermostat with a basic honeywell 7day programmable one (about $30-40) for free. His recommendations were for more attic insulation, and help weatherproofing our front door. He gave us contracts with Massave for the work to be done, listing the work and the cost broken out into what massave would subsidize, vs. what owner would pay. THere was like7-10 days for us to sign the contract. He also gave us a list of massave approved contractors who would/could do the work, and it was up to us to pick which contractor. it is well worth the time to have the audit.

a call to nstar, and letting them know you'd be interested in converting to gas, should reveal if you have access to NG on your street. the rep can easily look up your address and tell you if there is NG access on your street. If not then that same rep could explain what it would take to get NG to your street, which would usually involve you getting a majority of your neighbors to all agree to want an NG line access into your house. it's not easy if you have to involve your neighbors and get support for an NG line to be placed in your street, and it could cost some $$. in my situation, if possible, it would have cost our street $10,000 to have a line placed on our street, so the more neighbors i could get who wanted to have NG, that $10k would be split amongst that group. Then i think I would have still had to pay to have the line from the street, dug to support my house. A coworker had to pay like $3000 just to have her house connected to the NG gas line on her street. then she had to pay for a new NG furnace to be installed to replace her oil burner. I think she was in for a total close to $10,000 to convert and have a new NG furnace, and her old oil tanked removed. this might be before any rebates and such, but rebates seem to be only $500-750. so yes, it can get expensive to convert, but NG is cheaper than oil, and less hassle than dealing with a pellet stove. if you are staying in your house for 7+ years or more, it might make sense to convert, plus NG i think is a positive selling feature for a home, so many other benefits including potential for having a whole house NG back up generator, an NG line to support your backyard grill (no more lugging propane tanks!) gas stove cooking...

that being said, i still enjoy my pellet stove - it allows us to keep the house at a very comfortable temperature. It's reduced my oil consumption by 50% (i run the oil furnace at night, and i need it to heat my hot water).

Harman newbie · Feb 26, 2015

TheOscarGuy said:
Its interesting that you said you will take ~5ton. I was told by the dealer I should be buying 2 tons. Our house is a 4000 sq ft. colonial, including finished basement square footage. I am only looking to heat the living room/kitchen/dining room/fomal living room area all of which are pretty open to each other. Any additional heat I get upstairs in bedrooms is a bonus, but I am not counting on it.

We have already spent ~$2400 in oil since December and this winter is no where near done. Any help to us in reducing costs will be good and I am getting the stove precisely for that.

Welcome I'm a first year pellet guy heating 2200 sq ft with harman invert and have only filled oil up once this year and it's still full now. Going to use about 3 tons of pellets

TheOscarGuy · Feb 26, 2015

thundercracker said:
no, they dont offer to do the attic insulation on the same day as the assessment.
when our massave guy came in, he replaced a lot of our incandescent bulbs with those cfl bulbs (free), and he did swap out an old rotary dial thermostat with a basic honeywell 7day programmable one (about $30-40) for free. His recommendations were for more attic insulation, and help weatherproofing our front door. He gave us contracts with Massave for the work to be done, listing the work and the cost broken out into what massave would subsidize, vs. what owner would pay. THere was like7-10 days for us to sign the contract. He also gave us a list of massave approved contractors who would/could do the work, and it was up to us to pick which contractor. it is well worth the time to have the audit.

a call to nstar, and letting them know you'd be interested in converting to gas, should reveal if you have access to NG on your street. the rep can easily look up your address and tell you if there is NG access on your street. If not then that same rep could explain what it would take to get NG to your street, which would usually involve you getting a majority of your neighbors to all agree to want an NG line access into your house. it's not easy if you have to involve your neighbors and get support for an NG line to be placed in your street, and it could cost some $$. in my situation, if possible, it would have cost our street $10,000 to have a line placed on our street, so the more neighbors i could get who wanted to have NG, that $10k would be split amongst that group. Then i think I would have still had to pay to have the line from the street, dug to support my house. A coworker had to pay like $3000 just to have her house connected to the NG gas line on her street. then she had to pay for a new NG furnace to be installed to replace her oil burner. I think she was in for a total close to $10,000 to convert and have a new NG furnace, and her old oil tanked removed. this might be before any rebates and such, but rebates seem to be only $500-750. so yes, it can get expensive to convert, but NG is cheaper than oil, and less hassle than dealing with a pellet stove. if you are staying in your house for 7+ years or more, it might make sense to convert, plus NG i think is a positive selling feature for a home, so many other benefits including potential for having a whole house NG back up generator, an NG line to support your backyard grill (no more lugging propane tanks!) gas stove cooking...

that being said, i still enjoy my pellet stove - it allows us to keep the house at a very comfortable temperature. It's reduced my oil consumption by 50% (i run the oil furnace at night, and i need it to heat my hot water).

Thanks for the detailed response.
I already have sent in my information to eversource (nstar) and they will be calling me about the conversion. I am not very hopeful to be honest, but at least if I have a ballpark figure its good to know so I can make an informed decision.
We might end up doing some combination of stove or pellet furnace and upping the insulation etc. based on what mass save audit reveals [I have a feeling all my neighbors have oil heat because they can not have NG...so there is that]. I am purely interested in saving money for heating costs, and its encouraging to know that even with a "space heater" you are cutting the oil consumption with stove than without it.

TheOscarGuy · Feb 26, 2015

Eversource called and said we don't have the gas line. There will have to be main extension to our house and that sounds expensive.

So its no NG for us -- we have to proceed with other choices (conserve, and alternate heating methods).

thundercracker · Feb 26, 2015

TheOscarGuy said:
Eversource called and said we don't have the gas line. There will have to be main extension to our house and that sounds expensive.

So its no NG for us -- we have to proceed with other choices (conserve, and alternate heating methods).

just to clarify:
- there's no NG access on your street in general? (cause that would be $$$ to have a line placed in your street)
or
- there is an NG line in your street, but just not to your house (that would be less $)

one last hope - did you ask if there might be any plans in the near future to place a line?

sorry to be such a nag, these are the Q's i asked, because i wanted to make sure that i had zero chance of NG line placement in the future.

proceed with your pellet stove! As an FYI, i think a pellet furnace is about $5000, and then the install would run $1-2000 (i did ask really quickly)

TheOscarGuy · Feb 26, 2015

The extension will be 8000 ft and they said each foot is around 100 bucks. There are two bridges and that adds to the cost. So unless I get the whole neighborhood to be involved it's not happening. Forgot to ask if they have future plans.

Yes I am also now thinking furnace is a real option. I am unsure if town or MA laws will prevent me from having one installed, but have to try. Furnace support doesn't seem as wide spread as stoves -- is that true? I could not see too many discussions on furnaces here.

I must say this thread has guided me so much in terms of digging deeper. I really appreciate all the help I am getting here. I just wish the answer were simple

thundercracker · Feb 26, 2015

TheOscarGuy said:
The extension will be 8000 ft and they said each foot is around 100 bucks. There are two bridges and that adds to the cost. So unless I get the whole neighborhood to be involved it's not happening. Forgot to ask if they have future plans.

Yes I am also now thinking furnace is a real option. I am unsure if town or MA laws will prevent me from having one installed, but have to try. Furnace support doesn't seem as wide spread as stoves -- is that true? I could not see too many discussions on furnaces here.

I must say this thread has guided me so much in terms of digging deeper. I really appreciate all the help I am getting here. I just wish the answer were simple

agree, no NG for you most likely. you should really explore more about the furnace if that's they way you are leaning, i would take at least till the end of summer 2015 and some research before jumping into a pellet furnace. it could be alot more work than you might be up for, and i'm not sure how having a pellet furnace might affect future resale of your home. I would almost think that a pellet furnace could be a deal breaker for some. a pellet stove is at least removable if need be, and will at the very least be a wash in terms of negative/positive for resale.

just some considerations. also getting a hot water tank (if you dont have one) could also save on some oil. i have an on-demand hot water system,which i'm told is not as efficient with oil as if i had a tank. but for me to add the hot water tank would cost about $4,000. another project for another year down the road.

bogieb · Feb 26, 2015

TheOscarGuy said:
Yes I am also now thinking furnace is a real option. I am unsure if town or MA laws will prevent me from having one installed, but have to try. Furnace support doesn't seem as wide spread as stoves -- is that true? I could not see too many discussions on furnaces here.

There is another forum that is dedicated to alternate forms of furnaces, so they aren't discussed on this one all that much. Check out The Boiler Room for more knowledgeable people on that topic.

BrotherBart · Feb 26, 2015

Yep, the wood furnace and boiler pros hang in The Boiler Room.

Pellet-King · Feb 26, 2015

Switch out your oil furnace for a wood or pellet furnace could make your house unsellable and your insurance will cancel you, just becuse your looking to save a buck doesnt mean the next owner wants too, If you can afford a 4000sqft home you can afford the oil, oil is cheap now anyway.
You realize all the work involved wih burning pellets or wood?, loading pellets and cleaning the stove, the dust, the uneven home heating, I have a tiny 1500sqft cape and it's up 10 degree's colder a room away, All the glitz and glamour this website brings can be deceiving.

Husky · Feb 26, 2015

Pellet-King said:
Switch out your oil furnace for a wood or pellet furnace could make your house unsellable and your insurance will cancel you, just becuse your looking to save a buck doesnt mean the next owner wants too, If you can afford a 4000sqft home you can afford the oil, oil is cheap now anyway.
You realize all the work involved wih burning pellets or wood?, loading pellets and cleaning the stove, the dust, the uneven home heating, I have a tiny 1500sqft cape and it's up 10 degree's colder a room away, All the glitz and glamour this website brings can be deceiving.

Some like all this glitz and glamour. I don't need to burn pellets but I enjoy doing it and will continue until I physically can't anymore.

TheOscarGuy · Feb 26, 2015

Pellet-King said:
Switch out your oil furnace for a wood or pellet furnace could make your house unsellable and your insurance will cancel you, just becuse your looking to save a buck doesnt mean the next owner wants too, If you can afford a 4000sqft home you can afford the oil, oil is cheap now anyway.

Do you realize that you assumed I am switching out oil furnace for wooden pellet one? And my insurance "will cancel me" sounds like you think it's a fact -- can you tell me where did you read that rule? You are also assuming I am unprepared to do the work needed to run a pellet stove, not sure why..

TheOscarGuy · Feb 26, 2015

bogieb said:
There is another forum that is dedicated to alternate forms of furnaces, so they aren't discussed on this one all that much. Check out The Boiler Room for more knowledgeable people on that topic.

Thanks a bunch. I will look up there as well.

doghouse · Feb 26, 2015

If you do get the insert, get it installed on rails. Makes cleaning and repair easier. Get the OAK.

bdud · Feb 26, 2015

TheOscarGuy said:
Do you realize that you assumed I am switching out oil furnace for wooden pellet one? And my insurance "will cancel me" sounds like you think it's a fact -- can you tell me where did you read that rule? You are also assuming I am unprepared to do the work needed to run a pellet stove, not sure why..

This is not correct. For example, my pellet boiler has a water tank built in that acts as a fire suppressor in case of a problem. I contacted my insurance company when I had my pellet insert and pellet boiler installed, as long as it was on the approval list with MA and inspected by the town, they were happy. TheOscarGuy, search for pellet boiler, also have a look at the link I had earlier posted about the MA grant. It lists the makes they approve and you can search on those makes in the boiler forum. Some others and myself have a Windhager which I am very pleased with and Marc, the distributor, is in Billerica MA. You may have to do a ~15min clean twice a year, Velvetfoot posted pictures of his first clean.

Wilbur Feral · Feb 27, 2015

I have to chime in re: the nonsense about pellets being so much work, as well. Yes, they are much more work than just turning up the thermostat with natural gas or oil, because they need cleaning and loading. But I touch my Mt Vernon AE once each week for about two minutes to clean it, and another 30 minutes once each month for the more thorough cleaning. Pellet loading takes about two minutes per day IF I have to carry up a bag from storage - otherwise I open up a large, decorative antique storage trunk where we store 8 bags at a time, pull one out, and 1 minute later (tops) I'm done. I reload the trunk on the weekend, and spend 10 or 15 minutes less on a treadmill that day. These people complaining so much need to sell their stoves and join the couch potato forum.

As for the evenness of the heat, it depends on the layout / airflow. Our first floor in a 3000SF house is generally comfortable (68-70) at temps over 20 with just one stove, and the room where the stove is has a 15 foot half-cathedral ceiling with 3 skylights and windows on 3 walls, on the north side of the house. A second stove in the basement office keeps that level comfortable and the two together heat the entire house. We do like 2nd story bedrooms at about 64-65, and can maintain that at 0. In the 20s it starts to get too warm if we don't turn the 1st floor stove down a bit.

Also, it's the Quad E2, NOT the AE, that is allegedly having issues. It's a new model. The AE has been out since about '07, and is now a very reliable stove.

TheOscarGuy · Feb 27, 2015

bdud said:
This is not correct. For example, my pellet boiler has a water tank built in that acts as a fire suppressor in case of a problem. I contacted my insurance company when I had my pellet insert and pellet boiler installed, as long as it was on the approval list with MA and inspected by the town, they were happy. TheOscarGuy, search for pellet boiler, also have a look at the link I had earlier posted about the MA grant. It lists the makes they approve and you can search on those makes in the boiler forum. Some others and myself have a Windhager which I am very pleased with and Marc, the distributor, is in Billerica MA. You may have to do a ~15min clean twice a year, Velvetfoot posted pictures of his first clean.

I have already called couple of companies listed on the link you sent last night and left voicemails! How much did you pay for the whole install + system (Windhager)?

TheOscarGuy · Apr 3, 2015

TheOscarGuy said:
I have already called couple of companies listed on the link you sent last night and left voicemails! How much did you pay for the whole install + system (Windhager)?

I got a quote of around 36K for a system + install for our home! I was prepared for it being costly, but not this costly.
We also have a somewhat newer oil furnace (installed within last 3 years). So I can not make the case for getting the pellet furnace purely financially, like I could if the furnace was nearing its life.

I have also been keeping tabs on the cost of pellets for the past 3-4 months in Boston region and I must say they either are inflated (low supply maybe, or just cost of pellets production in general is higher). Either way, I don't want to be doing a excel sheet analysis every season to decide whether or not to burn pellets for the coming season.

Our family friends have a wood burning stove and they have been buying wood at 225/250 a cord for last two seasons. They buy it in spring and have been told its already cut 6 months at that time. They use it to burn the following winter (so add another 6 months of seasoning). We just might go that route -- especially considering pellet costs 300+ per ton.

I am so glad I found this forum. Rather than jumping into a decision, it made me think whether or not I would really be saving any money. We are not doing it for aesthetics reason, but for purely financial reason. We already got our energy audit done, and have work scheduled to add insulation in the attic and sealing as well. But at the current prices, we just might not be able to do the pellet stove and might have to go wood burning stove option. Just for reference, I am looking at the following supplier prices:

http://pelletsdirect.com/Wood Pellets Pricing.htm

zrtmatos · Apr 3, 2015

HP52NOVA said:
First thing you are doing well is coming here, pre purchase and discuss. Wish I would have done that. I was exactly in your situation last year and just finishing up my first season. There is a learning curve, both on the purchase and research then on the install and then on operating the stove. Each one deserves a large chapter in a book. I have a similar sized home and needs, so I can share some of my experience here:

On what stove - both stoves you noted are top of the line inserts, you can be happy with both. As a Harman owner, I will side with the Harman, but I never owned a quad. We had our share of issues with our Harman, but overall are very happy with our purchase. I like that I can run it 24/7 and the simplicity of its design to maintain. I would not choose the stove based on looks or how nice the flame looks. If you can, go in the store and ask the sales guy or a tech to show you how to take it apart and explain the parts. Then you will know better what you will face to do when it’s in your home and you need to handle it. As minimum, review the vendor maintenance videos and read the install guide well, even if get a pro to install it.

On costs - buying and installing is a high upfront cost - at around 6K you are right around the expected number. However, as pellet fuel is going up and oil went down, it will take some extra time to pay that back, if at all. You also need to factor in your time cleaning and maintaining as well as yearly cleaning, service calls, unexpected issues, cleaning tools, vacuum, pellet containers, etc... $6K is only your starting point in this journey. Before we bought the stove we invested in massive energy improvements that cut my propane bill by half – especially around the attic and general insulation. Adding a stove to an inefficient house may only transfer the problem, not fix it.

On installation – this part is more important than the stove selection! I cannot stress enough how important this is. Make sure you are buying from a reputable company that have been there for a while and will continue to be there. Ask for references on projects they have done and see if you can talk to people that worked with them. Doing it right is critical to the success of the project and you will need to lean on them, especially during that first year. Do not compromise on that, even if it adds more $. Get the best dealer/installer your area has – preferably buying and installing with the same company. When you hit that first blink light, bad igniter, glass crack or just not knowing any better – you will thank yourself for that.

On lifestyle – running a pellet stove will change your life style, at least a bit. You become an OPERATOR. You need to be there to load it twice a day, clean it every week, do major cleaning every month. If it’s in your family room it will make noises, so if you like it to be nice and quiet – forget it. You are running a FIRE and its needs to be fed. You also need to carry about 200 bags (250 in my case) of pellets around every year, haul it from the store, stack it, etc. You need to sign on this line – it will not run itself and its not hands off. I like it, make sure you (and your wife and kids) do as well.

Read the sticky notes about installation in this forum, they have some very good info. Ask your installer about backup battery setup and buy UPS/surge protector.

I have an OAK, and if I was you I would also get one.

Hope this helps, good luck.

Well written

When to buy pellet stoves (in Boston MA), cost of install etc.

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