Deciding on a pellet stove -- bad reviews making me nervous

Sounds like you have your answer by your own statement. Harmans have less bad reviews. That is why I bought a Harman. They seem to be more reliable. Even my girlfriend came to the same conclusion, and she doesn't usually spend a lot of time on these things.

Mark

99miles said:

Thanks for all the input everyone! I am now the proud owner of a Harman XXV!
I don't have it yet, but I bought it today! 14 days 'til installation!

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I think you ultimately made the right choice. That stove gets excellent reviews and it looks great in my opinion!

Congrats! Great choice ;-)

Be sure to post pics when you get it installed.
We love pics

Congrats!

Yes, There has to be picture's or it really didn't happen! :lol:

You're going to love it!!

Don't be a stranger.....send pictures.

clifford

Harman XXV is a great stove....

99miles said:

Thanks for all the input everyone! I am now the proud owner of a Harman XXV!
I don't have it yet, but I bought it today! 14 days 'til installation!

Click to expand...

Ooooops....just saw stove pics.....it DID really happen! :red:

Nice install, looks great in your room.......Enjoy the stove and the heat!!

PS....did you do a straight out vent, or out & up?

99miles said:

Thanks!
I just went straight out for now -- knowing I can always change it later if I decide to, or need to.

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OK...I know that it works OK now, but IMO, you should add 3-5' of vertical pipe on the outside, using a clean-out T.

Better draft for the stove, and will help pull smoke out in case of power outage.

Just my 2 cents.

Sweeeeet! My wife and I looked at Harmons last year, (during the great pellet stove crunch)we thought they looked great and 'felt" reliable and well built. If I could have found one I may have sacrificed something else to buy one. Good luck and thanx for pic. Follow Macmans advice though, you'll be glad you did.

Schoondog

99 miles,

You're either an insomniac or, like me, finish most household projects at 3am. My wife always loves that.

Results were worth it! Really looks fantastic.

The OAK on my XXV was installed by the dealer and they just went straight out. It only had to go 18 inches to the wall.

I haven't had a power outage yet. Should be interesting. Like you said - it's an easy change later, if needed.

Have fun. IMO read the manual 30 or 40 times.

clifford

Hello,
I have been using a Quadrafire Castile for two winters now and am overall very happy with it. If I were to start over I would probably still buy a Quadrafire, but maybe a little larger stove. I don't think mine heats the square footage they advertised, but that could partially be the fault of my old home not being insulated as well as it could be, and that's not the fault of the stove. I got scared by all the reviews when shopping like you mentioned too. What I have found is that the vast majority of complaints about the stoves are because people don't realize the maintenance involved and blame the stove for a things that are not the fault of the stove, most commonly a lack of proper cleaning. I guess my point is, don't put too much stock in all the negative reviews unless they name a specific mechanical/electrical fault they have found with a particular unit (you probably won't find too many of that type).

My 2 cents......

It also depends on what pellets you're burning. If you have lousey pellets (voice of experience!!) your stove is not going to perform well at all. I bought a Flame FP35 and was not happy with it. Had more problems than a little bit. Came on here and asked questions and was told some things to try. Turns out I had CRAP pellets!! Cost me some bucks to get the stove cleaned out and have since been burning Ligs (blue lable - LOTS of ash). Stove seems to be happy as a pig in "dirt". Yeah, I have to clean it about every other day........but I'm not complaining. Told my supplier that they need to look into the Green label Ligs. From what I've read on here, they don't make as much ash. That is the only complaint I have. It is heating my entire mobile home (14 x 76 box) and it runs 24/7. Only shuts down to be cleaned. My puppies and I are toasty warm!!

Don't be afraid to ask questions, these guys on here are just fantastic!!

I love my Harman-XXV. No problems. Cranks out the heat !

We have two Quad 1000's here at the ranch and they have been as mentioned "Plug and Play"

Clean them once in a while and keep the hopper full and your set.

These are not very asthetic but instead fire off, do the roaring red tornado thing, heat the room and then turn off and wait for the T stat to call for more heat.

I am a manual type you lightem sort. The auto igniter on the quads have been great though.

I love computers but dont want one on my pellet stove or my diesel pickup truck.

The Old Whitfields were grand stoves.

As mentioned, take care of the beast and it will take care of you, neglect it and it will crap in your nest at the worst possible time.

Keeping a few spare parts is a good thing too.


I have a spare auger motor, and igniter and a few other parts for the quads.

Have not had the Whitfields long enough yet to get spare parts but that will happen in due time.

As was mentioned, the reviews that you read are either by those who just bought a new whatever and are totally GAH GAH over it or they are writtin by the Putz who can't follow directions in the owners manual and or have not taken care of the item and let it go to south.

Like the clown that never cleans his ash traps out and of vacuums out the fire pot and other places in the stove.

The poor stove finally gives up and gets a bad rap because of the neglect by the owner.

I was looking at new washer/driers a while back and reading through the reviews.

I could not find any brand that did not have someone talking smack about something or other.

SOOOOOOOOO I bought a used set off Craigs List and went through them myself. :cheese:

I think that if you follow the advice of the good folks here, you will do fine.


Snowy