I'm a long time reader of the hearth forums but new to pellet stoves. I recently decided to try pellets after talking to several friends who have been using pellets for years. Here in Fairbanks. Alaska heating costs are a major expense with heating oil being the only other option. Pellets are running about $280 a ton here with heating oil close to $4 a gallon. Saving 1/2 off my heating costs using pellets seems like the way to go.
I ordered 5 tons of pellets that were recommended by the same friends. I then decided to a New Englander 25-PVDC after looking at many mixed reviews. I found a lot of people having problems with one thing or another but many people said it was a good basic pellet stove. With a goal of saving some money it seemed like it might work at only $1170 at Lowes, compared to three times that for the closest stove at the stove dealers around here.
The first week it seemed to work great although a lot noisier than I imagined. Within the second week the top auger jammed up and would not turn. I took the back off and was able to free it by turning the motor. After this it started getting stuck all the time till it got stuck so tight that I grabbed a pipe wrench to free it. Instead the end of the auger broke off. New Englander tech support was above average and sent out a new auger right away. I hoped that the new auger would fix the problem, but upon removing the auger I noticed that there were large grooves in the cast feed tube on the bottom between the two pieces where pellets were getting stuck. Sure enough the new auger did not help at all. New Englander tech support then had me lower the feed rate with the bottom controls, try adding powdered graphite in with the pellets, screen all the sawdust, and adjust the auger alignment. Nothing would work for more than a few hours. I would set the thermostat down to 60 at night only to find that the auger had jammed in the middle of the night and the house was cold. After spending hours at a time to make this thing work I had enough and started to look for another option.
Luckily I quickly found a Harmon XXV on Craigslist. For a one year old model the price was right at $2200. I did not get any hassle from Lowe's in returning the New Englander. I do not know where to begin in comparing these two.
Anyone who complains of noise from the Harmon was never used a New Englander. On low it a slightly louder than a refrigerator and even on high it is no where near as loud. After only having this new Harmon working for a few days I'm once again happy about making the move to pellets. With the room temp sensor the fire burns all the time at a pretty low rate and the house has stayed between 72 and 73 with outside temps around 0. The hopper can hold about 1 1/2 bags of pellets which is a big improvement from the New Englander which can't even hold 1. The cast iron looks tons better along with the large glass. So far I'm extremely happy with the Harmon XXV having learned the hard way.
I ordered 5 tons of pellets that were recommended by the same friends. I then decided to a New Englander 25-PVDC after looking at many mixed reviews. I found a lot of people having problems with one thing or another but many people said it was a good basic pellet stove. With a goal of saving some money it seemed like it might work at only $1170 at Lowes, compared to three times that for the closest stove at the stove dealers around here.
The first week it seemed to work great although a lot noisier than I imagined. Within the second week the top auger jammed up and would not turn. I took the back off and was able to free it by turning the motor. After this it started getting stuck all the time till it got stuck so tight that I grabbed a pipe wrench to free it. Instead the end of the auger broke off. New Englander tech support was above average and sent out a new auger right away. I hoped that the new auger would fix the problem, but upon removing the auger I noticed that there were large grooves in the cast feed tube on the bottom between the two pieces where pellets were getting stuck. Sure enough the new auger did not help at all. New Englander tech support then had me lower the feed rate with the bottom controls, try adding powdered graphite in with the pellets, screen all the sawdust, and adjust the auger alignment. Nothing would work for more than a few hours. I would set the thermostat down to 60 at night only to find that the auger had jammed in the middle of the night and the house was cold. After spending hours at a time to make this thing work I had enough and started to look for another option.
Luckily I quickly found a Harmon XXV on Craigslist. For a one year old model the price was right at $2200. I did not get any hassle from Lowe's in returning the New Englander. I do not know where to begin in comparing these two.
Anyone who complains of noise from the Harmon was never used a New Englander. On low it a slightly louder than a refrigerator and even on high it is no where near as loud. After only having this new Harmon working for a few days I'm once again happy about making the move to pellets. With the room temp sensor the fire burns all the time at a pretty low rate and the house has stayed between 72 and 73 with outside temps around 0. The hopper can hold about 1 1/2 bags of pellets which is a big improvement from the New Englander which can't even hold 1. The cast iron looks tons better along with the large glass. So far I'm extremely happy with the Harmon XXV having learned the hard way.
LOL
