4 level split house stove idea's

[nayslayer]

I just started scanning the net and found this board and started digging around. Oil Prices look like there are going to be pretty high this winter and I'm thinking about taking the plunge and getting a pellet stove. My house is a 4 level split ranch that is around 2400sq ft. I'd like the stove to do a great chunk of the heating and not sure where to place the stove and size. I really don't want to put it on the bottom floor because of a bar and humidors. I was thinking of putting it on the second floor and if needed i could fan heat at the stairway to heat the kitchen and living room. The stove would be in the playroom and directly under our bedrooms. I'm looking at the harman 25 and the quadrafire classic bay. Anyone offer up some advice, thanks

 

[DexterDay]

I just started scanning the net and found this board and started digging around. Oil Prices look like there are going to be pretty high this winter and I'm thinking about taking the plunge and getting a pellet stove. My house is a 4 level split ranch that is around 2400sq ft. I'd like the stove to do a great chunk of the heating and not sure where to place the stove and size. I really don't want to put it on the bottom floor because of a bar and humidors. I was thinking of putting it on the second floor and if needed i could fan heat at the stairway to heat the kitchen and living room. The stove would be in the playroom and directly under our bedrooms. I'm looking at the harman 25 and the quadrafire classic bay. Anyone offer up some advice, thanks

What is the Harman 25?? Harman makes a Great stove. I own a Classic Bay and have zero complaints. Heated my 2,180 sq ft Ranch for 3 seasons. All by itself. No LP furnace at all. Just got the Woodstove for the basement at the end of this season. Still not Hooked up.
The CB 1200 is centrally located in my home though. House is 70 ft long (Its in the dining room, in the middle). Whatever you buy, make sure you have a good dealer. Buying either Stove (Quad or Harman) is a good choice. The Harman has more adjust-ability. Can run on a High/Low type setting. Without shutting all the way down like the Quad.

If put in the right location of your home. You would be surprised at the oil usage. Mine dropped out all the way. After a week of running the stove. The Furnace never kicked on. I was spending on average $3,600 a yr on Propane. I bought my Classic Bay to cut consumption in about half. Little did I know that it Cut it ALL the WAY.
Went thru 3-4 tanks a year. Now its 1 tank every 3-4 years (Still use LP for cooking)

Good luck and more opinions are coming. Its a slow time of year. In the heart of Winter. You would have had 30 replies already. Be patient and do your research.

 

[nayslayer]

thanks, just one other i have found, is the Enviro Cast M55

 

[VTrider]

Welcome to the board - you can stop searching now since everything you'll ever need to know about heating your house with a pellet stove can and will be found right here.

You will find, as I'm sure you know already - a great deal of info on just about any topic / heating configuration / question you could fathom already tucked away in a corner of these message boards, but I'm sure plenty of Harmon and Quadrafire owners will chime in soon. Anyway, you will find that the general rule of thumb / concensus is to place the pellet stove in the area which you want to heat / reside, but ofcourse this is 'just' the consensus and albeit practical as it is, there are plenty of options.

Either way sounds like you are on the right track and i'm sure you will save plenty of $$ and stay warm if you stay on track, good luck. BTW - was it the Harmon p35 (insert) you were looking at?

 

[DexterDay]

thanks, just one other i have found, is the Enviro Cast M55

The Enviro M55 (Steel or Cast) is an awesome Multi-Fueler. A multi-fueler will always be a better choice and the Enviro has a infinite amount of adjust-ability. Also look at the Englander 10-CPM if you want to see another great multi-fuel stove.

 

[nayslayer]

no, the Harman xxv freestanding. Hows the Quality of Enviro, Really like the looks of the new M55 cast iron.

 

[DexterDay]

no, the Harman xxv freestanding. Hows the Quality of Enviro, Really like the looks of the new M55 cast iron.

Written in XXV is a lot different than 25. Didnt recognize. XXV is a good stove, but given the chance for 2, I personally would do the M55 for the flexibility of fuels. Enviro is a Great Manf. Send forum memeber j-takeman a PM. He will tell you all about his Enviro Omega (Little bigger than the M55, but the same workings/multi-fuel). Many Forum members have the XXV and the M55, both are good, and again depends on your dealer, cost, and what you want to burn (multi-fuel?)

The Quadrafire says its a Multi-Fuel stove. But can only do a 50/50 mix (unless running constant). I have burned straight corn. It will do it. But it aint pretty. Needs to be cleaned daily to every 2 days MAX.

 

[VTrider]

I agree, you probably can't go wrong with either the XXV or M55. I recently had choose between Harmon and Enviro, main reason I went with Enviro was due to dealer support / relationship which was a factor which weighed heavily on my decision. I'm sure I would be just as happy burning with a Harmon.

 

[nayslayer]

So I've added a few to my list, what do you guys think, these would be the final four i guess you would say.
Quadra-Fire MT Vernon
Harmon p68
Harmon XXV
Enviro M55 cast
Are all these about the same in quality? I like the classic styles of the m55 and MT Vernon, and the XXV kinda has a mix of old style with the new. I'm not a huge fan of the p68, but not bad, and considering the output, not a bad one for it's price. I'm leaning towards the xxv, but a little leary of the output.

 

[GrahamInVa]

So I've added a few to my list, what do you guys think, these would be the final four i guess you would say.
Quadra-Fire MT Vernon
Harmon p68
Harmon XXV
Enviro M55 cast
Are all these about the same in quality? I like the classic styles of the m55 and MT Vernon, and the XXV kinda has a mix of old style with the new. I'm not a huge fan of the p68, but not bad, and considering the output, not a bad one for it's price. I'm leaning towards the xxv, but a little leary of the output.

You may want to look at a England Stove. I just bought one (still working on the install) and there are several members that say good things about them. They are right much cheaper than most others as well.


http://www.englanderstoves.com/

This is the one I bought. 25-EP

 

[AVIVIII]

We have a Harman P68 and it is in a less than ideal spot, though with the help of a few fans and a good t-stat, it handled the bulk of the heating in my 2300 sqft colonial and averaged under 1.1 bags/day for the whole heating season.

I love may Harman and looked at many of the same stoves that you listed. Cost, availability, service and dealer reputations all played heavily into my decision. Had my local dealer had and Enviro M55 or a Maxx M in stock (or deliverable in the near future) my decision would have been much more difficult.

If you want a lot of heat in a small package, you can't go wrong with the P68.