a few questions from a newbie

[Scotte]

first off hi i have been reading this forum for a month or so but this is my first time posting

i'm looking to get a pellet stove to heat my 1400 sqft house this winter, it currently has and old woodstove on a brick hearth in the living room and the stove pipe goes up thru the ceiling (class A)

i'm not happy with the woodstove for several reasons (hate the labor and dirt involved and also having to go home every day to reload at lunch)

pellet stoves seem ideal as the mess is gone and it can run for 9-10 hours while i'm at work

my other source of heat is a 80% eff propane furnace, I currently have 300 gallons in the tank but as my propane company sent me a letter stating that i could either pay 49.99 to lock in at 2.49/gal or pay 2.59+/gal this winter heating my home with propane is

as i have said my house is 1400 sqft, single story michigan basement (not a living area) half the window are 2002-2003 vintage vinyl replacment and the other half i replaced this year (with the exception of 2 that are getting plastic treatment for the winter) decent insulation in the walls and ceiling


i got a couple quotes from my local harmon dealer $4200 for a p43 installed/$5200 for a p61a installed (not sure if this seems like par for the coarse or not)

he quoted the install running 4" "bio-vent" all the way up inside the 8" class-a to the top and then reflash the top and bottom

i'm gonna visit a couple other stove dealers today but there doesn't seem to be to many dealers in my area (west michigan grand rapids area)

it seems like a few people on this site have just bought a 4-8" adapter and just hook up the stove to the class-a?

i know everybody has their own opinions on stove brands and i know alot of people consider harmon the "cadillac"

but in this case i may not need the cadillac i may be better off with a chevy that is reliable and gets the job done

so any recomendations to a guy looking for a stove ?

 

[smoke show]

check out big box stores like home depot,tsc,lowes.
englander,summers heat, us stove all decent middle of the road stoves.

 

[Scotte]

i was looking at a st. croix prescott exp

but they dont have any good dealers real close (their is a hardware store very close that is technicly a dealer but doesnt stock the stoves or the knowledge)

 

[gbreda]

Welcome to the forum. Alot of good info and plenty of great folk here to offer help. Also enough of us "a bit off center" to keep it entertaining too

Dont know about a "thru the roof" install for piping, but that sounds high on the Harman estimate. Curious to find what the stove/pipe/labor breakdown is. On the wood to pellet changeover, I dont know anything in that area, but I'm sure it has been discussed here on the forum. Maybe someone can chime in on that.

For me, although I am mechanically inclined and like to tinker, I am not home alot and need a "set it and forget it" type of stove, which is why I went wth Harman. Depending on what you want to spend and how pretty you need it, there are plenty of other great brands out there.

Also, if you are handy with repairs and such, then the dealer suport may not be as important for you. But if not, then dealer knowledge and reliablility will be very important.

Hopefully others will chime in with some insight.

Good luck.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Welcome Scotte. gbreda is right about the need for a reliable and knowledgeable dealer. This is extremely important if you aren't a DIY type of person or don't have the time to play stove doctor.

You also have to have some idea about how to size your stove or at the very least have reliable information about your current heating system.

Nothing quite like getting a new toy and discovering it can't really do the job.

Off center, besides krooser, just who else is off center gbreda? It can't be me as I'm very centered I have 3.13 tons on each side.

 

[jtakeman]

Off center, besides krooser, just who else is off center gbreda? It can't be me as I'm very centered I have 3.13 tons on each side.

Now thems some love handles baby! :lol: :cheese:

Welcome scotte, Great group of people here and there always willing to help.

There are lots af good stoves out there. Take some time and look around. If you have access to corn and other multifuels? Check out the multifuel stoves. I would look into some of those as well. Just another fuel option and the multifuelers burn even the worst pellets with eaze. Self cleaning burnpots that assist in keeping the stove cleaning if your away for a couple of days. St Croix and Enviro have some nice units to look at. I own one and if I need to go out of town for a week, I know the stove will be fine until I get home. Wife just needs to load the hopper until I return.

Keep us posted on the new stove hunt!

 

[kevinmerchant]

I know nothing of pellet stoves but as mentioned previously, Englander is a good stove with excellent customer service. Here is a guy who sells them at a great price on ebay. I have purchased 1 stove and may go for another to take advantage of the tax credit. Good luck.

 

[krooser]

I like St. Croix stove but it sounds like your dealer falls short on the service end... not good.

Why not just do a horizontal vent... much less expensive and it does a good job for me. It will for you, too if you don't have a lot of power outages. many folks here aren't fond of them but it's a standard deal around here... And you can do it yourself if you have a few basic tools and one day of free time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXzWO9WgAPg&feature=related

 

[Scotte]

Unfortunatly the existing woodstove/brick hearth is in the center of the house and this location is ideal for looks as well as heat distribution

 

[DMZX]

Scotte,

I had a Lopi installed this summer and ran a 4" PL through a 6" Class A. The price for the stove/venting pipe/hearth pad/install came to just under $4k. I too live in an area where pellet stove dealer are few and far between. Fortunately, the Lopi dealer was close and he is a good dealer, albeit a bit pricey on things, but sells quality stuff and backs it up. So the estimate give to you is probably in the ball park.

 

[dac122]

Those prices sound pretty high to me but I am not familiar with those lines of stove. As previously menteioned you can get a refurb Englander from Andy (amfm7203) from Ebay. He is an authorized reseller for Englander. I did it as well as others and your warranty is as good as buying elsewhere.

No need to reline your chimney pipe, just adapt to as you have read. Go for the ICC Excel pipe and you won't regret it. Reason ICC works so well is it has those big orange replaceable seals.

Here are some pics to show you how it should work. This is a 7" wood stove pipe to 6" reducer, then an adapter, with a 3" 45-elbow inserted.
Silicone and screw your reducer, cut a hole in your adapter to accommodate the 4" pipe, silicon and screw on the adapter, insert and silicone your pellet pipe, and off you go.

Click on the pics for a close up.

PM me if you like.

 

[Delta-T]

I'm with dac122, just get a 3" to 8" connector and be done with it, self install style. I'm also a fan of the ICC Excell (and they do indeed make a 3" and 4" to class A adapter with the fancy silicone gaskets). Both of those prices seem a bit on the high side to me, but there could be details we do not know of.

 

[imacman]

it seems like a few people on this site have just bought a 4-8" adapter and just hook up the stove to the class-a?

.....but in this case i may not need the cadillac i may be better off with a chevy that is reliable and gets the job done

so any recomendations to a guy looking for a stove ?

See my pic below. I too had a woodstove w/ 8" exhaust pipe. I imply used a 4" ---> 8" adapter and it works fine.

As for getting a Chevy, I bought a factory refurbished Englander multi-fuel off eBay. 1 Yr. Factory warranty, free shipping, and the senior Tech for Englander is on this site often...GREAT guy.

Here's a sample of what you could get (same person I bought mine from), and don't forget the tax credit will reduce the actual cost too:

http://cgi.ebay.com/TimberRidge-pel...ultDomain_0&hash=item3a5ee19ece#ht_2157wt_913

 

[imacman]

BTW, this is the model I bought. It's more $$, but is multi-fuel capable (wood pellets, corn, cherry pits, grass pellets, etc, etc). Not sure that's what you want, but thought you might be interested. I have had no problems with mine.

http://cgi.ebay.com/TimberRidge-49-...ultDomain_0&hash=item1e5d0a2de4#ht_4904wt_958

 

[hossthehermit]

"it seems like a few people on this site have just bought a 4-8” adapter and just hook up the stove to the class-a? "

If you decide to go this route, I have a new 4-8"Simpson Dura vent that you can have for the shipping cost. I bought it to go into a masonary chimney, won't work, made for Class A. PM if you're interested

 

[Scotte]

Pm sent. Thanks

 

[Scotte]

just figured i'd give an update on the situation

i put a deposit down on a harman pc 45 today

its a little more than i wanted to spend on a stove but with the govt. tax credit and the free ton of pellets from harman this month its worth it

vent is gonna end up being 3" to a 3" to 8" class a adapter

i cant wait till the propane company calls asking why i have not had to refill the tank up yet

 

[jtakeman]

Nice! We need to see some pictures when she's all hooked up and cranking the heat! Glad you went the multifuel route. I got one and love that I can burn just about anything!

Welcome to the multifuel club!

 

[Former Farmer]

i cant wait till the propane company calls asking why i have not had to refill the tank up yet

Do you own the tank or does the propane company? They may have additional charges if you don't use X amount of gallons.

When I had started up my pellet boiler and did not use any LP, they charged me a tank rental since I did not use enough gallons for the 1000 gallon tank that they had here. This spring, I purchased a used 1000 gallon LP tank and called them to pick up their tank.

 

[Scotte]

They own the tank so I figured on calling and having them take it in the spring
After I get done sucking my 300 gallons out of it. They will probably charge me the $75.00 tank rental fee (I think you need to buy 700 gallons a year to have them waive the fee and 700 x $2.59 a gallon I'd have to be crazy

One nice thing is I have an electric water heater,stove and dryer so come spring if they pickup the tank I have all summer to find a used tank without inconveniencing myself

 

[schoondog]

ya thats the best, when your old oil,gas, propane,etc. man shows up for a refill and only gets 5 gal. in the tank. Pellet stove $3000 , pellets $600, pissed off look from former energy provider........ priceless!
Good luck with your new stove and we need pics. ;-P

Schoondog

 

[dac122]

They own the tank so I figured on calling and having them take it in the spring
After I get done sucking my 300 gallons out of it. They will probably charge me the $75.00 tank rental fee (I think you need to buy 700 gallons a year to have them waive the fee and 700 x $2.59 a gallon I'd have to be crazy

One nice thing is I have an electric water heater,stove and dryer so come spring if they pickup the tank I have all summer to find a used tank without inconveniencing myself

That's a PITA when they pull the minimum fill amount or rental fee game.

Shop around and see if you can get a better deal. Some in my area pull that nonsense. I finally own my own tanks and have a pretty good provider who is the just about the lowest price in the area and doesn't play that game with you if you don't own your tank. I still use it to heat hot water and some furnace usage. Its kinda funny when they swing though on their way to fill someone else and give me only 20 gallons in the middle of winter.

Looking to buy your own tank might help. Don't forget you can have several small tanks and daisy chain them together.