About to take the plunge. Harman Accentra 52i.

[mr47930]

I’ve been reading many of the posts on here about other people’s experience with their pellet stove. The installers are coming this Thursday (Aug 14th) to tear out our old direct vent gas fireplace and frame up for the new pellet insert/install the zero clearance box. Last winter was miserable cold here in Southern MD so I could only imagine how you folks up north felt. We wanted something that could help take the load off of our all electric furnace and with the price of propane and the fact that our previous fireplace did little in the way of heating anything we decided to go the pellet route. After looking at a few models we were sold on the black Harman Accentra 52i based on looks as well as BTU output. We have a 2200 sq ft 2 story home with an additional 1000sq ft finished basement (below ground). The stove will be going on the main floor so we are really hoping that this stove will keep us warm this winter. I am slightly concerned that the basement will be very cold though as the thermostat that controls the basement and the main floor will be 20ft from the stove. Ill post before/after pictures once the project is completed. If anyone has any words of advice please share.

 

[Brew]

Welcome and good for you, man. I'm also indebted to the forum (lurked for about five months before registering) and am having the same unit installed in September. Many on the forum say good things about it and Harman in general. Got your pellet stash in order?

So you have your basement and first floor on the same heating zone. Heat rises, so I imagine it won't get too cozy down there when your heat source is on the main floor. The average year-round underground temperature for all of North America is 57 F and that's on just the other side of your foundation and walls. Have you thought about making the basement a separate heating zone now that you have an alternate heat source for most living space? That can't be too tough to do. What's your other source of heat?

 

[mr47930]

They were running a special that with the purchase of the stove we get 2 tons of pellets for "free". I'm sure they've worked that into the price but anyway we plan on ordering another 2 tons in addition to the freebies. I'm not sure of the brand but I plan on looking at them before I decide to place the additional order.
Yes the basement and main floor are on the same unit and the upstairs (master bedroom/bath, 3 other bedrooms and another full bath) is on a separate unit. Our current heat source is electric forced air furnace. Electric bills last winter were sickening, but from what I've read oil bills were worse. We do have a return on the main level that I've though about running the HVAC in "fan only" mode to circulate some heat to the basement. There seems to be a divided opinion on the forum with that topic though. Also thought about getting a small space heater and letting that run when I'm down there just to take the chill out of the air. The basement is just my man cave (flat screen, recliner, couch, wet bar, bathroom) so I don't need it the same temp as the rest of the house, but would like to be somewhat comfortable while watching football.

 

[mr47930]

Called the dealer this morning and they carry O'Malleys for $209 a ton and Statesman for $259 a ton. With the purchase of the stove and install we are to receive 2 free tons of the O'Malleys, all we have to pay is delivery of $75. We plan on getting 2 additional tons so I'm not sure if I should switch it up and get 2 tons of the statesman or stick with 4 total tons of the O'Malleys. Anyone burn both? There is another pellet store that’s closer to me who carries the Lignetics in the green bag, not sure of the price per ton but then I would have to pay the additional delivery fee.
Suggestions or words of advice would be appreciated.

 

[mr47930]

Tomorrow is the big day! The crew will be arriving at 0930 to demo the current gas fireplace, surround and mantel. Then they will be framing up a 2 inch bump out into the room so the stone can wrap around and installing the Harman surround. Then I have to figure out a way to hang a solid red oak mantel that I made by hand, its about 100lbs so that should be fun. Stone guy is coming when that is finished and then the pellet dealer will be back once all is done to slide in the Accentra 52i! Starting to get nervous, hopefully this doesn’t turn out to be a $9K mistake.

 

[mr47930]

This is a picture of our current setup. Direct vent propane fireplace, provided nothing more than a pretty flame. No heat whatsoever. Will post during and after shots as the work progresses.

 

[Boomer Sailor]

Awesome stove choice - I had one delivered just before the artic blast last winter and had no problem heating my 2,300 sq. ft. house in CT. (My stove isn't exactly centrally located, at it still did a wonderful job - you should have no problem) Just buy good pellets soon and enjoy the fire in a couple of months

 

[Bbowz]

you're going to love the accentra 52i. I bought my house in CT in august of 2013. with a 1 year old son, and 2200sq ft colonial, the oil bills were insane. Somewhere around $400/month. That lasted until November, when I told the wife that it was get the stove (52i) or start digging for oil. She went with the stove and tells me all the time how much she loves it. Provides 90% of the heat for the entire house. She wont keep my son's door open at night so we need to turn the heat on upstairs. I really like the New England wood pellet. not much ash and tons of heat. Ive also burned a ton of Genevas and found them to be very dusty and very small pellets. I learned recently that Green Supreme is the same pellet as New England, but cheaper! Bought 5 tons and waiting to crank up the stove.

Good luck and enjoy!

 

[mr47930]

Glad to hear it! It was installed last Friday and I cant wait to see how it does this winter. Do you let yours run 24/7? What settings do you like to run yours on?

Here is the final product. We're very happy with the way it turned out.

 

[Bbowz]

Glad to hear it! It was installed last Friday and I cant wait to see how it does this winter. Do you let yours run 24/7? What settings do you like to run yours on?

Here is the final product. We're very happy with the way it turned out.

Yes it's on 24x7. My wife works from home so it doesn't ever really get a break.
We leave it on room temp at a 4, though I may experiment with stove temp to see if I can save the igniter. I bought a small corner fan to help push some of the heat upstairs. It was about 81 degrees downstairs!

 

[Boomer Sailor]

Yes it's on 24x7. My wife works from home so it doesn't ever really get a break.
We leave it on room temp at a 4, though I may experiment with stove temp to see if I can save the igniter. I bought a small corner fan to help push some of the heat upstairs. It was about 81 degrees downstairs!

Congrats on the new house and stove! I have electric baseboard heat for my 2,300 sq. ft. house and had a balanced electric bill of $400/month - glad we had the stove put in before it REALLY got cold last winter!! My wife and I also work different hours so the stove runs 24/7. I use a FEED RATE of 3 and a STOVE TEMP of 3 - 4 depending out outside temps when it is really cold. The installer (as well as the stove shop) recommended / suggested to not use the ROOM TEMP but to use the STOVE TEMP instead. Both simply said it was "better for the stove" so I'm guessing they meant without having to say... you won't burn out your ignitor and it's probably more work for the stove to keep turning on and off !?!?!?! My other guess is that whatever room your stove is in, it will be slightly warmer than the other rooms naturally which would then result in having your stove turning it self on and off whereas you may not actually want the stove to do that (the cooler rooms always staying cooler). Soooo I found that STOVE TEMPS works best for me anyway. Besides, when it really gets cold and your stove never shuts off, having selected either stove or room temp won't matter.