First round of Pellet Stove ?'s Newbie!! Newer than newbie!

[TedPStove]

Hi all!
Great site! I have Very Newbie Questions!!
I'm just NOW considering doing the Pellet Stove thing! I have an older house, 1873, hand hewn timbers, etc. Doesn't look that way from outside. It does have blown insulation in sidewalls, and attic. About 1300 Sq Ft. I'm not trying to heat the house 100 %, maybe just augement the Oil I burn. Its radiators, hot water. I also get my Hot Water from the Coil off the Boiler. I'm in Western Mass.

So what do I do? All I hear is Harmon or the other make they own.
Whats the "Self Starting " thing about?

Are there lesser brands than Harmon, or are they just not worth it?

How LITTLE money can I get away with...SAFELY?

Below are Pix of were I plan to put it. The first were the coach is, is next to the staircase for the second floor. Good spot, hot air rises. One prob! Just on the other side of that wall is the staircase going down to the basement, I was told this wasn't a problem, it's about 5 feet, horizontal, till the outside wall.

Many Thanks, Ted

 

[BrotherBart]

Go to homedepot.com and search on "pellet stove".

 

[webbie]

There are dozens of models of good pellets stoves.....which can be had at prices from as low as $1500 to as high as $4K plus. Your best bet initially is to visit one or two of the closest stove shops (look them up in your yellow pages, etc)......lot of shops in Western Ma.

How little money? Depends if you are going to install it yourself or service it yourself, etc. - I think a very decent stove can be purchased for 2K or less. Installation and pipe would be on top of that.

As far as BB's Home Depot suggestion.....that would be Englander, a low price leader. Again, this would be a DIY job as well a DIY warranty (you will have to service and fix with factory telephone or email support).

So if you are handy, you can shop further away, over the net, and at home centers and hardware stores...but you are unlikely to get pro installation and in-home service (if and when needed).

 

[jtp10181]

I would take your pictures to a stove dealer and have a chat with a salesperson to get a better idea of whats going on.

 

[BrotherBart]

Yeah the Home Depot shout out was just to answer the "how cheap can I" question. As with anything else how much you can/will do yourself affects final cost. It affects final cost catastrophically if you do it wrong with a solid fuel burning appliance.