Harman 38p vs. Quadra Santa Fe

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ducker

Feeling the Heat
Apr 22, 2008
409
Leominster, MA
I've pretty much narrowed down my section to these two.
With a lot of research these two seem extremely comparable with only a couple of difference.

The following is what I feel are the major strengths to each of them.

The Harman has a stronger name/reputation,
The Santa Fe has a Automatic Start / self lighting


Both have nearly the same heat output (with the edge going to harman with the Turbo mode)
Nearly the same Hopper size


I haven't really seen both in operation, but I have seen both in person, and I like the Harman's look better.

So, I'm just looking for some people's personal experience with either of these models - either good or bad.

The pricing I've seen for both units is right around 1700-1800. Install another 450ish, and parts another 250.

Thanks for any feedback you can provide.
 
I researched pellet stoves quite thoroughly and any and all user reports I could find and ultimately decided on the Harman P38 priced at $1,839.00 + tax.
I was all set 2 weeks ago on a tuesday morning to drive to the local dealer and purchase it when my wife saw a Harman stove for sale in the want ads. I checked it out and it was a Harman P38 that was only used in a small one room upholstery workshop for a couple years. He was asking $500 with 33 bags of pellets . Needless to say I jumped on it.
It`s now in my finished basement all connected and thoroughly tested.
For what it`s worth, I`m very happy with it. It`s reasonably quiet and burns really clean . Installation was simple.
Good luck with whatever stove you choose.
 
Thanks for the comment. Perhaps over night a few more will post. I'll have it in my living room. So quiet is nice, but I'm not necessarily expecting it to be silent. We're used to running a conventional wood stove with a fan running to circulate the heat.
 
I have a Santafe and have zero problems with it. I have it setup to a digital thermostat with setbacks at night. I am heating approximately 1000sq of main living space to 68-69, outer rooms and upstairs to about 66 in a house that is 90 years old and has very little insulation and a mix of single pain windows and an alum. frame windows. I burned through just shy of 2 tons this year. I do a quick cleaning once a week, glass and sweeping the ash into the pan, I do clean the baffles once a month and I pull the burnpot cleaning rod once a night. I have never had any trouble with clinkers or buildup in the pot. I did have one problem that I had smoke smell in the house really bad, turns out when I pulled the cleaning rod for the burn pot a pellet fell out of the chute and wedged in the burnpot door. over all I am very happy and would recommend this stove to anybody who was interested in it.

when I was trying to decide on a stove I was choosing between the Harman accentra and the santafe. if you have anymore specific questions about the stove just let me know.

TK
 
Harman has just started making a P38 with automatic ignition
 
Oh yeah , I almost forgot ! The Englander is another choice I would have made , but at the moment they are not available in any of the big box stores like Home Depot , Lowes , etc. that normally carry them during the heating season.
John
 
richg said:
Harman has just started making a P38 with automatic ignition

Well I'm ok with out having the automatic ignition, as I figure that's just another piece that can break/fail/eventually need replacement.

But I haven't heard any of the dealers talk about that option either, I figure it would easily add another $200 to the price of the stove most likely putting its cost over 2k.
I price point I'd like to stay below (for the stove itself)
 
Giovanni said:
Oh yeah , I almost forgot ! The Englander is another choice I would have made , but at the moment they are not available in any of the big box stores like Home Depot , Lowes , etc. that normally carry them during the heating season.
John
Yea, back when I was toying with the idea of going that route I did look them over at a Home Depot. But they seemed to be right around the same cost as the Harman 38P (1700), but that was a number of months ago, I could have fotgotten what price they were at

I didn't feel they were as strongly built as the Harman I looked at/ felt; and not quite as nice looking. Again personal preference.
 
I've been heating my 1300sf ranch with my Harman P38 for 8yrs. It has been a great stove with zero problems. Also very easy to clean and to perform maintenance. Squire Lumber in Monson, Ma. has a great reputation and their prices are very resonable (1299+tax for the P38). I average 3 3/4 tons of pellets per winter.
 
HarmanP38 said:
I've been heating my 1300sf ranch with my Harman P38 for 8yrs. It has been a great stove with zero problems. Also very easy to clean and to perform maintenance. Squire Lumber in Monson, Ma. has a great reputation and their prices are very resonable (1299+tax for the P38). I average 3 3/4 tons of pellets per winter.

Yea wow.. nice price. a shame that they are over 60 miles and an hour away from me :( I doubt they would want to do an install that far away.
 
HarmanP38 said:
I've been heating my 1300sf ranch with my Harman P38 for 8yrs. It has been a great stove with zero problems. Also very easy to clean and to perform maintenance. Squire Lumber in Monson, Ma. has a great reputation and their prices are very resonable (1299+tax for the P38). I average 3 3/4 tons of pellets per winter.

Ahhhhh . Refreshing to read such an honest post regarding how much pellets you use. I have to chuckle at those who claim to heat the same with 2 tons and are toasty warm all winter.
John
 
HarmanP38 said:
I've been heating my 1300sf ranch with my Harman P38 for 8yrs. It has been a great stove with zero problems. Also very easy to clean and to perform maintenance. Squire Lumber in Monson, Ma. has a great reputation and their prices are very resonable (1299+tax for the P38). I average 3 3/4 tons of pellets per winter.

Wow! $1299.00 for a new one?
The dealer here gets $1739 + tax. That`s quite as spread and well worth a ride to Monson.
John
 
Giovanni said:
HarmanP38 said:
I've been heating my 1300sf ranch with my Harman P38 for 8yrs. It has been a great stove with zero problems. Also very easy to clean and to perform maintenance. Squire Lumber in Monson, Ma. has a great reputation and their prices are very resonable (1299+tax for the P38). I average 3 3/4 tons of pellets per winter.

Wow! $1299.00 for a new one?
The dealer here gets $1739 + tax. That`s quite as spread and well worth a ride to Monson.
John

Yea, but I'm not looking to do the install myself :(
 
wdf97079 said:
Will any dealers in the area do a price match?

The feeling I got was no... The couple of Harman dealers I've located are quite busy, and I happen to be on the fringe of where they will do an install. So I'm guessing they would just as much pass up the business then do it for less then what they would quote.
 
Giovanni said:
HarmanP38 said:
I've been heating my 1300sf ranch with my Harman P38 for 8yrs. It has been a great stove with zero problems. Also very easy to clean and to perform maintenance. Squire Lumber in Monson, Ma. has a great reputation and their prices are very resonable (1299+tax for the P38). I average 3 3/4 tons of pellets per winter.

Ahhhhh . Refreshing to read such an honest post regarding how much pellets you use. I have to chuckle at those who claim to heat the same with 2 tons and are toasty warm all winter.
John

I actually just shut my stove down for the winter and I used 87 bags of pellets or just shy of 2 tons for the entire winter and the stove is our only heat source except for a small oil filled radiator heater in the kids bedroom up stairs. Granted I live in the Pacific NW so our winters are nothing compared to others around the country.
 
$1299 seems way out of wack to me. Maybe like 2 years a go I could see that.
 
I just paid $1499 for my P38+ and thought I was getting a pretty good deal. Either way, I'm satisfied with the price I paid since other dealers in the area wanted $1839 for the same item.
 
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