Help deciding on a reliable pellet stove

[awfireman]

Hello Everyone,

I will be replacing a Jotul F400 with a pellet stove sometime in the near future and wanted some help and opinions on the most reliable (and safe!) pellet stoves. My budget is between $3-5k. Would like it to be on the lower end if possible without sacrificing safety and quality, but willing to dish out extra $$$ if need be. Harman and Quadra-Flame are names I know, but have zero idea where to start. Any recommendations and things to watch out for or options to get would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

-Fireman

 

[johneh]

Most people here are passionate about there stove. All stoves have built-in
safety features. You can pay from 1200 too 5000+ for a stove they all have
their good points and bad points. I like and own an Enviro my stove has served
me well and repairs have been minimal over the last 18 years
I think first you need to decide how much stove you need. How big an area
are you heating. How well sealed your home is. What stove dealers are in your area
and their reputation for service and parts. Just remember Pellet Stoves are not
plug and play they need constant maintenance.

 

[Havilcek stole the ball]

The first time I went to a pellet stove dealer I was looking for a wood stove, which they also sold. I had the home dimensions and a general layout for him, and he was really helpful in bringing my wife and I to a good decision (Harman P68). I was wary of pellet stoves in general, but the dealer knew his stuff and went through all of the considerations behind a good decision.

Point is that a good dealer is a great resource for the decision. We went to a few different dealers in fact. I would not be afraid to go to a good dealer before you have decided rather than wait until after you have decided, like when you are making the actual purchase.

 

[alternativeheat]

I'm not passionate about our Harman P61A but it has had 0 repairs thus far going into our 7th season with it. Besides that, when pallet brands and quality gets sketchy, and that can happen, the P series Harmans absolutely don't care what crap pellet you throw at them ( you might not like the cleaning but the stove burns anything), they will burn them. And that truly is not the case with all brands of pellets stoves. With that said, there may well be better stoves out there, maybe more efficient stoves or quieter or prettier or who knows what else better, depending what better means to you. But I want heat, and if the stove breaks down all the gtime or won't burn certain brands or types of pellets then I ain't getting heat.

 

[Marc S.]

I was the same as Havilcek. I wanted a wood burner and was leary about pellet stoves. The I talked with a couple of pellet stove owners and went to a stove store. Our house is only 1100 square and a wood burning stove would of been to hot, plus I didnt feel like cutting wood all the time. We purchased a Harman Absolute 43. We liked it because it has a wood burning stove look. There were some initial problems and this is our 4th year and pretty happy with it. Plus it is nice to bring in bags of pellets instead of cutting wood.

 

[tbear853]

Hello Everyone,

I will be replacing a Jotul F400 with a pellet stove sometime in the near future and wanted some help and opinions on the most reliable (and safe!) pellet stoves. My budget is between $3-5k. Would like it to be on the lower end if possible without sacrificing safety and quality, but willing to dish out extra $$$ if need be. Harman and Quadra-Flame are names I know, but have zero idea where to start. Any recommendations and things to watch out for or options to get would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

-Fireman

I'm still running my Vermont Castings 2220 stove I installed in 1992. It's no longer made, listed then for like $4,400 as I recall, but I got a killer deal (50% off) as the retailer wanted to get it gone as they just wanted to sell wood stoves, coal stoves, & inserts.

Way back in the '90s I stored pellets in my basement which meant hauling my own to the door & unloading and restacking myself. Then in early '04 I closed in two open sides of my carport and now I store them out there, dry. It's a shorter walk for a bag with no stairs, plus now I have that 2 or 3 pallets worth of space free in the basement. Now, if getting more than a ton, I let CO-OP deliver and they help unload on the carport. Just something to consider for you.

As to safety, if the door is opened or other leak occurs, the flame dies. If power fails, fans die & the stove will go out in a while ... but if power comes on and stove is still hot with embers hot, it fires up again. There is a fan that pulls air for combustion from a outside inlet through the firebox, the flame is in a vacuum. If I open the door to scrape the grate, etc, the flame dies down until I shut the door, so I turn it off by pressing the stop button so the auger doesn't feed while I scrape, then I just press the green button and away she goes. No smoke in house because of that vacuum.

New stoves have battery backups and some can burn other stuff besides hardwood pellets, but mine likes the Hamer Hot Ones sold as Statesman Premium Hardwood Pellets from a mill over in WVa. I have replaced the flue once completely, it's not cheap gas stove pipe either.

I need to maybe oil my fans though. Simple job. I did have a thermocouple die in the early '90s, and I have replaced the auger motor and it's reduction gear box once (1/4 RPM), & I have a spare on hand. I'm sure I'll have to replace the stove in total someday. I hear good things of the Harmons (likely my next one) as well as I once heard good about Whitfield Pellet Stoves.

 

[WOODNUT358]

Been running my Harman XXV going on 11 years. Still runs great and only put one igniter in (knock on wood).I purchased it because at the time it was one of the quietest ones around,and Harman had a good reputation. Good luck on your purchase.

 

[bags]

Another Harman guy here. They are safe, dependable, easy to clean and maintain also. They run very well without much need for attention. Like mentioned above you need to figure out how many BTUs you need etc; and that will help narrow your search. One thing not mentioned yet and what steered me into a P68 is the fact they have great blowers but also radiate tons of heat like a wood stove. All of the P Series do.

Other stoves only blow the warm air as well as some Harmans. I have zero regrets on my purchases and have had no issues. They only thing I have replaced is my rope gaskets.

 

[dtaylor628]

We love our Castle Serenity, third year running it and only part replacement has been an igniter, $34.00. It is a smaller stove though and may not work for bigger houses or colder climates. We use it in W Washington and puts out too much heat even on low, I modified it and get up to 32 hours on a 40 pound bag of pellets. Can’t complain at all.
In-laws had a Harman they have been running for 5 years, spent more in replacement parts than the stove initially cost, replaced it with a Serenity this fall, they like it much better.