Help Newb with purchase considerations.

[Oilburner]

Hello,

I currently own a 1200' ranch style home near Plymouth, WI. I heat with oil and just emptied my pockets to fill the tank before winter. I don't want this experience

again so I'm considering an alternative heating source. Initially this summer I was looking at outdoor wood furnaces but an inconsistent suppply of wood and a town

ordinance nixed that plan along with amount of work required. As of yesterday I began my pellet stove research and have learned alot from this site all ready. I went

to a dealer last night who offers several brands and they were very helpful and made me feel comfortable with purchasing from them. I drew them a floor plan of my

house so they could evaluate my set-up. They came up with the following stoves for my application.

Lennox Montage $2990, Pros from dealer were small profile unit with high performance

Quadra-Fire Castille $3090, Pros from dealer were quiet operation

Harman Accentra $3390, Pros from dealer were most advanced technology

Lennox Winslow $3390, Pros from dealer were least maintenence required

My Fiance' and I are leaning towards the Lennox Montage or the Quadra-Fire Castille based on asthetics and physical size of the unit. The dealer told me we would be

equally satisfied any of the four units based on performance and reliability and listed the pros of each unit. I have listed the prices they quoted me which would

include 600#'s of pellets. Vent and installation would be an additional $450. Is there any room to hangle on the price of these units. Can anyone comment on these

units, prices, and pellet burning in general. The only thing this business does is pellets and pellet stoves and they seemed very competent and are local. Also what

are these boilers that I've seen that can be attached to your furnace that burn pellets also? Is this an alternative also or is it much more costly. Any help would be

much appreciated as I would like to go back to this dealer tomorrow with my Fiance' and possibly make a decision.

 

[Pellet1]

I am in pretty much the same situation as you. I ended up buying a very nice used pellet stove and then did a self install. Saved a whack of money, especially not knowing if the whole thing would be feasable. After the install, our local fire dept came and WHETT certified the setup. My cost--less than $1100. However, that was in the spring, and it is a different story now.

 

[Oilburner]

Can anyone comment on these particular stoves and prices? I can't find much info. in regards to reviews on these units. (I tried the search)

 

[56 chevtruck]

i dont think lennox ones been out very long?dont they make whitfield? established brands like haman and quadrafire.

 

[Oilburner]

I am beginning to lean towards the Quadra-Fire Castile.

 

[slls]

I have a Quad, I believe it is one of the best decisions I have made in a while. The Castile inner working are about the same, You won't be disappointed.

 

[teeravis1]

Are you heating only the upstairs or the basement with it also? Either way if you go with the QUAD if you can spend the extra I would get the Mt Vernon AE. I say this because it is more sophisticated with the self cleaning burn pot and some other little things that make things easier for you. Just my 2 cents. Overall I am a Harman guy so I would have to recommend the Harman.

 

[Oilburner]

I have a single story ranch house. The stove will be on the main floor in the living room. I didn't think there was anyway to get the heat to the basement which is unfinished so I had just planned on heating the living area.

 

[firewarrior820]

http://www.quadrafire.com/Dealer_Locator/u.s._and_canadian_dealers.asp?get=results
go to this website it also has retail prices,i paid 2600.00 for my castile free standing back in july 08

 

[Craiger13]

First year stove owner here. We went with the Quad Mt Vernon AE insert. For us it came down to this or the Harman Accentra as they best fit we were looking for both functionally and aesthetically. My house iis not big....1500sq ft, so we might have been able to go with the Castile. However, my wife and I were looking at this purchase as a long term investment in our heating ability. We figured better to oversize and not need the capacity than to need it and not have it.

Have had the stove for two weeks as of yesterday and love it. Still playing with air flow circulation set ups and the thermostat controls to see what works best for us under different scenarios, but we are very happy with the Quad. Price on the Quad seems fair especially if your given 600lbs of pellets. Installation price is also consistent with what I have seen.