introduction and ps35 vs. reconditioned englander.

[St_Earl]

hello all.
first of all thank you for this excellent forum.
i'm repeating this post here on advice of someone who said i should introduce myself and starting my own thread would be good.

we are buying a house in millinocket maine and have just begun researching the pellet stove solution.
i have read a lot here today and have pretty much settled on the heatilater ps35. (924 sq. foot house on one level)
the big e is unacceptable to the girlfriend based on appearance, and i just feel so far that i will prefer the ps35 to the englander at the same price point.
there is a dealer in bangor who will install and service the warranty. but also one in hulton and one in brewer.

now i have also seen this refurbished englander-

http://www.amfmenergy.com/49trcpm--multifuel-stove--2200492200.html

it is, i guess, prettier than the ps35.
but the girlfriend likes the heatilater just fine in that regard. and i am fairly sure i read that as far as service on the englander goes, the buyer is the lead tech on the ground.
i actually like the fact that there is a heatilator dealer that services my town and will be available for installation and warranty issues if needed.

i remain open to advice. but unless there is some drastic quality/performance difference between these stoves that heavily favors the englander, i am still leaning towards the ps35.
also, at 924 sq. feet, our house may just be too small to comfortably handle the 2200 sq. feet rating of the englander.

i see the englander is a multi fuel stove. but with only an outback wagon and living in a very small town, i may not have have a lot of options other than the pellets available close to hand.
(not sure on that though.)

thanks for the welcome so far. and for all the great info here.

 

[DexterDay]

Always loved the 10-CPM. Great Multi-fueler. But the Heatilator is also a good choice. Its a Quadrafire in disguise. All internals are Quad

This really help none. But you can't go wrong with either of them. The Englander does have better flexibilty as far as user adjustments. Also looks a little better. But beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Good luck and keep us updated.

 

[St_Earl]

it actually does help. thank you.
we should be in our new house sometime in october. and whatever stove we get will be in shortly after.
i'll take pics and definitely keep the forum posted.

i guess i need to find who supplies alternatives to wood pellets in the millinocket area.
not a lot of businesses up there have websites.
i do think they make pellets there locally though.

 

[jtakeman]

Welcome to the forum Earl,

There are lots of Englander owners to help you here. The stoves have a good rep and are a good bang for the buck unit. From what we hear so is the heatilator. I never judge on looks but on functiuon, ease of use and practicality. Another thing is I like to over rate the unit slightly, Just to be sure you not hitting the full out of the stove in the extreme cold weather season(unless you have an alternater heat sorce to assist the stove). Millinocket Maine would rate as gonna get pretty dang cold up there to me!

The PS35 is on the small size with only 35,260 BTU/Hour Input(input is only the BTU's of the fuel going into the stove) so its really just barely going to produce 30K BTU's in actuality. The 49-TRCPM is going to give you much more head room and will run at the lower settings and act just like the heatilator. More room equals not being cold IMHO!

I also think the multifuel units are more user friendly and help the user with the cleaning cycles as they have an agitator in the burn pot. The standard pellets stoves may require attention as much as daily were the multifuel unit probably will not need touching all week long. Plus the agitator assists with the daily lighting(clean burnpot ensures proper ignition) if you plan on using a stat, were the standard stove could miss an ignite once in a while if the user doesn't keep the burnpot clean. Another plus if you must be away and the Mrs. is tending the stove.

One of the biggest keys to the multifuel stove is it tends to be far less pellet picky and I have burned some pretty bad fuels other standards stove choked on.

I am sure others will chime in, But I had to at least put some of the plus's of owning a multifuel stove on the table!

Another thing used to properly sizer a stove is how tight the dwelling is. And if you have the BTU's of the present heat source might assist.

 

[St_Earl]

well. there is an englander retail dealer up in hulton. (does the heatilaters too) which is the same distance north as bangor is south.
i will call them monday and see about instalations and warranty service.
the refurbished englander is less money too. and comes with the oak.
having dealer support is one reason i was leaning toward the ps35.
having the bigger stove may also allow for running on lower, quieter settings.

funny. i've been here one day and already my g/f has to drag me off the site to watch some movies.
i'll be back though.
thanks very much.

 

[DexterDay]

Don't worry. You'll be back. They always come back... LOL. Like Jay said about the BTU output. You could step up to the PS-50. Still pretty cheap. Coming from a Quad owner (CB 1200 is a PS-50 with a pretty Chassis). I will soon be selling my Quad for a Multi-fuel. With the 10-CPM, Maxx-M or a discontinued Omega. Love my stove and if your just burning pellets will go a week or 2 (could prob go longer, but I can't stand a dirty stove) without cleaning. I want the convenience of a Multi-Fuel (just in case) and also the agitator in the burn pot does help keep a tidy burning area. Jay stated it best, its nice to have the option. Once you get used to your stove, you will soon find out what you like and don't like.

I like I can heat 2,180 sq on its Low setting. But I don't like that it is On/Off and not High/Low. I like how easy a Quad is to operate. (And Now, years later) I DON'T like how easy a Quad is to operate. Like I said before. Its a Quad in disguise. As a 1st stove. It does not get any easier. But once I figured it out, I wanted more adjust ability.

Good luck

 

[jtakeman]

But once I figured it out, I wanted more adjust ability.

Exactly, I loved my Quad, But I learned it was pretty limited. It definitely made me appreciate all the neat features my Omega has.

 

[St_Earl]

ah. good info.
this connects to what you said , dexter, concerning being limited to bulk brands of pellets should i decide to go that way. i like that the multi fuel stove has a stronger digestive tract.
and yes, i'd be pushing the ps35 to it's limit with even our smallish house.
even if i were to buy the englander new, it would be the same price range as a ps50.
hopefully, if i decide to go that way, they will have the refurbished ones in stock. i definitely want to be ready to burn this winter.

 

[St_Earl]

But once I figured it out, I wanted more adjust ability.

Exactly, I loved my Quad, But I learned it was pretty limited. It definitely made me appreciate all the neat features my Omega has.

what price do the omegas go for currently?
ah. search is my friend. around 3k and then install etc. too bad. out of my budget range.
still have to put a new roof and siding on the house. adding insulation too.

 

[krooser]

You can do your own install with only some basic tools and save a bundle...

Here's some info on the Heatilator stove...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XvrPvGR9K0

 

[jtakeman]

But once I figured it out, I wanted more adjust ability.

Exactly, I loved my Quad, But I learned it was pretty limited. It definitely made me appreciate all the neat features my Omega has.

what price do the omegas go for currently?
ah. search is my friend. around 3k and then install etc. too bad. out of my budget range.
still have to put a new roof and siding on the house. adding insulation too.

There might be some Omega's leftover. But they have been discontinued. Enviro is now making the Maxx M. I have heard the prices are around $3600 or so. But you might score a leftover Omega for less. But I honestly think that would be overkill for the small house your planning on heating. The M55 would be a better fit and a little less $$$$ out of the wallet. The englander would be about half the price of the M55 though. It would give you plenty of heat and some extra cash to add to the new house. Hard to beat that price.

While your out stove shopping there is another line of stoves you might want to take a look at. St Croix has some smaller multifuelers. We don't hear much for complaints on them either. But will be a higher price unit than the Enlander's $1700(again hard to beat that deal!).

http://stcroixstoves.com/multi-fuel-stoves.php

 

[St_Earl]

thanks. good to have another one to look at. just being pointed in the direction of likely candidates is a huge leg up from doing it cold and a total nOOb.
at least i have moved to undecided. better that than certain w/o proper research.
$1700 is still in my range. but that could also be generator money.

i never expected this to be such a big decision. but it is right at the center on home life. especially in the climates many of us live in.
this will be my first new england winter.

 

[sb81]

I was looking at both of these options and went with the cheaper refurbished Englander 10-CPM. Thing looks brand new and Andy from AM/FM Stove and Englander were awesome to deal with.

I was enticed for the features and options that j-taskman listed above as well as quite a bit cheaper in price. Main difference between us seems to be I actually wanted to avoid having to get parts/service from a dealer, so that was another plus for the Englander.

I also did the stove install by myself and I can not even be considered a novice handyman so I would have to say anyone with some home improvement abilities should find the job pretty easy as long as you follow the guidelines in the manual.

Also, not sure if you saw AM/FM's ebay store, he has the start bids starting lower than he sells them on his website, I was able to score my 10-CPM for $1050!

Good luck!

 

[imacman]

I was looking at both of these options and went with the cheaper refurbished Englander 10-CPM. Thing looks brand new and Andy from AM/FM Stove and Englander were awesome to deal with..........Also, not sure if you saw AM/FM's ebay store, he has the start bids starting lower than he sells them on his website, I was able to score my 10-CPM for $1050!

AM/FM has the refurbished 10-CPM (49trcpm) on sale right now for $1200 (and no need to do any "bidding") which includes free shipping to a loading dock near you, or to your doorstep for $50 more.

And I can't agree more about sb81's comment about the stove's condition.....they are as close to new as you're going to get.

Just want to add that having Englander Senior Tech Mike Holton on the forum is another BIG reason I went the Englander route......you don't have that luxury here with any other stove company AFAIK.