Mom desperately seeking pellet Stove upgrade...Help

[Momof5]

We have been shopping for a new stove for 2 weeks. Let's just say all the forums, blogs, reviews have us befuttled. We have the Harman XXV on our list, as well as Austraflamm Integra...if we can find one, and have looked at the Empress by Enviro. Any insight? Our old Avalon by Travis Industries is very tired. However it has been a great stove, well made it seems, and the cheaper stoves we have looked at seem to be not worth the upgrade. Any suggestions on a model. Here is the facts.
Primary Heat source for 2 story open stairwell New Englander 1980sq ft
Buy at least 3 tons a year and know that cheaper pellets are not always worth it
We are used to the maintenance and so we do not expect a stove that comes with a built in maid
We want something quieter as the stove is in main living space and the auger and blower can be an issue if loud

Thanks much

 

[chrisasst]

What is wrong with your current stove?

 

[imacman]

I looked at the Austroflamm Integra when I was first shopping for a pellet stove.....gorgeous unit that is built like a tank, but was very quiet, I thought. Try giving them a call to find a dealer in your area. Really liked the fact that you can get different decor panels for it. Lucky Distributing 1-800-777-5594

www.luckydistributing.com/Heat/product.cqs?prod_id=e3cd4a92c5bc16dcb6d01db92ea86deb

 

[DAKSY]

Buy American. Get the Harman.
You can get parts in a short period of time.
Because of the underfeed auger, they are more forgiving
of inferior fuel quality.
They have a really good warranty.
The XXV is the most quiet of the Harmans & it looks good.
Looks GREAT in the Majolica brown, altho the waiting period
is pretty long (2 months?) for that model.

 

[maglite67]

harman will have cheaper parts and will give you a very good run. The other 2 stoves are quieter but the buts cost a lot more. Another option would be pull your stove take it to a dealer and have it rebuilt.

 

[Momof5]

My current is Avanta I believe and is 15yrs old. We have replaced many parts and we also know it is too small for our house. It is graded to heat 1000-1200 and we have more than that on first floor. It is very sooty, very loud and burning pellets really fast without a great heat output. We did the extra maintenance and it improved some, but all and all with the tax credit, we figured maybe it is time to upgrade.

 

[Momof5]

Daksey- do you like your p43, as we are also looking at that and p61A, my dad has a p61 and loves it.

 

[Hot_h20]

http://nh.craigslist.org/hsh/2130909750.html

Looks like an older unit- pre 2006 due to controls, and not sure if you have a spot for an insert....but you could probably talk him down if it'd work.

(Just saw this ad, have no connection to seller)

http://nh.craigslist.org/hsh/2130909750.html

 

[DAKSY]

Daksy- do you like your p43, as we are also looking at that and p61A, my dad has a p61 and loves it.

Yep. It does what I intended it to do. It's in my kitchen, which is on a concrete slab.
The house is on the South shore of a lake & the wind howls from the North.
Until we put the P43 in there, we hadda wear slippers or thermal sox in the winter.
Now we can walk in there barefoot.
If I had the extra bucks when I bought it, I'd have gone for the P61A or the P68.
They are kick-ass, hot air blast furnaces...

 

[jtakeman]

If Quiet is what your looking for and your main concern. I'd steer towards the Austroflamm or an Enviro. But for Enviro I would look into the M55 or M55 cast(very pretty stove!). The Empress is older technology and is somewhat pellet picky. A tad noisey compared to the newer stuff in Enviro's line-up.

My sister has a P43 and a neighbor has an XXV. They both say may tank(Omega) is much quieter than there stoves. The M55's are even quieter yet. Plus you will get the self cleaning feature and probably not have to open the door but once a week for cleaning. Multifuel stoves could careless what you put in the hopper and will happily eat what you can afford to toss in. Of coarse the best pellets will help keep the stove cleaner longer.

 

[chris288]

Went throught he same process replacing our 14 year old Whitfield Advantage, nothing seemed like much of an upgrade and in many cases was a downgrade. After a ton of research we ended up with an xxv in majolica brown enamel and haven't looked back.

 

[Snowy Rivers]

Keeping warm

OK I see, Hmmmmmm

Well here is my two cents worth.

I never buy new. Watch Craigs list and you can likely score a great stove that somebody else needs to sell.

Many Pellet stoves are bought as an esthetic thing and not as a primary heat source.

There was a couple near new stoves Locally on Craigs list for less than 1/2 the new cost and they had been used little (according to the ad)

My biggy, is, HOW EASY IS A STOVE MODEL TO CLEAN. If the stove is designed to be cleaned out quickly without major issue, I like it.

We have two Whitfields and two Quadrafires here in this house. 2400ft on the main level and 1000 foot apartment in the lower level (not connected)

We heat the upper level with the Whitfields and the Quad is a backup. The apartment has the one Quad as its only heat source.

I scored the WHITFIELDS last winter for $200 each

One Whitfield Advantage 2 (Built in 1993)
One Whitfield Prodigy 2 ( Built in 1992)

The Quads are a model 1000 built in 1993 (Bought new)

There are certainly lots of choices, and depending on what you want to spend in $$$$$$ you can go from little to lots..

The troopers here will give you good advice on a whole lot of makes and models.

I like the Made in the USA label real well myself.

You mentioned a tax credit. ??????????/

I hate to toss cold water on the campfire, but a tax credit is not really all that worthy of a reason to buy new (unless you really make tons of $$$$$

Do the math and figure out really what that new stove is going to cost you.

I Bought 2 used stoves, one came with a Hearth Pad. I built a new raised Hearth for one and did some other remodeling in the family room to accomodate the new (to us) stove.

My total cost for 2 stoves, the pipe, the Hearth and the remodel of the corner in the family room di not even come close to 1/2 the cost of a modest new stove.

Here is a Piccy of our Whitfield in the family room. The stove, the raised hearth, the decorative wall treatment and the Mantle/shelf cost about $500 total.

This stove will heat the 2400 feet well unless the temps drop below 30F Then we fire the little whitfield up.

Now keep in mind, I never run either stove above the low setting and I burn nut shells.

Just some ideas

Good luck on your quest.

Snowy