Narrowing down pellet stove options

[vegiepower]

Hi everyone. I am narrowing down my pellet stove choices but would appreciate your thoughts. I have a two-storey house with a basement. I want to put the pellet stove in the basement near the cold air return to use the fan to push air around the house. Each floor is 700 sq/ft.

I am interested in a multifuel burner. I originally thought Bixby but there is no dealer anywhere close to me. Then I was thinking the Quadrafire Mt. Vernon AE but the dealer was trying to talk me into their blow out special on the discontinued Mt. Vernon. Then after reading here I was leaning towards the Enviro Omega being a Canadian company and me being Canadian and all When I called the local dealer here she tried to talk me out of the Enviro because it is too new and doesn't have a track record yet. Instead she was pushing the Harmon PC45. Oh the pain.

I want the option to burn multi-fuel...not because I have any access and more because I think more is better and I like the choice. Not very rational I know. I will likely burn primarily wood pellets but do have access to farms of corn and grain.

What else should I be considering and what are your opinions on the stoves. Dealer support is important or so I have read here. Thanks.
Torie

 

[webbie]

Hopefully you have read the threads here about locating a stove somewhere closer than 10 feet to a return....and even using it to move heat around (sometimes it is diminishing returns)......

If you truly want to burn corn, then speak to a few people who have actually burnt it in the proposed stoves. Do not take a dealers word for it, not a manufacturers brochure. You should, of course, make certain that whichever stove you purchase has a solid manufacturer and dealer behind it.

 

[jtp10181]

You posted in the wrong section but don't worry a mod will move it (don't repost).

Anyway... if you are looking for multi-fuel the Mt Vernon AE is a good choice. It can burn a handful of fuels out of the box and has the ability to be upgraded for others in the future if HHT tests them and develops fuel tables. They plan on doing this is other fuels become widely available to the public for burning in stoves.

If you are on a budget the original Mt Vernon is probably an awesome deal. It can burn pellets mixed with corn, or 100% corn if you manually light it. But that's about it. It also is a little noisier than the AE version. Many pellet stoves have a bit of noise coming form the combustion and convection blower motors. The new AE has nearly silent blowers. If you want to judge the noise level see if they have a Castile Pellet on display, the technology in that stove is similar to the original Mt Vernon.

I cannot comment on the other brands because I have no experience with them, but others here should be able to give more feedback.

Oh also... many many people have had a hard time heating the house form the basement. Best place for the stove is where you want the most heat.

 

[begreen]

You should consider what Canadian code regulations for distance between the cold air return and the solid fuel appliance. I suspect it will be at least 10 feet. Often trying to move stove air via ductwork fails because it cools down too much. Are all the supply and return runs completely insulated? If not, this most likely won't work.

Why is this stove going in the basement instead of the first floor?

 

[pete324rocket]

do they have a Home Hardware where you live? I would assume they do-they carry the eco-35 and eco-45 made in quebec - see drolet.ca .(S.B.I.-Stove builders international) The company is very old and has been featured on "how its made" seen on the discovery channel - unfortunately they show making wood stoves and not pellet stoves but still interesting.We have an eco-45 and it seems to be a good stove but I nothing to compare.No problems I can see.