New to pellets

[bugize]

hey all,i have been heating with coal since 06,but the prices here in central maine have been high since 08 and show no sign of dropping.
So i am thinking about getting an insert for the fireplace i dont use.( coal stove is in the basement)
I am leaning towards the Harman accentra...need to heat a single level ranch about 1000 sq feet!
With me burning about 3 ton,maybe 4 at around 385$ per ton,plus in the early fall and spring using around 200 gallons of oil( stove gets house to warm if its above 35-40)
I figure i am spending around 2000$ per year for heat.
If I use pellets,I can use them from fall through spring and maybe use 5 tons???...thinking i can cut my heating cost in half as i can get pellets in the area for between 200-250$ per ton!
Any thoughts on this?...anyone have experience with this type of insert?
Thanks!

 

[smwilliamson]

The Harman Accentra has to be the worlds best selling pellet insert. It's built like a tank. The women of the pellet world also approve of it's design (how it looks). I work on a lot of them, nothing really goes wrong with them if you clean them well enough. Ignition problems sometimes, combustion motors wear out. Auger motors seem to go on forever. You will find a lot of used ones after the season is over, with the absence of the tax credit, a good used one may be in order.

 

[tjnamtiw]

I was going to say Harman makes a coal insert but with your price for coal at $385, I don't know.............. Coal heat, I know, will spoil you with its consistent warm heat so you will miss that with pellets. I don't know how efficient your present coal stove is but I'm sure the Harman insert will be better but still that is way to high for coal. My B-in-law gets his from the breaker for $170/ton in Pa.

That Harman pellet insert is really expensive! Shop around some, check this forum a lot, and like smw said, see what shows up on craigslist and cheapcycle at the end of the season.

 

[Don2222]

I was going to say Harman makes a coal insert but with your price for coal at $385, I don't know.............. Coal heat, I know, will spoil you with its consistent warm heat so you will miss that with pellets. I don't know how efficient your present coal stove is but I'm sure the Harman insert will be better but still that is way to high for coal. My B-in-law gets his from the breaker for $170/ton in Pa.

That Harman pellet insert is really expensive! Shop around some, check this forum a lot, and like smw said, see what shows up on craigslist and cheapcycle at the end of the season.

Hi tjnamtiw

Being in PA you may be a wee bit closer to the coal mines and benefit from a lower price! Here in Southern NH our coal price is $295.00 per ton!

link to local grain store with coal prices.
http://dodgegrain.biz/content.aspx?cid=42

One thing nice about the Wood Pellet Stove compared to Coal is the ON-OFF button that is the ON-OFF button !! LOL

 

[Mr. Heat Miser]

I just bought the Harman P35i insert, which is slightly less expensive than the Accentra, and it is doing an excellent job heating the entire downstairs and warming the upstairs of my 2400 sqft colonial. It has a btu rating of 35,000 where the Accentra is rated at 42,000 I believe. I was worried that it may be too small for the job, but I have been pleasantly surprised. I have never had it up above 3 so far this winter, and it has been a long cold winter here in the North East.