I have been looking at add-on furnaces for a few months now and the PF100 seems like a good choice. I have 3000sqft to heat on two levels. Each level has it's own zone and currently connects to a propane furnace. Anyone have any opinions or comments regarding the PF100? I looked at other models, such as the Fahrenheit Endurance and St Croix Revolution, but fear that they may have some difficulties heating the house. Also, the Harman dealer is just a few miles away.
PF100 opinions
- Thread starter lsirois
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wil lanfear
Feeling the Heat
If you decide to purchase the pf100, ask the selling dealer if the one you are purchasing has the Pressure Ignition system. Some of the pf100 furnaces and the pb105 boilers had burnpot issues (either bubbles forming or cracking in the burnpot) using the old style ignition system where the igniter was located under the surface of the burnpot. Harman is now using the Pressure Ignition in the pf100 and the pb105 boilers, igniter is not located in the burnpot. I had five burnpots replaced that a bubble formed on the surface, the Harman Company had my dealer install a Pressure Ignition retrofit kit in my boiler, in hopes of correcting the burnpot issue.
wil said:
wil, did it correct the problem? It seems that I remember you had this retrofit done some time ago.
wil lanfear
Feeling the Heat
A week ago today the new ignition system was installed, I believe it will resolve the "bubble issue" in the burnpots, the reason being, the super hot air that ignites the pellets doesn't contact the burnpot, it is directed onto the pellets within.
summit
Minister of Fire
PF100 is a very simple to use and reliable unit.. I had one customer who ran 14 tons thru the thing without cleaning it. It finally got plugged and he called for service, but that number alone speaks volumes about the thing.
exoilburner
Feeling the Heat
lsirois, I have been running a PF100 for about 1.5yrs. My original furnace is a high efficiency oil burner that is in good shape. The ductwork connecting the 2 furnaces is a parallel set-up.
The PF100 puts out wonderful even heat, as advertised. Puts the oil burner to shame. No more hot/cold cycles. You will use more pellets than a pellet stove, more like a pellet boiler. But the even heat distribution through the house is worth it. Especially with the cost of propane and oil rising.
Best advice would be to do a PF100 search in this and other pellet forums. Naturally all you will find are the problems (Usually no one adds posts that tell the good side.) But forum searches will give you an idea what to look for. A reliable dealer with a strong service department is vital. Harmon WILL NOT communicate with purchasers; they expect the dealer who sold the pellet burner to handle ALL problems. If you choose a poor dealer to purchase from you may be stuck. My dealers service is great.
Probably the biggest thing is regular maintenance. Be sure to read the maintenance section of the manual to see the commitment you are making. The manual is posted on line at http://www.hearthnhome.com/downloads/installManuals/PF100.pdf The forums say the biggest problem with pellet burners is lack of maintenance. The biggest PF100 maintenance difficulty is that the side of the burn pot faces the access door but it's not difficult to work around that and clean the burn pot. Every thing else is very accessible.
The pellet hopper holds 4 bags of pellets and the ash pan is big enough so it probably only needs to be emptied once a year.
The maintenance was a bit more than I expected but I am very happy with this furnace. Hope this helps; if you need more information please let me know.
The PF100 puts out wonderful even heat, as advertised. Puts the oil burner to shame. No more hot/cold cycles. You will use more pellets than a pellet stove, more like a pellet boiler. But the even heat distribution through the house is worth it. Especially with the cost of propane and oil rising.
Best advice would be to do a PF100 search in this and other pellet forums. Naturally all you will find are the problems (Usually no one adds posts that tell the good side.) But forum searches will give you an idea what to look for. A reliable dealer with a strong service department is vital. Harmon WILL NOT communicate with purchasers; they expect the dealer who sold the pellet burner to handle ALL problems. If you choose a poor dealer to purchase from you may be stuck. My dealers service is great.
Probably the biggest thing is regular maintenance. Be sure to read the maintenance section of the manual to see the commitment you are making. The manual is posted on line at http://www.hearthnhome.com/downloads/installManuals/PF100.pdf The forums say the biggest problem with pellet burners is lack of maintenance. The biggest PF100 maintenance difficulty is that the side of the burn pot faces the access door but it's not difficult to work around that and clean the burn pot. Every thing else is very accessible.
The pellet hopper holds 4 bags of pellets and the ash pan is big enough so it probably only needs to be emptied once a year.
The maintenance was a bit more than I expected but I am very happy with this furnace. Hope this helps; if you need more information please let me know.
hossthehermit
Minister of Fire
lsirois said:
I looked at those 3 as well as the Breckwell Big E. Haven't had any regrets about my decision.
Thanks for the info everyone! I did get someone from the local dealer to come and give me a quote. I was a bit stunned by the price. The PF100 is currently at over $4.1k (which is $500 more than it was ~3 weeks ago) and the install is over $2k plus the cost of getting an HVAC guy in there too hook it up to the duct work (not included in the $2k). Now I understand that there's about 24ft of pipe required in my setup because of distance between the furnace and the nearest wall, plus the T, elbows,...and I did insist on an OAK, but $2k? Does that sound reasonable to you guys? How much work/materials is involved here?
wil lanfear
Feeling the Heat
Another option is to purchase the PB105 boiler, locate it near an outside wall so as to use less vent pipe, purchase a coil for heat such as in the link to install in your plenium, copper pipe from boiler to coil, you could even get your DHW from the pellet boiler. Not sure if it would be less expensive but the plus is that you could get DHW.lsirois said:
http://cgi.ebay.com/22X22-Water-to-...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item45f05dffc8
hossthehermit
Minister of Fire
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