I bought the old AE 2008 and it cost well over 3k plus another 400 for upgrading thermocouples, burn pots, and igniter. I'd lean toward a Harman because if you need to service your Mt Vernon, at 200-250 an hour you are in for a BIG surprise. I have not had one night of sleep knowing my house would be warm the next morning. These units, even the newest ones, are new technology which means constant breakdowns and repairs. Techs must wait for the unit to light, stand around while it burns etc. Then if the unit keeps shutting down, they troubleshoot again and they have to wait again. Let me tell you, it's not worth the hassle.
I'm a 52 year old woman, and I'm constantly troubleshooting this stove. If it works properly, it's heaven. The Amish have a self feeding stove where you NEVER need to lift pellets again. The storage unit feeds it right into the stove. You just make sure they deliver the pellets and a vacuum system brings it to the stove. Find out what stove it is. Avoid the MT Vernon like the plague. Yes, it has a backup system, but what good is it if it constantly breaks down due to technology and poor replacement products.
Search for error messages on the stove of your choice and see how many complaints pop up. Unless you are handy or rich, you're going to tire of all the problems that will come with the Mt Vernon. I don't think they have all the kinks worked out. I'm still hearing and seeing igniter issues from costly junk parts. If your store you bought it from goes out of business for some reason, other dealers generally don't want to repair someone else's product either. Really horrible trying to find help around here!
Try a Harman. They don't seem to have nightmare issues. Otherwise, look online for Amish self feeding stoves.
