St Croix Lincoln and Harmon PC 45

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jas31354

New Member
Oct 3, 2010
6
NE Ohio
I have been wanting a multi-fuel stove for several years now and have been reading a lot on this forum and IBC. I have decided to buy one this year and have narrowed it down to the Harmon PC 45 or the St. Croix Lincoln, both of which are sold by a local dealer. The Harmon seems to get a lot a good reviews and seems tried and true. I like the Lincoln but have been unable to find any real world information from actual owners/users. Any real world info would be greatly appreciated. I would also welcome opinions on which of these to buy. I plan on putting it in a basement family room and using a couple of ducts with inline fans to pull some of the heat to a room directly above.

Thanks!
 
Truthfully, I think St. Croix needs more time before their "multi-fuel" stoves will be be a proven thing. IMHO, everything with them seesm to be an afterthought. WAY too much metal inside their fire box. Too many screws from everything like the access panel on the back to the refractory firebrick. The motors are too hard to get to. The ash collects all over the place because there is is just too many parts. When confronted by a design choice, they seems to just add another strip of metal, vs. removing something and being minimal.

The designers at Harman on the other hand take the minimalists approach and TRUELY design something. No comparison in my opinion.

I'd also consider the Enviro Maxxmulti-fuel. Very good design and more BTU's than either of the two forementioned.
 
AFAIK, The newest Lincoln has the revolution burnpot in it. I haven't heard any complaints. I second Enviro's multifuel stoves. They are worth looking into anyway!
 
The SC Lincoln has been reworked and should be a very good unit. In regard to SC's other multifuel units, they are basically replicas of the SC Auburn which is a tried and true unit. Many people are using the Auburn all over the U.S. and Canada and do not have problems with the unit. One dealer in Canada told me the Auburn is the unit he has practically Zero call backs on after installation. The 90 pound hopper in the Auburn is nice too!!! The Auburn has been compared to an International Dump Truck :) it does the job!!! It may not be the prettiest stove on the market but it gets the job done.


AR
 
Thanks for all the info and opinions!
I have read alot of good info about the Enviro multi-fuel stoves, however I do not have an Enviro dealer any where even remotely close to where I live.
 
Fwiw..I bought my st croix on a recommendation from my dealer who also sells harman...
 
jas31354 said:
Thanks for all the info and opinions!
I have read alot of good info about the Enviro multi-fuel stoves, however I do not have an Enviro dealer any where even remotely close to where I live.

Maybe you need to start a dealership if you get hooked on these things like the rest of us!!!! :)


AR
 
I have acutally thought about that AR! I have a 90 acre farm...I could sell corn stoves and the corn!
However, I need to get some first hand experience under my belt. :)
 
I found a somewhat local dealer (about an hour away) for the Enviro stoves. Since so many folks here on the forum recommended these units I decided to take a look. I have to say the mechanics of the stove look good, but as my wife says they look to "institutional"...not very stylish. The exception is the cast version of the M55, but it is quite a bit more money. So now I am back to choosing between the St Croix Lincoln and the Harmon PC 45. Right now I am leaning towards the Lincoln...more BTU's and you do not have to change the burn pot when switching between pellets and corn.
 
Have no experience with the St, Croix, but I do have the PC45.

The PC45 is not finicky. It will burn any lower quality pellet with ease. It has an ignition system where I believe the PC45 and PF100 have only. It pumps air into the burn pot for a faster start-up burn. Easy access front door and a deep ash pan. Built like a tank and radiates heat very well. The only issue is customer service. Heard it's pretty bad. I haven't had a problems yet and I'm not looking forward to it. But overall an awesome stove.

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/48320/
 
Glad to here from a first hand Harmon PC 45 user! Thanks the info. I also have a question that have not been able to find the answer, even from the dealer.
When running the PC 45 off the thermostat, it is my understanding that it heats up to the set temperature then it drops to a minimum setting and then if, after a set amount of time, the thermostat does not call for heat it will shut down. My question is what is the burn rate at the minimum setting (how much corn/pellets is it consuming on the minimum setting)? Many of the other stoves I have looked at list a minimum setting such as 1.5 lbs/hour. I have not been able to find this info on the PC 45. All I can find it in the manual it says it can be set from 0-5 lbs/hour. Now we all now it will not burn on 0/lbs per hour, so what is the lowest setting (in terms of lbs/hr) will it continue to burn?
 
jas31354 said:
Glad to here from a first hand Harmon PC 45 user! Thanks the info. I also have a question that have not been able to find the answer, even from the dealer.
When running the PC 45 off the thermostat, it is my understanding that it heats up to the set temperature then it drops to a minimum setting and then if, after a set amount of time, the thermostat does not call for heat it will shut down. My question is what is the burn rate at the minimum setting (how much corn/pellets is it consuming on the minimum setting)? Many of the other stoves I have looked at list a minimum setting such as 1.5 lbs/hour. I have not been able to find this info on the PC 45. All I can find it in the manual it says it can be set from 0-5 lbs/hour. Now we all now it will not burn on 0/lbs per hour, so what is the lowest setting (in terms of lbs/hr) will it continue to burn?

In my case and what worked best for me is the "Stove" and not the "Temp" setting on the dial. By using the "Stove" setting I'm using all the heat from the pellets without wasting them AND reducing ignition wear. This way it's a constant burn and the ignition used ONCE. If I want to reduce the burn rate, I turn the dial to 1 and it keeps a constant temp around 68-70.

what is the lowest setting (in terms of lbs/hr) will it continue to burn

At burn rate 1. A 40lb bag would last me all day. So, I'd say 1.5lbs hr.
 
Well, I finally made my decision and bought the St. Croix Lincoln. Seems to be a great stove and I am pretty pleased with the local dealer thus far.
Thanks for all of your input and information!
 
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