Tell me about Englander stoves? How good are they?

Let me be honest up front....I own a 2006 Harman at home and a 2004 Englander that I rarely use, but have it at a shacky cottage for heat. I bought the Englander at Home Depot on clearance several years back and now plan on "dumping" it at the boyfriends house so he can "get into pellet stoves" as opposed to using propane all the time. I am always amazed at how much finer the design (welds, heat control, having an ash pan) is on the Harman than the Englander, but also shocked because Harmans are triple/ almost quadruple the price of the Englander. The Englander also never seemed to regulate heat well and would flare up on high flame even on low setting and eats through pellets like mad. But still....the Englander puts out the heat for cheap investment. My question is how long do Englanders last in regular use? What goes wrong with them. I always see a bunch of them for sale used after they are about 5 years old. I am not knocking down Englanders product, as I own one (the price for them is awesome) but never used it much. The cottage is very small and the Englander literally cooked me out with the irratic heat output. I know there must be Englander fans out there as well as Englander haters. Please tell me about these stoves.

This is a good topic and I will be in here lurking. I have numerous customers that have gone from Englanders to Harmans but none that I know of did the reverse. Very good post.

Eric

Some stoves are better than others... Whether its through there heat output or efficiency. Or general fuel consumption

Some stives burn pellets better than others (crappy pellets). Some create gobs of heat through small amounts of fuel.

I own 3 Englanders. A woodstove (30-NC) and 2 pellet stoves (17 yr old PDV and a new 10-CPM). They both work as advertised. And I actually think the old one has a better heat output. It has tube type heat exchangers and a thick firebox like a woodstove. Where the CPM can burn for weeks at a time.

I also own a Quad. Its output is superior to all of them. But it lacks in function. Only on/off operation. But is a Serious heater! !!

If I could meld the burnpot and control board of the CPM, the thick steel firebox of the old PDV, and then looks and output of the Classic Bay! That would be the Ultimate Stove. IMO

They all have there place. . . PM sent.

I'm a big fan of Englander. Low cost and fairly simple designs. They do not like increased EVL installations, the auger motors (especially the lower one) wear out very prematurely...but there is a fix for that. I usually replace the vac hoses with silicon and keep the pivot bearings well greased...they'll last forever. Swap out the combustion motor for a Jakel (Harman or Enviro) and you have a very reliable and trustly machine that is rather quiet by comparison to say...Lennox, Napoleon or Breckwell.

I traded my Avalon Astoria for an Englander Multi-Fuel unit 3 years ago. Not because there was anything wrong w/ the Astoria....but Englanders customer support is vastly superior to any other out there, plus I wanted multi-fuel capability.

Nothing wrong with a Harman if you can afford it, but for the price, you CANNOT go wrong with the Englander (and there are MANY, MANY posts here from members who have Harman problems).

If you give Englander customer service a call, and explain the model, serial #, stove exhaust set-up, control panel settings, I'm very sure they can solve the high pellet consumption issue.

Ive got an Englander in the workshop and a Harman in the house.
So far, my 3 yr old Englander has been very reliable and works exactly as advertised.
I had to replace the auger in my Harman this year and I think it`s gonna need a new combustion motor too. That`s after about approx 16 tons of pellets thru it in it`s lifetime.
Harman`s are very good stoves and cost 2-3 times as much as an Englander but they aren`t twice as good . And they don`t talk to customers either , especially after the sale. You`re at the mercy of your local dealer, IF you have one in the area.
The service staff at Englanders will talk to you and help you even if you bought the stove second hand.
I`d have no problem considering another Englander.

Hello Val

Well, I have been rebuilding stoves for a while now and the stove I got before this Enviro Meridan to rebuild was an Englander 25-PDV. It was great getting one with an E-2 error so I could really go thru it and see what all the hoopla was about them and what people complained about. Well, it is a very solid stove and the E2 error was caused because someone disconnected the vacuum switch and when they connected it back they had no idea and just plugged the wires and hose on the wrong ports! ! lol
When I tested it, I found the older non sealed bearing auger motors wore down and needed replacement. New auger motors have sealed bearing now and last longer and work better. However in this case where both augers are made out of cast iron, the top auger never had the knit line polished down and snagged on that one spot when I turned it manually! ! So I just ground it down on my bench grinder and put in 2 brand new auger motors and greased the auger bearing and the stove works better than it ever did before! Also if you do not clean the build up of carbon in the bottom auger chute, that can wear out the auger motor too. Having a dirty bottom auger chute may also cause your uneven up and down heat level! ! ! LOL

Any way they are really rugged and mean heat machines that if cleaned and taken care of properly will last almost forever! The only draw back I see on the 25-PDV and smaller 25-PDVC is that they do not cycle on and off with a T-Stat. The 25-EP and 10-CPM do cycle on and off and do the Hi/Lo so those might be my ideal choices in the Englander line. I just feel having a T-Stat is important to regulate the heat and save on pellets but not everyone uses a T-Stat. It depends on the way you use it. Just my 2 cents.

However if you want a super gorgeous good stove and a real nice price, I do have that Enviro for sale.
See > > http://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/enviro-meridian-45-000-btu-wood-pellet-stove-1595-salem-nh.86617/

I own two stoves from both price points.

You get what you pay for.

Listen to Dexter.

Ive found Harman customer service to be horrible (even before a sale to try and have questions answered or simply to locate a dealer), It seems that Harman does NOT want to make it easy for consumers to have easy access to their products because the closest dealer i can find is an hour away from me (Im lucky enough to know people closer who let me come see and test these wonderful stoves). I like Harman stoves but i personally do NOT like the company, they seem to not want anything to do with the consumer and lay everything at the feet of the dealer (who is more then likely a day ride away from you into the bowels of some obscure foreign town to you!)

I have no experience with Englander so i wont say anything about that.

My experience with 25pvdc's
Cons:Hopper doesn't quite hold 40 lbs. Hopper needs foil tape and waxing to facilitate complete pellet feed to upper auger,(Thanks to the good folks here for that tip!). Glass airwash doesn't work well. After donating too much AB negative while chiseling the lower auger tube with a screwdriver to remove carbon build up, I ground the 90 degree(sharp!) edges of the burnpot top, rounder.This model requires maintenance,some daily.They will not operate well without it. I don't mind doing it, it's part of any solid fuel heating.They are very Spartan in appearance (but I like that).
Pros:You can tweak 'em and get better efficiencies. They heat decently.They have excellent customer service. Englander manuals are detailed, and free videos abound on maintenance and repair. Many parts can now be bought at local Home Depots.I've not had a single part fail, with one unit in nearly(shutdown for cleaning only) 'round the clock use for 4 month stretches,having burned nearly 10 tons since purchase.Used models in this area, seem to hold their value.New stoves can be had for far less than other brands.They are a very DIY friendly appliance. I think they are a very good value for the money.If I "trade up" it will be to the 10 CPM, or one of the new models yet to be seen.