thermostat for an EF3? help a newbie please.

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TODJ2002

Member
Nov 4, 2010
29
UPSTATE NY
Hello. I have recently purchased a home and it has 2 pellet stoves already installed. I have made myself very famaliar with them and I am for the most part happy with there performance. One of them is a LOPI and it has a wall thermostat on it, and I find this to save alot of pellets and keeps a steady temp. My question is, where do I find a wall thermostat for my EF3? I looked on their website and I see part #EF-152 for the cost of almost $500!!! Is there any thermostat i can purchase elswhere to install on this unit that has a better price tag? I live in upstate NY and the cold weather will be upon us soon. Thanks in advance for any helpful response.
 

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thanks for the reply. will this thermostat let the fire go out if need and refire when needed? on the lopi i have i set the desired temp and the fire gets bigger when heat needed and smaller and or shuts off when desired temp is reached. then it will refire when needed to. all i know is it seems to really save on the pellets instead of running constantly like the envirofire. also here is a link to what i was looking at for $500. not even sure if it what im looking for but just so you can see what i had found. 2nd item down, part # EF-152.

http://www.enviro.com/partsSearch/index.php
 
i recently purchased the lux 500e at lowes .all t-stats are on sale right now and i got it for $29 with a $25 mail in rebate.i hooked it up yesterday to try it out and all seem good.its very basic.
 
The stove's controller determines how the stove reacts to a thermostat. The thermostat is just a switch as far as the stove is concerned.

So check the operation mode choices in the stove's manual to see if it has high/low or on/off when in thermostat mode.
 
Unfortunately the EF3 with dial a fire doesn't except a plug in thermostat without purchasing the EF-152 interface. The EF are entry level units that have little options to keep cost down. I don't know all the details except you would need this to install a stat to the stove.

There doesn't seem to be much info on the EF-152 kit either. I will try to contact Enviro to see if there is something that can answer you questions. I did hear rumors they might release an updated kit to use a digital board like the EF5 and the empress. But I have never seen anything on it. This was about the same time they released the upgrades for the Mini. I'll do some digging if the time permits. I will also try to PM pelletdude, He sells Enviro stoves and may find some info?

EF3 dial a fire interface installation intructions.

http://www.enviro.com/images/manual...ermostat-Interface-INSTRUCTIONS-dec-14-01.pdf

Edit: you might want to check this post by hearthtools. He has alot of experiance with the EF3 units.

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/13904/#153483
 
thanks so much for your response. have not had a chance to look at the links yet, but i will this evening. kids are home from school now and wont have time till later. greatly appreciated.
 
the lopi that i have is a pioneer. it seems to work pretty good but in my opinion the ef3 puts out way more heat and has a much larger flame. I am totally new to these pellet stoves so any input about these units is appreciated. I grew up here in the adirondacks and i moved to nc when i was 30. i just moved back here a few months ago with my family and got a house that had these two units installed. i burned about 3/4 of a ton of pellets last month. that leads me to think during the really cold months like dec, jan, feb that i may be burning 1 1/2 to 2 tons! i dont like the price tag on that so im looking for ways to make my unit more efficent, hence the thermostat question. pellets around here are going for approx 210 a ton. 240 for dry creek. i was wondering if selling this older unit and purchasing a new unit thats more efficient would be worth it? how much would it really save me im wondering?
 
TODJ2002 said:
i was wondering if selling this older unit and purchasing a new unit thats more efficient would be worth it? how much would it really save me im wondering?

The EF3 is still made the same today and is about •75.8% efficient. Not bad for an old clunker that hasn't really changed since it was introduced. What I would look at would be the insulation and how tight the house is. You will save more with a tighter house. And the payback is much faster than a new stove purchase.

About how much are you trying to heat and what is the insulation in the house?
 
well... without measuring i would say im heating about 1500 squar ft. - it is the downstairs portion of and OLD house built around 1900. it has all new windows and seems to be sealed up pretty good. it has really high ceilings tho. it seems to hold heat ok but the basement could use some insulation and just alot of work period. it looks like freddy cruger lives down there, seriously. i burn about a bag of pellets a day, give or take depending on the weather. thanks for the info. i will continue to try and seal up the house and insulate the basement better. guess its not worth investing $500 on the EF-152?
 
You could also take a look at what is on craigslist, who knows you might find another LOPI Pioneer.
 
i dont have the manual for either of these stoves. i saw a few people in some other threads talk about adjust the air intake or something. is there any adjustments to these stoves and what should the flames look like. the flame in the ef3 when on high is huge and fills the entire stove. the lopi flame is never that big even when on high. it seems like the pellets burn up before the auger gets more in there. i even thought mayber the auger was plugged up an pulled it apart to see. not plugged up just doest seem to dump in enough pellets to get a big flame going. not compared to the ef3 anyway. that stove gets crazy hot when on high. not the pioneer. it puts out good heat but no comparison. any adjustments i should know about? i have thoroughly cleaned them out. took all apart and shop vac them and emptied ash. thanks.
 
TODJ2002 said:
well... without measuring i would say im heating about 1500 squar ft. - it is the downstairs portion of and OLD house built around 1900. it has all new windows and seems to be sealed up pretty good. it has really high ceilings tho. it seems to hold heat ok but the basement could use some insulation and just alot of work period. it looks like freddy cruger lives down there, seriously. i burn about a bag of pellets a day, give or take depending on the weather. thanks for the info. i will continue to try and seal up the house and insulate the basement better. guess its not worth investing $500 on the EF-152?

Too bad you can't insulate the lower space you live in from the upper level. Most of your heat is going to the upper level. I take it this is a rental and the upper level is occupied by another family? Your basically heating there space too.

The only $500 I would spend on it was for a digital conversion. That might be worth it. I have an "in" that told me he has used parts from other stoves to convert them. But doesn't recommend this for a home owner DIY project. But it involves changing the circuit board, Panel and wiring harness to complete it. Some of the EF3's did have the circuit board from Enviro. But it upped the price and they didn't sell much. The older Empress-Meridian also had the dial a fire. Enviro upgraded them to the digital circuit control. But you can still get the dial a fire parts for the older units. That little EF3 is a heat cranker for its size, It just lackes the brains to be a today kinda stove.

Another option is you could sell this and pickup a used one. I have seen some decent stoves in the paper for around $800. The EF3 should easily get $500 on the market if its a clean unit. Even if it sold for $300 you would be even.

If you really want to spend $2k to $3K for a new stove. Most of the new stoves have the stat and loads more options. There is a lot to choose from out there. But I would hold off till spring. The prices are at there peak about now. But there is a tax rebate available now. 30% until the end of December.
 
smokey, thanks for the manuals. takeman, i just got this place on a land contract and the upstairs is rented out for now. i may use the entire house for myself eventually but right now i want the income. i have ceiling fans and run them counterclock wise on the lowest setting to help circulate the heat down from the ceiling. i definately dont have 2 or 3 grand lol, to spend on a new unit. i was making good money in nc and was recently laid off thanks to the overseas agreement. really killed the economy down there. spent the last ten years of my life working for that company which is on the edge of closing its doors. anyway i am glad to be back home in ny and i guess everything happens for a reason. love this new house even tho its about 80 years older than my home in nc. it is huge and has alot of personality. needs some work but not a problem. just trying to be as efficient as possible with the heat and nobody had these pellet stoves when i lived here. i may have been gone for ten years, but i have not forgot what the winters are like here.

comparetivley, i feel like the ef3 puts out way more heat than the lopi pioneer. any opinions on which is a better stove?
 
TODJ2002 said:
any opinions on which is a better stove?

IMHO, hard to say which is better. Depends what your looking for.

As far as heat output. The EF3 should be slightly better.

As far as features and user friendly. The Lopi Pioneer has the edge.
 
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