Think we almost have a plan...

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blackdog1

New Member
Jan 4, 2012
22
Maine
Background: split-level home, two brick fireplaces (one up and one down) located on end of house with outside chimney, downstairs is approx. 500 sqft finished space and upstairs is just over 1000 sqft.

Original plan about a month ago was a pellet stove upstairs and a woodstove downstairs but now we have done a 180 after talking to a lot of people and reading many posts on here. Our thoughts/feelings are we really dont like "the look" of pellet stove flame/fire (to industrial is word I use) and the noise of the fan going all the time so we have settle on a Regency Alterra CI1250 wood insert upstairs to be started when we are home. A pellet stove insert in the downstairs fireplace which would be going 24/7 to heat that space and hopefully let some heat rise to upstairs.

So, as far as pellet inserts go we have narrowed down to 3 different models we have some interest in but wondering what your opinions are on these brands/models and are there things we should be considering as we compare them? We had gotten some quotes a while ago and I think they were within a $600 range of each other (I am laid up after surgery yesterday for torn Achilles so cant get exact numbers right now).

Lowest to highest price...
Quadrafire Sante-Fe
Enviro Milan
Harman P35i

It looks like the mfg's are starting more incentives recently so were thinking it might be a good time to buy or do they generally get better in another month or so?


Thanks!
 
I had a Santa Fe that I bought in 2004, so I'm sure they've been updated and improved over the years. I liked how quiet and how simple it was. Very easy to disassemble to clean. What I didn't like was the daily maintenance. My burnpot filled up with ash & clinkers each day. The nice thing is, I got it down to a daily ritual that only took 2-3 minutes every day. I emptied the burnpot, used my cordless drill with a wire brush attachment to scrape the burnpot, vacuumed out the stove, and cleaned the glass - all in 2 or 3 minutes a day. Very simple and easy, and in the 8 years I owned the stove I never had a problem with it.

I replaced it this year with a Harman Advance. It's unfair to compare the two since they are so far apart in price. The Harman is built really solid and I like the fact that I don't have to clean it every single day. But I still scrape and vacuum the burnpot every couple days. And the auger is noisier than my old Santa Fe. And taking it apart to clean is a pain compared to the simple design of the Santa Fe.

So...there's advantages and disadvantages to each, I guess.
 
Not to put more questions into your mind.......

If you are trying to heat more than one floor you are going to need a good size pellet stove.
You might even want to look at Pellet Furnaces.

Remember the Manufacturers put BTU ratings on stoves at un-obtanium levels. (Sorta like HP ratings on Circular Saws)
I feel it is better to run a stove on a medium setting that fully cranked up all the time.

I think you might be under sizing your basement stove.
The Enviro Milan is only rated at 34000 BTU which is small.
Probably won't be felt on 2'nd floor without some kind of air circulation assist

The Enviro M55 Insert is 55000 BTU.
My Freestanding M55C can heat me out of my 900 SqFt house in no time.
If it does get really cold and windy I still have plenty of stove top end to use to keep me and the dog warm.
And it runs very quiet.

Not operationally familiar with the other brands you mentioned.

---Nailer---
 
I am concerned too big of a unit will overheat the downstairs room while trying to get heat upstairs that is why we are looking at a wood insert upstairs for when we are home. Just hoping it may take the chill off a little bit while were away. Typically we keep the downstairs room set at 60 degrees and only turn it up if kids are down there playing and the upstairs is down to 60 as well during the day when were at work and then 65 when we get home. Thought is I could set the downstairs oil heat at 50 so it wont come on as long as pellet stove is going and heating the space to 70 degrees and then some of that heat may make it upstairs (?) to keep the livingroom zone around 60 degrees during the day then we get home and start a fire in the wood insert.
(part of reason I want a woodstove as well is to deal with the whole heat when there is no power problem...I like backup plans)
 
I have a tri-level - 2200 sq ft - pellet stove in our basement level (Harman Accentra Insert) and it heats over 90% of the house. I think 2 stoves might be overkill.

And it's attractive (I think more attractive than most wood stoves)
 

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What is the temperature in the lower level and what is it in the upper levels?
 
blackdog1 said:
What is the temperature in the lower level and what is it in the upper levels?

well my first level (the basement level) of my trilevel is partly open to the second level (living/dining/kitchen) and then it's a normal set of stairs to the third level, which has a bedroom, a 90 degree turn, and then 3 other rooms.

my first level (with the stove) hovers around 72-74, but the thermostat is on a side wall, not in the flow of heat.
my second level has 2 thermostats - the kitchen thermostat is directly in the path of the stove blower and hovers at 74 degrees.
the living room thermostat - turn left and then turn right from the kitchen hovers at 71-72 degrees (partially due to a drafty door that needs replacing).
my upstairs - the first bedroom before the 90 degree turn is at about 71 and the very back bedroom (after the 90 degree turn is at 69)


And that's with the boiler supplying hot water only (no heat to the rooms).

I should draw a diagram, because since it's a trilevel, it's really chopped up and the airflow is minimal (like in summer, it's impossible to cool)

With your split level, you should be all set. You set the stove, and that heat will rise right up that central staircase. And since the heat wants to rise (and in a split level, has a nice path to go up) it will roughly even out.

Like in my house - the heat doesn't sit in the lower levels - it rises, and no one are gets too hot.
If I choose to crank it, I can get those numbers up. Also, when it's cold, I crank the stove and I can still achieve these numbers.
 
Welcome to the forum Blackdog.

I like your thinking go with both the pellets and a wood burner, it's nice to have options. I do both I have the wood stove in the Man Cave ( basement) pellet stove in the living/dining room. I do what you plan to do, pellet 24/7 wood when I get home from work. I would do the wood burner 24/7 just don't have enough seasoned wood at the moment for that. I already have next years wood cs&s working on getting 2-3 yrs ahead now.

Are you buying both the stoves from the same dealer? Maybe you can get a package deal to save some coin. I have a Harman that I like very much, can't comment on the others. Harman's web site has a $100.00 coupon & a free ton of pellets promotion good till mid March. Good luck hope the heel heals soon.
 
You have me thinking again, I grew up in a small tri-level so pretty familar to the layout but yours sounds much larger.
 
I have a Breckwell P23 insert. I only have it on when home, but it does the job for a 2800 sqft Raised Ranch. And that is on setting #3. Both floors are roughly 1400 sqft. Downstairs thermostat generally reads 77. Upstairs is at 70.
 
This is good news...so maybe I should be considering larger btu stove in lower level, do you have to run fans to move the warm air up or does it just flow naturally up the stairway?
 
I don't have to use fans, but occasionally run a Vorndao humidifier upstairs (which draws even more air up the stairs)
 
blackdog1 said:
This is good news...so maybe I should be considering larger btu stove in lower level, do you have to run fans to move the warm air up or does it just flow naturally up the stairway?

my Harman is 42,000 btus, which works well for me.

Several on here have the MT Vernon Quadra-Fire which is 52,500 btus.
 
I always steer new buyers to the multifuel units. Or a Harman because they aren't so pellet picky. Lets the owner choose more on what they can afford, Than what the stove has to eat. Save just a little bit more overall. No way in heck I want the stove choosing for me, But that's just me.
 
blackdog1 said:
This is good news...so maybe I should be considering larger btu stove in lower level, do you have to run fans to move the warm air up or does it just flow naturally up the stairway?

I have a 2800 sqft split-level and now that I have figured everything out in terms of moving the air, I can heat it 100% with my Mt. Vernon insert. I had to cave and run my heat pumps on a cold day a month or so ago but I have made some changes since then.

My fireplace is on the mid-level. The downstairs level is comprised of a large family room, a half-bath a laundry room and the garage (which is unheated).

The mid-level where the insert is located consists of living room and a large eat-in kitchen which at one time, before removing a wall was two separate rooms - a dining room and kitchen.

The upstairs consists of 4 bedrooms, 2 full bathrooms, and a hallway.

I recently added a ceiling fan in the living room where the stove is. Of everything I tried, this made the single biggest difference in terms of being able to move the air around.

I also have ceiling fans in the kitchen. the upstairs hallway, and all the bedrooms. Running the air handlers for my heat pumps did little to move the air around.

I have two small Vornado-type fans downstairs. One is on the floor at the bottom of the steps blowing cold air up towards the living room. I have another sitting up high on top of a computer desk blowing warm air from the area near the stairs to the far end of the family room.

I am able to keep downstairs at 70-72 The mid-level is generally 74-75, and upstairs hallway is also 75. It's generally 72 in my master bedroom.
 
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