Thoughts?

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DoWnAqT

Member
Jan 23, 2011
71
Dunbarton, NH
Im new to this board and this whole pellet stove stuff. I know plenty of people that have pellet stoves and love them, but I always found that they required attention so I never looked into them. Well this year I've had 2 propane tank fill ups at over $900 bucks each, being said ive spent about $2k in heat so far and this is insane. So my friend owns a fireplace store and told me to get the Harman P68. Says it the cats ass stove and my propane should barely work at all. So I have a 2300 sq ft colonial house with the family room off the side of it with the cathedral ceilings, the rest of the house is 9ft ceilings...the house is 2 years old too...So anyways I would like some of you opinions on this set up for the house and how much pellets should I pick up for the rest of the season. Im truly sick of the BS of gas prices...
 
Forgot to mention Im going through about a tank a month when its around 30 degress and less average
 
DoWnAqt, I have a similar house setup, cathedral ceiling family room over the garage. I struggled with the same question, ultimately put the
stove in the main house with 8' ceilings. The reasoning that I could put more heat into more of the house. Getting the heat out of the cathedral room
could prove difficult. I also have propane heat and have spent $400 bucks, installed my stove in early November. I feel your pain propane sucks.
Buy the stove you'll have no regrets, pellet heat is a consitent warm heat.
 
Wachusett, Thats the same thing I was thinking...I would rather it be in the family room but I know it would be difficult moving the heat to the rest of the house. So I think I'm going to put it in the other living room we dont use and hopefully it will make it to the rest of the house. Im wondering if the bedrooms up stairs will still be warm...Im hoping to cut my propane use as much as I can. I could live with only spending $400 for the season so far very easily..
 
Propane heat here as well @ $3.09 per gal. But not anymore. I have a symilar setup. Large open rooms on the first floor and 4 bedroom upstairs. No 2 story foyer, but a cathedral tray ceiling in the dining room and 9 foot ceilings in the rest of the house. I spent Approx $4200 in propane last year and kept the house at 64 degrees. After carefull research I purchased the Timbers Ridge Multi fuel stove. Im into my 3rd ton of stove chow pellets @ $206 ea. My house is 69-72 degrees all the time and the bedroom are 66ish. Yes it is a little work, but what isn't. If I was going to save 10-15% on heating costs with pellets, I probably would not have done it. I only expected to save 35-40% but I saved 85%. When I get my next ton in 3 weeks I expect to total out on 81% saved on heating alone. So go for it. You will be pleased.
 
Indy3 said:
Propane heat here as well @ $3.09 per gal. But not anymore. I have a symilar setup. Large open rooms on the first floor and 4 bedroom upstairs. No 2 story foyer, but a cathedral tray ceiling in the dining room and 9 foot ceilings in the rest of the house. I spent Approx $4200 in propane last year and kept the house at 64 degrees. After carefull research I purchased the Timbers Ridge Multi fuel stove. Im into my 3rd ton of stove chow pellets @ $206 ea. My house is 69-72 degrees all the time and the bedroom are 66ish. Yes it is a little work, but what isn't. If I was going to save 10-15% on heating costs with pellets, I probably would not have done it. I only expected to save 35-40% but I saved 85%. When I get my next ton in 3 weeks I expect to total out on 81% saved on heating alone. So go for it. You will be pleased.


If I had to go through buying one again I would seriously consider the Timber Ridge Multi Fuel Stove.

I think "imacman" got his from a guy on ebay.

I think that this ebay listing is for the same stove as his & from the same seller:
http://cgi.ebay.com/TimberRidge-Mul...340?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cb479f57c
 
Indy3 said:
Propane heat here as well @ $3.09 per gal. But not anymore. I have a symilar setup. Large open rooms on the first floor and 4 bedroom upstairs. No 2 story foyer, but a cathedral tray ceiling in the dining room and 9 foot ceilings in the rest of the house. I spent Approx $4200 in propane last year and kept the house at 64 degrees. After carefull research I purchased the Timbers Ridge Multi fuel stove. Im into my 3rd ton of stove chow pellets @ $206 ea. My house is 69-72 degrees all the time and the bedroom are 66ish. Yes it is a little work, but what isn't. If I was going to save 10-15% on heating costs with pellets, I probably would not have done it. I only expected to save 35-40% but I saved 85%. When I get my next ton in 3 weeks I expect to total out on 81% saved on heating alone. So go for it. You will be pleased.

Thats exactly what I wanted to hear, those savings is what I'm really looking at. I know I should be looking into getting a multi fuel stove, but I've read that most people end up just using the wood pellets because they are cleaner. I've also read that one person was mixing corn and wood pellets together and was very happy with the results until they had a mouse problem in the basement because of the corn. So I think I'll stick with the P68 since I'm getting a good deal on it and help installing it. Thank you for the feed back, thats what I really need to hear and now Im sold on it


BTW the last propane fill up was 2 weeks ago and it was $3.399 and my friend just had his tank filled last week at $3.589...its not coming down soon enough....anything over $3 is insane
 
DoWnAqT said:
.....So I think I'll stick with the P68 since I'm getting a good deal on it and help installing it.....
Nothing wrong with a Harman stove, although IMO, they are way overpriced, and are more complicated than most other stoves....pay attention on the forum for the MANY harman owners with problems.

There are other stoves you might want to consider.....Enviro, Lopi & Avalon, St. Croix......you should at least look around before buying anything.
 
Long time listener, first time time caller ...

Just had a P68 installed Dec. 8th. Prior to that, we were heating with propane ... that's fine for the grill but, never again for the house. We're tickled to a nice glowing warmth with the stove. It's in the exposed open floor basement and pumps a generous amount of heat up the steps to the open floor first level and then up the steps to the second floor. I had a ton of O'Malleys dropped off with the stove and went through them in exactely one month. OK heat, I guess, but gobbs of ash (pan full to the top after 30 bags). We're on to Hamer Hot One's now and they've been brilliant.

You've definately come to the right place for advice. The folks here know precisely what they're talking about ... I"m astounded and humbled by their depth of knowledge and willingness to share it. What I've learned here about Harman stoves is that your satisfaction with one is directly proportional to the quality of the dealer you get it from. My experience ... Mostly word of mouth, I talked to a bunch of folks, friends, neighbors, co-workers who owned Harmon pellet stoves and they all steered me to the same dealer, http://www.hoffmanoutdoor.com/ ... Nice that they happen to be 1 mile up the road from Harmon's factory (at least the old one ... they've moved production to the Allentown/Bethlehem PA area). Anyhow, it sounds like you've got a friend in the business and if the P68 feels right then go for it. We're saving a ton of cash on fuel and will continue to do so.

Best of luck
 
Nothing in the rule book says you can't install more than one stove. At the prices you are paying for propane, I'd be at the stove stores Monday morning with a flush list of questions and my check book in hand.
 
This is my 3rd season with the Harman p68. I love it! It throws a lot of heat. Just remember, it is a space heater, albeit a large one. With it, I have saved one fillup of the oil tank a year. Plus (and big plus) the house it toasty warm (70+) My stove throws the best heat with Barefoot Pellets, though I haven't tried Okanagan yet. Not much variety of pellets this side of the Sagamore. Keep it clean and enjoy the warmth!
Marina
 
Thanks for the respones, I will be buying one monday and installing it ASAP. The prices have just soared and they don't look like they are leveling out at all, like I said before anything over $3 is insane, I think it should be around $2-2.50 at most. Even if I could afford the $1k a month in heat, I still would be getting something to offset it.

capecod, honestly if I was only saving one fill a year I would probably just sit out the season. But from all the reading I've done on here and else where I've found most people save alot more than that. So I'm hoping I will cut my bills in half at least..and if I can't I will be investing into a on demand hot water system this summer. I'll probably do that either way...

As for looking at other brands, I have online, but not in person.. I've found on quite of few web sites that the Harman is on top, and a couple of others are very close to it. But most sites say its worth the extra money to get one. So in all reality they do the same thing, I just want quality that will last. So therefore my friend swears I will not be upset with the Harman brand. If I don't like it, I know where he lives :)
 
Cozy Old Coot said:
Indy3 said:
Propane heat here as well @ $3.09 per gal. But not anymore. I have a symilar setup. Large open rooms on the first floor and 4 bedroom upstairs. No 2 story foyer, but a cathedral tray ceiling in the dining room and 9 foot ceilings in the rest of the house. I spent Approx $4200 in propane last year and kept the house at 64 degrees. After carefull research I purchased the Timbers Ridge Multi fuel stove. Im into my 3rd ton of stove chow pellets @ $206 ea. My house is 69-72 degrees all the time and the bedroom are 66ish. Yes it is a little work, but what isn't. If I was going to save 10-15% on heating costs with pellets, I probably would not have done it. I only expected to save 35-40% but I saved 85%. When I get my next ton in 3 weeks I expect to total out on 81% saved on heating alone. So go for it. You will be pleased.


If I had to go through buying one again I would seriously consider the Timber Ridge Multi Fuel Stove.

I think "imacman" got his from a guy on ebay.

I think that this ebay listing is for the same stove as his & from the same seller:
http://cgi.ebay.com/TimberRidge-Mul...340?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cb479f57c

I got mine from an e-bay seller as well, but directly from his store. AMFMENERGY.com Super nice guy and fast shipping. Mine was refurbished as well with the brand new warranty. When I uncrated it, iswear it was brand new, but at half the price. HD and Lowes has it for $2500, at AMFMENERGY.com $1199 shipped no tax. And to say it one more time. Thrilled about it. I highly recomend this stove. I saved $2700 this year alone and that's with the cost of the stove, pipe and pellets. Go for it. You will love it.
 
I bought a p68 last summer. I did some research and thought Harman was the best product. I have had more problems with it that I think is acceptable. To begin with the certified dealer in my area, northern AZ population of about 40K combined with the adjoining towns, was lazy. I bought the Harman P68 from him and he did not want to come out to do a pre site survey and relied on my word..which was wrong about the install parameters. A propane pipe was in the way so it couldnt be situated in the right position on the tile deck. After one day the auger was squeeking like crazy. It took him 43 days to come and fix it after numerous calls to the shop and personal visits. After one year the vacuum switch went bad and the igniter went out. I had to call in another service company from over 50 miles away and pay their costs because I did not want to deal with the "authorized dealer" who is not a good tech. If I have another major problem with it in the next year, I may try to get it replaced as a "lemon." Trying to get a hold of the Harman company is impossible though and I might have to just eat it.
 
Since I got my stove in the beginning of december I haven't burned a drop of oil for heat, and it's 68-72 degrees all the time. Now if I can only get one for my tennant, so she won't use any of my oil.
Well worth the investment, I use about a bag a day, but when it gets below 20 it's more like 2 bags a day.
 
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