Advice on New Pellet Stove

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.

tan

New Member
Oct 7, 2019
6
Ontario, Canada
Hello

I'm new to the forum, new to Pellet stoves and heck, new to stoves generally :)

We're looking for a pellet stove to complement our expensive propane furnace. I got a good price on a new Drolet Eco-55 (CAD$2,000 +13% taxes) and also found someone who is selling a 10 yr old Harman Accentra-2 for $2000 (no tax). Just for reference a new Harman P43 is $4000 + taxes here.

Any advice and which direction I should go? My budget would be stretched for the P43 after adding taxes, venting, pad, install etc. but will consider if necessary.

Question: I am fairly handy - could I replace parts on these stoves?

Thanks in advance....
 
If it were me I would buy the new one only because of the warranty
You can if you are handy install it yourself.
Just follow the owner's manual on installation.
You can also service (clean it) yourself
most if not all repairs can be handled by you
This forum has many experienced people
more than willing to help
 
If it were me I would buy the new one only because of the warranty
You can if you are handy install it yourself.
Just follow the owner's manual on installation.
You can also service (clean it) yourself
most if not all repairs can be handled by you
This forum has many experienced people
more than willing to help
Thank you johneh. Is anyone familiar with the Drolet Eco-55? Cannot seem to find any reviews on it -called the company and they said its been around for 4 years!
 
Not familiar with Drolet but the P43 is probably the best stove you could buy for that heating range. Heck, the Harman P-series is the best line of pellet stoves period in my book. Very easy to work on, and very long lasting.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jackman
I agree new stove is your best bet. Just check this forum and you'll see all the issues with older stoves. All stoves will develop problems eventually so having a new one would be my choice.
 
  • Like
Reactions: jackman
If you want to save a buck, a lot people on this forum swear by their Castle Serenity PS. They sellout early in the fall. Search Hearth. com to check them out. Go for about 1K new and you can buy them @ big box stores like Home Depot, True Value, etc They put out some serious heat and have good customer service. https://www.castlestoves.com/Product/serenity-wood-pellet-stove-1
 
Drolet Eco-55
A lot of people have bought the dorlet stoves
They are Canadian built and parts are easy to get
My buddy has one of the early models and has that no major problems.
At home depot, they are not too expensive.
 
Any advice and which direction I should go? My budget would be stretched for the P43 after adding taxes, venting, pad, install etc. but will consider if necessary.

Question: I am fairly handy - could I replace parts on these stoves?

I think the warranty is a nice to have. With my Englander, I did have an issue with the exhaust blower from the factory. Personally, I would open a spreadsheet and put together a list to compare them side byside (Google Docs is free).

The one thing that I personally overlooked was ambient noise. I would try to find out the decibel range of your options and go with the quieter of the two. After using it for a few months, your ears will thank you.

As for replacing parts, sure! Also factor in cleaning because it probably requires some disassembly. For the most part, it depends upon how handy you are and how methodical your troubleshooting skills are. If you follow your feelings on what is wrong vs trying to diagnose, I wouldn't recommend it. I think a good questions to determine this are: Can you change the brakes on your car? Have you changed the brakes on your car? Would you feel comfortable changing the brakes? Would you be willing to install a new wheel speed sensor if it included a bit of wiring? Could you isolate the wheel sensor as an issue by reading the codes and testing it? If the answer is yes to all. Go for it! If the answer is mixed, but more toward yes I would think about it. If every answer is 'no' I would pass.

I think pellet stoves are pretty simple. They take fuel, use a motor (or motors) that turn an auger(s) to feed fuel to a burn pot. The fuel is lit and a motor exhausts gas while drawing in oxygen. Finally, there is another motor cycling the air the room. A logic controller determines the rates for the air and fuel. A human can modify those parameters based on observations.
 
Where in Ontario are you
Canadian tire has them for just under 2000 $
link to the store closest to me