Glad to see this forum on the Appalachian 52 Bay.
I have had my 52 Bay since the end of the 2007/2008 winter when I got tired of burning 1000 to 1350 gallons of oil every year to heat my home. Our kids have grown up and moved out. I went through a divorce, and my ex is no longer here, but I am, and the Appalachian is still burning strong.
My oil consumption was cut nearly in half by using the Appalachian. I don’t cut or stack wood. For the most part I burn Bio Bricks, Fiber Bricks, Envi Bricks, whatever bricks are on sale. The Appalachian loves them. I also throw in the pallets the bricks come on, which I cut up with a chain saw. I have an unlimited supply of pallets to supplement my bricks.
The stove has its quirks, but overall, it has been a great value. This is not a Blaze King or Harmon. I would call it a working mans/womans stove. Similar in value, but not customer service, as Englander pellet stoves.
By simply following the good advice I found on this forum – choosing the right draft and chimney liner, insulating the liner with Roxul, installing a damper block off, insulating the area behind the stove, checking the gaskets, etcetera – I have been able to get 12-15 hour burns on a pack of bricks pretty regularly. I had to replace the original cast iron flame deflector once, but the replacement is thick hardened steel plate that looks unblemished after 5 years. One of the side lite window screws broke, and I had to re-tap it. Other than that, I still have the original cats, and they seem to work fine.
Since my house is a colonial, and the Appalachian is at one end of the house – in the family room – I installed an Englander 25 PDVC on the other side of the house in the living room. Now the only reason I burn any oil is to move the hot air around the house – I have oil fired forced hot air. I am down to about 200 gallons a season, and 50 of that is for convenience at the end of the season when I don’t feel like shoveling snow, and I don’t feel like loading another load into the Appalachian. Overall, my heating costs have run about 25 to 35 percent lower than if I was heating with oil, but I buy all of my wood. The Appalachian will heat the whole 2100 square feet with outside temps down to about 30F. With the two stoves the house stays a comfy 70 to 74 downstairs and 65 to 70 upstairs with outside temps down to about -10F.
One warning. I don’t know about anyone else’s App, but mine has this habit of putting me to sleep on the couch while loading the evening burn. It has this thermo-wave, hypnotic effect that lulls me into a stupor that makes it impossible to get up.
Happy burning!