Breckwell Big E Price

[r.ludvigson]

Hi Everyone,

I am new to the Pellet Stove Forum and I am in the process of purchasing my first pellet stove. I am currently interested in the Breckwell Big E as it is both economically priced, and from what I read, throws plenty of heat.

My question to the forum is what type of price is this stove going for? I am looking at the model with the large glass door, and the ash pan drawer at the bottom. I can currently get this for $1,699.00 until February 14th, and wanted to know A) if that is a fair price and B) if this stove is a good starter stove for the money.

I have a 3 bedroom bungalow in Central Massachusetts. Home was built in 1920, so insulation is non existant in the walls. I am in the process of adding replacement windows to the upstairs and also adding about 14" of blow in insulation in the attic. Stove will be positioned in the living room in front of the fireplace and home has a pretty open floor plan. Two large french doors open off of that living room to a staircase so I think some heat should travel upstairs pretty good. I would like this to be my primary heat source with my oil boiler only kicking on very rarely.

I look forward to any replies and thank you in advance!

Ray

 

[treehackers]

Forget the stove and spend the money on insulation

 

[r.ludvigson]

I agree, but adding insulation to the entire house is not an option right now. New windows upstairs and blow in insulation in the attic is going to have to do for now, but anyone else have any more opinions on the stove?

 

[Dr_Drum]

How many square feet do you realistically hope to heat? Make sure the stove can output at least that amount. I'd double it considering the lack of insulation and find a stove that meets those requirements.. Getting the warm air upstairs may or may not work for you.
Mike -

 

[treehackers]

Go to Ruralking.com - Price: $1,199.99 plus about $175.00 for shipping. It does not have the ash pan though so you will need a shop vac with HEPA filter. - You will also need $$$ for install, hearth pad, permit, fuel, etc...

 

[jtakeman]

I paid $1595.00 for my stove, I bought it in Sept of 2007.

So far the stove has been pretty dependable for me. Really not a bad stove for the money! I only had some start issue's that my local dealer addressed. Stove would fail to ignite.

My problem is the stove is too small for my square footage that I am trying to heat. Almost 2000 sq ft. And You will not be able to run the stove on the max setting for more than 2 hrs. Since the night temps have been in the 15 degree range my stove has run 24/7 on the 4th setting. Only stopping it to do the weekly cleanings. But this is my only source of heat besides electric baseboards.

So as long as your not trying to heat to much square footage you should be fine with this stove, It is really a good starter stove and the looks(took a while) have grown on me. If my square footage was a little smaller I would have no issues with keeping it.

Make sure your Dealer is a good one. There is nothing worse that having stove issues and the Dealer has deaf ears

Good Luck.
jay

 

[r.ludvigson]

Thanks for all the replies. I am trying to heat no more than a 1300 sq foot living area and I thought this stove should do around 2200.

I realize that I am going to have the installation cost, chimney liner cost, hearth pad and everything else, but I was just curious as far as heat output. I have seen the Rural King model, but I prefer to buy it from a local dealer who handles warranty work etc. Plus I like the idea of having the ash pan.

 

[jtakeman]

Mine also has the ash pan. It does catch most, But you will still need to get an ash vac. Or a shop vac with the heppa or drywall filter.

Some of the ash gets between the fire box and the ash pan. Also the ash pan and the back wall.

Plus you still need it to clean the area behind the slidding doors! And what ever mess it will make.

jay

 

[r.ludvigson]

Jay,

Correct me if I am wrong. I was under the impression that you have "less" cleaning to do with the ashpan than without. I was told that without the ash pan, you would have to shut the stove down more frequently. I have no problem fully shutting down the stove once a week to vac out everything, but I would rather not have to do the "major" cleaning every day or two. This will be my primary source of heat, so the more time I have this running, the less time my oil burner is running.

 

[jtakeman]

Either way you will have to shut the stove down. You wont be able to remove the ash pan with the stove on. I think you have like 30 seconds and the air switch will sense the leak. The stove will shut down anyway.

You will have less to vacuum out but its not totally ash free. You will get maybe 80 to 90 percent in the ash pan. 10 to 20 percent is left behind. Your ash pan will hold more than a weeks worth of ashes anyway. The only daily cleaning is scrapping the burn pot. I also scrape off the ashes on top of the burn pot. I try to direct them into the sides of the ash pan. All in all its easy to do. If you get some Real ashy pellets, I'd remove the burn pot and try to get all the holes clean. Otherwise you may get some clinkers. This might need to be done every 3rd day or so.

Its also a little hard to get the ashes to dump into another container. I just haul it outside and dump it into the garden. No worse than adding lime to the garden. Good on the ice in the driveway too!

I'm not trying to discourage you. But I do want you to get the facts though.

jay

 

[r.ludvigson]

Thanks Jay. That does make sense. I have no problem doing the cleaning, just that I guess I misunderstood the dealer. My main concern is whether or not this stove will reduce my oil consumption. It is a big initial investment (stove, chimney liner, hearth pad, installation) and I don't want to go that route if it will not save me in the long run.

 

[buildingmaint]

I have a Big E with the small window . I shut my stove down once a week for cleaning, I scoop out most of the ash with a hand sized brush and dust pan, vacuuming out all of the ash I would not recommend , just my opinion. I use a wet dry vac to vacuum out the remaining ash I can't get with the brush . They say a pound of pellets produce 7000-8000 BTU'S, so if # 1 setting is 1 lbs, # 2 settin is 1 1/2 lbs , # 3 setting is 3 lbs , #4 setting is 4 lbs , or 8000 btu, 12000 btu , 24000 btu , 32000 btu. So if you need those amounts of BTU'S to heat the area you want , this stove will work for you. If you need 50000 BTU'S to heat the area it won't.

 

[jtakeman]

I can't help you with that. It was a no brain-er for me. My main source of heat was fire-wood before the pellet stove.

You will have to way the cost's. If fuel oil stays low and pellet stay high, It might not be worth it for you.

But if you do decide to go the pellet route, You will be a little easier on the environment. Burning wood or pellets is considered to be carbon neutral. check here:

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/34845/

jay

 

[jtakeman]

I have a Big E with the small window . I shut my stove down once a week for cleaning, I scoop out most of the ash with a hand sized brush and dust pan, vacuuming out all of the ash I would not recommend , just my opinion. I use a wet dry vac to vacuum out the remaining ash I can't get with the brush . They say a pound of pellets produce 7000-8000 BTU'S, so if # 1 setting is 1 lbs, # 2 settin is 1 1/2 lbs , # 3 setting is 3 lbs , #4 setting is 4 lbs , or 8000 btu, 12000 btu , 24000 btu , 32000 btu. So if you need those amounts of BTU'S to heat the area you want , this stove will work for you. If you need 50000 BTU'S to heat the area it won't.

Buildingmaint,

How many squarefeet are you heating with your bigE??

jay

 

[buildingmaint]

I heat about 1000/1200 sq ft , 700 first floor, 500 second floor . I use a programmable stat on High/Low , keep it set at 72 occupied 70 unoccupied or sleeping .

 

[jtakeman]

I heat about 1000/1200 sq ft , 700 first floor, 500 second floor . I use a programmable stat on High/Low , keep it set at 72 occupied 70 unoccupied or sleeping .

buildingmaint

Your pretty close to what he has for sq ft. So he should be OK with the bigE. I know other factors apply, But it should be close?

Do you agree??

Thanks
Jay

 

[kinsmanstoves]

That is a good price from a dealer. The Big E is a good stove. It is not the silver bullet to slay the fuel oil monster but it will help.

Ask about warranty repairs and what they charge. Use a surge protector and a good one. Do not expect to heat your entire house. It is an appliance designed for spot heat and not a replacement to fuel oil. If you want a furnace get a furnace.

Read a few posts I did on the cleaning of Breckwells. It can be found under Kinsman Stoves or Eric if you do a search. Never hurts to bump them up. There are four of them.


Eric

 

[theking]

Just for a little info, I have a Breckwell P23 free standing model in a 15 year old raised ranch ~1300 sq.ft. and the pellet stove has pretty much taken over the heating in my house. I have oil fired hydronic baseboard and have yet to use 1/2 tank (275 gal tank) this year. The oil also maintains my hot water.

I installed the stove and connected a thermostat to run the stove on hi-lo mode set to ~70 deg F in the main living room. The oil is set to supplement the pellet stove that has been running 24/7 since October, aside from cleanings. My stove is set to heat level 2 for the high setting and has been maintaining the temperature in the house just fine. I have a little less than a ton of hardwood pellets left from the initial 2 1/2 tons I bought in the fall. When the pellets run out I am finishing the year out on oil as the price of oil is so low now.

Anyhow, happy with the heating of the stove for my house layout. Hope this helps.
Rgds,

Dan

 

[r.ludvigson]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I think I am going to go with the Big E. My oil bill now is about $3000 for the year (I also heat hot water with oil) so if I can knock that down even by 1/3 - 1/2, I would be happy. Keep in mind, that was my cost for oil this year, when I have been paying decent prices (since November 2008 anyway).

Does anyone know of a wireless thermostat that can hook up to the Big E? I would like to remotely locate the thermostat so that it is not right near the stove. I plan on running the Big E on a thermostat and supplementing with oil.

Does anyone have any pics of Big E's installed with or without thermostats?

Thanks again for all the replies, they really helped!