we bought a pleasant hearth pellet stove from Home Depot in August. We got everything up and started it up 2 weeks ago. The soot buildup was terrible! We contacted the manufacture to be told it was not enough air flow and we probably bought bad pellets. We increases the air flow and bought different pellets but still had the same issue. In the middle of the night the stove made a horrible noise. We jumped up ran out and turned off and unplugged the stove. The stove was so hot even blistered my finger when I touched it. We called the manufacturer yet again for them to tell us nothing is wrong. Luckily there was a very nice manager at Home Depot who felt sorry for us and allowed us to return the stove for a FULL refund. So now in mid December we are in a hurry to find a good quality stove. We are between a quarafire Santa Fe, heatilator eco choice cab50, or an enviro meridian. We only heat 1000-1200 square feet but its an old farm house with poor insulation. Any information or suggestions would be great! We don't want another experience like the last! Thanks so much!!
Buying a pellet stove...HELP!
- Thread starter sarahandr
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fmsm
Minister of Fire
rich2500
Minister of Fire
Any of those 3 you have selected should serve you well, but with an uninsulated home I would lean towards the CAB 50 for the extra heating capacity just in case you ever need it.
Jack9211
New Member
Fatherof2
Member
I bought my stove on craigslist for $400.
It is a St. Croix Prescott. No complaints.
It might be worth taking a look on craigslist.
It is a St. Croix Prescott. No complaints.
It might be worth taking a look on craigslist.
We've been leaning towards the cab50. What's holding us back is the price. It's $1000 cheaper than the other two we've looked at. That sounds great, but is there a reason why it's cheaper? I don't want more junk. Reading reviews on all 3 I have read some horror stories.
Jack9211
New Member
I only know what works for myself & many others up here in the cold northeast. it's easy to maintain, the thermostat works very well, and it heats nicely......mine listed for 1899......but I got it for a lot less as it was a floor model. never used, but had a couple surface scratches on the lid
Peterfield
Minister of Fire
No stove is bullet proof but if you take the time to read posts here from owners of different stoves, you'll see there are happy owners of both low cost and high cost stoves. What you need to ask yourself is do you like to tinker. An Englander and others like it require adjustments to air and fuel feed depending on the pellets quality while most Harman owners will tell you it's more set it and forget it and they chew through just about any pellet without much adjustment. Also, a P-series Harman will go between two weeks to a month without needing to empty the ash while other stoves require attention every few days to a week for ash removal and cleaning.
Johnny_Fiv3
Feeling the Heat
I love my $1000 stove. It's a set it and forget it type device. Dump pellets in and burn them, done. No fancy tweaking. Needs cleaning once a month or so.
Don't rule out the lower cost stoves, they can be great to.
Don't rule out the lower cost stoves, they can be great to.
Mt Bob
Minister of Fire
OK our HD has been known to stock ligs and oakies.Maybe because one of the managers is my neighbor?
Bioburner
Moderator
Most I have paid for any of my collection was $1500 for the Harman from another member with lots of extras.
Bit of research goes a long ways into a good purchase.
Bit of research goes a long ways into a good purchase.
jzm2cc
Minister of Fire
Cab50 is a great choice for new, especially when priced at $1000 (local Mi Family Farm and Home) prices last month when they were cleaning out old stock.
Used St Croix pellet stoves are very nice in my opinion once they are cleaned properly. Same for, used Harman's, just watch out for auger tube erosion which is a PITA ass to fix.
Used St Croix pellet stoves are very nice in my opinion once they are cleaned properly. Same for, used Harman's, just watch out for auger tube erosion which is a PITA ass to fix.
pell it
Feeling the Heat
my $.02: You are paying for the name on the Quad and enviro stoves. The Cab 50 basically has the inner workings of a Quadrafire with a more basic cabinet and box style heat exchanger versus tube style on the other two. I would not hesitate to save the grand and go with the Cab 50. Just my opinion ( A used Harman from craigslist is also a very good idea
)
Mt Bob
Minister of Fire
New or used?For pure ease of use,it would have to be harman.The eco 50 does have an ok reputation,would not scare me away.Older austroflamm's and whit's are hare to beat.Lots of stoves on ebay this time of year.
alternativeheat
Minister of Fire
Last year one of our 2 local Harman dealers had a P61 for sale that needed a little cleaning up. As I recall they wanted $1500 as ( running condition) is or $2000 with a general going through and fresh paint etc. That's a pretty good deal on a nearly $4000 stove brand new either way. So you never know. I suggest going with something where you have local dealers of the brand though. Nothing wrong with Enviro or Quads either. Go look at a few brands, look at things like burn pots and general construction compared with HD offerings. You should be able to spot the differences in pot design, gauge of steel etc.
The stoves we are all looking at are new. They are from local dealers who have technicians. We will not make that mistake again 
alternativeheat
Minister of Fire
Of the stoves you mention my top pick would be the Quad Santa Fe ( maybe even Classic Bay) and then the Enviro. Just me, but it's not my money LOLThe stoves we are all looking at are new. They are from local dealers who have technicians. We will not make that mistake again
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alternativeheat
Minister of Fire
How can you definitively say " Home Depot Crap" ? It largely depends on what they are selling at a given time, last year at this very time they were selling American Wood Fiber Pure White Pine super premium for the same price as lower grade pellets. I tried some and couldn't get enough of them, the hottest lowest ash pellet I've run in my Harman , right up there with Douglas Fir. Besides that a good stove will burn the lousy ones too, I have yet to throw a bag of pellets into my P61 that it couldn't digest and some were water damaged ! Oh it might be messy and it might chew extra pellets to make the same heat, it might flare up to a huge flame but it will burn them and not woof itself out.
Tonyray
Minister of Fire
Although I do not know the brand names,
some of these BBS pellet stoves are manufactured in China...
for better or worse...... not so much better I'm thinkin.
..
some of these BBS pellet stoves are manufactured in China...
for better or worse...... not so much better I'm thinkin.
..
Bioburner
Moderator
alternativeheat
Minister of Fire
Figures. But that doesn't automatically mean a bad product, companies often send along QC and engineers when they farm out. Stinks in other ways.The Santa Fe has been farmed out to China now too
I bet Harman has some made in China pieces in their stoves too ( a motor or maybe part of a motor, who knows what ). . It's difficult to buy something with electronics in it that doesn't .
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Tonyray
Minister of Fire
I'll have to check that out...
made in upstate Pa here... like to know myself..
Peterfield
Minister of Fire
Although I do not know the brand names,
some of these BBS pellet stoves are manufactured in China...
for better or worse...... not so much better I'm thinkin.
Flashback to 1972 - did you hear, the Japs are starting to make cars. What pieces of junk they're gonna be.
alternativeheat
Minister of Fire
Yeah but the Japanese had some kind of work ethic and eco ethic. I don't think the Chinese are doing so hot in those areas. Low prices is one thing, slave labor to get them is another, and spewing junk into the environment, the control and cost of which is why our companies are going off shore. Someplace in all this needs to be a compromise, me thinks.
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