Cast iron / gothic looking pellet stoves

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OhioBurner©

Minister of Fire
Hearth Supporter
Aug 20, 2010
1,535
Center of Ohio
Contemplating upgrading from my ESW. I've seen some stoves on craigslist lately, and the recent bonus at work has got me looking. I'll probably be upgrading my woodstove as well but if I can get a good deal on a used quality stove I could swing both.

If I am going to upgrade I want to get something good though. Something that doesn't need a complete shut down every couple days to clean it out, and deep cleanings every couple/few weeks. And a decent sized hopper. One reason I got my PAH is it holds 120 lbs and I was thinking it could go for a long weekend if I was out of town. But at the minimum I need it to last a shift at work, 12hrs +2hrs drive time +1hr for stop at grocery store or a late turnover, etc. So ~15hrs (minimum). On the coldest few weeks my stove did see max output a lot (even with the woodstove also going) so figure 4lb per hour... 15hrs x 4lbs/hr = 60 lb minimum hopper. I'd really like more cushion though, especially if the stove can run higher than 4lb/hr.

What I'd really want looks-wise is a cast iron gothic looking stove (not sure if gothic is the appropriate term but best I could think of). I'm only aware of a few of these, and some are not big enough anyway. It would match my decor much better than my current black metal box. Here is the original woodburner I really thought looked nice in the room, currently sitting on the floor beside the hearth since my ugly ESW is attempting to heat that side of the house.
[Hearth.com] Cast iron / gothic looking pellet stoves

For hopper size and cast iron looks I'm only coming up with Harman XXV and Quad Mt Vernon. I REALLY like the looks of the Mt V especially with the warming racks and some of the porcelain finishes available. But I've heard a lot of issues with the older units and the new issues with the E2. Multi fuel would be nice but I'd have to re-vent (just have duravent pelletvent now). But being new to the pellet scene I'm not sure if there are more units out there that would fit these couple criteria. I'm all ears!
 
I take it silence means there are no other stoves besides the XXV and Mt Vernon that fit the criteria?
 
The Enviro M55 Cast fits the bill. Very low maintenance with the agitator rod feature, high btu output, and multi fuel.
 
So it does! Yes very nice looking as well, and I looked up Enviro and my local dealer is listed. Will keep them in mind!
 
I think I'd get a coal stoker if you don't want to clean it often. Stokers need the ash dumped regularly but cleaning.... Once a year in the spring.
 
I'm fine with regular cleaning, just not every few days to keep the stove from choking itself out. Seems many pellet stoves can do this. And I may have got the bugs worked out of mine and seems to be burning much cleaner now. But not only would I like a more pretty stove for myself and to fit my décor, I plan on selling my house in the next few years and hope having a nice looking pellet burner would appeal to a larger crowd (I doubt a coal stoker around her would appeal to hardly anyone). Anyhow I think I'm leaning towards replacing my wood burning insert with a new free standing stove to get the best bang for buck upgrade in heating. Being that my pellet stove seems to be working better now my plan is watching craigslist and if one of the above mentioned stoves happens to appear for a good deal I might decide to replace my pellet burner too. But for $4k+ that these new stoves go for unless I find one used I'll stick with what I got as long as its working ok.

there is also the hearthstone manchester
That's a woodburner isnt it? There are a lot of woodburners that fit my look obviously but I removed the second woodburner (seen in my pic above) in favor of pellets burner. I'm just looking to see what all is out there for pellet stoves that can emulate the look, hold >60 lbs, and not need a bunch of fuss cleaning more frequent than say weekly.
 
[Hearth.com] Cast iron / gothic looking pellet stoves
Lopi Leyden
 
Thats nice..... Lopi. I bet those fake logs are a pita as well as the smallish ashpan. I wonder where those ornate castings are made at?
 
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Lennox Montage. Hard to find a more gothic looking stove.

[Hearth.com] Cast iron / gothic looking pellet stoves

The Lennox Montage has a huge hopper as well as a huge ash pan. Heating capacity: 32,000 BTU.
Internally it is based on well proven Whitfield technology. Remember: Whitfield made the very first pellet stove in the world.
The fire box is basically the same as in my Quest Plus, but with the addition of ash clean-out ports to make cleaning A LOT easier.
Link to Lennox Montage brochure: (broken link removed to http://www.southislandfireplace.com/pdf/Lennox_Hearth_Montage_Brochrue.pdf)
 
Don't overlook the Quad Castile...1 bag hopper,and an itsybitsy ash tray!!
 
[Hearthstone Manchester] . . .

That's a woodburner isnt it? There are a lot of woodburners that fit my look obviously but I removed the second woodburner (seen in my pic above) in favor of pellets burner. I'm just looking to see what all is out there for pellet stoves that can emulate the look, hold >60 lbs, and not need a bunch of fuss cleaning more frequent than say weekly.

Also a pellet stove.
 
Don't but a montage
Buy perhapse?

Why not? Is that a personal preference or something you can substantiate?

My only comment is 32K btu input/ realistically 30 btu output isn't much I wouldn't count on it to heat more than one average sized room, at best.
 
Don't overlook the Quad Castile...1 bag hopper,and an itsybitsy ash tray!!

1 bag hopper = stove that goes out while I'm at work. Yes it has the good looks but my requirement was 60 lb hopper at the absolute minimum.

My Englander is rated 25k BTU output and that is good enough, I don't need a huge stove since I'm splitting heating duty with a woodburner. The coldest few weeks of the year had it cranked all the way to 9 so could maybe have used a few extra btus though, but genrally speaking 4 lb / hr max has got me through the winter even in my poorly insulated house. I really couldnt go much higher though without overheating the living room, been running it at or near 80º for the last couple months.


Also a pellet stove.
So it is! Wow didn't know Hearthstone even made pellet stoves. Which is interesting since its my Hearthstone that is being replaced, the Manchester's little brother the Shelburne. But unfortunately that one is out of the running due to small hopper.


Lopi Leyden
Once again, too small of a hopper.
 
1 bag hopper = stove that goes out while I'm at work. Yes it has the good looks but my requirement was 60 lb hopper at the absolute minimum.

My Englander is rated 25k BTU output and that is good enough, I don't need a huge stove since I'm splitting heating duty with a woodburner. The coldest few weeks of the year had it cranked all the way to 9 so could maybe have used a few extra btus though, but genrally speaking 4 lb / hr max has got me through the winter even in my poorly insulated house. I really couldnt go much higher though without overheating the living room, been running it at or near 80º for the last couple months.



So it is! Wow didn't know Hearthstone even made pellet stoves. Which is interesting since its my Hearthstone that is being replaced, the Manchester's little brother the Shelburne. But unfortunately that one is out of the running due to small hopper.



Once again, too small of a hopper.

Accentra is a nice cast iron stove but only 50 lb hopper. A used XXV would fit your needs.
 
Accentra is a nice cast iron stove but only 50 lb hopper. A used XXV would fit your needs.

Yeah there is an Accentra locally on craigslist right here, $1750 for a 2007 model. Not sure if thats a good price. The owner says they got it this winter and the exhaust sensor light came on and slight smoke smell in the house and they want it gone. Not quite the stove look I was going for, but not bad and probably too small of a hopper anyhow unless it is much more efficient than my cheapie pellet stove and maybe 50# would get me through a workday... hmmm. I just don't have a lot of faith in my stove, though it seems to be runnign much better now. Still 3-4 days is the most it can go without a shutdown. Uncertain how long it can go without a pipe cleaning, before I did my last it was only going a couple weeks.
 
hearthstone manchester is a pellet or a wood stove there are two different versions
 
I have the XXV. With a super premium pellet you can go, max 2 weeks with the ash pan. On cold days it will chew pellets, I can burn a bag in 12 hours. You can squeeze about 55lbs in the hopper.

Not as nice looking but a P61 sounds like what you need. The wife vetoed that choice so we went with the XXV. If you are selling in a few years I would install the P61 as most buyers prefer efficiencies over looks.

If it's looks then M55 followed by XXV.
 
I have the XXV. With a super premium pellet you can go, max 2 weeks with the ash pan. On cold days it will chew pellets, I can burn a bag in 12 hours. You can squeeze about 55lbs in the hopper.

The XXV should be able to chew through more than a bag in 12 hrs... my 25kbtu ESW goes through more than that. And the specs say 65# hopper, if its only 55 like you say then maybe its just too small for me. Personally I think the XXV looks way better than the P-series but the P's have the ability to put a hopper extension which makes them a candidate though I prefer the cast iron looks.

It all depends on what I may happen to get a good deal on used, I'm not paying the kind of money these things sell for new just for a secondary heater. With the rising cost of pellets the payback would take a long time if ever. I just wanted to get an idea of what is out there that fits what I want so I know what to look for on craigslist, etc.
 
The XXV should be able to chew through more than a bag in 12 hrs... my 25kbtu ESW goes through more than that. And the specs say 65# hopper, if its only 55 like you say then maybe its just too small for me. Personally I think the XXV looks way better than the P-series but the P's have the ability to put a hopper extension which makes them a candidate though I prefer the cast iron looks.

It all depends on what I may happen to get a good deal on used, I'm not paying the kind of money these things sell for new just for a secondary heater. With the rising cost of pellets the payback would take a long time if ever. I just wanted to get an idea of what is out there that fits what I want so I know what to look for on craigslist, etc.
Hopper in 12 hours but that's not wide open. Stove temp 5.5 which heats the room to 80, about 70% of avail thermostat on the stove
 
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