Comfortable with stove running all day w/o anyone home?

[scelder]

I'm still on an exhaustive pellet stove search. I have been leaning toward a Harman -- dealer close by, ease of use, reliability -- but after cutting out a template, the insert model I'm interested in won't fit in the firebox without some extensive work (removal of firebrick, etc.).

Another initial thought was an Englander / Timber Ridge/ 55-TRPIP freestanding in a corner -- if it's not going to be in the actual fireplace, I'd prefer a more modern "appliance" look. Very attracted to that model vs. the Harman due to cost savings and reliability. Rather than install one Harman and rely on a dealer, I could install two 55-TRPIP (huge house) and feel reasonably comfortable working on them myself.

However, I'll need a stove I can rely on being left on LOW while I and my wife are away at work during the day -- our sole source(s) of heat. The Harmans sound like they are reliable and safe enough to let this happen.

Can we do this with the Englander / Timber Ridge as well?

Are there any stoves that you would NEVER trust to burn while away? Or are they all reliable enough to leave alone?

Thanks in advance!

 

[johneh]

During the winter I run my stove 24/7 and have been
from the time it was installed (12years) I see no reason
not to burn 24/7 with all the safeties installed on the stoves
Just my impression and 2 cents worth

 

[mr47930]

We have electric forced air heat...in the dead of winter before the pellet stove we were getting some BIG electric bills. Last winter we let our Harman run 24/7 for the entire heating season, only letting it cool down for cleaning. These things are pretty modern and will shut themselves down if any problems occur. No need to turn it on low, you will use more pellets trying to get your space back up to a good temp when you get home. Just find a good setting and leave it alone.

 

[Bioburner]

This question is asked many times We have a member that never shuts down his Harman all winter. From Alaska. Just beats on the top to knock of the ash from the exchanger and empties the ash bin when needed. I have two stoves that have a service interval of one ton or one month whatever. I give the exchanger a swipe with a brush couple times a day and that's it till I need to do a full cleaning and I can tell that by it starting to consume more pellets daily. Now there are some newer stoves that are more needy but can be left to burn without issue for a day.

 

[rona]

You ask a common question and the same one a lot of people ask. I think most people are a little nervous about reliability and the answer is there is many safety factors built in to prevent problems. Some stoves produce a little noise similar to any new appliance but you soon get used to that noise much like a fridge, microwave , or many other appliances in the house.
Most stoves will do a prestart check making sure fans start before anything else happens. Most use a system that will shut down if the stove over heats or malfunctions. Speaking generically I don't know of anyone who shuts their stove off if they are going to be gone for a evening. We start ours sometimes in Sept but mostly Oct and it runs 24/7 until I shut it down once every 3 weeks for a 20 minute cleaning then it is running for another 3 weeks.
I did own one stove that I didn't trust but since then that company found the problems and many people are happy with it. It is getting so most stoves will work but you should make a list of the features you want before you decide on a certain brand or model.
Do you want auto ignition or do you want to hand light it?
Does the model look nice to you? Looks are important but the features are more important. Does it have a ash drawer? Can you dump the ash on the go or do you have to shut down to dump the ash tray? One important feature - do you want to be able to burn different fuels besides pellets? Multifuel stove? Do you want to have a large fuel hopper 110lbs rather then 40lbs?
There is a lot of people happy with many different stoves so there is many good ones out there and in the end its what you need. The trick is to buy the right one the first time.
You mentioned you have a Harman dealer close by. Harman has a good reputation and has many good models. Having a good dealer can be very important.
Are you a handyman used to getting your hands dirty, like to know how things work? If so you can do the maintenance yourself and probably get along with a box store model that you use your hands and a phone to fix things.
Have you thought of buying a used Harman and installing it yourself? You could probably buy two used ones for the price of one new one and be very happy. Parts aren't real expensive and Harmans are easy to work on. You can buy parts on line for just about any model of stove. Actually there are many people on this forum that could walk you through rebuilding just about any stove out there. If you want to burn corn which looks to be cheap I would look at Bixby, Harman, and St Croix. Harman quit producing the PC45 which burned both corn and pellets, Bixby quit making stoves but they were a 4000.00 dollar stove back in 2008. They were considered the top stove but the owner had to learn how to run them. You can buy them cheap now and put a little money in one and have a top of the line stove. St Croix were a good dependable stove with few problems.
There is a lot of pellet stoves out there and some better then others. I would talk to owners of the model you are interested in to get a honest answer. Dealers will want to sell you their stove some are good with service after you buy and others not so good.

 

[BrotherBart]

The long and short is that if you are going to trust it while you are sleeping, while you are away is a non-issue.

 

[mr47930]

The long and short is that if you are going to trust it while you are sleeping, while you are away is a non-issue.

Simple as that!

 

[CleanFire]

Are there any stoves that you would NEVER trust to burn while away? Or are they all reliable enough to leave alone?

Proper venting installation, hearth protection, electrical power backup / UPS protection as needed, and proper Fire / CO alarm placement are key to enjoying your stove.

I would recommend ALWAYS fully Q/A'ing and running a stove, whether new or used, for a period of days (or weeks) prior before leaving alone, *Make sure the heating equipment is working properly before leaving it unattended.

Both companies you mention make fine stoves, lots of folks love Harman due to the hopper capacity, low maintenance requirements, and reliability. Local dealer support may be worth the $$$ to you - having full confidence in your install, equipment, and heating requirements will allow you to not worry about, and enjoy your stove.

* You may also want to consider using the existing fireplace venting, and installing a free-standing unit, with extended hearth pad protection in front of the stove, that's what we have done here.

 

[bogieb]

I ran my Harman P61a full time the last two winters and the St. Croix Hastings ran full time last winter. I didn't burn a lick of propane to heat the house last winter. I am away from home up to 16 hours a day.

I think it is normal for the first 4-10 days to run a new set up only while at home. I did that with the Hastings last winter just to make sure I was reasonably confident of my self install. I will probably shake down the PP38+ (it's taking the place of the Hastings) for several evenings during the fall before leaving it unattended to run full time during the winter.

Let me be clear, this has nothing to do with my confidence in the various stoves, and everything to do with ensuring I (or the installer) have covered everything. I usually find a small leak in the exhaust (45's and 90's tend to leak a little, so have to be taped).

If you have a large house, I think it is good strategy to plan on two stoves. Some people find that one large one will work, whereas some, such as myself, end up with a huge one that can't lift the whole load (in my case, due to house configuration) and then have to get a smaller one to take care of the rest. In my case, the P61a is woefully overpowered for the portion of the house it is now responsible for. If I had known I would need two stoves to do the job, I would have gotten something smaller instead.

Pay attention to Rona's list of features you should think about before buying a stove too.

 

[fmsm]

I would double check your measurements. A P35i can fit into a very tight space. Call or dealer if you're not sure. I almost made the same mistake years ago with my first insert.

 

[steveg_nh]

What they all said. My enviro M55 insert shuts down for 2 reasons:

1. to clean it
2. because my lazy kids didn't stock the hopper! LOL

We run it all day when no one is home. Plenty of safety features and it's all contained. Keep your exhaust vent clean and you have nothing to worry about.

 

[TimfromMA]

One good thing about pellet stoves is there are so many sensors that the stove will shut itself down in the vast majority of cases if something should go wrong.

 

[MadMax31]

Im not keeping the house 73 for the Cat. Heats up plenty fast. New modular, tight and tons of insulation

 

[steveg_nh]

If you don't have it on a thermostat, I would agree. I do though so it's set at 71, with a 2 degree temp swing, so it doesn't just run all day cranking the heat non stop.

 

[bbfarm]

I was nervous at first too. When we were looking at pellet stoves a dealer said to us that we have a fire going in the fuel oil furnace and we leave that run.

 

[kennyp2339]

Im not keeping the house 73 for the Cat. Heats up plenty fast. New modular, tight and tons of insulation

Man, you would have big problems in my house if my cat heard you say that...LOL

 

[bags]

I run mine 24/7 here during the heating season without worry. I do operate in different modes depending on outside temps.

In my opinion a pellet stove really operates no differently than a central gas or propane furnace or oil for that matter. These central systems ramp up with bigger fires inside when there is a call for heat.

Some people like to sweat the minor details which I am too busy to deal with. For example my wife unplugs the electric toaster after each use. That's fine too but totally not required. It is smart to unplug items when not in use for lighting and surges per se but they will not do anything if left alone and non-defective.

 

[Pellet-King]

Burning pellets 18+ yr's, leave on 24/7 just like I did for the previous 15 yr's burning wood, have no worries, and If it does cause a fire insurance will build me a more modern efficient home

 

[Don2222]

I have a very similar problem! Putting a Pellet Stove in my new workshop!

Should I install this nice new looking Englander 25-EP same as the 55-TREPEP I also have new fire brick backing for it.
Or
This dirty old Harman Advance. I also have a Brand New Nickel Trim Kit for it.

Price is not too much of an issue here, I own both stoves. I like to have extra stoves around for fun.

What would you do?

Pic 1-2 Englander

Pic 3-4 Harman Advance

Click pics to Enlarge.

 

[bogieb]

I have a very similar problem! Putting a Pellet Stove in my new workshop!

Should I install this nice new looking Englander 25-EP same as the 55-TREPEP I also have new fire brick backing for it.
Or
This dirty old Harman Advance. I also have a Brand New Nickel Trim Kit for it.

Price is not too much of an issue here, I own both stoves. I like to have extra stoves around for fun.

What would you do?

Pic 1-2 Englander

Pic 3-4 Harman Advance

Click pics to Enlarge.

It's a shop - put in the dirty stove and leave the nice looking one for your new solarium that your SO will want in exchange for the new workshop

 

[scajjr2]

We run our stove with a wireless thermostat. During the week it goes down to 65 when we leave for work, kicks up to 70 an hour before we get home, doing this for 2 years now.

Sam

 

[Cory S]

Some of you keep some pretty high inside temps in winter. I would bake @ 73-74* inside during winter! Last year, the daily average inside our 1900sq ft home was between 65-67*F. It wasn't exactly "warm" per say, but easily tolerable. Our home is very insulated/air tight also. The data I gathered showed that we use 15% more fuel trying to keep the house @ 70*F VS. 67*. We also only burned 3 cord of wood for the season, and used 100 gallons of propane from Oct to May. The propane is only used primarily for clothes drying and hot water.

This year, I purchased a new Harman P61A, and already stacked 3 ton of Granules LG's inside ready to go!

 

[elevenMracing]

Harman PF120 in the basement that runs all winter and a P68 in the shop that I often run for days on end unmanned. I sleep in both buildings at times, though I should probably install a carbon monoxide detector in the shop.

 

[Augmister]

If you don't have it on a thermostat, I would agree. I do though so it's set at 71, with a 2 degree temp swing, so it doesn't just run all day cranking the heat non stop.

Like minds. Do what da man said.

 

[DneprDave]

Yeah, I see a lot of high temperature settings on these forums too.
I set my thermostat at 60F for my oil burner and run the pellet stove on the lowest setting, no thermostat for the stove. That keeps the house about 65 F.
I only hear the oil furnace kick on at night.

I'd cook with the indoor temperature at 70F!

Dave