Eco-Choice CAB 50 review

[whatever]

I just installed an Eco-Choice CAB-50 Pellet stove (Heatilator/Harmon). Bought the 1 year old unit with vent for $1250 CAD. Dealer price on the unit is around $2000, so it's not top of the line. At 50,000 BTU, it's one of the larger units, which I needed to heat my 100 year old 2 1/2 story, 1,800 SF house.
Unit is simple, works well, and doesn't spend a lot of money on cast iron and frills. It needs a thermostat to run, and the one included with the stove is an analog unit that's not quite as dated as the first one I ever saw. Works well, but a programmable digital would be a good investment. They advertise a 120 lb hopper, which comes up a bit shy, but maybe it depends on the type of pellets. Ours are mostly softwood. It has a huge convection blower that's pretty quiet on low and medium, but on high, will blow your hair around.
The only problem I had was with the cleaning. There's a pull rod that dumps the firepot into the ash drawer that the manual recommends doing once a day.I stuck to this, since it was only running part time on low, and had several start failures. Turns out the ashes built up in front of the igniter so the pellets were insulated from the heat. Dumping the ashes several times a day should solve this.
Overall, the unit does what it's supposed to, and I feel that it's an excellent value for the money.
P.S. – had some trouble with the silicone seals on the ICC vent leaking smoke. ICC support told me that if a seal fails, a dealer will replace it free.

 

[bags]

Everyone that has a Cab 50 seems to like them. I almost bought one for my second stove last fall. The price you paid is a good deal too.

There was a store that used to sell them new for $1,300 but then you had shipping costs of $200 too. I think it was Farm and Home or something like that in WI and/or MN.

I also read here not long ago that someone said that place is no longer selling them or the price has been bumped up a lot. So consider yourself fortunate for getting the deal you did.

 

[whatever]

I also read here not long ago that someone said that place is no longer selling them or the price has been bumped up a lot. So consider yourself fortunate for getting the deal you did.

Harmon recently bought Heatilator, so the EcoChoice is out of the big box stores and into independent dealers now. Price went up, but you also get knowledgeable sales staff, good support, and a place to buy parts.
AMOF, my dealer talked me out of a combustion air kit, and instead of a combustion fan gasket, they sell the material for 1/4 the cost. Nice.

 

[St_Earl]

wow, i just realised we are starting our 5th season with the heatilator PS50. (same stove as the cab50 but smaller hopper)
i am still thoroughly happy with the stove.
in all this time a single upper auger pellet jam is just about the only real problem i had.
and rather than that being a problem, it is a testament to the floating auger design.

i did get an gleason avery replacement for the combustion motor, which was weak (and apparently had gotten more so over the years) so that the vacuum switch would not work unless i set it sideways from how it's supposed to be mounted.

the door gasket passes the dollar bill test and i did all the usual vacuum line trouble shooting and even bought a new vacuum switch i ended up not needing.
i tested everything and the venting is clear all the way through. the new motor with two extra fan blades works great and the vacuum switch is back to being mounted as it should be.

some people insist that you should stick with what the manufacturer used, but truth is the manufacturer themselves switched to the lower quality chinese motors from what they were using in the quads and heatilators before that.

i have opened up the feed gate and am running on low at this point.
i don't expect to use more fuel because of this motor though, since before i had the feed gate nearly closed, but almost never used the low setting, running instead on medium or high exclusively. ash cakes forming was a problem on low because the lack of draw. now it is crisp and active on low.
medium should be very hot now with more pellets being delivered. so really, it's just a better burn and a proper amount of vacuum.
my dealer had never experienced the situation i had with the vacuum, so it is possible that my specific individual motor was weaker in the end than the same chinese motor model in general.
either way, i am very pleased with the burn now with the gleason avery in the stove.

$1,250 is an awesome price. you really scored.

 

[bags]

my dealer talked me out of a combustion air kit,

Reaearch whether or not to OAK here. Many threads and discussions. This is not the first time a dealer has steered someone away from installing an OAK. I went with the OAK and glad I did. It is up for you to decide but I will also say this: There are some dealers that do not know what they are talking about. I found out more info here and had a better understanding on pellet stoves than some local dealers had. I also understand how air moves.

That was an eye opener for me when I was shopping and steered me away from a few clowns here. FYI, one of them closed up shop as of last spring also. If I had not found a good deal on a used PC45 on CL I was going to buy a new Cab 50 from F & H or that place that had them for $1,300 new. I had made my decision on the Cab 50 and then a deal popped onto the radar. I was lucky to be the first to call and go look at the 45 and had cash in hand. The seller had a list of interested people and their numbers after me.

Dependability and ease of use was a very large factor when I was looking. Good Luck and you will enjoy your stove. But do yourself a favor and at least research the OAK yourself and do not put 100% on what a dealer says. Sometimes like car salesmen they just want the sale and not truly informed nor necessarily looking out for anyone else's best interests. Some here will also argue an OAK is not needed but IMHO they are wrong or mis-informed. Educate yourself on this one and make your decision with all the facts.