EcoTeck pellet stoves

[MountainStoveGuy]

I might have mentioned that i am getting rid of my wood stove this year and buying a EcoTeck pellet stove. I am a dealer for this product, but its new to our shop. Any hearth.com users have one of these in there home? Any issues that you have came across? We just got our burn display going and it seems very impressive. The units are ultra quiet. Something about the fit and finish make them seem worth the price tags they have on them.

As far as the installation goes, i plan on direct connecting it to my existing HT pipe. Not sure how well that will work at 9000'. The rep told me that the stove actually runs better on 3" pipe vs 4" on vertical installations. Of course this goes against the grain with every other pellet stove i have ever sold or installed.

We hooked up the laura here. It has two heat exuast ports on the back to route to other parts of the house if needed. I have seen these on wood fireplaces, but have been less then impressed with the performance. The system on the laura works like a charm.

the stove i am looking at is this one:
http://www.ecoteck.us/wood-pellet-stoves/veronica.php

 

[summit]

HOW DOES IT DO THE BURN POT? AGITAOR, OR JUST A DROP IN?

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

Just drops in. No agitator. On the shut down cycle it goes through a clean cycle that blows out the ash. It also has a sweet micro processor control on the top of the stove. I really need to research the product better. We have not had it very long and i have just been to dang busy to mess with it. Honestly, the only reason the ecoteck is coming here is its the only styling that my wife will deal with. I can tell you this, the fit and finish on the unit is as high quality, if not better, then rais, bari etc. It makes sense to me, the dang euro wood stoves have such a small firebox why not just turn them into a pellet burner!

A few observations i have had with our burn display:
The vermiculite lining projects allot of radiant heat forward
It is very quite when it operation.
I almost burnt the bacon typing this
It seems to handle fines pretty well.

What i need to learn about this unit:
How exactly the controls work
What motors are where, and how serviceable are they
How prone the auger is to jamming.
Basic circuit diagram for snap disks, vacuum switches, etc.

 

[BrotherBart]

Let me know when I need the freight company to come by and pick up that Mansfield. :cheese:

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

its for sale! on my local craigs list. I have it priced pretty high trying not to sell it yet lol. I can ship it out anywhere, but it sure would be easier to sell it local lol.

 

[fluemasterjr]

I also sell ecoteck pellet stoves at first i was a little leery of them. they looked way to complicated for me to have to service. about 3 weeks ago i went to the training that Northland had in VT. it took all my worries away these are top of the line stoves and there not too complicated to work on they are very well built. under the setting you can set up what you have for venting and the stove will automatically adjust its self. also it does an auto clean every 45 min with out shutting down. now if only we could find a customer for them.

 

[summit]

whats the avg retail?

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

Summit: $3500-$7500

Flue: I am getting lots of calls for them from people on there website, but no takers just yet. I think we are the only west coast/mountains retailer besides one in new mexico. I agree with you, they seem extremely well built, and are very impressive on the flue. Im looking forward to getting one burning at the house!

 

[summit]

sounds alot like our RIKA stoves; work well, sophisticated user interface, high efficiency, self clean cycles, etc. however, the cheapest ones go for @ 4200 (premio / visio) and the Big dog (Integra 2) goes about 5600... its hard to get a buyer for them at that price, when others sell for 2000 - 3500... and the euro styling throws alot of people off; they'd rather have some crap pellet stove thats suppossed to look like a woodstove and works for sh&* than a modern looking appliance that rocks!
My latter point would make for a good post, BTW, have you noticed that most of the "tradtional" (i.e. woodstove looking) pellet stoves look like a woodstove only from head on? all the lit on these things never show you a profile views, or an install in a corner looking along the adjoining wall... cause then you see the ugly sheetmetal box that sticks out a mile past the backside of the pretty casting up front, not to mention the awkward pipe outlet coming off one side...

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

You are absolutly correct, its rare that marketing brochures show the whole pellet stove, with ecoteck they do a decent job of showing the grill from a perspective view. This will be the year to test the limits of the high end pellet with the tax credits. The tax credit will put that euro pellet/wood stove into the american price points. Time will tell.

 

[summit]

the only woodstove looking pellet stove i have seen that looks like a woodstove from every angle is the XXV by Harman... the thing is totally encased w/ cast iron, the fit and finish are excellent.. they even make a top vent adaptor for plugging into masonry flue; this adapts the rear 3" pellet vent to a top mount 6" stovepipe to complete the woodstove illusion (also the mirrored glass covers up the view of the burnpot and exchanger when the fire is out, but dissappears when the fire lights up!)... But i think you are correct, Pyro, the tax cred should help move out some of the more expensive stoves in this market (SHOULD!), but we have hedged our bets this year; we bought plenty o' pellets to at least sell the fuel to all the dubs that bought a stove last season! I think service and fuel may at least equal stove sales, as many of the folks selling stoves last yr were fly by night kinda operations, that are rapidly closing their doors, leaving their customers for us to sell fuel and service to!

 

[wetpellet]

[quote author="MountainStoveGuy" date="1247946490"]Summit: $3500-$7500

Actually, the price is a little lower than that, not much but a little.
$3200- $5800

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

the sofia-decor is 10k for the high end, the francesca is $3600 is the low in.

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

your right, i just found a problem with my system. My computer is calculating a little high!!

 

[Raul M.]

I have an Ecoteck Monica that I purchased last year. The stove worked great and it was enough to heat up our house in RI for the winter. Used the stove almost 100% of the time except when the temps got below 20.

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

Nice! glad to here you like it. I am considering the Laura or the Sophia. Wife likes the shorter Sophia, i like the larger hopper!

And welcome to hearth.com Raul.

 

[webbie]

At the 5K plus mark it would seem that a pellet stove is either a Fireplace or a Toy......neither which is a problem, but just that any financial payback is doubtful when compared to other common fuels. When service, original cost, installation and future parts...and pellet prices...are all figured in, only the rare case would pay for itself in any reasonable window.

Of course, the same could be said for every fireplace ever sold....fancy furniture, etc.

There is an ass for every seat - and some people buy sofas for 10K.

In the current economy, more people who buy stoves - at least here in the east - are doing so in an attempt to save money. But there is always a niche architectural market - the same one where the Rais and other Euro stoves have been popular.

Our store was located in a high income area outside of Philadelphia and we always had a hard time selling the expensive Euro-look gas, pellet and wood models.

 

[MountainStoveGuy]

i hear ya, but, the praticality of the euro wood stoves can be argued for sure. Small very expensive stoves that are limited by there firebox size. The pellet stoves are not much more the there american counterparts any more. With a pellet stove, i think i would want to buy one with the best fit and finish and quality components. When you compare pellet or wood heat, vs my electic heat, i think i can justify the cost of the fuel, the stove, and the maintenance in a pretty short order. I spend well over $400 bucks a month for electricity if i dont use my wood stove. My woodstove sat pretty cold most of last late winter and early spring. I dont have the time to mess with processing wood any longer.

 

[Stentor]

At the 5K plus mark it would seem that a pellet stove is either a Fireplace or a Toy......neither which is a problem, but just that any financial payback is doubtful when compared to other common fuels. When service, original cost, installation and future parts...and pellet prices...are all figured in, only the rare case would pay for itself in any reasonable window.
...........
In the current economy, more people who buy stoves - at least here in the east - are doing so in an attempt to save money. But there is always a niche architectural market - the same one where the Rais and other Euro stoves have been popular.
............

You know the business and I don't but what you're saying certainly makes sense to me. Personally, the money is important but I really enjoy my stove and consider enjoyment part of the return on my investment.

However these European high-end stoves are very interesting and maybe more than curiosities or niche architecture. I wonder what the European market is for expensive residential stoves and whether that market is expanding. Governments are increasing industrial use of pellet heat in the EU but I haven't read anything about residential stoves. How do the high end products work for different individual and household income levels? Are they luxury items? Both status and practical or just practical?

Too bad we don't have a crystal ball and can't look into the home heating future thirty years from now.

 

[webbie]

Heat oil is MUCH more expensive in Europe.

Back when I was in the biz, regular stoves (free standing) were not big sellers in much of Europe. There were numerous niche markets, especially in Scandinavia. But most Europeans have little access to firewood. Pellets are starting to get popular in the northern part of the continent now.....but I think it is probably driven as much by lifestyle (green energy, etc.) as it is by the price of fuel.

Much of Europe is heated by natural gas and by district heating (hot water pumped through pipes from a central plants to entire neighborhoods).

Another point about heating in Europe. Hot water heat is about all they have. Being a very comfortable and zoned heat, they have not had the problem with "comfort" that we have - hot air heating systems here sell many a stove for us!

 

[wetpellet]

For the past few years, pellet stoves have been booming in the European countries. Mainly due to the fact that Russia can shut the pipeline down whenever they feel. This has people scared, so they turn to an alternate fuel and pellets have been a big one. Even restaurants, offices, etc. are using pellet stoves for heat.
And I would agree with the people on this site that say the euro stoves have an edge on the U.S. stoves, as far as looks and quality. Yes, most of the stoves are a little more expensive, but quality and durability is what counts.