Englander / Summers Heat Stove 25-PDVC / 55-SHP10 Experiences

[houset]

I have been in the market for a pellet stove, and the price point on this has been right for my finances. However, everything i've read on this forum seems to really list the many issues with this stove. Now i know most come here to solve issues, so i was hoping some here would be able to lists some of their positive experiences with these stoves so far. I list the 1500 Sqft. model above, but anyone who owns an englander / summer's heat stove can share their experiences. I am a novice when it comes to stoves, so i am hoping in general these are easy to maintain. It's time to find something better than having to rely on the high cost of oil.

Thanks everyone

 

[skeetska]

I have a 55-shp10 and I'm heating a 1400 sq ft single floor home. Temps in the house avg. 69-72 depending on the outside temps with the stove on the lower heat ranges 2-3. I clean the burnpot every day and a complete clean every three days. Have not had any problems with stove and have had it since early October. Tech support is great Hope this helps.

 

[kleenburner]

This stove is first wood heating appliance I've ever owned. Have had no problems at all with it. I empty ash every day and complete vac every 2-3.Burn Lignetics pellets one bag per day it Heats 1100 sq ft ranch 24/7 between 65-75 with heat set at 1.

 

[staplebox]

I've been running this stove for about 2 weeks. So far I like it. It is my first pellet stove, been burning wood for a while, so I don't have anything to compare it to. I have not been able to get down to just 1 bag per day - more like 1.5/day- even though its been fairly warm here. My main floor is 1000sqft and the second floor is about another 500. It keeps the main floor at about 68-72 and the second floor at about mid 60's - mostly running on a 1-6 setting. I have an open floor plan, meaning you can walk around in a circle, and the heat flows well.

The glass does get pretty dirty and I get about a cup or less of ashes in the pot per day- some more flies to the side. This could be the pellets - I've tried 2 different kinds and am starting to pick up on their differences. Gotta clean it daily, no way around it.

Mechanically, this sucker has been sound - no rattles, shakes, or defects. The hopper lid does bow up but it doesn't appear to be a problem. The hopper innards need a little TLC to smooth em out but not much work.

Installation is straightforward if you have some basic do it yourself skills. For me it has been well worth it. My wood stove heated the finished basement (another 1000sqft), and could get the main floor to the lower to mid 60's, but left the second floor (bedrooms and bath) in the low 50's. Now I am off oil except for the hot H2O.

I picked this stove up for $600 at the Lowes sale, the vent kit for $100, another 3' pipe for $12, (got hosed on the only 45 elbow left within 50 miles), built a hearth pad for about $75, had fun cutting a hole in my house and have a much happier (read warmer) wife.

 

[bret4]

I love my 55-SHP10! Can't see any reason to buy a $3000 stove. The payback for me would many years. Searching the web I found that there seemed to be just as many problems with all other stoves. For the money why pay more for the same problems?

I got my stove at lowes when they had a sale for just under $600. I have it in my basement room. The downstairs is 800SF and the upstairs is 875SF. On a 30"F day it keeps the lower level at 74 and the upper level living room at 70. The bed rooms and bath upstairs are about 67-68.

It works great with no problems in a month of use. The biggest thing that seems to cause the most problems with any stove seems to be a the lack of cleaning. Keep it clean and it should last a long time.

 

[Biglumber]

I am going on 3 weeks. Good heat, somewhat quieter than my old whitfield. I got the last one at our lowe's and it was on closeout. That purchase is still ringing in my mind.
Jury is out but so far the case is interesting. Time will tell how wise this purchase was.

Peace

 

[petejung]

I have the Summers Heat model purchased from Lowes. Installed myself back in September. Had a couple of problems with the stove, but nothing major. It was out of service for like 4 hours due to these minor issues. Stove runs pretty much 24x7, and keeps the first floor of a 2500 sq foot house between 65-73 depending on outside air temp, on heat setting 1 or 2. When it get's really cold outside, I'll crank her up to 5, and still mainting the 70+ downstairs. I have a pretty closed floor plan, so not too much heat gets upstairs, but at night it still stays 60-65 upstairs.

My natural gas consumption has dropped by approx 90% over the winter.

Proper and regular maintenance, as well as what brand pellets are run through my stove are keys to reliable and comfortable heat.

 

[blanc12]

I have had a 25-pdvc for about 2 years. I have had some problems (some were my fault) but I still love this stove. I heat a 2000 sq ft house that was built in 1880 and is a little drafty. This little stove will heat my entire home until it gets to about -5. I think that is a hell of an accomplishment. Next year I am getting a bigger stove and it will be an englander. The tech support is the best and they stand behind their products. I like to be able to work on things myself and with the help of tech support there is nothing on these stoves a handy guy or gal cant fix.

 

[petejung]

That's one of the great things about these stoves. While they aren't necessarily the most decorative stoves (but IMHO they aren't unattractive, either), nor do they have ALL of the bells and whistles of the $3000 stoves, they are pretty reliable, and aren't complicated. The parts are easy to get to, easy to work on, and haven't changed over the years, so they are easy to get, too. I'm not saying that you will definately have problems (but you probably will - anything is going to have a problem over time, sometime), but if/when you do, there's no need to panic about whether or not you can get parts or support for your stove.

 

[HD41]

I started using my 25 PDVC in October and with no problems that were the fault of the stove. I use my 25 PDVC full time, burned 1 ¾ ton of pellets with oil furnace sidelined. A curtain hook that fell in a bag of pellets ended up the auger. I was able to diagnose and repair the problem using of ordinary tools with the help of the ESW detailed instruction video that came with the stove. I found heat output varies with different brands of pellets and adjustments may be necessary in the 1 and 2 settings if you are going through a lot of pellets. I don’t know how other stoves compensate for this. Much discussion about auger noise which is attended to by a bit of scraping at weekly cleaning that is spelled out clearly in the instructions. I see a payback of three years with the Englander. I was in the service industry and find the involvement of Englander service people, much after normal working hours is commendable.

 

[hyip1206]

I got mine in January from Lowe's for 598.00. I love it i kinda have fun cleaning it. It save so much money, I couldn't be happier. I am no longer burning Kereosene as a main scource of fuel it's a back up that I haven't had to use. I can't belive the price of these stoves. How do they do it?

 

[houset]

Thanks for all of this great feedback. I did end up going with the Englander 25-PVDC model. I really like the look of it. It's plain, yet cute. (as my wife calls it) Although i would have very much loved to have gotten in on the Lowes 598.00 deal, no Lowes in the area had them in stock. So i ended up paying 900 out the door(i had a 10% coupon). I think overtime even though i did spend a bit extra than some of you got, in the long run it will be well worth it. I plan on contributing with my experiences once i get this installed for hte next heating season. I'd like to do it now, but we have some construction that needs to be taken care of first.

 

[cntbill]

I think you made a good choice, just keep it clean, Good luck with your construction (sort of in the same boat)

 

[Stihl029]

You guys just sold me on the stoves...Going to go to home depot and get the 25PDV they have on sale for 1399, regular 1899...Its the customer service I read about on this message board that makes me want to buy an englander stove.

 

[houset]

I agree. This place is a fantastic source of information. i am glad i found it.

I have a 3 year old, and i was wondering how hot this stove gets. i read that pellets stoves use convection, not radiant to heat the home and that they don't get too hot to touch.This was one of my decisions to go pellet over wood and coal. Are there any places on the stove that i definitely don't want my son to be touching other than opening the door and sticking his hand in the fire

 

[HD41]

The youngster will have to be watched and instructed about "hot, don't touch" hopefully without learning the hard way. They watch and want to do what we do and are likely to even try to open the door. I measured the outside of the door and it was about 400 degrees.

 

[staplebox]

I don't have the exact same model but the front of my stove gets too hot to touch. I have a 2 and a 3 year old who grew up around a wood stove and I never had a problem with them trying to touch that stove. I guess the new pellet stove was too much of novelty for my 2-year-old because on day 2 of running it he went up and touched the front. It didn't cause a burn or any serious damage but it stung him enough that I don't think he'll do it again. I put up a gate, under orders from the wife, just in case.

 

[houset]

Bummer about how hot this gets.. i guess i will have to go the route of putting up a gate as well

 

[cntbill]

Any stove you get will have HOT area's especially the door, after all there is a Hot Fire going on inside. And as certain areas will be cooler and you can touch them at times as it all depends on what setting you have it on, ie on low my stove is 250*, on med it is 450*. Safety for your child needs to be the utmost important thing. With small children there is too many variables.

 

[skypros]

I was wondering on how the Summers Heat 55-SHP10L was holding up.

Lowes has them for $1,199 (twice the cost as others paid.... but then again they are not on clearance yet)

After reading through this forum and doing google searches.... I learned something....... PARTS

It looks like if you buy a "name brand" the only way you can get parts is by going through a dealer...... (is this true??)

I am a Mr Fix-It, so I buy lots of things via the web.

Thanks
Steve

 

[imacman]

.... I learned something....... PARTS

It looks like if you buy a "name brand" the only way you can get parts is by going through a dealer...... (is this true??)

I am a Mr Fix-It, so I buy lots of things via the web.....

Steve, you are correct for the most part. Big companies like Harman and Travis Industries (Avalon & Lopi) only sell parts through their dealers. There may be others too. But many brands can be bought through the web.....an example would be WoodHeatStoves..... they sell parts on the web for about 9 different makes. I have seen parts for Englander stoves in HD & Lowes too.

(broken link removed to http://woodheatstoves.com/by-manufacturer-c-292_90_221.html)

 

[Panhandler]

(broken link removed)

(broken link removed to http://www.pelletstoveparts.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?)

http://woodheatstoves.com/

(broken link removed)

http://www.energypartsplus.com

etc.

 

[cntbill]

I was wondering on how the Summers Heat 55-SHP10L was holding up.

Lowes has them for $1,199 (twice the cost as others paid.... but then again they are not on clearance yet)

After reading through this forum and doing google searches.... I learned something....... PARTS

It looks like if you buy a "name brand" the only way you can get parts is by going through a dealer...... (is this true??)

I am a Mr Fix-It, so I buy lots of things via the web.

Thanks
Steve

Just did a test run the other night since it was cool out (in the 50's) and the stove ran like a champ, no issues.

 

[Ralph777]

I love my stove.

Englander Wood Pellet Stove is awesome and their Tech Support is great!!

However, I am trying to reduce the use of the amount of wood pellets I use. I have moved the Hopper Plate to the lowest level, and have also changed the codes for the upper Auger Feed.

My question is: Has anyone tried and 80/20 Pellet/Corn mixture.

I understand that the Corn used must be used for Animal Feed only.

Just curious as I have heard that it will save money on Wood Pellets and increase the heat of the stove...however...it must be a mixture of 80 wood pellet to 20 Animal Feed Corn.

If anyone has any information or experience about this, I would appreciate a response. I also understand that this is not recommended by Englander Stove/Summer Heat.

Thanks for any feedback, I greatly appreciate it!

 

[Ralph777]

Staplebox,

I have spoke to the Tech Service, as well as actually seeing these stoves built.

There are two options, that I am aware of, that you can do to this stove. These have helped me reduce my Pellet Consumption dramatically as well as keep the heat.

In the Hopper, you can move the Spacer Plate forward, which reduces the the Pellet consumption to the top Auger. Or, go into the Key pad for Test Diagnostics/Setup and reduce the Top Auger Feed.

I have codes should you want to try this.

Hopes this helps!!