Enviro Mini

[jdogg]

I've been thinking of putting a smaller pellet stove in the kitchen of my 2000 ft Tri Level. Built in 1976 fair windows and insulation.
I have a fuel oil furnace and a wood add-furnace in the basement but now with the kids grown and gone my wife and I really just use the top to levels. (about 1000 sq. ft.) Plan to mainly heat with just pellet stove and use wood furnace just when we have company or very cold temps.
Anyways a local dealer told me he is going to a diff. brand of pellet stove and is having a clearance on his remaining Envir inventory.
vf-170 $2800
mf55 cast $2895
mf55 steel $2745
Mini $2205
Now I have never owned a pellet stove but have heated with mainly wood for 40yrs.
Thoughts on the Enviro Mini or any of the other "on sale units?

 

[vinny11950]

I assume you mean the M55 FS - if so, I would get the M55 FS instead or the M55 Cast if you care about looks. I like the M55 FS because it has a bigger hopper, ash pan, it is a multi-fuel stove that can burn just about any pellet you throw at it and if you really need heat it can crank out some serious BTUs when needed.

Not sure if the kitchen where the stove is going to be is in the top levels where you are going to be or the bottom floor, if so you may have trouble getting the heat to rise to the top floors enough to make you comfortable. It depends on the layout of the house.

Having said that, many Mini owners are very happy with it. You can search this forum for all those stoves and you will find various opinions and issues with them.

Good luck.

 

[johneh]

The one thing to remember about a pellet stove is that it is a space heater
not designed to heat the whole house . That being said many people here
do an excellent job of keeping there whole house warm. If I were to buy a
new stove I would go for a multi fuel like the enviro fe 55 steel it
can throw so wicked heat is easy to maintain and run and the above price is
good seeing as I was Quoted over 4000$ last fall for one

 

[SwineFlue]

The dealer is dropping the brand... how long will he continue to provide parts and service? Will he be permitted to do warranty work? Just something to consider.

 

[stovelark]

I'm with swineflu, be aware of the possible necessity of after sale warranty and maintenance parts. As for the stoves, the M55 FS would be my choice.

 

[Lake Girl]

Check with the dealer on warranty and parts. What brand stove is he switching to?

 

[jdogg]

Thanks for the replys. I haven't gotten back with the dealer yet to ask about his new brand and if he will still do warranty or get parts to repair Enviros.
I remember he had a M55 Steel running and said as a experiment he ran it all last winter without cleaning just let the ashes build up and fall into the ash pan. Said he finally cleaned it before restarting this winter. I guess he was trying to show people that they don't have to clean the Enviro 55 on a daily or weekly basis?

 

[stovelark]

I think he was being lazy, and did not help the stove any either. A clean stove well maintained will last longer and perform properly. Too often we hear "its the stove's fault" but a lot of the time it isn't....

 

[vinny11950]

Thanks for the replys. I haven't gotten back with the dealer yet to ask about his new brand and if he will still do warranty or get parts to repair Enviros.
I remember he had a M55 Steel running and said as a experiment he ran it all last winter without cleaning just let the ashes build up and fall into the ash pan. Said he finally cleaned it before restarting this winter. I guess he was trying to show people that they don't have to clean the Enviro 55 on a daily or weekly basis?

if he is trying to sell you that stove, then maybe i would not buy it. it seems abused and if it has no more warranties then parts may need to be change and that would be expensive and frustrating if you don't know how to do it yourself.

 

[hockeypuck]

The one thing to remember about a pellet stove is that it is a space heater
not designed to heat the whole house . That being said many people here
do an excellent job of keeping there whole house warm. If I were to buy a
new stove I would go for a multi fuel like the enviro fe 55 steel it
can throw so wicked heat is easy to maintain and run and the above price is
good seeing as I was Quoted over 4000$ last fall for one

Johneh brings out a good point. You need to size the stove to the area that you are heating. I have a Mini and since I am only heating a 400 sq ft. space it is a touch oversized but it was the smallest I wanted to go to. Your price seems fair in the middle to end of winter. If you take the chance and wait you might even get it for less. Your original post said you were going to use it as a secondary back up unit so it would seem likely that the Mini would do. My guess is once you see how easy pellets are, you might end up using it more to same money, so the M55 might be the better bet if you can move the air around you house. Oil prices might cause you to use the pellet stove more, so make sure you are comfortable using oil going forward.