First time buyer needs insight

[Gtown-1]

Hey there,
Looking for a pellet stove that would suit my needs. I have a 1000 sq ft rancher that cost me alot to heat last winter( my first winter in this house). I'm slowly getting around to making it more energy efficient but have decided to invest in a pellet stove( my first). I had a woodburning insert in my old house but don't want to deal with cutting,stacking wood etc, etc.
What would be some suggestions as to what brand,model for me to look at? I've looked at several sites,read reviews as well as gone to several fireplace stores but their showrooms only had 3 pellet stoves...tops.Any help would be appreciated
Thanks

 

[Smokinbubba]

There are many questions to be asked before we can answer that question
Do you want a stove that needs daily cleaning? Are you "handy" are you patient? What is your budget? Will this be your only source of heat? What is your climate? How well insulated is your 1k sq'?
Im sure i missed some...

 

[Gtown-1]

I thought of some of those after posting,haha but here we go
1. Looking to spend about 2000.00
2. Supplemental heat
3. Live outside of Philly
4. Supplemental heat
5.Not well insulated but working on that like I alluded in my initial post.
That about covers it, thanks for your help. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[Gtown-1]

Also very handy and no I don't want to clean every day. Thanks

 

[Ssyko]

open floor plan? layout of the home makes a big difference in moving the heat around. buy a stove that is bigger than you need! its easy to turn a stove down. but its tough to get more out of it than its designed for.i have had a quad cb1200 for 19yrs and just retired it and installed an enviro maxx. i have a 1600sf, vaulted ceilings and a very open floor plan and live in upstate NY (Tug Hill region). there's many good stoves, do your research and read up on the ones you like. I would look at Quadrafire, Enviro, Harman, Comfort Built, Englander just to name a few.

 

[MalcolmH]

I'll add that from my experience bad Reviews for Pellet stoves tend to be more about the installation, service, warranty and high expectations of individuals, I see lots of bad reviews for really good stoves, I've seen a lot of really poor and dangerous installations aswell that could make owning a pellet stove undesirable and unenjoyable. You do need to tinker with them for each different install and setup to dial it in, I think many would like them to work like a base board heater and they do not. And always test the stove before the need for heat is required that way your not left in the cold after the stove sat for 6 months.

 

[Smokinbubba]

I LOVE my englander. It is the sole source of heat in my home (1360sqft)ranch NOT open floor plan.
Including install I have around $1500 in it, including my homemade hearth. It is a 55-TRP-22 from AMFM energy. Its a referb unit. Prior to purchase, I spent 3 weeks lurking here learning everything I could about the englanders so I new what to expect when it was delivered. I was confident I could do the install myself safely and to code. It took a few days of fine tuning/moding my stove to get it to burn cleanly and efficiently and now I just need to fine tune the burn air to suit different brand pellets. I am also running on a programmable stat. I run my stove 24/7 when outside temps are below 35degf or so. Here is what I do to maintain my englander:

1. Twice per day - open door and scoop ash from burn pot. 20 seconds max each time. Top off hopper 1min max
2. Once a week - shut down stove, let cool, vac all ash from stove. Scrape burner plate and auger nose. 5min max from time coals are cold.
3. Once a month - do #3 as well as a leaf blower cleaning of pipe. 20min max from time coals are cold.

I understand some of the more expensive brands/units you can extend #1 above to once a week or longer, but for me, I don't mind the extra labor for the cost savings.
Very impressed with Englands tech support. (for Dads stove)

Hope this helps, Bubba