Getting Ready To Upgrade Insert

[sante fe]

Getting ready to pull the trigger on a new Insert. I bought the Sante Fe in 2005 and it has been bullet proof. Run about 3 1/2 tons threw it every year, never had a problem, just small stuff jam here and there it's been great. Wish it could do better on those real cold February nights. Thinking about either the Harmon accent insert, or the m55, or Cb1200i for a little more heat. Any Advice Greatly Appreciated .Thanks A Bunch

 

[jgrz0610]

They're all good stoves. I have an M55 Insert and I love it. Never turn it up over 4 in my old old ranch with terrible insulation and leaky windows. If you get the M55 put in a thermostat...definitely, the Harman has that room sensor thingy which I guess works well and not sure about the Cb though I imagine stat as well. The m55 insert has a small ash pan and if you run junk you need to empty it every day or two. I get about a week with the turmans or country boys I've been burning but the box store stuff requires an empty every day or two to keep it from choking out. Good luck on the hunt.

 

[Former Farmer]

Check which ones will fit in your opening. Your Santa Fe has a smaller opening required than for the others that you are looking at. I have the Castile insert and opening size was the major factor for me.

 

[DexterDay]

If you want to be able to fine tune and adjust the stove.. The M 55 is your best bet.

If you want simplicity at its best (but still heats like the Sun!!) then the CB 1200 is the one.

Both are great heaters. But both are very different. I loved my CB but if I had a choice of those 2 now? I'd go Enviro all the way.

 

[Don2222]

Hello

Cannot go wrong with any of those top choice stoves.

You can also put a T-Stat on all of them including the Harman.

Use a T-Stat made for pellet stoves. After alot of research, I would suggest one the following:

Lux LTS1500u for a wired stat
http://www.lowes.com/pd_24971-37422-LTX1500U-006_0__?productId=3382134

SkyTech SKY-1001TH-A for a wireless stat
http://www.amazon.com/Skytech-1001-A-Fireplace-Remote-Control/dp/B003KXCCIW

Ecobee ECBEB-STAT-02 for an Internet stat with a free smartphone app!
http://www.amazon.com/ecobee-EB-STAT-02-Thermostat-Heat-2-Screen/dp/B004150PJG/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1374503890&sr=8-3&keywords=ecobee smart si

 

[sante fe]

Thanks guys for the quick reply. I have the room for anysize stove in my fireplace thats not an issue.I will be hooking up to 3" exhaust thats on the sante fe now.Guess theres no crystall ball to know which of the 3 would be the most relieable. Harmon and m55 are going for $3500 in my area, not sure on the cb1200

 

[smwilliamson]

I'm really surprised at what a Darling the M55 has become to everyone here...Harman must be getting nervous, that Accentra had a pretty good run.

 

[Lousyweather]

I'm really surprised at what a Darling the M55 has become to everyone here...Harman must be getting nervous, that Accentra had a pretty good run.

it has...and they are upgrading it as well! I've sold a fair amount of Harmans to folks who were "moving" (notice I didn't use the term UPGRADING, though tempted) to Harman.....as for the M55, I cant and wont comment.....insufficient info for me to make any kind of arguable conclusion.....

 

[Don2222]

Maybe you guys could comment on how many pellets Harman uses compared to other stoves such as Englander and top loaders like Enviro. I know The double augers in the Englanders are set for max heat with the lower 3 buttons and I am always changing these settings to what Englander recommends for less heat and using less pellets. My top auger stoves where the pellets just dribble out seem to use less pellets and especially the Santa Fe put out a ton of heat for the amount of pellets used. So far the Harmans I have do use more pellets at startup, but that seems to be by design to warm things up quickly. What about pellet usage for the long term on these machines?

 

[sante fe]

From what I here the m55 may not be as efficient as the Harmon. Would that be safe to say?

 

[Don2222]

From what I here the m55 may not be as efficient as the Harmon. Would that be safe to say?

Maybe someone else can chime in here. I know Harman is the only stove that automatically reduces the feed rate after the room warms up to save on pellets when maintaining temperature besides shutting down if needed. That is the best auto control I know of.

 

[will711]

I would go to your local stove shop that you're going to buy from and see all of these stoves in action . How loud are they , easy to clean ... like taking a car for a test drive then you'll know which one is best for you

 

[sante fe]

Guess I Will Go Kick Some Tires Saturday

 

[The Maine Stove Guy]

I would go to your local stove shop that you're going to buy from and see all of these stoves in action . How loud are they , easy to clean ... like taking a car for a test drive then you'll know which one is best for you

Great Advice! Make sure you go thru the cleaning steps in the store and get hands on with it. I also suggest my customers stand in front of the stove while it's running so they can get a feel for the heat output. As for noise, it's helpful to remember that the showroom at your local hearth store may be bigger than the space the stove is going to be in. The acoustics may be different so It's nice to hear a couple different brands run in the same space for perspective if you can.

Warm Regards

 

[jgrz0610]

Maybe someone else can chime in here. I know Harman is the only stove that automatically reduces the feed rate after the room warms up to save on pellets when maintaining temperature besides shutting down if needed. That is the best auto control I know of.

In thermostat mode my m55 will drop from the high to the low setting once temp is met or it can shut down after 20 minutes if no more call for heat. Is that what you mean? I find the stove to be a pig when you tell it to crank out the heat quickly...but it also could roast a pig in about an hour. I'd like it to be more efficient, of course, but in the dead of winter with poor insulation...1.5-2 bags for 1800 sq/f. Seems reasonable. Can't comment on other stoves, don't own them, but shoulder season sometimes a bag lasts 2-3 days in auto/off mode. All depends on your house.

 

[Don2222]

In thermostat mode my m55 will drop from the high to the low setting once temp is met or it can shut down after 20 minutes if no more call for heat. Is that what you mean? I find the stove to be a pig when you tell it to crank out the heat quickly...but it also could roast a pig in about an hour. I'd like it to be more efficient, of course, but in the dead of winter with poor insulation...1.5-2 bags for 1800 sq/f. Seems reasonable. Can't comment on other stoves, don't own them, but shoulder season sometimes a bag lasts 2-3 days in auto/off mode. All depends on your house.

That sounds about what I was getting with my Avalon Astoria. I did not have Hi/Low so I had to manually turn it down in the dead of winter from 3 to 2. The Harman will automatically adjust the feed rate.

 

[stovelark]

Hi all- Not a big fan of it, but in auto mode, Quad MV AE auto adjusts down the feed rate as tstat in wall control nears the ordered temp,. Having said that, would still rather have the Enviro M55 or the classic bay workhorse CB1200 from Quad. All in all, hard to beat the value offered in the M55 series. A lot of advanced stove features for the money, all in handsome cast iron. The good news is lots of choices, good choices.

 

[Eatonpcat]

They're all good stoves. I have an M55 Insert and I love it. Never turn it up over 4 in my old old ranch with terrible insulation and leaky windows. If you get the M55 put in a thermostat...definitely, the Harman has that room sensor thingy which I guess works well and not sure about the Cb though I imagine stat as well. The m55 insert has a small ash pan and if you run junk you need to empty it every day or two. I get about a week with the turmans or country boys I've been burning but the box store stuff requires an empty every day or two to keep it from choking out. Good luck on the hunt.

Wow...I hope I never have to burn crappy pellets!! Mine ash pan has never been so full that it choked out the flame!

 

[Ozymandias]

stovelark, i am trying to decide between the M55 and the Quad MV. Could you expand on your comment about rather having the M55?

 

[stovelark]

Hi Ozyman My preference for the M55 stems partly from bad memories of the MV AE years ago. Having said that, it is still the same unit, still hard to maneuver around (espec the insert), the control board connectors are not the most robust, Not a big fan of the auto clean feature either. I liken the MV AE and Env M55 to the BMW vs, Chevy analogy: when the BMW runs correctly, everyone prefers it, but not as many people can fix the BMW. So part of my preference to Enviro is my familiarity with Enviro as well. At the store, we have an excellent MV AE tech, who insists the AE is truly an exceptional once understood stove. The M55 is as or quieter, easier to service, I feel as or more reliable and costs a little bit less. I hope this helps, but I do understand part of my opinion is my own bias.

 

[jgrz0610]

Wow...I hope I never have to burn crappy pellets!! Mine ash pan has never been so full that it choked out the flame!

With halfway decent pellets the weekly cleaning takes care of it, but when I first got the stove I went six days with some GS's and the wife told me the stove was out. Ash up to my burnpot...rookie mistake. I could probably go two weeks with turmans with no issue, but I clean weekly so I've never tried. If you'd like to experience the choked out flame you can get 4 bags of infernos and run those through...burning wet mulch produces a lot of ash.

 

[stovelark]

Hi jgrz how long ago did you try infernos?? I know they've been a prob in past seasons.. Anyone brave enough to still try them?? I steer folks clear of them, based on my past experience with them. Good pellets = good stove performance..

 

[jgrz0610]

Tried a bag last season...just for fun. I'll put it this way, they burn. The only place around here that sells them is Big Y as far as I know (I haven't honestly been an Inferno hunt in the last...ever) and they want $6+ a bag. For that money I can buy real pellets. My stove eats everything so if they were $100 a ton I'd own them all...mostly because I'm cheap as hell but the price doesn't justify the performance in my experience. I kept reading they were going to be getting substantially better but I haven't seen anyone buying tons at a time.

You can't argue with good pellets cranking out tons of heat with little ash and minimal if any clinkers. Home depot has hit or miss shoulder stuff that's fun to try but when it gets cold why screw around? Plus if I was out of state and the house was cold the dino juice would start burning. My "Tropical Princess" is used to a balmy 73 degrees in winter, and 52 in summer.

 

[jgrz0610]

Guess I Will Go Kick Some Tires Saturday

Does your toe hurt or what? Make a decision...or have any leanings one way or the other?

 

[sante fe]

Yeah I kick some tires Saturday, just went to one shop, They had the Harmon insert on display.Very nice stove. I didn't get to here it run 80 degrees out, They had an m55 but not insert. Store guy said they are both good which I know, parts have been more of an issue for m55. He said he could do 10% off on the accent insert which came up to $3500 I think the m55 insert was around the same. He said the 1200i was a good stove also $2600 for that. He kinda was saying accent was the way to go. Right now I'm kinda leaning that way. Would like to here them run. He said it would probably be all right to hook up to my 3" exhaust because my house is just one story but would make sure with rep.