Unless I missed it, no one in this string mentioned the fact that the MAIN, over-riding factor when choosing a stove is not the brand but the quality of service/perceived knowledge/parts inventory of the dealer. What's your gut feel as to his competence? Not his BS, but his knowledge of the stove? Can you talk to anyone else who has bought from him? I guess it's too late now though since it's on its way.
You'll be thrilled with it - trust me! I only burned Barefoot my first season and now I have 3 new tons of LaCrete. From what I've been reading... LaCrete is a notch above Barefoot and maybe a notch below Douglas Fir. Although the 52i can 'burn' any type of pellet well, I still always suggest burning the better pellets! When you go over to the pellet threads, you'll find no loss for suggestions as to what to burn. Some only burn the best - some only burn what's 'flammable' lol but after the shortages of last season, buy your entire winter supply as soon as possible (always less expensive in the early Spring) if you have the room!
A shop vac is more than fine... just DON'T FORGET the proper filter (you'll only forget that once... not that I would have made that mistake... but from what I've heard lol)
Same here but it's noisy as all get out! But NO dust.Get some pics. I have the cheeta 2 for a ash vac. so far wrks really well
I remember my dealer telling me that the price is important but actually this appliance will save you money every year. What other appliance do you have that will do that? putting it in perspective if you own it for 10 years that extra few dollars a year is hardly worth worrying about. Another thought is re sale value. A name brand will hold a value versus a cheap box store model will be hard to sell at any price.
And if you save a few bucks from buying an inexpensive (a.k.a. CHEAP) stove at HD, etc., who are you going to call for service??? The people at home depot barely know where the light bulbs are!!
Go to Benny's... They have the PowerSmith ash vac (green canister, black top) and I've bought 3 of them, 2 of them for relatives and everyone's been happy with their performance. Three Harman insert owners. Best part is the vac costs $69.99 at Benny's! More at other places. Good luck to you.
Holy crap, are those expensive
! I guess the suppliers learned from last winter that people will pay ANYTHING to get pellets. It seems that once the price goes up, it never comes all the way back down on anything. $400 a ton??? NFW! 
At one time my dealer was getting pellets from a company in Missouri that he said were Oak. They were very short 1/2 to 1/4 inch long burned very hot compared to other pellets that were 1 inch long. The bag didn't seem to last as long because the short pellets fit in the auger better. If you were using a thermostat they lasted noticeably longer then the longer ones because the thermostat wasn't calling for more heat. He was only able to get pellets from that company one season as it was destroyed by fire but that was a high quality pellet well worth the extra they cost. At the time corn was very cheap so it didn't make sense for me to burn pellets but I was always impressed by that pellet. Around here Indeck seems to be the only choice for the last 3 years. They seem consistent in size but have a lot of ash.Holy crap, are those expensive
As far as high heat goes, all pellets are rated in the 8000 to 8600 btu/lb range IIRC. It's just that some pellets are more dense than others and when you get a shot of pellets in the burn pot, if they are more dense, you get more heat; HOWEVER, you get fewer 'shots' in a bag. I see that with different brands. Some bags will fill 4 of my buckets I use to haul pellets to the stoves while my present pellets fill only 3 buckets. It's all about density and pellet size. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!
No, you can't roast marshmallows.
X3 on the cheetah spendy but much safer then a plastic job. I have a retired firemen who bought a Harman PC45 the same time I did and said it was a waste of money to buy a spendy Vac for cleaning the stove. He called me up one winter morning and wanted the name of the place I got mine. I asked why and he said I was smart enough to put my plastic vac outside on the lawn just in case but this morning I found the wire handle and parts of the motor were all that was left. That was several years ago and after he bought the new one his wife said the house wasn't as dusty either. Black dust or soot.
Yep, the short pellets allowed more to be packed into the auger and more dropped(or were pushed) per revolution, hence more heat even if they weren't as dense. When I had some Carolina Wood Pellets, they were 1-3" long and it was hard to get any heat at all since only a couple pellets dropped at a time. I think we should really talk about pellets being short or long and dense or light, and not hot versus cold, which is a misnomer.
Yep, the short pellets allowed more to be packed into the auger and more dropped(or were pushed) per revolution, hence more heat even if they weren't as dense. When I had some Carolina Wood Pellets, they were 1-3" long and it was hard to get any heat at all since only a couple pellets dropped at a time. I think we should really talk about pellets being short or long and dense or light, and not hot versus cold, which is a misnomer.
