I'm debating getting either a Harman absolute 48 or a quadrafire santa fe. Obviously cost is a major difference but i was wondering what you guys feel is the best stove? I want to get a stove that will hold up for years to come and won't give me alot of issue's. Thanks
harman vs quadrafire
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Bioburner
Moderator
Have not heard of the 48 but there is a 43 with fancy controls. I would not go with any new designs for a year or two. Quadrafire proved that last season with exploding stove syndrome. Santa Fe has been farmed out to overseas manufacture I believe and I personally like something that has a bit of meat on it instead of tin and aluminum. Sure others will chime in and get a few feathers ruffled
Seems that newer is not better with new buyer of the Harman and Quad lines.
Seems that newer is not better with new buyer of the Harman and Quad lines.
reallyte
Feeling the Heat
I would not buy a Quadrafire again. Our experience has been that their customer service is not up to much if something goes wrong.
I would go with the Harman.
I would go with the Harman.
HitzerHillbilly
Feeling the Heat
I really like our Harman! Never used a quad fire tho. Our Harman has the auto ignite, room temp, stove temp settings. I'm happy with it.
HitzerHillbilly
Feeling the Heat
killie11
Member
Not sure if there is a difference for support. They under the same parent company now.
Lake Girl
Moderator
While begreen has a point, Hoboken was one of the first reporters on the E2 problems ... a situation that definitely required good customer support. Most of the Harman models out there have been around for a while and have the bugs worked out.
Same with Quad. The E2 issue was bad, but it doesn't represent the entire line. There are a lot of Quad models that are very reliable and low maintenance. Our 1200i had an automatic igniter (that never failed), a burn pot that needed cleaning once every 1-2 weeks, thermostatic operation (on a digital thermostat it was the bomb), and worked well year after year.
I didn't know they were under the same parent company. That's discouraging as I guess it means if anyone gets into trouble with Hearth & Home products they are going to be SOL. : (
Have not heard of the 48 but there is a 43 with fancy controls. I would not go with any new designs for a year or two. Quadrafire proved that last season with exploding stove syndrome. Santa Fe has been farmed out to overseas manufacture I believe and I personally like something that has a bit of meat on it instead of tin and aluminum. Sure others will chime in and get a few feathers ruffled
Both Quadra Fire and Harman have been bought out by the same company and introduced new "light-weight " stoves to compete with the box store type. They use the band name reputation to sell the "beer can" quality and after ruining the reputation of the companies will close toe door and move onto something else. These newer fancy controls sound good but remember when they go bad the stove quits and you will probably end up waiting until the dealer gets one from his supplier which could be a long time. I can refer to the AE as a example. When they work they do all the work for you but that means you can't fine tune it yourself. You get to pick something that is programed into the board. If the board goes bad you will be looking at 500 to 700 dollars
The Harman 43 and the Quad E-2 are both results of a cheap remake of a successful product with fancy technology that can go bad.
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