Hello, questions on new stove purchase

[nwjetboat]

Hello all. Just joined the forum and seeking advice on new stove purchase. I have been lurking here and there, attempting to gather some of the knowledge of owners/operators of pellet stoves.
The home is 2002, 3400sqft on with a walk out finished basement. Both floors are about equal sqft. The home is well insulated and sealed. There is a wide stairwell up from the basement to the main floor, and is about 18feet from where the stove will be. We have a 90% efficient propane forced air furnace and a propane fireplace. Our goal is to heat the basement to a more livable temperature and provide supplemental heat for the forced air system, and an overall goal of reducing our propane usage.
We have tentatively decided on a Harmon P-68, utilizing the Selkirk Direct temp exhaust/OAK system.
Years ago, we owned a home that we installed an Earth Stove in. We both enjoyed the warmth and ambiance that the wood stove gave, and want to relive that again. I am open to suggestions, ideas, and advice. TIA..

 

[Michael6268]

Stove will definitely heat the basement and probably help a little with the upstairs but most likely not as much as you think. My experience as many others have found that while heat does rise, it doesnt travel from floor to floor very well.

 

[bogieb]

Although some people are pleasantly surprised by how much heat travels from the basement to the main floor, a lot of us get almost nothing. If your main goal is to heat your basement, that is a realistic expectation. You have a large house (at least to me it is large), with approximately 1700 sq/ft in the basement alone. so personally I would not expect much heat to be available for heating the main floor (again, others have had great results).

Someone else mentioned last fall (alas I don't remember who or I would give credit), and I have run with this theme; try placing a portable heat source of ~the same BTU as the stove in your basement, and see how the heat flows. Be aware that it will seem to move better than it probably will in the dead of winter.

If I had done the test above, I would never have let the salesperson talk me into a P61a in the basement and I would have gone with my original thought of installing two smaller stoves, one on each floor. On paper the P61a should heat my 600 sq/ft basement and 950 sq/ft main floor - in reality, not (even after insulating and sealing most of the house), I now have an oversized stove in my basement that idles a lot, and a smaller stove on the main floor that runs fairly strongly to keep it warm in winter. Unfortunately I can't relocate the P61a since I have no rooms large enough to give clearances needed. On the upside, I used absolutely no propane this winter except for DHW and was toasty warm without either stove working to max capacity.

 

[nwjetboat]

bogieb, took your advice and ran a little test heating just the basement to see how much warm air made it to the main floor. I turned down the forced air furnace, and lit off the propane fireplace in the basement. I am not sure how many BTUs the fireplace is, but I found some similar to it rated at 30Kbtu. Monitored temps using two digital thermometers, with the basement one located near the stairwell, the one up stairs in the living room 20ft away from the stairwell. Any way, over a 3 hour span, I brought the basement up 4.1 degrees, and the upstairs up 1 degree. The upstairs did not move for the first 2 hours, and even went down .2. The upstairs eventually rose 1.2 degrees in just over 4 hours.

 

[bogieb]

Glad you got some useful info from the testing. Just keep in mind, the heat you get upstairs from the test now is probably more now than on days that it is in the single digits outside. My big stove can heat the upstairs to a decent temp when in the 30's+ if I work it somewhat hard. Once it gets below freezing, the game is over though.

Also, if you only have one zone upstairs and the thermostat is in the living room (or close to), the rooms farthest away from the stairs will suffer - maybe as much as 15-25 degrees (yes, experience again). If you have a couple of zones, then that isn't a concern.

 

[bags]

The P68 is about the best choice to look at for what you are wanting to do. I heated 2,350 SQ FT on two levels this last heating season. It did the job well and I have zero regrets with my purchase. Results will and do vary depending on multiple factors.

What you would like to do i would recommend the P68. Not because I own one and love it but simply because it is a larger stove and it will be your best shot. I think you will gain in good ways if you decide to go forward. Keep in mind of possibly some various fans (box fans, ceiling fans, and such) because a key to heating is moving air or air exchanges.

Bottom line in my opinion is that I think it would get the temps up down below and possibly help curb the appetite on your forced air system. Another thing to think about is the cost of a new P68 and pellets. My P68 kept the family very warm on the overall cheap last winter. We also loved the fire to stare at. I have burned wood for many years prior and the flames in the pellet stove work fine for us too. The P68 and most Harmans run a nice fire in the box. Some pellet stoves fire boxes look like a little fake fire IMO.

I liked mine so much I bought another within a month. Another Harman PC45 (used) and intend to heat another area of my place next winter. My home is really closer to 4,000 SQ FT total. Hopefully, I'll have it all covered adding the PC45. We shall see but I am more than pleased how well the P68 did the main 2,350 two level main core of the house. I have high vaulted ceilings and a lot of big windows glass doors too.

I thought at first I would use the pellet stove in the shoulder season then add in or switch to the Woodmaster when the cold stuff hit and stayed. We had a cold winter here and I was surprised the P68 did the whole core all alone all winter. It was the only heat source I used ALL winter this year/ I did shut it down for one week and used the Woodmaster just to exercise it and make it workout. Just to keep it moving and not stay moth balled. The week i ran it was not the coldest either.

You will have your nay sayers here but my experience has been nothing about what they whine about. Buying and installing my P68 was a damn good move here. If I had any issues or complaints about it I would not have a probem saying so. I have no complaints. Simple. The only issue I have is kicking myself in the ass for not buying one ten years ago. Truth!

Good Luck in whatever you decide. Oh yeah, a gas fire place or whatever you used for your test is no comparison for the heat produced and thrown out both radiant heat and blower powered heat by a P68. The P68 is a heat pushing and heat throwing machine. Maintenance and cleaning is easy, pretty quick, and nothing like many other pellet stoves. There are things to do but you will not be a slave to it like many other stoves. I ran mine for a month without a shut down and clean. I just threw pellets in, opened the fire box door while it was running for a quick pot scrape daily and let it keep us warm without hesitation. Proper cleanings and maintenance are important for any pellet stoves. Harmans are very forgiving. Feed it, set it, and forget it other than enjoying the heat. I did.

 

[nwjetboat]

Thanks all for the replies. After all my time reading forums we went from a Mt Vernon E2, to the P61 to the P68. I do not expect the stove to be able to heat the entire house when the snow flies and we are at -10 for a week. I would like to hear the forced air furnace less often is all. If I can reduce my propane usage by 40%-50% I will be a happy camper.
I am an electrical engineer by trade, so preventative maintenance is ingrained, and I look forward to learning about the stove's internal workings.