help me pic a new stove Mt. vernon Bixby or harmom

[iman]

I am thinking that i will Be buying a Pellet stove before October 2007 I need Ideas and opinions on what stove to get. I would like to be able to burn other thinks in it like corn, small grains, and cherry pits, basicly what ever is the cheapest at the time. I have been thinking of the Quadra fire Mt. vernon. are there any others that i should be considering? What about the bixby?? I have heard good and bad about both. I also live in utah and I can't find any info on a bixby dealer in ut. The dealers that carry quads don't know much about pellet stoves; at least the ones that i talked to. What stove are the easy ones to operate. This would be the main heat source for our home about 2800 sqf 1400 up and 1400 down.
Any info would sure help.

 

[begreen]

What is the age and insulation quality in the home? How is it heated now? With what size furnace/boiler? The reason I ask is I doubt that the stove will carry all 2800 sq. ft. in the dead of winter, unless this is a modern, heavily insulated house with high-quality insulated glass all around. It may do fine when the temps are say 25 and above, but when you have a winter like this last one, I'd expect the main furnace to be kicking in as well.

As to maintenance, one of the nice features of the Quad pellet line is how little one needs to fuss with it.

 

[iman]

The home will be new constrution with 2x6 walls and r-21 insulation. The celling will be around R-38 It will have a propane furnace That is I hope Around 90% efficent. We are Hoping to put the stove in an unfinished but insulated basement and set it themastat to 72 and let the heat rise up. The propane would kick on as a back up or when it gets to cold. I would set the propane thermastat to maybe 62 and hope that it hardley ever kicks on. I know that the heat will not be very even with the stove But the cost of propane really scares me. Any other Ideas?

 

[webbie]

In general, many of us would suggest either:
1. Getting a unit which a relatively local dealer is familiar with
or
2. Having relative confidence in your troubleshooting and mechanical abilities.

Also, make certain the unit can burn high-ash fuel....I think the units you mention can do. Check out one of our sponsors - Magnum (at the products page) because they were one of the first to make stoves that burned the higher ash stuff and corn. Harman is also good at high ash - although reports are that it is not as good with corn (may have changed).

One thing I must note from the national trade show this year is that there WILL be an increase in "mixed" biomass fuels consisting of corn, pellets and other biomass. I suggest folks be ready by buying stoves which are flexible as to fuel type.

Other comments....
I think the Mt Vernon is fairly new (I seem to remember some posts about minor problems?).....
whereas the Harman basics are extremely well tested....
Bixby is highly rated by users but a niche product (small volume) and question becomes future service/parts/etc.

I have always suggested that folks buy a Pellet or Corn stoves made by a company that has been in biz for a long time and perhaps makes or has made other products...this way they are not caught up in the boom and bust cycle.

Rod (Hearthtools) is from Northern Ca. and hangs around here - he is definitely one of the top industry experts on the entire realm of Pellet Stoves! He may even be able to sell you one if you have no local dealers.

 

[begreen]

I would add that this is a space heater. It will function much better as an area heater than a whole house heater unless the floorplan is quite open. Basement heating of a whole house is often unsuccessful. At best you will need a good convection path for the hot air to get upstairs and for the cooler air to return. An alternative might be to look at a pellet furnace add on to the existing system.

BTW, are you including the basement in the total sq. ftg? Will the basement walls and floor be fully insulated?

 

[restorer]

Where are you building? What elevation and what kind of winter? Personally, I would think a main floor stove would be more effective, unless you will have a finished basement and utilize it a lot. Heating the "extra space" with a pellet stove will cost you. Most pellets are around 40-55,000 Btu's on the high end. Use of alternate fuels really depends on availability. Corn where I live has hovered around $6-7/bu. Not an economical alternative.

 

[stoveguy2esw]

I am thinking that i will Be buying a Pellet stove before October 2007 I need Ideas and opinions on what stove to get. I would like to be able to burn other thinks in it like corn, small grains, and cherry pits, basicly what ever is the cheapest at the time. I have been thinking of the Quadra fire Mt. vernon. are there any others that i should be considering? What about the bixby?? I have heard good and bad about both. I also live in utah and I can't find any info on a bixby dealer in ut. The dealers that carry quads don't know much about pellet stoves; at least the ones that i talked to. What stove are the easy ones to operate. This would be the main heat source for our home about 2800 sqf 1400 up and 1400 down.
Any info would sure help.

if you want to read up on the bixby, a site to look at (not suggesting you leave here by far) but look at www.iburncorn.com there is a section there dedicated to bixby's. i just started prowling there myself, nice enough site seems to be so far. my counterpart from bixby (tech service mgr i think)is actually a member in there as well im sure he would be helpful. definately pay heed to the guys in this forum as well they wont steer ya wrong. hope this helps

 

[elkimmeg]

there are two way to reduce you heating bill one is supplememtasl heating or increasing the effeciency or the heating system you have and reducing heat loss
What is never addressed combination HVAC systems never achieve either function effeciently trade off are made AC rewiuired larger ducting and feed and return locations opposite to heating requirements Ac should be fed from he top amd returned there Heating fed from the bottom and returned there. expect 35% tranmission losses with out proper installations and improper duct sealing and insulation. the actual burner ther is a difference between the builder's specials to quality equipment the differnces you pay monthly If heating is you biggest concern then why not forced hot water which is much cleaner easilly zoned and much more effecient Som of the better builder have completely different systems Forced hot water for heating and central AC.

It has been mentioned that pellet stoves are zone heaters Basement locations unless completely insulated with finished walls is a waste the exposed comcrete foundation will suck the heat right out if you hav insulated basement floor joist forget any useable heat making it up stairs then there is the combustion air problem where two appliances compete for the limited vollume of combustion air to ren effeciently without outside air feeds either appliance will opperate effeciently that include a fuel fired hot water heater as well
money might be well spent in purchasing better heating equipment better windows sealing and insulating ducts and pipes

 

[webbie]

I dug around a bit on the Mt Vernon - and, yes, the scuttlebutt is that they are having some problems and not being as candid as some would like about these problems. Maybe MSG or another Quad dealer can confirm or fill us in, but if they are hiding something that does not bode well. I sold one brand of pellet stoves that did this to me years ago (knew of problems but played cover-up as opposed to admit and fix) and I dropped them like a hot potato!

MSG?