Looking for a Pellet Stove

[CactusBob]

New to the forum and been reading as much as I can the last couple months.
I grew up with wood stoves, left them for many years but recently came back to New England. The house we recently bought has a Vermont Castings Resolute Acclaim 0041, saying it is finicky wouldn't even come close. Some days its 80 in the house and some it's lucky to hit 65. Part of that I think is due to the "seasoned wood" I bought. After talking it over, the wife and I decided to go with a pellet stove instead of another wood burner. I don't need to tell anyone here the cost of a new stove is very high, so I thought about looking at used. Going through this forum pointed me towards certain brands and away from others.
Our house is a 1926 bungalow style in Southern NH, it's 1100-1200 sq. ft. with a partial basement, main floor, and a small 250 sq. ft. room upstairs. We're only looking at heating the main floor and insulation seems to be adequate. Double pane windows, sealed doors, don't know about wall insulation, some appears to be horsehair plaster and lathe. After two or three additions we're not sure. The main floor has a kind of funky layout and the only real spot to put the pellet stove is right where the wood stove is, venting it through the current chimney.
Looking through some online sales I have found these and was hoping someone could give me an idea of where to look first, is a new P-43C at 3200 a better deal than a 9 yr old p61-2 at 2200 or is the Quad the best deal. The other two I am not sure of, I've seen some people love their Englanders but others have had no luck added to the fact its not a US brand anymore. The Magnum is a total unknown. So I am hoping some of the extremely knowledgeable here, can give me an idea of where to start. I would like a stove that will give me years of reliable operation and keep the house warm

Brand New, Never Used Harman P43-C $3200
2013 Harman P61 excellent condition $2200
Refurbished Quadrafire Classic bay 1200 $1750
Englander 25-pdv $500
Magnum baby country $550 no info

Thank you in advance for your help
Bob

 

[Shank]

New to the forum and been reading as much as I can the last couple months.
I grew up with wood stoves, left them for many years but recently came back to New England. The house we recently bought has a Vermont Castings Resolute Acclaim 0041, saying it is finicky wouldn't even come close. Some days its 80 in the house and some it's lucky to hit 65. Part of that I think is due to the "seasoned wood" I bought. After talking it over, the wife and I decided to go with a pellet stove instead of another wood burner. I don't need to tell anyone here the cost of a new stove is very high, so I thought about looking at used. Going through this forum pointed me towards certain brands and away from others.
Our house is a 1926 bungalow style in Southern NH, it's 1100-1200 sq. ft. with a partial basement, main floor, and a small 250 sq. ft. room upstairs. We're only looking at heating the main floor and insulation seems to be adequate. Double pane windows, sealed doors, don't know about wall insulation, some appears to be horsehair plaster and lathe. After two or three additions we're not sure. The main floor has a kind of funky layout and the only real spot to put the pellet stove is right where the wood stove is, venting it through the current chimney.
Looking through some online sales I have found these and was hoping someone could give me an idea of where to look first, is a new P-43C at 3200 a better deal than a 9 yr old p61-2 at 2200 or is the Quad the best deal. The other two I am not sure of, I've seen some people love their Englanders but others have had no luck added to the fact its not a US brand anymore. The Magnum is a total unknown. So I am hoping some of the extremely knowledgeable here, can give me an idea of where to start. I would like a stove that will give me years of reliable operation and keep the house warm

Brand New, Never Used Harman P43-C $3200
2013 Harman P61 excellent condition $2200
Refurbished Quadrafire Classic bay 1200 $1750
Englander 25-pdv $500
Magnum baby country $550 no info

Thank you in advance for your help
Bob

Personally I would see if you can negotiate on the P61 but I am willing to work on my stove if needed. A brand new P43 for that price seems fair in todays market and if it carries a warranty of any kind that could be beneficial. I would pass on the other three.

I've been very happy so far with my 2008 Harman that I installed this year. You will have some costs in getting it piped correctly.

 

[3650]

The Englander might a good deal if it’s in good condition. I’ve not owned one but I remember they were quite popular here. Don’t read much about them anymore so I don’t know if they are still in business. I believe this stove has to be cleaned daily. Maybe someone more familiar with them will chime in.

I wouldn’t give that kind of money for the used Harman but I’m pretty frugal.

The magnum might be a headache. Not sure they make parts for them anymore. I seem to recall them being more popular with the corn burners but I can’t remember.

I’m not a Quadrafire fan. My first stove was a quad. It was a decent stove but it was a lot of work. Had to remove pot daily and scrape it. Prone to misfires in auto mode. Had a small ash pan.

Can’t make a comment on the new stove. I’ve always bought used. Harman makes a good stove. I’ve had a Harman Accentra for about 10 or 12 years and they guy before me had it for who knows how long. I’ve only had to buy an igniter for it. It has been acting up lately feeding too much but I’ve done some maintenance to it and it seems to be running well again. This stove needs the pot scraped daily. That can be done while running. Then a deeper cleaning about once or twice a week

I also have a Harman coal furnace. They build good stuff.

The other pellet stove I have is an Enviro Omega. I would say it’s Harman’s equal. Even needs less cleaning than the Harman. I take the pot out and scrape it about every two weeks and dump the ash. It doesn’t quite look as nice as the Harman and is much larger. I would definitely throw the Enviro hat in the ring.

 

[Mt Bob]

You can always turn a big stove down, or on/off. A small stove may not give you the heat you want. I would be looking at the P61, or something with comparable heat output. And, hard to beat the easy maintenance and repair of a P series Harman.
Craigslist, and facebook marketplace

 

[stvigi1960]

I heat a 1200sqft cape with a 600sqft addition with a Harman Absolute 43

 

[VintageGal]

I'm heating a 1000 ft cottage built in 1969, not well insulated and single pane windows --with a quad Classic Bay. I'm burning low and slow and 24/7 and it seems to be working out very well heating my home. I set the thermostat to 74°. I'm new to pellet stoves and this has been easy to operate. The only booger for me is having to scrape that burn pot daily and my understanding is that Harmon is easier to clean. A clean pellet stove is a happy pellet stove so I'm told.

 

[bogieb]

I would go with that P61 as it can easily be throttled down but it is not so easy to get extra heat out of a smaller stove if needed. My P61a is a 2013 model has has been very good to me.

The P43 should, on paper, heat your area well. But, not knowing actual wall insulations or how leaky the house is (that year house, unless the outside has been redone, doesn't have house wrap so may be as leaky as a b*tch - especially on windy days). A point in the P43's favor, is that it is new, so you would get the factory warranty. At only $1k more than the P61, it is worth looking at.

I have each of my stoves on wall thermostats that are located in different rooms than the stoves. Most of the heating season they cycle on and off as needed. In the deep of winter, there is a point where I change the P43 over to full time burn at a very low feed rate (960 sq/ft on my main floor).

 

[3650]

I'm heating a 1000 ft cottage built in 1969, not well insulated and single pane windows --with a quad Classic Bay. I'm burning low and slow and 24/7 and it seems to be working out very well heating my home. I set the thermostat to 74°. I'm new to pellet stoves and this has been easy to operate. The only booger for me is having to scrape that burn pot daily and my understanding is that Harmon is easier to clean. A clean pellet stove is a happy pellet stove so I'm told.

If you’re thinking about moving to a Harman there are some videos on YouTube that go through the cleaning process.
I have a Harman Accentra. I scrape the pot daily. The advantage is I can do this without shutting the stove down. The other stoves I have had required the stove to be shut down to do this. Then I’ll do a deeper cleaning after a week or two. I’ve gone longer, the stove just doesn’t perform as well.

 

[rickwai]

With that size house I would suggest the new P43. Look at your central heating system. It is probably 60k BTU? It probably runs maybe max 8 hrs a day when its cold? 480k btu/day. If your stove ran at 1/2 capacity it would meet that demand. You have the capacity of 1 million btu at full tilt minus the waste factor. I have seen to many installs where the stove is oversized and just the initial charge tends to throw so much heat into the room that the stove meets the demand and starts a shut down cycle the reignites and does it again, yo-yo effect. Its better to size it to where you get longer constant burns so the stove can modulate to hold temp. Then in the rare super cold times let the central heat make up the difference.

 

[scajjr2]

We've been heating our 1700 sq ft small 2 story house with a P43 for 10 years now. Now our house was built in 1982, is very well insulated and is mostly open floor plan down stairs, stove sits next to stairway to upstairs, vents into center chimney (P43 replaced a wood stove). Keeps the house at 70-72, we've used roughly 3-1/2 tons a year for the past few years.
Only regret is I let Lori talk me out of getting a P61. Was only a few hundred more back in 2013.

sam

 

[mtnbiker727]

You can always turn a big stove down, or on/off. A small stove may not give you the heat you want. I would be looking at the P61, or something with comparable heat output. And, hard to beat the easy maintenance and repair of a P series Harman.
Craigslist, and facebook marketplace

I was going to say this, but you beat me to it.

 

[CactusBob]

Thank you for the reply's, Its been a hectic week. To Rickwai's comment about central heat, we don't have any. The oil furnace for forced hot water was abandoned years ago, it looks like the front of the furnace rusted through so the previous owners shut it down and put in mini splits. They are not the best in cold weather, mine is rated to 5F or -5F, dont remember which but if it gets that cold wood/pellet is my only heat. I was thinking Harman was the way to go but wasn't sure if the prices of the others were low enough to make them attractive.

What is the best way to test a stove when looking to buy, is it to just power it up and see if it runs?

Thank you folks again for your help
Bob

 

[Shank]

Thank you for the reply's, Its been a hectic week. To Rickwai's comment about central heat, we don't have any. The oil furnace for forced hot water was abandoned years ago, it looks like the front of the furnace rusted through so the previous owners shut it down and put in mini splits. They are not the best in cold weather, mine is rated to 5F or -5F, dont remember which but if it gets that cold wood/pellet is my only heat. I was thinking Harman was the way to go but wasn't sure if the prices of the others were low enough to make them attractive.

What is the best way to test a stove when looking to buy, is it to just power it up and see if it runs?

Thank you folks again for your help
Bob

You can fire them up outside with no issues with nothing connected. Just going to have to wait a while for it to ignite then cool down.

 

[gfreek]

Also , not a bad idea if you decide on one, look at the owners manual for install, usage, maintenance, etc...Many available online. I looked at many before my purchase...

 

[Tylervt]

This guy has the Classic Bay 1200 for $1000 less a couple of hours North in Vermont. In storage,selling for a relative. He sounds agravated by stupid questions and it's been up three weeks. Probable get it cheaper just so he doesn't have to answer any more questions.

 

[johneh]

Don't know about where you are but around me used venting is free or comes with the stove.
I personally have never paid more than 500 for a used stove not seen running
and never over 800 running and that in Canadian funds

 

[VintageGal]

This guy has the Classic Bay 1200 for $1000 less a couple of hours North in Vermont. In storage,selling for a relative. He sounds agravated by stupid questions and it's been up three weeks. Probable get it cheaper just so he doesn't have to answer any more questions.

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Good stove 👍