New Construction and Pellet Insert

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Dergib

New Member
Dec 4, 2021
4
MI
Ok, we are building a new home on 8 acres. 2300 square feet ranch. Propane furnace so looking for a pellet insert to keep it toasty. Note, I'm a city boy a always had natural gas. I have no desire for a wood stove or stand alone pellet stove. We are going to have a firebox and then have an insert installed (corner). I know I want to get one of the inserts that qualify for the 26% credit so it looks to between the Trekker, the 52i or Lopi AGP insert. I know so little about these that I want something that is easy to clean. The dealer I prefer only sells the AGP. This guy has been in business 20 years and his son is soon taking over. The other dealer which sells the Harmon 52i and the Trekker didn't seem to care much for my business and his reviews indicate that once the product is installed I'll be on my own. Any advice? The AGP was recently redesigned this year per the dealer and will run about $4800 for the unit. The Harmon 52i was at 5400 and the trekker at $5100. Thanks!
 
I like the Harmans. I dont have any experience w/ the others. Harman makes a zero clearance box for new construction insert installs that work very well.
 
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How mechanically inclined are you? Are you going to service the unit yourself or hire someone to come and clean the complete system for you?

Pellet stoves are a hands on type appliance. Cleaning is required as well as maintenance.

Make sure and have an Outside Air Kit (OAK) installed for the unit.

If you are not comfortable doing all of the cleaning and maintenance, definitely buy from a dealer that will support it for a long time.
 
Why do you have no desire for a wood stove or a stand-alone pellet stove? A stand-alone pellet stove is the same thing as a pellet insert, except the pellet insert is harder to get to for cleaning and maintenance.

You should figure on spending at least 15 minutes per week cleaning the stove, which generally speaking consists of getting on your hands and knees and brushing/vacuuming up the ash in every nook and cranny of the interior of your stove. It'll take you longer the first few times until you get the hang of it. Or, you can try to find someone to pay to do that for you... Then at least annually you'll have to figure out how to clean the chimney and cap it to keep the birds, bats, and other critters out of it.

Also you'll spend a bit of time tinkering with the stove trying to figure out what settings you like best.
 
How mechanically inclined are you? Are you going to service the unit yourself or hire someone to come and clean the complete system for you?

Pellet stoves are a hands on type appliance. Cleaning is required as well as maintenance.

Make sure and have an Outside Air Kit (OAK) installed for the unit.

If you are not comfortable doing all of the cleaning and maintenance, definitely buy from a dealer that will support it for a long time.
This helps. I'm sure over time I will get more comfortable with the maintenance but for the first couple years I'll use the dealer.
 
Why do you have no desire for a wood stove or a stand-alone pellet stove? A stand-alone pellet stove is the same thing as a pellet insert, except the pellet insert is harder to get to for cleaning and maintenance.

You should figure on spending at least 15 minutes per week cleaning the stove, which generally speaking consists of getting on your hands and knees and brushing/vacuuming up the ash in every nook and cranny of the interior of your stove. It'll take you longer the first few times until you get the hang of it. Or, you can try to find someone to pay to do that for you... Then at least annually you'll have to figure out how to clean the chimney and cap it to keep the birds, bats, and other critters out of it.

Also you'll spend a bit of time tinkering with the stove trying to figure out what settings you like best.
Thanks. The wife wants a fireplace. We have a wood fireplace in the current home that never gets used but we are on natural gas so its cheaper to just use the furnace. She agreed to a pellet insert because it gets her a mantle to decorate. If it was my choice I'd go straight pellet stove. Much cheaper and seems much easier to clean add in the fact that if something happens its easier to replace. Happy wife happy life.
 
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We wanted a fireplace also but I didn't want the fuss of having to
pull it out to do a full cleaning. So, we went with a stove in an alcove
where the 0 clearance fireplace had been. A little rework and this
is what it looks like. Notice we still have a mantle

[Hearth.com] New Construction and  Pellet Insert