New guy on the block

[bondo]

Well when the propane prices jumped to over $5 a gallon in my area I started looking for alternatives. The best alternative for me was a pellet stove. After 1 week I am grinning ear to ear. It took a little coaxing but the wife agreed and she is also grinning ear to ear now. I did a lot of research trying to decide what would best fit our home. We have a 2 story 1800 sq feet home built around 1900. Pretty good insulation and almost all new windows. I was worried about getting enough heat throughout the house. Well I couldn't be happier on how the house is heated now. The first night I got it installed it dipped to -20 and I was surprised to see the stove keep up without an issue. The next night was -25 and again it kept us warm with no propane being used. Like I said I am smiling ear to ear.

The boring part is said so lets move on to the toy I bought. I ended up buying the Pelpro 120 home heater deluxe. I looked at a lot of reviews on many different stoves and looked at a lot in person. It had bad reviews by some, but so did every other stove I looked at. However most of the bad reviews were "I bought the stove from the box store and I had a problem and they wouldn't fix it". Sorry but DUH people. Pelpro is sold with the premise that you are on your own with the stove. They put videos up on how to troubleshoot and replace parts to help you out for a reason. Considering I don't hire people to fix any problems I have it was a good fit for me in that category. It is a pretty simple machine to figure out. I have seen a lot of people on the internet say you get what you pay for. I also have a buddy who is looking for a stove say I would never buy it. It is cheap for a reason. Well he is a salesman as well as I use to be. So this is how I explained to him and he agreed when I was done. First of all the stove is almost 100% sold at box stores. There are a couple places on the internet that sell them and a few mom and pops but not a lot. The few that I did see were in the $1500+ ballpark. I got my from Menards for $1100. Box stores can sell things cheaper because they buy so much more and have the promise of buying much more in the future. They get the lowest price possible because of this. Also add to the fact that this stove is basic. No thrills with this stove. To those that say you get what you pay for are correct. I could buy a Kia for $20,000 or a Denali for $60,000. Is the Denali gonna last 3 times longer? If the Kia dies at 180,000 miles will the Denali go to 540,000? Nope, but it will be a nicer ride with all the comforts. This stove will be paid for by the end of next heating season unless propane really drops in price. A more expensive stove would take years more. I am not saying anything bad about more expensive stoves or Denalis. They are both sweet. lol I am just saying you don't have to always buy the most expensive. This stove keeps up awesome in the heating department. I have no complaints what so ever so far. If I do in the future I will post them.

Just a little technical data. My venting is an appliance adapter, then cleanout, 5 feet up, 90, then 3 feet out of the house. That puts me at 15.5 ft on the chart. The chart said for my altitude I could do 21 feet if I remember right with 3" venting. So I went 3" and it has been all good so far. I have not installed an oak yet.

One last thing, this forum is awesome. I did a lot of lurking here to figure out what I wanted/needed. Also it was a big help in installation and tuning help for my stove. Seems like a great group of people here. I attached a pic of my first burn. As you can see my tools are all still out. The hearth is temporary until spring then it will get a new setup. The wife made me promise to put in a stone hearth lol

 

[John Fortier]

Welome and best of luck to ya...good to be rid of propain..mostly!!

 

[Bioburner]

Welcome to a better world without propain. Your payback is a lot faster than you think if comparing to $4 plus dino farts.

 

[IHATEPROPANE]

Well when the propane prices jumped to over $5 a gallon in my area I started looking for alternatives. The best alternative for me was a pellet stove. After 1 week I am grinning ear to ear. It took a little coaxing but the wife agreed and she is also grinning ear to ear now. I did a lot of research trying to decide what would best fit our home. We have a 2 story 1800 sq feet home built around 1900. Pretty good insulation and almost all new windows. I was worried about getting enough heat throughout the house. Well I couldn't be happier on how the house is heated now. The first night I got it installed it dipped to -20 and I was surprised to see the stove keep up without an issue. The next night was -25 and again it kept us warm with no propane being used. Like I said I am smiling ear to ear.

The boring part is said so lets move on to the toy I bought. I ended up buying the Pelpro 120 home heater deluxe. I looked at a lot of reviews on many different stoves and looked at a lot in person. It had bad reviews by some, but so did every other stove I looked at. However most of the bad reviews were "I bought the stove from the box store and I had a problem and they wouldn't fix it". Sorry but DUH people. Pelpro is sold with the premise that you are on your own with the stove. They put videos up on how to troubleshoot and replace parts to help you out for a reason. Considering I don't hire people to fix any problems I have it was a good fit for me in that category. It is a pretty simple machine to figure out. I have seen a lot of people on the internet say you get what you pay for. I also have a buddy who is looking for a stove say I would never buy it. It is cheap for a reason. Well he is a salesman as well as I use to be. So this is how I explained to him and he agreed when I was done. First of all the stove is almost 100% sold at box stores. There are a couple places on the internet that sell them and a few mom and pops but not a lot. The few that I did see were in the $1500+ ballpark. I got my from Menards for $1100. Box stores can sell things cheaper because they buy so much more and have the promise of buying much more in the future. They get the lowest price possible because of this. Also add to the fact that this stove is basic. No thrills with this stove. To those that say you get what you pay for are correct. I could buy a Kia for $20,000 or a Denali for $60,000. Is the Denali gonna last 3 times longer? If the Kia dies at 180,000 miles will the Denali go to 540,000? Nope, but it will be a nicer ride with all the comforts. This stove will be paid for by the end of next heating season unless propane really drops in price. A more expensive stove would take years more. I am not saying anything bad about more expensive stoves or Denalis. They are both sweet. lol I am just saying you don't have to always buy the most expensive. This stove keeps up awesome in the heating department. I have no complaints what so ever so far. If I do in the future I will post them.

Just a little technical data. My venting is an appliance adapter, then cleanout, 5 feet up, 90, then 3 feet out of the house. That puts me at 15.5 ft on the chart. The chart said for my altitude I could do 21 feet if I remember right with 3" venting. So I went 3" and it has been all good so far. I have not installed an oak yet.

One last thing, this forum is awesome. I did a lot of lurking here to figure out what I wanted/needed. Also it was a big help in installation and tuning help for my stove. Seems like a great group of people here. I attached a pic of my first burn. As you can see my tools are all still out. The hearth is temporary until spring then it will get a new setup. The wife made me promise to put in a stone hearth lol
View attachment 127653

Congrats on the stove!! I am sure you will love it!! Good write up on your thought process in your purchase.

 

[alternativeheat]

Well when the propane prices jumped to over $5 a gallon in my area I started looking for alternatives. The best alternative for me was a pellet stove. After 1 week I am grinning ear to ear. It took a little coaxing but the wife agreed and she is also grinning ear to ear now. I did a lot of research trying to decide what would best fit our home. We have a 2 story 1800 sq feet home built around 1900. Pretty good insulation and almost all new windows. I was worried about getting enough heat throughout the house. Well I couldn't be happier on how the house is heated now. The first night I got it installed it dipped to -20 and I was surprised to see the stove keep up without an issue. The next night was -25 and again it kept us warm with no propane being used. Like I said I am smiling ear to ear.

The boring part is said so lets move on to the toy I bought. I ended up buying the Pelpro 120 home heater deluxe. I looked at a lot of reviews on many different stoves and looked at a lot in person. It had bad reviews by some, but so did every other stove I looked at. However most of the bad reviews were "I bought the stove from the box store and I had a problem and they wouldn't fix it". Sorry but DUH people. Pelpro is sold with the premise that you are on your own with the stove. They put videos up on how to troubleshoot and replace parts to help you out for a reason. Considering I don't hire people to fix any problems I have it was a good fit for me in that category. It is a pretty simple machine to figure out. I have seen a lot of people on the internet say you get what you pay for. I also have a buddy who is looking for a stove say I would never buy it. It is cheap for a reason. Well he is a salesman as well as I use to be. So this is how I explained to him and he agreed when I was done. First of all the stove is almost 100% sold at box stores. There are a couple places on the internet that sell them and a few mom and pops but not a lot. The few that I did see were in the $1500+ ballpark. I got my from Menards for $1100. Box stores can sell things cheaper because they buy so much more and have the promise of buying much more in the future. They get the lowest price possible because of this. Also add to the fact that this stove is basic. No thrills with this stove. To those that say you get what you pay for are correct. I could buy a Kia for $20,000 or a Denali for $60,000. Is the Denali gonna last 3 times longer? If the Kia dies at 180,000 miles will the Denali go to 540,000? Nope, but it will be a nicer ride with all the comforts. This stove will be paid for by the end of next heating season unless propane really drops in price. A more expensive stove would take years more. I am not saying anything bad about more expensive stoves or Denalis. They are both sweet. lol I am just saying you don't have to always buy the most expensive. This stove keeps up awesome in the heating department. I have no complaints what so ever so far. If I do in the future I will post them.

Just a little technical data. My venting is an appliance adapter, then cleanout, 5 feet up, 90, then 3 feet out of the house. That puts me at 15.5 ft on the chart. The chart said for my altitude I could do 21 feet if I remember right with 3" venting. So I went 3" and it has been all good so far. I have not installed an oak yet.

One last thing, this forum is awesome. I did a lot of lurking here to figure out what I wanted/needed. Also it was a big help in installation and tuning help for my stove. Seems like a great group of people here. I attached a pic of my first burn. As you can see my tools are all still out. The hearth is temporary until spring then it will get a new setup. The wife made me promise to put in a stone hearth lol
View attachment 127653

I looked at and thought about that stove. The mixed reviews kind of got to me and the wife was in favor of buying a high level stove if to buy one at all ( we were burning coal anyway). I hit on the expensive Harman line of stoves, the wife and I went and looked at lots of brands and decided to go Harman. Out of that line the P61 and P68 were very hard to find any sort of serious negative review about. But what really won me over in particular was the ease of cleaning and the claims of being able to burn just about any pellet out there. Those were two important factors to me and the fact that any other stove did not have two local dealers for support. Some folks really have a time of it finding just the right pellet for their stove and then dealer or manufacturer backup. I preferred to not go through that to any larger degree than needed. I do my own work as well but it's nice to have a dealer to either bounce things off of or to actually have parts in stock. And so, now it's a done deal. I don't expect to be buying another stove for a really long time, if ever.

That said, enjoy your stove, enjoy the heat and the lack of or severely reduced propane bill !!

 

[tjnamtiw]

Welcome aboard! That is an excellently presented argument for buying what you NEED and not necessarily what you WANT. (Kia vs Denali argument). With you realizing up front that YOU will be the repairman, you are miles ahead of many of the pellet stove purchasers. Great introductory statement that could be copied and pasted to many of the posts here from people looking to buy a pellet stove.

 

[CaptSpiff]

Great post, and a photo to boot! I especially like the blood stained paper towel on the left.

Did the lack of an ash draw play in your thinking any? It's one of my deal breakers.

 

[MCPO]

Great post, and a photo to boot! I especially like the blood stained paper towel on the left.

Did the lack of an ash draw play in your thinking any? It's one of my deal breakers.

The blood might actually be red high temp silicone sealer. I have some myself.

 

[Pelleting In NJ]

And the funny thing is that a Kia is more reliable than a Danali

 

[Bioburner]

And the funny thing is that a Kia is more reliable than a Danali

Probably because the KIA has half the gadgets etc. I've a sports car that has a great engine and drive train but the accessories are what drive me crazy.

 

[tjnamtiw]

Probably because the KIA has half the gadgets etc. I've a sports car that has a great engine and drive train but the accessories are what drive me crazy.

Gotta be British

 

[Bioburner]

Gotta be British

Japanese trying to copy a 944 with all features.

 

[bondo]

Great post, and a photo to boot! I especially like the blood stained paper towel on the left.

Did the lack of an ash draw play in your thinking any? It's one of my deal breakers.

I am klutzy but give me a little credit that is silicone not blood. Actually I have no problem with no ash drawer. I have the vacuum in there anyway cleaning I just suck it up.

 

[rick31797]

nice stove..congrats... question i would ask, is parts.. Can you get them at a store, or do you need to order them..are you going to keep your propane stove as a back up,just in case..

I am in Canada and just bought a drolet, because i can go and get parts off the shelf , same day, and these stoves are made in Canada.. We also have a natural gas furnace, so the pellet stove is not out main source of heat..

 

[bondo]

Ok first yes that is silicone. However I wouldn't be surprised at losing that much blood when I am working on a project
I don't mind not having an ash pan. When I do my cleaning I just vacuum the bottom out with all the rest.

nice stove..congrats... question i would ask, is parts.. Can you get them at a store, or do you need to order them..are you going to keep your propane stove as a back up,just in case..

I am in Canada and just bought a drolet, because i can go and get parts off the shelf , same day, and these stoves are made in Canada.. We also have a natural gas furnace, so the pellet stove is not out main source of heat..

Parts have to be ordered. However I do still have the propane furnace, so if it goes down I still have the propane. I did ask Pelpro about it and they said parts should be in my hands in about 3 days if I ever need to order them.

 

[CaptSpiff]

OK Bondo,... I was only joking about the blood part. But I'm gonna stick with my requirement for the ash drawer. I'd give up auto ignite before the drawer.

I read thru the Ops Manual, and the PelPro 800 number is on every page. This looks like a great DIY product.

The industry business model is to shield the Manufacturer from the consumer thru the dealer network. This makes the consumer experience very Dealer dependant. I somewhat agree with the business model. Getting a stove to function troublefree is way more about the "install & upkeep" than about who manufactured it.

But there's no doubt that the Dealer relationship costs the consumer a pretty penny. Any handyman (or woman) can save a bundle if willing to step into that middle ground. Sounds like your choice will be a good fit.

 

[Shannon Hackenberg]

Great to see another happy pellet stove owner,congrats and Englander is the same way the stove is made so the home owner can replace all parts,and as far as reviews on them same way.If you want something you do not have take ashes out or clean use electric.My stove is not fancy but I wanted heat and that is what I got,welcome aboard Bondo

 

[rich2500]

Nice write up and I like your thoughts,I checked out the pelpro pp60 as one of my stove options but the 13" sidewall clearance would not have worked for my corner install.also checked into the englander IP but over the past 9-1/2 years of owning a pdvc I have spent a fair share on replacement parts so I ended up with the serenity and I know I'm the stove tech.for my stove just as i was with my last stove and that's how I want it to be.just me and the manufacturer and no middle man to have to deal with.I have an oil burner so if I have to use it to heat my house for a couple days while I wait on parts I'm fine with that.best of luck with your new stove.install looks nice

 

[Bioburner]

Starting to sound like me buying good stoves used. At about the same entry point and I do the labor too.

 

[theRog05]

bondo, its nice to see another PepPro owner out there. I actually purchased the PP130 this past fall (2014) and I love it. I personally don't mind that there isn't an ash drawer since I have a vac to suck it all out. I just wanted to post on here to ask how your second year was going with the stove. Any problems? How often do you clean the stove and vacuum it out? I tend to be a little OCD so I'm usually vacuuming mine out ever day or so.