New Home - Never had a pellet stove before

[steelejones]

Hi everyone, the new home is going up nicely, a few months left before we will be in it. However the contractor has told me its time to get the new stove or at least the model to him so he can plan wall and back clearances (corner install). we are going up and out not out the side of the home.

My biggest question is brand and model. Im curious everyones thoughts around these parameters.

1. In not a mechanic and cannot work on this thing so i need something reliable
2. The house is 1100 sq ft with open floor plan
3. This will be the primary heat in the home with electric backup.
4. $ is a concern
5. Is once per week cleaning too much to ask?
6. I live in Maine.

It worries me a bit as most of the topics on here are ERROR codes, this broke that broke etc.


Curious everyones thoughts.

 

[johneh]

Remember this a forum Most people that write on this forum are looking for help
with a problem stove . The rest of use try to help some are experts some like me addicted
to pellet stoves and want to know as much as possible. There is a chance your stove will brake
in my case my 12 year old Envrio has not given any problems. But I maintain it on a regular schedule
I have also bought repaired and sold 5 other Envrios The knowledge to do came from this forum.
I would bet that a good percentage of the form membership has never had a problem with there stove.
or a very minor problem. Just remember you get what you pay for and a pellet stove is a space heater

 

[Hoot23]

A Harman p38 would do you pretty good. Easy once a month cleaning, scrape the pot every few days, and clean your vent at least once a year. I'm bias to the Harman's cause I love mine. But there are some other stoves out there that will give you what your looking for. Others will chime in and try to give you a hand.

 

[Ctcarl]

After buying a used stove to save money.Well after 2 chimney fires and constant problems. I did a good amount of Reseach and found the Harman to be a outstanding stove for people not to mechanical savy.I save up and traded in my junk and got a Harman p35i insert and love it. I have a 1800 split level and does the job.Also cleaning it is a joy. I actually enjoy the 7 day cleaning.When I have to do my ton or monthly cleaning it has brackets and rolls out the chimney.I can say thus far I am extremely impressed.I learned the hard way you do get what you pay for. If your in the market do your self a favor and look at a Harman.What ever you choose good luck

 

[steelejones]

How do you guys feel about the Quadrafire Castile?

 

[Hoot23]

Every stove has good and bad reviews. Do a Quad Castile thread search at the top of the page, you should get some pros and cons.

 

[alternativeheat]

Every stove has good and bad reviews. Do a Quad Castile thread search at the top of the page, you should get some pros and cons.

I think the Castile is a beautiful looking stove and it probably works pretty well too. However, the Harman P38 has several advantages over it. Proven reliability in that P series stove is note worthy but it also touts slightly more BTU output. The P38 has a 10lb yield larger standard hopper, plus an optional high hopper available. If you are away from your house a lot this will be important to you. The P38 offers reserve heating for those extra cold days and yet can be turned way down and it costs less than the Castile. Arguably, the Castile is nicer looking but the Harman is quality looking as well, if not as classic in design.. It may be your better choice in the long run.

 

[chken]

It worries me a bit as most of the topics on here are ERROR codes, this broke that broke etc.

Curious everyones thoughts.

Funny, cause it kind of does make you think everyone's stove has problems, in particular, Harmans, just based upon the number of problem threads. We should probably do a survey on what stoves everyone has, to get a true feel of which ones seem the most problematic.

 

[alternativeheat]

Hi everyone, the new home is going up nicely, a few months left before we will be in it. However the contractor has told me its time to get the new stove or at least the model to him so he can plan wall and back clearances (corner install). we are going up and out not out the side of the home.

My biggest question is brand and model. Im curious everyones thoughts around these parameters.

1. In not a mechanic and cannot work on this thing so i need something reliable
2. The house is 1100 sq ft with open floor plan
3. This will be the primary heat in the home with electric backup.
4. $ is a concern
5. Is once per week cleaning too much to ask?
6. I live in Maine.

It worries me a bit as most of the topics on here are ERROR codes, this broke that broke etc.


Curious everyones thoughts.

I'm curious if you have considered other types of stoves, where it sounds as though you would rather not not get too involved mechanically. ? All stoves require some owner input obviously but it seems of all the options out there, that pellet stoves require more periodic deep cleaning and maintenance than say. just a wood stove. A wood stove needs the stack cleaned now and then but there are no moving parts to break down. Harman makes these (and I'm sure others do as well) that will burn 12-16 hours or so on a load of wood. Pellet stoves seem a mad rage for the automation but that's the part that gives the trouble if there is to be any trouble.

I burn coal, looking at pellet stove options too. I've done a ton of reading for I guess close to two months now. Meanwhile, the coal stove keeps chugging along. I dump my ash daily and feed it twice a day and that's it ( in this coldest weather it gets a third touch up feeding cause i've really upped the burn rate to keep up). Annually I clean the ash out of the stack, to which most of it has never gone past the damper collar.. The concern you say, why switch ? Pellets are more available where I live and that's about it.

 

[whlago]

One thing to consider is a multi fuel stove (not necessarily to burn multipal fuels). My Enviro M55 has an "agitater" that rotates every so often and serves the purpose of stirring the ashes in the burn pot while pushing them out of the burn pot into the ash pan. This featue allows me to leave my stove door closed between weekly (or every two weeks) cleanings. This is a great feature that prevents buildup of ash in the burnpot and allows your stove to be tolerant of most any pellets. Good luck with the new house and the new stove!

 

[JoeS]

One thing to consider is a multi fuel stove (not necessarily to burn multipal fuels). My Enviro M55 has an "agitater" that rotates every so often and serves the purpose of stirring the ashes in the burn pot while pushing them out of the burn pot into the ash pan. This featue allows me to leave my stove door closed between weekly (or every two weeks) cleanings. This is a great feature that prevents buildup of ash in the burnpot and allows your stove to be tolerant of most any pellets. Good luck with the new house and the new stove!

If I had that type of burn pot in my Mt. Vernon AE I'd be Happy Happy Happy!

 

[DMKNLD]

I have an early generation Castile that came with our Maine farmhouse when we bought it, and I concur w/ alternative heat's comments on it - the biggest pros IMO are it's aesthetic looks and lack of having to futz with air / fuel mixture settings - the only real adjustment is the pellet feed gate that you can open or close for the amount of pellets that feed the auger, beyond a control box adjustment on the newer type control box that can increase the pellet feed by 10%.

The disadvantage of the lack of ability to tweak the air / fuel efficiency is that you have to keep it clean, probably more than most pellet stoves require, to keep it running efficiently, which burning good quality pellets helps considerably. There is daily stuff you need to do like scraping the burn pot and the heat exchanger tubes, beyond the monthly / every ton deep cleaning, but it is easy to do those on Castiles, and takes only a few mins per day and maybe a half an hour to do a deep cleaning once you have the process dialed, to include the leaf blower 'ash dragon' cleaning to get all the loose fly ash out of the stove bowels that a vacuum can't reach.

The smallish hopper size is a PITA - my early generation model won't take a full bag of pellets, so if we're gone all day and it's cold enough that you can't run it on the low setting it will run out of pellets in less than 12 hours or so on the medium setting. I believe the newer generation Castile models have a slightly bigger hopper capacity, but no hopper extension capability that I'm aware of like the Harmans have. The newer Castile models also have 10 heat exchanger tubes vs the 8 tubes that mine has, so the newer models will heat a larger area w/ the higher BTU output than mine will. I am heating about 1100 sq feet also, and on cold windy winters like this one has been it struggles to keep up in our drafty Maine 1870's farmhouse, though I typically burn it on the medium setting, and only use high when it is below zero to save some on pellet use, which averages about 4 tons per winter for me.

Castile have a reputation for having louder blower noise and rattles / vibrations than other models it seems. I have a free standing model, which makes it considerably easier to get at the working guts than a fireplace insert model, and they are easy to work on if you have reasonable mechanical abilities. Good dealer support for service and / or parts is a critical issue for any stove purchase. If you live in the central ME area I would highly recommend Don's Stove Shop out of Livermore. He carries Quads as well as good variety of other pellet and wood stove brands in his shop. Don and Teresa and their techs provide exemplary customer service and product support. I burn 100% softwood pellets from SIB Pellet warehouse in Jay Maine, and the owner Steve Barker has been great to deal with also - competitive pricing, and he delivers them right into my garage from his flat bed trailer with his pallet loader.

Disclaimer - I have no financial stake in either Don's Stove Shop or SIB Pellet Warehouse, but feel promoting their exemplary customer service is warranted in an industry with a reputation of often less than quality customer service. Feel free to Private message me if you want to chat more 'off post' on any of this. Good luck.

 

[reallyte]

I was stuck between the castile and Santa Dr. Ended up with the Santa fe because it was cheaper and practical with a larger ash drawer. The Santa fe is a good stove but does require regular cleaning with few tweaking controls. It really depends on your budget.

 

[peirhead]

What makes you sure you really want a pellet stove, especially as a primary heat source?.....If I were building a new house I would really be looking hard at heat pumps with some sort with in floor heating.....I like my Castile but it is a fair bit of work!

 

[JoeS]

What makes you sure you really want a pellet stove, especially as a primary heat source?.....If I were building a new house I would really be looking hard at heat pumps with some sort with in floor heating.....I like my Castile but it is a fair bit of work!

He said: This will be the primary heat in the home with electric backup.

That is telling me he wants to utilize the stove more than the electric heat!

 

[Former Farmer]

here is daily stuff you need to do like scraping the burn pot and the heat exchanger tubes, beyond the monthly / every ton deep cleaning, but it is easy to do those on Castiles, and takes only a few mins per day and maybe a half an hour to do a deep cleaning once you have the process dialed

About the same on my Castile insert.

 

[Madcodger]

I have had a Quad Mt Vernon AE for four years now. I think it would easily heat 1100 SF, depending on layout. I vacuum out the firebox and ash pan once / week (2-5 minutes) and once / month take off the baffle plate and vacuum / clean it along with the exhaust channels. Takes 20 or so minutes and I could easily teach a child of about 8-10 to do it, so very little mechanical ability needed. An annual thorough cleaning is necessary, and a dealer can do that if you would rather not.

Other than that, I just dump pellets in every day or two. Very likely something most adults can handle.

 

[RKS130]

Hi everyone, the new home is going up nicely, a few months left before we will be in it. However the contractor has told me its time to get the new stove or at least the model to him so he can plan wall and back clearances (corner install). we are going up and out not out the side of the home.

My biggest question is brand and model. Im curious everyones thoughts around these parameters.

1. In not a mechanic and cannot work on this thing so i need something reliable
2. The house is 1100 sq ft with open floor plan
3. This will be the primary heat in the home with electric backup.
4. $ is a concern
5. Is once per week cleaning too much to ask?
6. I live in Maine.

It worries me a bit as most of the topics on here are ERROR codes, this broke that broke etc.


Curious everyones thoughts.

I am only in my 3d season with pellets, so I lack the experience and expertise of many here, but can offer the following. With only 1100 sq. ft. in an open plan there are surely many stoves which will do the trick for you. Me I love my Harman Accentra FS, which would, IMHO, surely meet all of your criteria. Once a week cleaning - if done well - will be more than sufficient. The stove is extremely reliable and will crank out ample heat for you.

Our house is 1600 sq. ft. on two levels and we do fine, with supplemental heat only on the coldest nights - like right now.

 

[Tim Linden]

Go with a Harman! I purchased one after doing lots of reading and talking with local pellet stove owners. What I found was "in general" the Harmans were built better and had less issues. Obviously every product can have issues but these guys have less work involved.

1 - For instance, my Dad's stove doesn't have a temperature control like the Harman, so he has to keep changing the setting to keep the house at a consistent level. That would drive me insane, I don't have time for that.

2 - Also, his pellets drop into a burn pot which if you don't empty it out the flame goes out. My Harman the way it's designed the ashes fall out without any interaction. I only clear mine when I put pellets in because I like to play with fire, but I can't imagine having primary heat go out on you because of design flaw.

3 - And on top of that I like knowing I can throw any kind of pellets into it and it burns them. I buy the cheapest pellets and have no issues with it. My dad had to modify his bearings on his stove because some brands the auger couldn't handle.

Now maybe other brands have things that fix these problems but I stopped paying attention after getting my stove, my friends make fun of me for talking about it so much LOL

 

[alternativeheat]

I have had a Quad Mt Vernon AE for four years now. I think it would easily heat 1100 SF, depending on layout. I vacuum out the firebox and ash pan once / week (2-5 minutes) and once / month take off the baffle plate and vacuum / clean it along with the exhaust channels. Takes 20 or so minutes and I could easily teach a child of about 8-10 to do it, so very little mechanical ability needed. An annual thorough cleaning is necessary, and a dealer can do that if you would rather not.

Other than that, I just dump pellets in every day or two. Very likely something most adults can handle.

It sounds most likely that the OP wants to stay away from the mechanics of it all. Routine items sounds doable, He seems to understand that there is a weekly process for instance. But ya, owning a pellet stove or any stove, is not like turning up the thermostat on your central heat system and having a tech in annually or every two years for some PM work.. There are things that have to be addressed regularly..It just has to happen or the device will fail, whether a kid or an adult didn't do the routine scheduled work. And I will call it work because for some it can be a chore and others a hobby like adventure but it is physical work. A lot of people go into the idea of owning a stove simply for cost savings not really aware of what they are getting into.

2 - Also, his pellets drop into a burn pot which if you don't empty it out the flame goes out. My Harman the way it's designed the ashes fall out without any interaction. I only clear mine when I put pellets in because I like to play with fire, but I can't imagine having primary heat go out on you because of design flaw.

3 - And on top of that I like knowing I can throw any kind of pellets into it and it burns them. I buy the cheapest pellets and have no issues with it. My dad had to modify his bearings on his stove because some brands the auger couldn't handle.

You got to love that burn "shelf " design on the Harmon burn pot. It isn't pot shaped or bowl shaped. It works much like a coal stoker in design, that the spent pellets just get pushed off into the ash pan automatically. This is just one thing that has me sold on the Harman line of stoves and why I've settled on selecting from their line to replace my old hand made, hand fired coal stove. I like coal stokers in design, I'd get one of those if rice coal was more available in my area but it isn't and is likely to get less in supply, not more.

 

[SwineFlue]

Has your builder given you an estimated heat load for the house (in BTU/hr)? You'll need a stove rated for at least that number. You do not want to get an inadequate stove if this will be your primary heat.

 

[SwineFlue]

my early generation model won't take a full bag of pellets

Try stirring the pellets around with your hand to settle them into the hopper and pull them toward the front of the stove, then pour in more pellets. Repeat one or two times and you should get 40 pounds in there.

 

[Augmister]

I have two free standing Castilles and they are a little work, but I enjoy them. We have a very small house, well insulated and the stove does the job. With the low temps here, been running mostly my Barefoots and Somersets, no problems and little ash. All the comments from Castille owners, above, hit all the points. Wish the hopper could hold 60 lbs of pellets but it is what it is. The wifie wanted the Mahogany finish so they are both "red heads." Nobody complains about the Harman's and with either stove, you can't go wrong. BTW, this is the 8th winter with the first stove and had a new igniter and convection motor put in. Runs like the first day I brought it home.