New Pellet Stove Buyer...Need a bit of advice

[Joe B One925]

Hi All,

This is my first post to the site. It's a bit overwhelming with all the great information, so please excuse my post if it's in the wrong location.

I'm currently looking for a pellet stove that can heat about 2000 sq. ft. The setup all happens down in my finished basement (16 x 40ft), and I'm looking for it to also help heat my main level of my house (about 5 stairs up) from my basement. Unfortunately, I don't think I can afford a Harmon as much as I would like to purchase one, so it lead me to look at Home Depot / Lowes, and the models they offer.

I was looking at the Englander 25-PDVC, but was unsure if this unit would really do the 'job'. I was curious what others thought. I currently have a wood stove, but after finishing my basement, I am selling that stove & converting to pellet fuel. Does anyone see an issue connecting the 6" pipe to the 3" of the pellet stove?

The only reason I'm leaning towards Englander is based on a family having one for the last several years, and not having any issues. I find that sometimes a personal experience, beats anonymous reviews online.

Sorry for the winded 1st post, but I thought I'd put the lay of the land out, so I can get some honest feedback / comments.

Thanks!

 

[apandori]

Amfmenergy.com is a good place to start. You can buy a new or scratch and dent. You can also talk to Mike Holton about the Englander brand.

 

[Jason845845]

(broken link removed to http://www.amfmenergy.com/manufacturer-refurbished-stoves.html) Buy your Englander here.

Edit: The guy in the post before me and I just had great experiences with amfm, but with different stoves. And I second the notion that Mike from ESW is a great asset to noobs like us.

 

[apandori]

stoveguy2esw is Mike's username. He's the Englander expert. He's probably going to recommend the stove I have in my signature.

 

[TimfromMA]

St Croix makes an excellent stove. Not many people on here use them but those of us who do will swear by them.

 

[Joe B One925]

Thanks guys for the response. I looked at the link above, is Timeber Ridge the same as Englander? Sorry for the newbie question, but hey since you guys have more experience than me ( who doesn't) then why not ask it right?

I'm pretty handy, and was thinking of installing this myself. As my initial post showed that I'm removing my Wood Stove (6" pipe), and replacing with a pellet. Is there anything I need to keep in mind to make for a smooth installation, or heck what type of piping should I buy? I guess I'm looking for the most efficient, and obviously one that gives off as much heat as possible.

 

[Tonyray]

Regardless of the Model you choose, if it;s a question of BTU's, always go with the higher of your choices if undecided..
you don't want to have to run Full throttle 24/7 if you don't have to or wish you bought bigger..
my Harman dealer was at my house and told me 43,000 was adequate for our place..But if we wanted to get heat to the 2nd floor,
go with larger and put a ceiling fan at the top of the steps. He said a 50,000 BTU Should do it fine.
that made me go for the 61,000 BTU Model... during last winter it was just above half throttle most of the time.
could have melted walls if I cranked it full..

 

[Joe B One925]

See I knew about the BTU's, but Englander doesn't go too high do they? I thought the 25-PDV tops out at what 42,000? If pictures would help I could take a few to show what type of landscape I'm dealing with. Any suggestions how to push air so that it goes up to my main level too? The pellet stove would nearly be in alignment with my stairs, but wasn't sure If I should get something to help further it along. Last year I used electric baseboard heating all winter, and I was crushed with heating bills ($800 - $1000 a month)!! So I'm trying to do this on a budget, but at the same time have a positive experience.

 

[apandori]

Yeah, Englander, Timber Ridge, Summersheat are all England Stove Works brand.

 

[apandori]

Tell us about the house a little. Insulation, floor plan on the first floor, etc... The guys here are good when given info.

 

[Tonyray]

Regardless of the Model you choose, if it;s a question of BTU's, always go with the higher of your choices if undecided..
you don't want to have to run Full throttle 24/7 if you don't have to or wish you bought bigger..
my Harman dealer was at my house and told me 43,000 was adequate for our place..But if we wanted to get heat to the 2nd floor,
go with larger and put a ceiling fan at the top of the steps. He said a 50,000 BTU Should do it fine.
that made me go for the 61,000 BTU Model... during last winter it was just above half throttle most of the time.
could have melted walls if I cranked it full..

btw:
for anyone using a ceiling fan at top of steps of 2nd floor, run it on the lowest speed and always clockwise.
not sure if it is pulling heat up or pushing cold air down but either way all 3 bedrooms are comfortable[90 yr old house/poorly insulated] and we don't have to use the baseboard heat upstairs.

 

[Joe B One925]

The side with where the pellet stove will go is insulted, but not the same as my addition which is connected. My total finished basement is 16x40, open floor plan. I have 4 windows, sliding glass door, 1 door separating the basement with the laundry area.

The addition side has spray foam insulation, where as the original house (pellet side) has your standard padded insulation.

Attached are some photo's of how it is now...

 

[Joe B One925]

Are there any drawbacks to purchasing a the factory seconds at AMFM? (broken link removed to http://www.amfmenergy.com/55trp22--epa-certified-pellet-stove--2255222200.html)[/URL]

Anyone suggest the piping to connect a 3" to my stove 6"?

 

[Jason845845]

https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/amfm-energy-refurbished-thoughts.130143/
PM Stoveguy2esw with your venting question.

 

[Joe B One925]

your a good man Jason845845. I already PM stoveguy2esw. Hopefully I hear back from him. It sounds as though process is pretty straight forward with AMFM.

Would folks suggest getting it home delivered for $75 or pick it up at a 'station'?

 

[Jason845845]

your a good man Jason845845. I already PM stoveguy2esw. Hopefully I hear back from him. It sounds as though process is pretty straight forward with AMFM.

Would folks suggest getting it home delivered for $75 or pick it up at a 'station'?

I paid the $75, This thing is freakin heavy! The guy from Estes rolled it right to my door. Unless you have a forklift to get it off your truck or a High School football team to help you, you'd have a tough time. Sorry I can't help you with your venting question, but I don't want to give you the wrong information.

 

[Joe B One925]

I know venting is a tough one. Does anyone here use a fan to keep the motor 'cool'? Any tweaks folks are familiar with that I should apply after receiving the unit?

 

[apandori]

I picked mine up but I had access to a nice ramp and an F350 and good friends. I'm not sure you can connect to that 6" pipe. It may not rated for the pellet exhaust.

Also, might be a better bet to email Mike at his first address in his signature to get in touch.

My stove was a factory second. Couldn't even see anything that looked like a blemish and I managed to ding mine once already myself. Haha.

 

[Joe B One925]

I just emailed Mike on his 1st email address, so hopefully I hear back relatively soon! I can't imagine the pipe would be that much of an issue, but my wife is insistent on working with the existing hole we have there and connect to our chimney.

I was curious if anyone had a better experience with pellets with this stove than others? I know I don't want to put 'junk' in this, and of course looking to get the max output (in terms of heat as I can, without of course burning out the unit!

 

[apandori]

Mine is getting complete junk this year because of my own stupidity but it burned it fine yesterday. That being said I already found my provider for next year and they are willing to give me a spring discount and free delivery. Internet is good but if you find sellers and talk direct they are likely to help you get yourself a better deal.

 

[bbfarm]

Love my st croix

 

[OhioBurner©]

I paid the $75, This thing is freakin heavy! The guy from Estes rolled it right to my door. Unless you have a forklift to get it off your truck or a High School football team to help you, you'd have a tough time. Sorry I can't help you with your venting question, but I don't want to give you the wrong information.

I had the Estes guy drop off my refurb from AMFM yesterday. I would just as soon not paid the $75 and picked it up in my pickup or on the trailer, but the guy from AMFM couldnt tell me where I would have to go to pick it up. I didn't want to drive an hour each way to whatever shipping terminal it used. Maybe 30 min each way and I'd go for it. Since he couldn’t tell me where I'd need to go I just went the $75 route. I don’t think he was the main guy (said something about the owner was on vacation). He also misqouted me delivery time. He said normally they are 2-3 weeks but that they were very backed up now and he had no idea how long it may take. Well the stove was sitting in my driveway the 6th business day after I ordered online. Wow. I'm not complaining!

If you dont have a loader or something to pick it up (really nice being able to pick it up and pretty much set it right through the front door!) before I had the tractor I bought the Shelburn woodstove. I had a harbor freight electric hoist that I mounted on a steel bar between two trusses in my garage. I mainly use it to hang deer, but occasionally lift heavy things off the truck or trailer, move truck or trailer, then set down on floor. Works slick! I was nervous about the weight of the stove on the truss, but proceeded very cautiously and haven’t had a problem.

 

[Joe B One925]

Hey OhioBurner, I sided with the $75 drop off as well. I got the tracking # last night, so hopefully it comes in one piece. What did you do when the guy dropped it off to check it out and such? I know that we should refuse if there is something wrong, so I was curious.

Are you having a battery backup for the unit? If so what?

 

[OhioBurner©]

Well I didn't look it over too much. Its hard to get through all the packaging quickly. But I opened the top of the box and pulled back the foam sheet enough to at least see around and make sure there wasn’t a major problem. I only saw one spot where the box was slightly damaged on the outside so I looked at that area underneath and didn’t see anything.

I'm new to pellet burning, is there a need for battery backup (like the unit will overheat if it suddenly looses power)? Or is it just to keep it running if the power goes out? I have a generator if its out long term, and also the Jotul insert, though that doesn’t radiate nearly as much heat without the blowers going.