Newbie Debating Quadrafire/Enviro

[OnlyWhnChasd]

Hello! New to the forums but have been reading here for the last several days. Like a lot of people, I seem to be having some problems deciding between two stoves and am hoping for some help.

I am wanting to heat a 2000 square foot open floor plan cape cod. Husband want a multi fuel stove (I think he's a budding prepper) and I want something "pretty" so we've narrowed it down to the Enviro M55 cast or the Quadrafire Mt Vernon AE. I've read some of the pros and cons of each, but now that I've gotten the quotes from the dealers back, I'm more confused than ever.

I expected the Enviro to come in much cheaper than the Quad, and help sway me that direction (which I was leaning anyway, but we just got quotes back and the Quad with install came to $4900 ($3500 for the stove, the rest is tax, install, and vent materials) the Enviro with install came to $5300 ($3800 for the stove, the remaining being tax, install, and vent materials. Not what I expected! Unfortunately these are about the only two dealers (one sells Enviro, one sells Quadrafire) that service my area so I can't really shop around.

So, now the price difference has muddied the decision for me again. I'd read the Quad isn't worth the extra money, but what if it's actually cheaper? Is the ease of the Enviro worth the extra $$$?

ETA: I just got a quote from another company for a Regency Hampton GC60. They quoted $2500 for the stove. Supposedly this stove is the same as the Enviro M55 but there has to be SOME difference, right? I mean, that's more than $1000 less than the Enviro! I realize it's a difference dealer, but $1000?

 

[Bioburner]

$3500 for the MT. Vernon AE seems to be a very good price.

 

[apandori]

Your budding prepper should want a wood stove since it can function without electric. :-D

Both brands seem to be well liked by the owners of them around here. I'd say go with the one with higher BTU output.

 

[Caribfan]

I love my Mt Vernon AE. The selling point for me was that it can be run on a car battery if you lose power. I haven't had any cause to push the envelope but on a couple of occasions I have run it for a few hours when I have lost power. The word on this forum is that it will go for around 20 hrs before needing to charge the battery.

 

[OnlyWhnChasd]

Your budding prepper should want a wood stove since it can function without electric. :-D

No doubt! Unfortunately, the way our house is set up the only location for a stove puts it in a spot where we'd have to have a LOT of chimney sticking up from the roof in order to clear a dormer. It would look very awkward, to say the least. Direct venting a pellet stove is really the only feasible option.

Both brands seem to be well liked by the owners of them around here. I'd say go with the one with higher BTU output.

The MT Vernon AE is rated at 52,450 BTU and the M55 at 55,000; but the MT Vernon is supposedly more efficient (86% efficiency versus the M55 76%). So, one has a slighter higher BTU rating, but the other is more efficient. Gah! What to do, what to do? I never thought making a decision about a pellet stove would be this hard!

 

[OnlyWhnChasd]

I love my Mt Vernon AE. The selling point for me was that it can be run on a car battery if you lose power. I haven't had any cause to push the envelope but on a couple of occasions I have run it for a few hours when I have lost power. The word on this forum is that it will go for around 20 hrs before needing to charge the battery.

Yes, my husband was very keen on the ability to run the stove on a car battery. I think he might decide he wants the Mt Vernon just because of that feature!

 

[Harvey Schneider]

Your budding prepper should want a wood stove since it can function without electric. :-D

I love my Mt Vernon AE. The selling point for me was that it can be run on a car battery if you lose power. I haven't had any cause to push the envelope but on a couple of occasions I have run it for a few hours when I have lost power. The word on this forum is that it will go for around 20 hrs before needing to charge the battery.

Two years ago I ran the MVAE on battery for about three days. That was on a single 100Ahr marine battery. I had to relight the stove a few times when it required a clean cycle, but it kept us warm when we were without power for those three days. It would have gone longer, but the power came back on.

With regard to efficiency heat output is fuel Btu's input multiplied by efficiency.
86% of 52,450 = 45,107
vs
76% of 55,000 = 41,800
so the MVAE has the upper hand on heat output by about 8%.
Other things to consider:

• The MVAE is one of the quietest stoves around. It may not be noticeable in a show room, but in your living space the sound of blowers can get tedious after a while.
• The MVAE does auto clean cycles so that you only have to feed it as needed and vacuum the ash up about once a week. No burn pot scraping every time you feed it.
• The MVAE will burn practically anything without complaining. I wouldn't intentionally feed it nuts and bolts, but mine passed a screwdriver tip from pellet hopper to ash tray without incident.
• The MVAE has a set back thermostat function built into it's control panel. No cost for an additional thermostat.

You might be able to see that I'm a fan of the MVAE. That's okay, It has earned my allegiance.

 

[OnlyWhnChasd]

You might be able to see that I'm a fan of the MVAE. That's okay, It has earned my allegiance.

Great information, thank you! Do you find the shut down for the auto clean cycle to be annoying or that you lose a lot of heat while it cleans/wait to restart? Have you had any trouble with it not restarting after an auto clean cycle and dumping pellets?

 

[Harvey Schneider]

Great information, thank you! Do you find the shut down for the auto clean cycle to be annoying or that you lose a lot of heat while it cleans/wait to restart? Have you had any trouble with it not restarting after an auto clean cycle and dumping pellets?

There really isn't any noticable drop in temperature during a clean cycle (at least in my home). I have heard of others complaining about temperature drop, but their problem was really extreme heat losses from the house. So extreme that the pellet stove had trouble keeping up with the losses.
I mentioned the problem with temperature drop to my wife and her reaction was "You mean it shuts down periodically, I hadn't noticed."
The only time the stove failed to start is when the igniter burned out. Quadrifire changed the design to a lower Wattage igniter and it has been reliable since.
I have had two occasions when the autoclean mechanism stuck open and needed to be sprayed with dry moly lubricant. On those occasions the stove did shut down with an error code.
I keep the thermostat hysterisis at one degree, which is tighter than most people would reccomend. The small hysterisis is harder on igniters because it results in more stop-start cycles than a larger hysterisis would result in.
I occasionally see a small number (two or three) of unburned pellets in the ash pan. I suspect that the vibration of the autoclean mechanism caused them to fall from the feed chute while the fire pot floor was open.

 

[tjnamtiw]

They are quoting you $1400-1500 to direct vent/install the stove????? I assume that's the kit that punches through the wall, up 6' or so and then angles outward. Four years ago I had two stoves installed in fireplaces with liner running all the way up both chimneys, sealed and capped plus one custom surround for $900........

 

[Caribfan]

Yes, my husband was very keen on the ability to run the stove on a car battery. I think he might decide he wants the Mt Vernon just because of that feature!

That is just the icing on the cake. I also love it for all the features listed above - quiet, reliable, programmable thermostat, etc

 

[Boomer Sailor]

Not considering a Harman?

 

[BrotherBart]

Not considering a Harman?

Shocking, isn't it?

 

[Boomer Sailor]

Yea - I thought I'd just throw in one more brand well worth considering just to add to the love

 

[OnlyWhnChasd]

Not considering a Harman?

Has to be a multi fuel stove. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I didn't think Harman did multi fuel.

 

[Boomer Sailor]

Has to be a multi fuel stove. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but I didn't think Harman did multi fuel.

You are hereby corrected

 

[OnlyWhnChasd]

You are hereby corrected

Ha, thanks! So do all Harmans burn multi fuel? I swear I read somewhere--even on this form maybe--that they were pellet only. Maybe it's just some Harman stoves? If there is a multi fuel Harman that I should consider, I'll add it to the list.

 

[Boomer Sailor]

The best info is just going to the Harman site. Of course I'm partial to Harman in full disclosure. I know my 52i can burn up to a 50/50 mix of pellet/corn. Sorry to add to your decision work load, but, you are about to make a $5,000+ investment to stay warm by the time you buy the stove, get it installed, plus chimney liner, pellets, etc. Better to drive your self a bit crazy before you go through all this than wanting to change your mind afterwards. There are 3 major brands that 99.9% of everyone on here have - Harman, Enviro and .... (not sure) - but either of them will do you well. Different stoves have different quirks about them - some are totally hands-off, some you have to fiddle with, etc. I don't mind fiddling with a fire - I grew up with a wood stove, but, the wife won't stand for anything like that. So I picked my battle and went with the totally hands-off, set-and-forget Harman.

Everyone will tell you their preferences - just understand what those are and see how they relate to you. I needed something hands-off (I work nights and didn't want to come home to a cold house as I did with 2 year old Jotul F-3 I traded in for my Harman), and price wasn't an issue for me - so I went with the Harman.

Others like to fiddle with the stove - others money is a very big issue and won't spend (can't spend!) one dime more than they have to!

Of course after you make your decision... then you get to ask everyone what type of pellets they burn Enjoy the home work!!