Not too happy with our Enviro Milan Insert

[Joey_C]

I bought a Enviro Milan pellet stove insert that is loud, needs to be cleaned every three days and barely gets our 1100 sq ft upstairs past 63 on a cold day. I'm thinking about moving it to the basement and installing a better stove upstairs where we spend 95% of our time. When the guy came to service it, in the T in the back there was a buildup of soot that needed to be emptied at the bottom of the T. That was a couple of months ago. I'm wondering if it's already built up more. I also see some used Quadrafire stoves in my area. My FIL has a Harmon freestanding stove and he raves about how little he needs to clean his.

 

[johneh]

Buyers remorse
Noise, by nature fan motors, are noisy. Some units are quieter than others
The pellet stove is a space heater how warm it keeps your space is reliant on
how tight and insulated your space is. your stove is rated at 34000 BTU
that is a small stove. A large heater is rated at 60 to 70 thousand BTU
Cleaning 2 to 3 days is normal for your stove (read your manual) Full
tare down cleaning normally once a year Pellet stoves are not plug and play
How much ash you get is reliant on the make of pellets you use. I normally get
5to6 gallons of ash for every pallet of pellets burned (75 bags).
Comparing a free-standing Harmon to a small insert is like comparing apples to oranges

 

[Joey_C]

Well I wish I had a larger BTU unit. I went with what the professional Pellet stove seller suggested. Buyers remorse. We clean it, we have it serviced. If my post can help a novice like me not make the same mistake I did then this thread will have been helpful. I buy the same pellets my father In Law uses. Spruce Point which are supposed to be pretty good. I store them in my dry basement.

Do you think there are inserts that will do a better job or is the problem that it is an insert.

 

[jzm2cc]

Quadrafire CB1200, Harman P61 or P68, St Croix Prescott are examples of good stoves that produce good heat and can be found used on CL or FB Marketplace.

 

[Tonyray]

i do nor know much about inserts other than the fact that I bought a free standing Harman more so due to 3 things:
tried and true reliability, ease of cleaning and a super large hopper and ashpan which is like a big square bucket..

 

[Dabug]

Harman accentra 52i tc insert has been performing excellent for us. I can put fan on whisper mode if noise level bothers us. Haven't seen single digits yet but confident unit will handle it.

 

[johneh]

Harman makes a good stove by costs $$$$$
Enviro also makes a good stove and costs $$$
you happened to buy a stove to small for your needs
You are better off to buy a bigger stove than recommended
It is easier to turn a big stove down than get more BTU from a smaller stove

 

[MalcolmH]

One thing I have noticed is that if you have 1600sq/ft for example and you buy a stove capable of heating 1600sq/ft you will have to run the stove on max to heat that space, not efficient. So you should buy a stove that will heat 3200sq/ft in this example so you will be running it half throttle ideally which is usually the most efficient setting on a stove depending on many other factors(vent size & configuration, pellet type, draft setting)of course, buying a stove so big that you have to run it on idle isn't very efficient either.

 

[Tonyray]

Have a harman P61A here. Never had it above half throttle but it is there if we need the xtra heat force. Always go bigger