Pellet Stove Insert....Harmon/Enviro/Lopi

[jdbell]

Getting ready to purchase a pellet insert for my home. Roughly 1900 sq ft with open floor plan. Any opinions on the Harmon Accentra, Enviro Meridian or Lopi Yankee Bay. These are the one's I'm interested in and are available in my area here in SE MA. Anybody own these and if so, what are the pro's and con's of each. BTW.....I love the site....lot's of great input from all and everyone seem's willing to help/offer advice to novices such as myself...Thanks for any help, it's a big purchase and I just want to make the right choice.

 

[summit]

I sell Lopi and Harman: of the 2 the Harman is the way to go... the nice track system they have, and the larger heat exchanger, as well as the burn pot system put it heads and shoulders above any other pellet insert we have (and if you look at my sig, we do more than a few.).

 

[imacman]

If money is not an issue here, then I'd agree w/ summit. Otherwise, I'm not sure that the Harman is the best choice, especially given all the problems/issues I see on this forum with Harman compared the relatively few I see for Travis Ind. products.

But that's just my opinion.

 

[jtakeman]

I would hold out for the New Enviro M55 multifueler. More BTU's at 55,000 and able to burn anything. Plus You will not need to clean or scrape daily like the other stoves.

If pellets hit the skids and all you can get are bad pellets at best. This is the stove that will burn them and not fuss about it either.

 

[CygnusX1]

I've owned my Enviro Meridian for 6 years with problems, except a faulty high temp sensor ($35 fix).

It heats my 1500 sqft house very efficiently and run pretty quiet.

The only con, and it's the con of all inserts, is that the hopper doesn't hold as much as a freestanding stove.

 

[sparkydog00]

Lets see...I owned a Lopi Pioneer Bay insert for 5 years. It worked like a charm. It was a great stove....easy to work on...Travis is very happy in helping customers service their own stoves. they even provided me with a service manual for the stove. It was a top feeder so it was extremely pellet sensitive. It needed ultra premium pellets. It would heat my 1600 sft house to a temp of around 70 degrees Fon the Winter days. It would be running at the full to 3/4 burn rate.
3 years ago I sold it and bought a Harmen Accentra. This stove made the Lopi seem like a toy. It looks like a stove...not a spaceship. It has a bottom feed...so it will burn just about anything. It has a much larger burnpot and heat exchangers than the Lopi. it manages to keep my house at 75 degrees F and it is barely breaking a sweat doing it. Now the bad.....Harmen is what one would call not very customer friendly. They want to keep their customers in the dark...and dependant on their dealers for repairs. They are just not customer oriented....so if you like to work on your stove...don't buy a Harmen.

 

[Trickyrick]

Well I went all in with the Harmon. Had two screw motors go before the 3rd one was the charm but other than that the thing is a beast.... That being said they are noisier than free standing units and yes they hold a little over a bag of pellets.. If you can live with that I can show you the data I am 4 to 5 degrees warmer and saved over $500 since Dec in heating the house.

 

[schmeg]

Can't speak fot the other brands, but my Rika Integra has been trouble free, and quiet. 100lb hopper too.

 

[imacman]

.......3 years ago I sold it and bought a Harmen Accentra. This stove made the Lopi seem like a toy........It has a bottom feed...so it will burn just about anything. It has a much larger burnpot and heat exchangers than the Lopi. it manages to keep my house at 75 degrees F and it is barely breaking a sweat doing it.......

While what you said is probably true, you are comparing apples to oranges. You should have mentioned that the Accentra is capable of putting out 40,000 btu's, while the Pioneer can only do 28,700.....11,000+ btu difference..........quite significant.

A more fair comparison would have been an Accentra against a Lopi Yankee bay....that stove can put out up to 45,000btu's.

 

[smwilliamson]

I would hold out for the New Enviro M55 multifueler. More BTU's at 55,000 and able to burn anything. Plus You will not need to clean or scrape daily like the other stoves.

If pellets hit the skids and all you can get are bad pellets at best. This is the stove that will burn them and not fuss about it either.

I second this. I'm not a huge Enviro guy but the latter part of his advice seems solid. Travis is great. I have a Harman insert from 1992 and love it but I fix too many Harman stoves for stupid things these days. Things that shouldn't ever be an issue...like a combustion impeller or broken burn pot weldment bolt.

 

[jdbell]

Great advice people, thanks. Does anybody know when Enviro might come out with this new M55, sounds interesting enough for me to hold out to see the stat's before I purchase, is it going to be available as and insert or just FS?

 

[jtakeman]

Great advice people, thanks. Does anybody know when Enviro might come out with this new M55, sounds interesting enough for me to hold out to see the stat's before I purchase, is it going to be available as and insert or just FS?

It is available as an insert and should be hitting the dealers very soon! Spec should be simular to the M55 cast.

http://www.enviro.com/fireplace-products/pellet/freestanding-fireplace.html#m55cast

No info for the insert yet!

http://www.enviro.com/fireplace-products/pellet/fireplace-insert.html#M55castfpi

Nice looking stove and multifuel feature in an insert. Hard to beat!

 

[lecomte38]

I just saw a Harman insert on Craigs list. no price.

 

[pellettech]

Re: M55 Cast insert, This unit is now available in retail stores, I also heard that Enviro has just got certification for the M55 Cast insert to be installed in wood and steel stud framing instead of in a masonry fireplace only, Man this is going to blow the competition away,

 

[fishsniffer]

So far after one bag of pellets in the "not so cold" season. I am insanely happy with my Lopi Yankee Bay.

The only complaint I have is the volume. The stove is a smidge loud, but I really don't care. If you were one who doesn't like loud appliances, you may not like it. I am in the Navy, I am around machinery all day, the quiet hum of my Yankee Bay at night is rather soothing.

This stove vs wood... Yankee Bay all the way.

 

[summit]

Can't speak fot the other brands, but my Rika Integra has been trouble free, and quiet. 100lb hopper too.

We have had close to zero issues with the Integra inserts we have installed out there: very reliable, unique programmable circuit board, and a very quiet running stove! They throw tons of heat... only drawback is the $300 upgrade to install a thermostat (requires a special one made by Rika).