Pellet stove shopper

[Nikm]

Hi. I am new at pellet stoves and have been shopping around. I have been to 2 places..one dealer sells Lopi and one dealer Harmans. I think I am leaning towards the Harman either the P 61a or the Advance. My house is approx 2300sq with an open concept 1st floor very wide openings and stairs to the 2nd floor. If I place the stove in my large family room will the heat make it to the upstairs? I have oil heat now and really want to use the stove as my primary source of heat.
Thanks for any help in advance and any helpful tips on circulating the air to heat the whole house.

 

[thundercracker]

you sound like me. i can't answer your question, i'm getting my 52i insert installed in a couple weeks. from my research (here) if you install a ceiling fan near the top of the stairs or use some other type of fan system to help encourage the warm air upstairs, you have a good chance. but the heat may not reach the far areas of your upstairs.

i'm not hoping to heat my entire house with the insert, just the main floor where most of the days are spent.

good luck.

 

[apandori]

It's likely the stove will get heat upstairs, it just will be a lesser amount. Just means you'll need your blanket for sleeping. Depending on your insulation and windows the temp upstairs will vary.

 

[Big papa]

That p61 is heating powerhouse once it's installed all you'll have to do is find ways to move heat to areas that are cooler with fans maybe with that stove just some ceiling fans going will do the job can't go wrong with a harman love mine

 

[St_Earl]

i've read of some folks getting great results with heating a second story just by having wide openings to the upstairs and not needing fans at all.

if you run into any problems though, sending cold air down ( low along the steps or other path ) will displace warm air up.
same principle as blowing cold air from a first floor room along the floor towards where the stove is.
it seems counter intuitive to some people, but it's (usually) a lot easier than trying to push the warm air into a room where it still has to then displace the cold air.

i have a narrow, restricted path to the back bedroom. so when it's really cold i use helper fans up high pushing the warm. but it all starts with sending the cold air low and towards the stove.

 

[yrock87]

i've read of some folks getting great results with heating a second story just by having wide openings to the upstairs and not needing fans at all.

if you run into any problems though, sending cold air down ( low along the steps or other path ) will displace warm air up.
same principle as blowing cold air from a first floor room along the floor towards where the stove is.
it seems counter intuitive to some people, but it's (usually) a lot easier than trying to push the warm air into a room where it still has to then displace the cold air.

i have a narrow, restricted path to the back bedroom. so when it's really cold i use helper fans up high pushing the warm. but it all starts with sending the cold air low and towards the stove.

I have an open, two story family room that is connected to the upstairs by the second floor hallway and a "balcony" of sorts. The staircase is behind this balcony in relation to the stove. My stove will heat the family room and the remainder of the downstairs and the heat that is blown out by the combustion fan rises directly to that balcony. It heats my second floor to within 2 degrees of the downstairs but today I just noticed a waterfall of cold and rushing down the staircase. Turns out that sending the hot air up one way with an easy return route for the cold air create a very efficient convection loop in my house. I end up with very consistent temperatures across the house bit if you hold your hand out at the bottom of the stairs you will notice a significant cold breeze.
SCIENCE! I haven't felt this way since I got a beer bottle to freeze solid from a liquid when I popped the top.

 

[alternativeheat]

My house is a Cape, the stove pretty much lines up with the stairway to the upper level. With the blower on the P61 on high we heat upstairs quite well, we were kicking blankets off last winter when the stove was cranked up but too, our bedroom is right over the stove and the p61 gives off quite a bit of radiant heat ( Advance does not, it's convection only), the bedroom floor was warm from that.. If I ran it on low not so much then. But in mid winter I ran the ceiling fan in the normal push down mode to hold a little air back in the stair well. Hot air rises naturally. The upstairs bathroom was a little cool some days, its off the hall up there where our bedroom is at the end of the hall ( kept the door open in the bedroom we live home alone now, kids all long gone). Our house could be better insulated, so depends on the day, the wind etc. Some how, haven't figured out how but in a NE wind our house is always the most evenly heated then. The heat seems to get everywhere.

Ya stoves are great but they are not central heating systems, expect cold spots. But I'll tell you what, go out and snow blow the driveway after a Nor Easter and come back inside, even the coldest spot feels pretty darned nice and the warm areas nicer yet ! And you can always fill in the gap with the central heat on a lousy day if need be. Most of use stove folks get too stubborn to do that though. We are slowly tightening up the loose spots in the house, it should be all the better this winter.

 

[Ctcarl]

Two story house not big 2100 sq feet and I have a p35i.all I can say for me the heat rises with no need from fans at all.the lower back bedroom gets chillie on cold cold days.so may just do a space heater for them nights.

 

[Big papa]

Two story house not big 2100 sq feet and I have a p35i.all I can say for me the heat rises with no need from fans at all.the lower back bedroom gets chillie on cold cold days.so may just do a space heater for them nights.

That's how I'm planning on heating my bedroom on colder days hoping things go well

 

[Ctcarl]

That's how I'm planning on heating my bedroom on colder days hoping things go well

I had a cowrker pay big bucks getting ceiling fans installed in most of her bedrooms and house thinking that would solve her cold spots .well she still has them.so I will be shopping for a space heater soon lol

 

[Big papa]

I think even though electric is expensive only using it when your in those rooms should be economical

 

[Ctcarl]

I think even though electric is expensive only using it when your in those rooms should be economical

Just at night for sleep shouldn't be to hard on the bill I hope lol

 

[Tim Linden]

I would think ceiling fans in each room would "mix" the air rather than letting the cold air naturally circulate back to the stove.

I've thought about putting an hvac type vent to let the air pass through certain walls. Our only issue is when kids decide to close doors.

 

[Ctcarl]

I would think ceiling fans in each room would "mix" the air rather than letting the cold air naturally circulate back to the stove.

I've thought about putting an hvac type vent to let the air pass through certain walls. Our only issue is when kids decide to close doors.

My friend said there wasn't much differnce and wouldn't do the fans if she had known it would do so little for her.

 

[Nikm]

One of my concerns is making sure I place the stove in the right spot. I Have an open concept floor layout downstairs and was thinking the family room would be a great place for it. But that comes with a few concerns..it is such a huge space with high ceilings..will the heat be wasted there and also the way the layout is the bedrooms are not above the family room if that makes sense. The bedrooms are above the main part of the house.

 

[Big papa]

Buy a stove sized for your home and use proper air circulation methods and you shouldn't have an issue.most people recommend putting the stove in the room you spend the most time in.

 

[Nikm]

Buy a stove sized for your home and use proper air circulation methods and you shouldn't have an issue.most people recommend putting the stove in the room you spend the most time in.

Thank you. I am going back to the store Monday and buy the p61a

 

[Big papa]

The p61 is a heating power house plus it's a harman excellent choice!how much space are you heating

 

[Ctcarl]

Thank you. I am going back to the store Monday and buy the p61a

Get some pics when's done

 

[Pellet-King]

Just at night for sleep shouldn't be to hard on the bill I hope lol

Electric isn't cheap, those space heater suck 1500 watt's, like running a hair dryer non stop all night, You'll better off just burning oil, as the price is now almost $3 a gallon

 

[Ctcarl]

Electric isn't cheap, those space heater suck 1500 watt's, like running a hair dryer non stop all night, You'll better off just burning oil, as the price is now almost $3 a gallon

Don't like the sound of that.gnna have to do some research.

 

[Big papa]

Running a hair dryer all night would be a good analogy but a hair dryer doesn't have a thermostat and have used mine in years past as a supplement not that much differnce maybe $20 at most on the coldest months

 

[Nikm]

The p61 is a heating power house plus it's a harman excellent choice!how much space are you heating

Hi approx 2300 sq

 

[Nikm]

Hi.

What is the best pellet to use in the p61a? And how/where should they be stored. I am thinking ordering a ton or 2? Of pellets but am afraid of ordering the wrong kind and getting stuck with them.

Thanks

 

[Big papa]

The p61 can burn most type of pellets it's just some burn dirty giving you more work when cleaning.what pellets do you have available