Pellet stoves-Too many options

[newtopellets]

I have had add on wood furnaces for years, however due to a new job have had to relocate to a home where the wood furnace wouldn't be as feasible. My new home is a raised ranch approximately 2500 sqft. I want a pellet stove in the finished basement, as it gets colder in the basement, and I believe the electric baseboard heaters currently installed will be costly for a Wisconsin winter.

I was going to buy a 55-trpah however my local dealer has me doubting the reliability of the Englander brand. I really don't need a pretty pellet stove just one that is durable and safe for my lady friend and kids to run while I am at work.

There are soooo many brands and different options I really don't know where to start. I don't want to make a couple thousand dollar mistake so here I am, to ask the experts. I know this is not a new question for "hearth" as I have been trying to research and have found enough info to make my head hurt.

Any info will be appreciated. Thank you all, in advance.

 

[Bioburner]

The support for englander is very good. Mike comes on here even on Sunday and helps get owners problems ironed out. Those baseboards will kill your bank account. Cheese land has a good supply of nice used pellet stoves. At least two pellet manufactures. Marth and Indeck. I got the garage Harman pc45 for very good price over the border in WI.

 

[newtopellets]

Local dealer sells Harman and Lennox. He is trying to sell me a P43, or Winslow country collection. He says either will be able to heat my whole house. I am not so sure. It is more than I was hoping to spend when I got the idea originally. I believe the quote was 3600 installed for the P43, same for the Lennox Winslow.

 

[greg13]

Local dealer sells Harman and Lennox. He is trying to sell me a P43, or Winslow country collection. He says either will be able to heat my whole house. I am not so sure. It is more than I was hoping to spend when I got the idea originally. I believe the quote was 3600 installed for the P43, same for the Lennox Winslow.

Remember, you get what you pay for. Can't go wrong with a Harman.

 

[Bioburner]

Someone on eBay had a couple stoves for sale in central WI for agood price but I haven't checked lately. CL is pretty thick now with stoves.

 

[rayttt]

I have a Harman P38 and I absolutely love it..
Maintenance is minimal and enjoyable warm heat all winter.
I had damaged mine running on a generator and browning it out..
So I had to fix it...PCBoard had to be bad..only thing in it that had anything to go bad on it.
I ordered a Board Upgrade kit which came with a new wiring harness and PCB.
Directions were great and I was very impressed the way it was built inside.
I'm still Patting my self on the back for making the choice of getting a Harman.

 

[Enigma869]

I had a Harman Accentra insert in my last house. Had it for three winters and never had an issue. It's also worth mentioning that Harman's square footage (i.e. what they say their stoves will heat) is a very conservative number, in my opinion. My Accentra insert (which I believe was only about 45K BTU's) heated my 3000+ square foot house with zero issue, and kept my house quite warm. I just moved to a new house about five weeks ago and decided to purchase the Harman P68, which is being installed in two days. As others have said, you simply can't go wrong with Harman. My dealer sells other brands and is pleased to show you the build quality difference between Harman and many other brands that he sells in his own showroom.

 

[newtopellets]

It does seem Harman is the Cadillac of pellet stoves. I had seen good reviews of the Englander brand here especially since a rep actually posts, always a good sign. Just not sure if the local dealer is going overboard on the sales pitch. He has told me the Harman and Lennox can go weeks with no cleaning or maintenance which goes against everything I have read.

 

[rayttt]

As I posted above...I love the fact that I only have to clean mine about once a month..

 

[The Grintch]

I also did a lot of research. I got a Harman p68 and no regrets! It puts out some serious heat!!

 

[Bioburner]

I can only say that the Harman and Bixby that I have personally run have extended run and easy clean. Countryside, whit wp1, quad Santa Fe, Pellifier need tending daily and weekly cleaning. Hestia is still in test phase. Bixby was designed for corn as is the Countryside.

 

[Enigma869]

It does seem Harman is the Cadillac of pellet stoves. I had seen good reviews of the Englander brand here especially since a rep actually posts, always a good sign. Just not sure if the local dealer is going overboard on the sales pitch. He has told me the Harman and Lennox can go weeks with no cleaning or maintenance which goes against everything I have read.

Sales people will always be sales people and try to pitch what they sell. That said, I haven't come across very many who are critical of Harman stoves, including those who own other brands. As far as I can tell, the worst thing you can say about a Harman stove is that they're expensive (and they are certainly that)! I can tell you that the P68 is one of the few items that I've ever seen Consumer Reports give a 99 out of 100 rating.

 

[Bioburner]

What most Harman owners complain about is the insistence that the dealer field questions etc. instead of some factory support. Unfortunate for those who have more technical background or a not so well informed dealer.

 

[newtopellets]

Well, looks like Harman is the way to go. Now I need to figure out if the P43 will be big enough for a Wisconsin winter or if I need to get something larger?

 

[Bioburner]

Nice looking big p series across border in Winona,MN for 1200 with pad. Seller had posted here but wants nothing to do with shipping.

 

[The Grintch]

Regarding the stove size, if your stove can't heat your house in January; you won't be glad you have $300 extra in your wallet!

 

[P38X2]

I really doubt a P43 would cut it in your house. Stove placement would be absolutely critical to have success IMO. I heat a 2400' colonial with a P38(same output as P43) and it does just fine on all but the absolute coldest nights. -5 and under and it starts to lose it. Mines in the right rear corner of the first floor blowing towards the stairs and I can maintain 72 down and 68 upstairs. My stove generally runs about 2/3-3/4 tilt under normal dead of winter temps, flat out when it's wicked cold. I think I'm VERY lucky I can get away with heating my space with a P38. (ETA- I use a 4" fan in my foyer to blow cold air back towards the stove.You may get lucky with a couple of well placed fans.) Don't know what your winter temps are like there but my guess is they're colder. Not knowing much about your house/weather, I don't think I'd consider a P43. I think a ranch design is a bit more finicky as far as convection goes.

As far as the Harman brand goes, the only issue I've had with either of my stoves was due to sand in my pellets. Other than that, they've been flawless. I think considering a P61 would be a wise move for you. Its about $400 more than a P43 and has considerably more output. For $300 on top of that, you have the P68. Prob not what you wanted to hear but...

On the other hand, if you gather enough input and think the 43 would work, I'd HIGHLY recommend looking at the 38 for $2250.Its identical minus auto ignite. Being that it's not the fire breathing dragon the 68 is, the only time yer gonna be shutting her down is for cleanings. A propane torch can get you going in well under a minute and doesn't cost $500

 

[smwilliamson]

I was going to buy a 55-trpah however my local dealer has me doubting the reliability of the Englander brand.

whoa, whoa , whoa...how did you get so easily thwarted? ISn't that the job of the dealer...to get you to buy their product? England stove works PDVC installed with venting...$1300 if you do it yourself. Very easy. Very reliable. Best manufacturer support in the industry...I thought you folks from Wisconsin were tougher than that...

The P43 is a great machine. The Lennox is kinda a piece of junk by comparison.

Give Englander another look

 

[newtopellets]

Very good assessment and that's where the problem lies. I believe Englander has a good product from the reading I've done (and less expensive which is always helpful). However, I have no local dealer and without seeing a product in action I have to rely on the opinions of other owners. That's why this forum is so great.

Just looking for a safe product that will heat my entire home, if possible, and not break the bank. Harman seems to meet 2 of the 3.

I hope I can get more info from Englander/Timber Ridge owners, especially the PAH.

 

[jeanine]

I have had add on wood furnaces for years, however due to a new job have had to relocate to a home where the wood furnace wouldn't be as feasible. My new home is a raised ranch approximately 2500 sqft. I want a pellet stove in the finished basement, as it gets colder in the basement, and I believe the electric baseboard heaters currently installed will be costly for a Wisconsin winter.

I was going to buy a 55-trpah however my local dealer has me doubting the reliability of the Englander brand. I really don't need a pretty pellet stove just one that is durable and safe for my lady friend and kids to run while I am at work.

There are soooo many brands and different options I really don't know where to start. I don't want to make a couple thousand dollar mistake so here I am, to ask the experts. I know this is not a new question for "hearth" as I have been trying to research and have found enough info to make my head hurt.

Any info will be appreciated. Thank you all, in advance.

Did you look into any enviro stoves?? For me it was between the Harman, quadrfire, and enviro, I purchased the enviro m55c. It's my first season with this stove but I have heard great things about it. The owner of the store where I purchased owns one and swears by it. It's worth a look

 

[dlehneman]

I own the PAH, bought it as a refurb last year from amfmenergy.com for under $1100 shipped to my door. I'm in the Lakes Region of NH which I believe is similar in climate to your location. It's my primary source of heat for my 1500ft2 ranch (first floor install, basement currently not heated) and it does a great job with keeping us warm regardless of weather. House is 50 yrs old with some updates (newer windows, extra attic insulation) but still R-11 walls. The PAH has heat and blower settings from 1-9, mine typically runs in 2/2 for the shoulder seasons and the coldest days up to 7/7. I have it on a Lux 1500E programmable t-stat and during spring/ fall it uses On/Off mode (like a furnace) but in the winter it runs constantly on High/Low (heat range goes to your max setting when there is a call for heat and drops to 1 when the call is satisfied). I was using cheap pellets last year (just over 3 tons for the year) but so far this year I've got an extra 20 degrees of air temp by swapping to better pellets.

Reliability so far has been perfect, not a single problem with it. Parts are very reasonable if you need them and customer service is better then most companies out there. So in my opinion you are just getting a sales pitch. Cleaning is pretty basic and I spend maybe 5 minutes a day on it. I don't think I need to clean it daily but I think of it as insurance that a clean stove is a "happy stove".

It is my first pellet stove so I don't have any real world comparison to a Harman, Quad, Enviro, etc...but the Englander has been a great investment and a great value. It isn't the prettiest or the quietest, and there is no self cleaning process like some of the others. My guess is you'll spend more time cleaning it then if you spend a lot more, but that is just a guess based on what I've read.

I don't think the Harman's (or Quad, Enviros) are overpriced if they are as good as everyone says. I went with an inexpensive stove on my first purchase to make sure a pellet stove could heat my house the way I wanted it to before plunking down big money.

All that said, I'm not sure if the PAH will handle 2500ft2 or not. It puts out good heat and has a strong blower but that's a big space. If the house is new and tight, maybe, but otherwise a stove with higher btu's or 2 small stoves in strategic locations might be your best bet.

 

[newtopellets]

My house was built in 1970 needs new doors and windows but seems to be insulated well enough. Thanks for the PAH info. Hmm a PAH on each floor...still less $$ then one new Harman.

 

[Bioburner]

Have you had a energy audit done? Energy supply companies are often obligated to offer one.

 

[newtopellets]

No energy audit done yet.

 

[Bioburner]

Summers coming to an end next week back to normal weather.