Pelpro or Castle

[Jeffbriggs]

I am adding a pellet stove to our house and trying to decide between a pelpro pp130 and castle serenity. The house is 1800 sq ft but we are looking to supplemental heat our main floor, second floor is only two bedrooms and a bathroom. The pelpro has a higher BTU and recommended heating area than the castle but how are the higher btu's obtained? Is it just a bigger pot and able to burn more pellets and blow hotter air? Also how accurate are the recommended heating area's from the manufacturers? We will be heating fairly open roughly 1300 sq ft but wouldn't the heat get upstairs decently well too? Also for the sizing we live un central VA and have fairly mild winters, usually in 40's and 50's. We would mainly use it when its cooler in evenings around 30's and sometimes in 20's. Any input us greatly appreciated

 

[kenora]

Winter in the 40 and 50 range.....damn ;/ .. that's summer here
I've got the pp130 and I live in the frozen north.. it's easily able to heat my 800 sq ft workshop with co creye floors at -35
The stove is rated by the amount of pellets it can burn.. 50000 btus burns more pellets per hour that 35000 btus..
My only beef with the pp130 is there is no real thermostat.. can't set a specific temp just an approximation.
Other that that I'm very happy with it.


Sent from my SM-G950W using Tapatalk

 

[klincker]

I actually have both a Castle Serenity and a Pelpro 90. I like them both for what they are. Castle has great customer service but you may enjoy having a stove that pumps out more heat.

 

[Jeffbriggs]

Okay thanks for the reply. I like the larger hopper on the pp130 but wonder if I would ever need to crank up the btu's past what the castle could deliver. From reviews I see people in much colder environments cruise at level one or two on the castle and can go up to 5. I think on the coldest night the castle cranked up would be fine but run out of pellets fast. The castle has all great reviews with a thermostat and programming but the pp130 is bigger and can last longer and throw heat. They both are priced the same on sale just wondering if it would be worth getting the pp130 for size or if its more reliable or if the small castle should be just fine

 

[Jeffbriggs]

Having good customer service would be a benefit. I'm a tech on electro mechanical equipment so I will have no issues replacing parts. From your experience having both does the castle not put out as much heat? On the opposite does the pelpro turn down well to put out less heat on milder days for us. And I guess what would you say your overall opinion of both is and what would you choose if you had to keep only one?

 

[klincker]

My Pelpro is in the main part of the house and is responsible for about 1200 sq ft. Our house is a ranch so this includes the living room, dining room, 3 bedrooms, and bathroom. The stove is in the living room and points towards the bedroom hallway for perspective. I run this one on low during the day and it keeps the living room nice and comfortable (70-72). At night I turn it up to mid to high 70s to keep the bedrooms at 70-71 (we have a baby and a toddler). I usually close my door to keep it at 67-68. The pelpro moves a lot more air than the Castle and its got a real thermostat feature. The castle thermostat will lower the stove to level 1 once it reaches desired temp and then it will not raise the level. You will have to do that manually. My castle runs on manual 24/7. We just change the level based on weather. This stove is in a 400 sq ft poorly insulated family room addition that is divided from the main house by the kitchen and laundry/mud room. The stove blows from the outside wall toward the door so some heat leaks into the kitchen and laundry rooms, but not a lot. I love both stoves, but I think I'd go with the bigger one if I could only have one. I'd hate to install a stove that didn't have enough horsepower to keep my family warm. Advice- The customer service is great for Castle as everyone states. Pelpro has been great to me as well (they sent me the updated control board for the 90). Same parent company as Harman, Quad, and Heatilator. NO Matter how great they are, getting the parts to your door step will take days if you need them. Once these stoves get out of warranty, I will probably slowly start buying extra wear parts (igniter, blower, auger motor) as they are not terribly expensive, but necessary. Same as driving around with a spare tire on the back of my Jeep.

 

[Jeffbriggs]

I didn't see the pelpro 90 before just the 130 and 60. I like the looks a lot better and how it has a real thermostat not just the dial on the side. I agree that the castle will likely undewelm me and just leave me wanting more as my house is 1800 sq ft. I want to be able to heat most the house if we like it as much as we're told we will. We have young kids too, 2 and 4, but I got a free nest thermostat and can get a $40 temperature sensor and place it upstairs where we all sleep and tell the heat pump to heat that area to 68 close to bedtime right from my phone and turn it off again when we're all up so my main focus is the main floor. I do like the 90 a lot but it is on sail at TSC for1350 and 115 shipping where the 130 is 880 with 115 shipping. Does the cast iron body of the 90 get hot to touch and need to be gated off from toddlers? Thanks for the feedback kicker you've been a great help

 

[klincker]

It is a good looking stove, which is why i was able to justify spending a bit more on it. Its a close cousin in looks to the harman and quad cast iron stoves. I leave my nest at 68 as a safety net and will occasionally turn it up to take a chill out of the back bedroom if needed (oil furnace).

I think the 90 is more $$$ than the 130 because it is new and they can charge that for a stove with few competitors in its price range. They also had to squeeze the guts of the 130 into a cast iron stove. The 90 side panels don't get as hot as the Castle. The 90 has a cast iron shell around the firebox with maybe 1/4"-1/2" airspace that doesn't get too hot. I have a screen around the castle and not the 90. The castle is floor level and the 90 is on a platform. My son is almost 3 and doesn't go near either of them. The glass is super hot like any other.

 

[mikkeeh]

My castle seems more “hands on” than my other stove. Took a lot of tweaking to get it right. Then again every time you change pellet brands. Customer service seems good. Seems like a less efficient stov3 than others. Meaning less heat per bag. Nothing scientific...just seems that way. To keep mine burning halfway clean, I have to run the exhaust fan pretty high....thus cutting back efficiency. I still have to shut down and empty the burn pot every 24 hrs.

 

[Jeffbriggs]

Okay I think the pelpro will be best for me. Thank you for the input.