Quad Santa Fe vs. Harman P38 vs. Englander 25-PDVC

[geek]

well, here we go....
my buddy has narrowed down his stove needs for his basement to these 3 brands.

1. Englander 25-PDVC at HD for $1,350 or so
2. Quadrafire Santa Fe and Harman P38 running for around $1600 with the $400 off promotion this month, P38 does not have auto-igniter; Santa Fe does.

Is the Santa Fe a better overall unit than the P38 and more reliable, what about maintenance between the two?

Which would be your pick.....

 

[MCPO]

I don`t think anything comes close to the Harman P-38 at the $1600 you quote.
It`s only negative is the lack of auto ignition but the overall build and operational quality of the stove and it`s wonderfully designed simplistic and efficient flame (fire) controls far outweighs the need to use a manual fire starter.
However that small Englander and the Santa Fe might also prove to be good choices too depending on cost. At the moment the small Englander is reduced in most stores that carry them . $1,199 at or local hardware store. Some stores even less.
We all know you often get what you pay for but we also understand that spending $400-$500 more is a big expense for some people.

 

[mjbrown]

i have no experiance with the santa fe, but when it comes to the E25 and the P38, i agree with gio. for the money, they kick butt!

my folks and my neighbors both bought the E25 this year and are extremely happy with them.my dad wonders why he didnt do it years ago.

my P38 works wonderful for me...no serious maint issues this year,just regular cleaning, and i tend to go over and above.i have the t-stat on mine, and i set it at 70* and it runs 3* either side .i also set my feed rate at 3 and the blower an max.
hope this helps

mike

 

[moralleper]

i have a Santafe and have had no complaints. For me an autoignite and a programable tstat are musts for our climate. I live in the Pacific NW so we have very mild winters and the stove just does not need to be on all the time. All I have had to do to the stove is clean it weekly or so and feed it pellets.

 

[geek]

I currently have an Englander 25-PDV and it looks like this stove needs cleaning daily, is that the same with the P38 or the Santa Fe then?

 

[geek]

I don`t think anything comes close to the Harman P-38 at the $1600 you quote.
It`s only negative is the lack of auto ignition but the overall build and operational quality of the stove and it`s wonderfully designed simplistic and efficient flame (fire) controls far outweighs the need to use a manual fire starter.
However that small Englander and the Santa Fe might also prove to be good choices too depending on cost. At the moment the small Englander is reduced in most stores that carry them . $1,199 at or local hardware store. Some stores even less.
We all know you often get what you pay for but we also understand that spending $400-$500 more is a big expense for some people.

my buddy liked the design of the burn pot from the Santa Fe better. How does the burn pot look/work when you get clinkers? I ask b/c it looks like backwards into the auger......

.

 

[MCPO]

I currently have an Englander 25-PDV and it looks like this stove needs cleaning daily, is that the same with the P38 or the Santa Fe then?

Personally I like the Englander flame look better (more like a real fire vs verticle wall of forced flames) but to answer your question, the P38 can go days without cleaning or scraping and is more tolerant of pellet variations and grade quality than most other stoves. The Englander is going to require significantly more maintenance and attention.
That said they both throw plenty of heat if you are not opposed to burning a lot of pellets. I`m sure the Sante Fe throws plenty of heat too when you turn up the feed rate.

 

[www_godzilla]

I've stated this earlier in previous posts. Looks are very important to me. I have a lot of people who come to my home. I looked at the Harmons and the Quadrafires and the ones at Lowes and Home Depot. I loved the looks of the Sante Fe(Quadrafire) and how it operates. I did extensive research from the Internet and asked people who owned both. That's why I went with the Sante Fe.

 

[MCPO]

I've stated this earlier in previous posts. Looks are very important to me. I have a lot of people who come to my home. I looked at the Harmons and the Quadrafires and the ones at Lowes and Home Depot. I loved the looks of the Sante Fe(Quadrafire) and how it operates. I did extensive research from the Internet and asked people who owned both. That's why I went with the Sante Fe.

Not sure what the Santa Fe looks like but my Harman P 38 looks like a square toilet bowl painted black.

 

[Raven20]

(broken link removed to http://www.quadrafire.com/downloads/productPhotos/QDFPopups/santaFeFrame.jpg)
Beautiful Stove

 

[jtp10181]

I currently have an Englander 25-PDV and it looks like this stove needs cleaning daily, is that the same with the P38 or the Santa Fe then?

Pretty much all pellet stoves should be cleaned or checked daily. If you get some nice fuel you may only need to clean once a week or so.

 

[www_godzilla]

http://www.quadrafire.com/downloads/productPhotos/QDFPopups/santaFeFrame.jpg
Beautiful Stove

ISN'T SHE PRUTTY

 

[geek]

....but that one shows the trim and base options.....more $$$....lol

Thanks for all the feedback. My buddy is thinking about the Santa Fe, the P38 looks better well built than the Santa Fe (Santa Fe only has metal sides vs. strong steel) but as stated by Gio the P38 looks like a toilet, and this is the impression my friend and I received when we looked at the stove at the dealer......LOL

One more Q for godzilla, what's your burn pot cleaning experience with the Santa Fe in general, sounds like this unit requires more maintenance than the P38 (daily??), and lastly any issues with the flame.

Would be great if you can post a pic of the stove in action, the dealers we visited didn't have neither of the stoves running.

..

 

[Raven20]

If you call pulling the burn pot lever to let the ash drop into the ash pan "maintenance" That's pretty much all you have to do, Besides vacuum out the firebox...

 

[www_godzilla]

The burn pot is excellent in my stove. I bought a 1 inch wood chisel. It works so much better than the device they give you. The type of pellets you burn will affect things too. I burn nothing but good pellets,therefore making maintenance minimal. I don't believe you can go wrong with the Sante Fe.

 

[Raven20]

I agree with Zilla, Very little maintenace...I'm burning my 3rd bag of Turmans right now and haven't had to scrap the burn pot...

 

[www_godzilla]

Are we (New England Patriots) playing you this season??? This question was intended for Ravens! GO PATRIOTS !

 

[Raven20]

No, I don't think so....Thank Gawd !

 

[geek]

thanks guys for all the feedback, I wish you could post a picture of your stove while it is in action.
Lastly, I don't remember if you mentioned noise in the Santa Fe. My friend saw my englander 25-pdv and said it is very noise...!!

..

 

[4124elad]

My Quadra-Fire Sante Fe is a very nice looking stove, is easy to use and maintain.

However, It is a bit noisy, dusty and does not put out anywhere near the heat that it is supposed to. I installed and switched over to electric heat on January 10th 09. The electric heat has cost an average of 6.30 a day for the last three months. The Sante Fe was using a bag and a half to two bags a day and not heating the entire place evenly.

After sitting down and caluculating BTUs. I could heat my 700 square feet on just what the Sante Fe was tossing out the chimney during startup and shut down.

If you want a Quadra-Fire I would suggest buy the higher output stove rather than the Sante Fe.

 

[geek]

I wonder if it is as noisy as the Englander I have......hmmmm

..

 

[moralleper]

I have my Santafe in my living room with the tv and I really do not notice it very often. I run mine on medium. I also heat most of my house, except for 1 oil filled radiator heater upstairs between the kids room, and burn through just shy of 2 tons of pellets. That being said I live in the NW and we have really mild winters. our house is 1200sqft.

 

[Raven20]

I heat my 1st fl (1000 sq ft)...With mine and use 1 bag per day if that on a T-Stat....The max temp I can get out of the stove is 78 degrees which is way to much, I run it on low and the temp stays at 71...This stove wasn't designed to heat anything larger...Mine has hardly any noise at all...I see on here where there is alot more problems with the Englander Brand than the Quadrafire....

 

[geek]

thanks Raven for chiming in about the noise concern, a previous poster stated the stove is noisy so a 2nd opinion is good to have.

my buddy has plans to get the stove for his in-ground basement space, less than 1000 sq. ft. (around 800 sq. ft. to be more precise), so I'm sure the stove should perform just fine as far as heat output, the concern remaining was the noise because the stove would be next to a new tv (Samsumg 52" LCD).

thanks,

.

 

[Raven20]

Your Welcome Geek, The Santa Fe will heat that area real nice on low, He won't even hear it...I would tell him to use a decent pellet also...