Quadra-Fire OUTFITTER II Pros/Cons?

[carlschmarl2]

I have about a 2400 sqf ranch house that's currently being heat with heating oil. With prices of oil being such that they are ($4.399/gal), we're thinking about getting a Quadra-Fire Outfitter II stove installed. I like the simplistic design of this unit and don't need anything fancy. In our previous house we had a Harman XXV Pellet Stove that ran pretty good for the few years that we had it and no real complaints with that stove other than initial price. That little stove did a good job heating a 2300 sqft house burning 4-5 tons/year.

I like that Outfitter for the larger hopper capacity and heating ability. I was just looking for pros/cons of this unit and/or if I should be looking at another similar unit.

Thanks!

 

[rich2500]

They are decent stoves for the money(no harman though ) If you don't care about dealer support from the quadra fire dealer you can buy the same stove under the pel pro brand (PP130) for about $1000.00 less

 

[carlschmarl2]

Are those any good?

 

[rich2500]

If referring to the pel pro they are the same stove as the Quad outfitter without dealer suppport

 

[carlschmarl2]

UPDATE ON THE QUADRA FIRE II

Installed December 15, 2023.
4 tons of pellets burned.
Bought and installed by a local Amish company.

We purchased the unit before Christmas and had it installed in our cellar. Due to the ridiculous costs heating oil, we've been using this as our primary heating source. It does a pretty good job heating the entire house. We use a few fans and keep the cellar door opened to help move the air throughout the house.

Negatives:
-Burns dirty and needs constant cleaning. The ash/burn pot needs to emptied twice a day and entire unit vacuumed out at least once a day.
-Because the pot needs cleaning twice a day, it will fail to re-ignite once it reaches temp from the thermostat. Because of this, we have the thermostat set high and we'll turn the feed rate down.
-This stove loves to burn through the pellets. On average, we're going through 2-3 bags a day.
-Poor support from the shop/installer (Amish) where I bought it from.
-Trial and error to get stove to run correctly. I have it running the best that I can, but it's less than optimal.
-Sometimes it will fail to feed and burns out. No idea why it does this.
-Sometimes after cleaning, it will fail to ignite. The auger will fill the burn pot with pellets, then flash error codes.
-Burn pot already burned through (pictures added).

We previously had a Harman XXV in our old house that was much better, and less finicky. I guess the old adage is correct; you get what you pay for.

 

[jzm2cc]

Too bad they didn't keep the cast iron firepot like the Heatilator models (and Mt Vernon AE) utilized.

 

[VintageGal]

Maybe you can find an aftermarket burn pot for it?

 

[gfreek]

UPDATE ON THE QUADRA FIRE II

Installed December 15, 2023.
4 tons of pellets burned.
Bought and installed by a local Amish company.

We purchased the unit before Christmas and had it installed in our cellar. Due to the ridiculous costs heating oil, we've been using this as our primary heating source. It does a pretty good job heating the entire house. We use a few fans and keep the cellar door opened to help move the air throughout the house.

Negatives:
-Burns dirty and needs constant cleaning. The ash/burn pot needs to emptied twice a day and entire unit vacuumed out at least once a day.
-Because the pot needs cleaning twice a day, it will fail to re-ignite once it reaches temp from the thermostat. Because of this, we have the thermostat set high and we'll turn the feed rate down.
-This stove loves to burn through the pellets. On average, we're going through 2-3 bags a day.
-Poor support from the shop/installer (Amish) where I bought it from.
-Trial and error to get stove to run correctly. I have it running the best that I can, but it's less than optimal.
-Sometimes it will fail to feed and burns out. No idea why it does this.
-Sometimes after cleaning, it will fail to ignite. The auger will fill the burn pot with pellets, then flash error codes.
-Burn pot already burned through (pictures added).

We previously had a Harman XXV in our old house that was much better, and less finicky. I guess the old adage is correct; you get what you pay for.

Nothing burns thru burn pots like a Quad !
Any positive thoughts on this stove ??

 

[Mt Bob]

UPDATE ON THE QUADRA FIRE II

Installed December 15, 2023.
4 tons of pellets burned.
Bought and installed by a local Amish company.

We purchased the unit before Christmas and had it installed in our cellar. Due to the ridiculous costs heating oil, we've been using this as our primary heating source. It does a pretty good job heating the entire house. We use a few fans and keep the cellar door opened to help move the air throughout the house.

Negatives:
-Burns dirty and needs constant cleaning. The ash/burn pot needs to emptied twice a day and entire unit vacuumed out at least once a day.
-Because the pot needs cleaning twice a day, it will fail to re-ignite once it reaches temp from the thermostat. Because of this, we have the thermostat set high and we'll turn the feed rate down.
-This stove loves to burn through the pellets. On average, we're going through 2-3 bags a day.
-Poor support from the shop/installer (Amish) where I bought it from.
-Trial and error to get stove to run correctly. I have it running the best that I can, but it's less than optimal.
-Sometimes it will fail to feed and burns out. No idea why it does this.
-Sometimes after cleaning, it will fail to ignite. The auger will fill the burn pot with pellets, then flash error codes.
-Burn pot already burned through (pictures added).

We previously had a Harman XXV in our old house that was much better, and less finicky. I guess the old adage is correct; you get what you pay for.

Well, if yours is the Outfitter II, that is a good output stove, 49k btu,I believe, and being nothing more than a "fixed pot" top feed, SO I checked your manual, and your experience i would say, as far as cleaning, is right in the spec's/ball park. I see there are aftermarket stainless steel pots for that stove. But, cheapest price i saw was 110,I think, but some stove places listed them for 165. But again, I saw factory pots listed for 65. Anyway, ya, not going to be as maintenance free as most harmans. Does sound like a P61 or P68 would be a great upgrade for you, especially burning that many pellets,BUT you do successfully heat that big house, and I commend you.

 

[carlschmarl2]

Overall, I guess its a good stove. As stated, it has done a decent job at heating the entire house this winter. But it has been a pretty mild winter here in NEOH.

Where are you finding aftermarket burn pots?

 

[gfreek]

Just looked quik and found this SS pot, but not in stock. OEM and regular aftermarket are in stock..

Quadra-Fire, PelPro & Pleasant Hearth Burnpot, SRV7077-003

Quadra-Fire, PelPro & Pleasant Hearth Stainless Steel Upgrade Burnpot, Firepot Assembly. Replaces SRV7077-003. Outfitter, PP60, PP70, PP130, PP150 & PH Models.

pellethead.com

 

[Mountainguy]

I also have a quad Outfitter 2 here in the mountains of Idaho. I get about 2 weeks of use without cleaning it at all. Then it won't ignite due to too much ash and soot. It works good for the price. The Harmon similar model was over twice the price here, but does look a lot better made.

 

[carlschmarl2]

UPDATE: It's still chugging along. It still burns through the pellets and still needs to be cleaned out twice a day,. However, it does run 24/7. No mechanical issues, so that's a good thing. I bought a new burn pot as listed above and I had to replace the door gasket.