ranch style, pellet heat

[joed2323]

How's it going guys, I have been following this forum for awhile but finally decided to say hi. I recently moved to the oil fields of north Dakota where I am a diesel mechanic and keep oil tankers rolling for a well established company.. Enuf about me....

I live in a 1 story open style ranch, the living room, family room and kitchen,dinning area is the open part, their is 5 bedrooms off from the open concept. 2200sf

I realize the bedrooms will probably be the cold areas.

I'm looking at a pelpro pp130 for my first stove.

I do have experience maintaining pellet stove, where I previously worked we had a Harman. It was the biggest model they made and it thru out some heat but it was on a 14,000 sf shop and it mostly took the edge off and ran thru pellets as fast as we could fill them.

I would rather not spend 4k on a stove being first stove.

Im looking for Good/decent stove that will do the job, and I plan on hooking up some kind of battery unit maybe 2-4 deep cycle batts for when the power will go out. This is my Main concern I want battery backup warmth and I want to heaty house with wood pellets.

Thanks guys I know I rambled on

 

[TimfromMA]

I heat 1800 sqft with a St Croix Hastings. My floor plan sounds similar to yours. My stove is connected to APC XS1500 with 2 90ah marine batteries wired in which will give me 8 hours of runtime in a power failure.

 

[joed2323]

I guess what I'm asking is if you guys think the Pp130 with 50,000 btu rating and a 265cfm will do what I want it to?

 

[Bioburner]

If you check out CL around MN you may well get a better stove for close to the same $$. There was several St.Croix Auburns for around 1,000.Even a couple of nice older Whitfields for around $500 that are easy to maintain with off the shelf parts available. We're fighting the issue of parting with a Whitfield Quest. Have you checked out refurbished Englander stoves? Good service reputation.

 

[joed2323]

Yes I've checked out amfmenergy timber ridge stoves. These are basically Englander stoves if I'm not mistaken.

 

[Bioburner]

Yes I've checked out amfmenergy timber ridge stoves. These are basically Englander stoves if I'm not mistaken.

Yes, and Mike is a regular here

 

[mass_burner]

Yes, I have same layout, except 3br, 2 ba. Bedrooms are coldest. I have decided to put a minisplit system in the bedrooms to prevent the oil furnace from kicking on overnight.

 

[joed2323]

Yes, I have same layout, except 3br, 2 ba. Bedrooms are coldest. I have decided to put a minisplit system in the bedrooms to prevent the oil furnace from kicking on overnight.

What is a minisplit system? Sorry I'm still green

The pelpro pp130 is this another name for a Englander? Kinda like a Chevy and GMC??

Because the timber ridge 55-trpip looks simlar

 

[Bioburner]

High efficiency heat pump that is ductless. Sanyo is a common manufacture.
Pelpro is a line by Home Hearth Technologies , same company that makes Harman. Way way different than Englander and would not even put Pelpro in either Harman or Englanders level of build. Having seen and talked to two pelpro owners the first of this month I am gently trying to say you probably won't be happy in the long run or short run either.
Don't know if you remember Ford labeling the Yugo.

 

[joed2323]

Wow much respect to u bioburner... Can you give me a couple reasons why I they are junk? Is it the electronics in the stove, igniter? Does the blower puke out fast or what?

Let me get this straight. Same company as harman, what is it their lower tier line? Are they made in China?

So basically your putting them in same catagory as us stove!

Amfmenergy is starting to sound better except I can run to Menard's and pick up a pp130...

I like honesty. And I'm glad one person thinks pelpro is udder garbage.

I would like to keep my budget under 2k

Reason why I chose the pp130 originally was I can get it locally and it seems on paper that it will do what I hope it will do, heat my house using pellets and avoid propane

 

[Bioburner]

I don't know the history of HHT. They also own Quadrafire.

 

[joed2323]

I don't know the history of HHT. They also own Quadrafire.

Bio this is discussion forum.

You may own a great pellet stove or more but if your going on by what you hear from others with out proof , how can u bash pelpro? I'm not trying to be rude, or start a debate I just want to know true facts not hear say...

Can you elaborate what the two owners had problems with?

I appreciate you commenting on my post thank u

I recently jus t bought a second house here in north Dakota and I own another in upper mi, I just don't want to spend to much more money then I have to if you understand what I mean, being 300k+ in the hole is not fun

Again very much appreciate your input and anyone elses

 

[Bioburner]

I got first hand experience with two of them like I stated earlier and that was earlier this month. The owners were not that happy with the amount of cleaning and I was not at all impressed with the stoves build details while adequate just don't seem built for the long run. Now some of the stove cleaning issue probably was due to poorer pellets as selection of pellets got pretty ugly late in the season. Pellet availability will also be a concern for your selection of stove.

 

[joed2323]

Good point bio...

I don't have lots of experience but I have some with pellet stoves and I agree pellet brands differ greatly from brand-to-brand, year-to-year.

What were you finding? Unburned pellets, dirty stove, not enuf heat, to much pellets for given heat??

Sorry I keep on with the pelpro Questions, questions are the only way you learn things bud...

If I jumped away from pelpro and maybe to Englander/ timber ridge models do you honestly think their is enuf proof/evidence to justify pissin on pelpro?

Like I said only reason I'm stuck on them is that's what I can find locally, pretty bad way to choose a stove I bet

 

[Bioburner]

Having hard time keeping stove running without daily cleaning. Heat output diminishing fast between cleanings. Pot not blowing clean so almost a daily cleaning needed.

 

[joed2323]

Ouch. Pellets are not clean burning like everyone thinks, a lot effects the way a pellet will burn. Their exhaust setups didn't have any I'll effect on the way it was burning? No dirty cap, silly things like that, door seals tight??

Hmmm, maybe I will need to rethink another option for my family.

I use to work on a waste oil furnace daily/weekly, not fun at all especially when that's your only source for heat..

Did the ppl with the pelpros choose a diff option or what?

 

[Bioburner]

Both stoves were less than 2 years old. One was a simple out the back vent and the other was up and out with a four foot rise after the 90, then another 90 out 3 foot.