Switching from pellet stove to LP. Mendota or HeatnGlo?

[fixingcars]

Good afternoon all. I have been using a Regency GCI60 for the last 5 years burning approximately 5 tons of pellets per year. Pellet stove is rated at 55,000 BTUs. It now needs an igniter and a few other pieces inside. I am considering switching over to a LP insert. I'm tired of the weekly cleanings and lugging pellets. I am looking at a HeatnGlo Escape i35 (40,000 BTUs) and a Mendota FV44i (38,000 BTUs). Can anyone speak to which will give the most heat and be the least trouble free? The Mendota dealer says that the Mendota will throw more heat than the HeatnGlo. I have seen the HeatnGlo in person and it seemed pretty nice. Going to head out to a local dealer to look at the Mendota tomorrow. The HeatnGlo will definitely fit, the Mendota is going to be awfully tight getting it in. I would be having the units installed. I know we will be giving up some heat switching from pellets and that does have us nervous since we run the heck out of our pellet stove now. Anyone have any opinions? Are these both going to be so close to each other that it doesn't matter which one I choose?

Thanks for any help and insight you can provide.

 

[Fingerlakes Fireplace]

Don't worry so much about input BTUs, but rather about the output! If they give efficiency percentages, you can figure it out. I would guess the Mendota would be a lot more efficient. You will definitely have less problems with the Mendota.

 

[fixingcars]

Don't worry so much about input BTUs, but rather about the output! If they give efficiency percentages, you can figure it out. I would guess the Mendota would be a lot more efficient. You will definitely have less problems with the Mendota.

Thanks for the reply.
The HeatnGlo (40,000) is rated at 73.8% efficiency (Energuide CSA P.4.1-15) which comes out to 29,520 BTUs.
The Mendota (40,000) is rated at 82% P.4 efficiency which comes out to 32,800 BTUs.
The Regency pellet stove (55,000) is rated at an optimum efficiency of 64.5% which comes out at 35,475 BTUs.

The HeatnGlo website also lists some additional efficiency specs for NG, no ratings for propane.
85.8% steady state
73.1% AFUE
72.9% Canada Energuide

It seems to be a bit difficult to compare across units because they all seem to list their efficiency ratings slightly differently. Also the BTU ratings in the literature don't always agree with each other. The Mendota in the owner's manual actually calls it a 40,000 BTU on high fire, when I saw it listed as a 38,000 BTU unit elsewhere. The same with the HeatnGlo. I'm guessing that the 40,000 rating is for NG, and the 38,000 BTU rating is for LP. It makes it really difficult to compare apples to apples when you can't find the ratings all listed the same and even the companies literature is in conflict with itself. To further complicate things, the Mendota dealer said that the FV44i is actually a 44,000 BTU unit and that the 40,000 is output for NG, and 38,000 for LP.

This whole shopping/comparison process has me extremely confused and frustrated.

Furnace to fireplace, I assume you have experience with both units since I am assuming you service them. What puts the Mendota over the HeatnGlo? I just want to be able to come in, click a button and be warm. Our pellet stove does that nicely but not without a bit of work. I don't mind fixing things-see my username, but I prefer to buy quality once and just have to do maintenance as opposed to lesser quality and needing constant repairs.

Also a few more questions. How will the flames typically look when running LP as opposed to NG? All the stores are piped with NG so I have no way to compare. My understanding is that LP will require more repairs due to it being somewhat corrosive as opposed to NG, is that correct?

 

[Fingerlakes Fireplace]

Propane doesn't necessarily require more maintenance,( if adjusted correctly) but it does have sulfur in it, so 20 years down the road your fire box will be rusted more than if you would have natural gas.

As far as appearance, propane makes as good as or better flame then Natural Gas.
Me as a technician, would much rather work on natural gas, due to not having to worry so much about delayed ignition. Some units are very hard to not have some delayed ignition, others aren't a problem at all. Varies greatly in the burner, pilot orientation.

I am not familiar with the specific model of Heat & Glo you are referring to, but I have never seen a Heat & Glo that I would prefer over a Mendota.

 

[fixingcars]

Just keeping this thread alive. Thanks for the information FtoF. In a bit of a holding pattern at the moment hoping to not have either myself or my wife get laid off in these times we are now living through. The installed price is going to be about the same whichever unit we get. We are leaning towards the Mendota based on the fan output seems to be stronger from the Mendota than the Heat and Glo, and also your recommendation and my research. My wife likes the looks of the HeatnGlo a bit better, but that probably has to do with the $1800 surround that is on it. I forgot to add in my original post that the HeatnGlo is a showroom special with a discount and the Mendota would be a new unit. Both would have full factory warranty. Going to take a ride tomorrow and look at both units again and then hopefully make a decision. I'll update again if/when we make a purchase. Thanks again for the help and information.

 

[fixingcars]

Went to see both units yesterday. It was good to see both on the same day within a short time of each other to be able to better compare and contrast the units. I have attached pictures of both units running on high for comparison for others to use in the future. The Mendota has a much more realistic looking flame. It also has two burners so you can shut down the rear flame if you want. The HeatnGlo is a noisier unit by a fair amount when running on high . The HeatnGlo has a 120 CFM single fan assembly. The Mendota has 190 CFM using two separate fans. The airflow when running on high is much higher out of the Mendota. I'm 99% sure we are going Mendota at this point.

 

[fixingcars]

Just wanted to update this post with a final outcome. We did end up yanking the pellet stove and installing the Mendota insert running on propane. Very happy so far, although I am still working on the break in of the insert. Lots of heat, not nearly the maintenance of the pellet stove. Much quieter fan operation. I will try to update again in the middle of the winter after we have put this unit to work but I don't foresee any issues. Attached are an old picture of the pellet stove and the new Mendota insert. We are probably going to get the next size up surround to showcase the decorative front a bit more.