4th season with our Harman P43. Did a lot of reading on this site for a long time before deciding that Harman was the brand I wanted and we have not been disappointed. No parts replaced, do a cleaning every 3-4 weeks.
Sam
Sam
Interesting thread. I too have thought the same sentiments as the OP. I'm burning a 1996 Whitfield Cascade. My dad gave it to me last summer. He had never replaced any part on it, except for gaskets, ever. When I got it, it was still running, but a little loud. I replaced the fan assembly, the auger motor, upper auger bearing, endplate gasket, firebrick, and the upper baffle plate in the firebox. I repainted a lot of pieces. The thing runs super quiet. This stove has always had the cheapest pellets possible bought for it. My dad always bought them on a weekly basis wherever he could get them the cheapest. I bought mine this season at HD, and they have been running fine. The glass gets dirty pretty quickly, but I let the stove run and run until the ash is up to almost level with the burn pot, and then just dump the ash. I try to do a complete vac out once a month. This thing heats my 1600 sqft ranch 100% this winter in southern Mass (we keep the bedrooms around 64). We normally leave the stove on low. Its been awesome, the burn grate is always clean. Its the same way the stove has been run since 96. I want to get a new one, but don't know if I want to spend the money since this one runs soo good. I just wish it had the auto on/off feature. The stove room, our TV room gets too hot.
That's quite impressive. I wonder if the rebranded Rika is of the same qualityI am running a 1992 Austroflamm. I would imagine its had around 100 tons through it. Its quiet, cranks out the heat and reliable my only parts have been an auger motor about 4 years ago and I updated the EEprom around the same time. My only complaint is no ash pan so it needs to be scooped out(if your quick) or shut down weekly for cleaning. Got it for free in 1994 the previous owner didn't realize you needed to clean the exhaust passages and replaced it when they couldn't keep it running.
So I visit this site daily more so just to see what stoves are problematic. I've noticed there are repeat offenders that seem so finicky. They have to be cleaned just so, every passage, nook and cranny, and don't forget you can burn this pellet but not that one. I think its asinine what.it supposedly takes to keep some of these brands up and running. If it won't run on its own for weeks just putting pellets in I would be dissatisfied to say the least What I want to know is who has owned a stove for 2 seasons or more and has had no issues, also the model of stove you have. I have a pellet stove manufactured in 2006 and to date the ignighters were replaced , gaskets and now I hear the bearing in exhaust fan, that's it! I know other stoves like this exist.
My dealer told me we would use 1 ton a year !! I'm serious, but we knew better than that, since pellets aren't as hot as coal and we used a lot more coal than that. We've been around the stove block a few years though, you might say we are seasoned LOL . My signature reports the stove and repairs.Yep and it seems most of this lays at the feet of the dealers as well. How can someone by a brand new stove and then a week later be appalled at how much pellets there stove is using. Seems like this would be prudent info to nail down. Of course there are those dealers who do the consumer right
I have US Stove 8500 had it for 6 years now run 6 tons a year have had only one problem the pin for the pellet auger breaks once a year, other than that it keeps a 1800sqf house 78 all winter long, love my stove
My dealer told me we would use 1 ton a year !! I'm serious, but we ... etc ...
3rd season with Quad Castile fs. No parts replaced. Daily drop firebox and weekly vacuum. No issues. It's a simple machine that's been very reliable.
I have a Harman P43 that I've used for 4 years and burned 12 tons of pellets in that time. It has had zero repairs and burned a dozen or so different kinds of pellets and also cherry pits. They all burned fine and without checking them all with a digital thermometer and a precision scale I would be hard pressed to tell the difference in heat or ash output. The pellets I burn every year are the cheapest I can find at the time and most have been less than 200 per ton. None have been over 215. This years 189.50. I burn it on room temp automatic on a programmable thermostat so the stove shuts completely down many times a day every day. The stove heats my whole house during the shoulder seasons and half the house (2250 sq ft) in the dead of winter. I've run it for as much as 10 days without opening the firebox door. I clean the stove once a month and dump the ash. The exhaust is a 4" stainless one piece liner up my existing chimney and I only cleaned it once after the first season. It hasn't needed it since.
Ron
So I visit this site daily more so just to see what stoves are problematic. I've noticed there are repeat offenders that seem so finicky. They have to be cleaned just so, every passage, nook and cranny, and don't forget you can burn this pellet but not that one. I think its asinine what.it supposedly takes to keep some of these brands up and running. If it won't run on its own for weeks just putting pellets in I would be dissatisfied to say the least What I want to know is who has owned a stove for 2 seasons or more and has had no issues, also the model of stove you have. I have a pellet stove manufactured in 2006 and to date the ignighters were replaced , gaskets and now I hear the bearing in exhaust fan, that's it! I know other stoves like this exist.
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