# Avalon astoria pellet stove ??



## coobie (Jan 20, 2010)

I currently own a quadra fire classic bay(7years old)that I have had a lot of problems with.I am currently looking at buying a Avalon astoria stove.Has anyone had any experience with this stove?Thanks for any information.coobie


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## dhungy (Jan 20, 2010)

I just purchased a astoria in november. Being a newbie I dont have much to compare it with. It seems easy enough to use. Pretty quiet easy to clean. The draft takes some time to get use to. Let me know if you have any questions.


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## imacman (Jan 20, 2010)

Welcome to the forum coobie.

I had a 2005 Astoria, and can honestly say that I NEVER had one thing go wrong with it.  It just ran and ran.  Good heat, and quiet.  Easy to work on.  

I even bought a spare auger motor and spare ignitor thinking I might need them (especially the ignitor since I ran it on a stat and it's an on/off stove), but never needed either part, and sold them.

If you DO end up buying one, just like any other pellet stove, just keep it really clean, and you shouldn't have any trouble.

BTW, what year Astoria are you looking at?  New or used?


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## arcticcat1 (Jan 20, 2010)

Well into the second season with mine,have burned 7-plus tons without a hitch.I LOVE IT!


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## coobie (Jan 20, 2010)

macman said:
			
		

> Welcome to the forum coobie.
> 
> I had a 2005 Astoria, and can honestly say that I NEVER had one thing go wrong with it.  It just ran and ran.  Good heat, and quiet.  Easy to work on.
> 
> ...


I was looking at new but have not had a chance to price one yet here in michigan.coobie


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## Burn1 (Jan 21, 2010)

I'm on my 2nd winter with an Astoria.  

I like it.


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## coobie (Feb 6, 2010)

I am going to buy the avalon astoria next week.I was quoted $2900 for the stove itself.Is this a fair price?Thanks for any information.coobie


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## Wood Heat Stoves (Feb 6, 2010)

retails at 3316 plus panels $171

great stove, i like them alot


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## Don2222 (Feb 6, 2010)

Hello

I just bought my 2009 Avalon Astoria last June brand new at 10% off because it was summer. See pic bellow. I really like it. I have a split entry home and have been adding insulation to the attic so it is R53 which is above the DOE recommended R49. Then I installed the Astoria in the middle of the basement. It now very easily heats the whole house. I also put in 2 floor registers and a fan inside the 6" duct to the registers. The fan runs when the air in the basement over the stove rises above 74 degrees using a Honeywell SPDT thermostat!

  I researched all pellet stoves and like the Avalon Astoria because there were many modifications and updates over the years like the trap door on the auger chute so the fire does not back up into the 115lb hopper and set the hopper AND your house on fire!. I heard that a Breckwell did that. Also the Astoria control board was modified so there is no issues running on the lowest heat setting. My friend cannot do that with his Englander. The 7 year Warranty is also fairly unique.

  I also purchased a digital Honeywell 5-2 setback thermostat so in the fall I have the stove start up at 2:00 AM and turn off at 11:00 AM to warm the house only when needed. This is done by making the temp 80 degrees when you want the stove to come on and 50 degrees when you want the stove to turn off. This according to some people is the best way to use a thermostat because I heard if it cycles too much by setting the thermostat to temp you want in the room may prematurely wear out the control board. If anyone knows anything else about this please chime in?

So I just burned 2 tons and only turned the oil heat on for 5 mins once or twice for the whole winter so far!!

I just order a Wireless Cooking Thermometer from Amazon.com to monitor the Air temperature of the convection air output by placing one probe in the heat exchanger tube and the convection air input by placing the second probe in the back of the stove!

Check this out if you want to compare brands of pellets. Some give more heat so you can run on a lower heat setting!
http://www.amazon.com/Maverick-Remo...1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1265486326&sr=1-1

Only one suggestion is to do the Dollar Bill test on the Door Gasket right away. My top gasket was not tight enough from the factory!
Please let us know if you get one and how you like it.

That is my 2 cents
Don


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## imacman (Feb 6, 2010)

Don2222 said:
			
		

> .......the trap door on the auger shute so the fire does not back up into the 115lb hopper and set the hopper AND your house on fire!..............I also purchased a digital Honeywell 5-2 setback thermostat so in the fall I have the stove start up at 2:00 AM and turn off at 11:00 AM to warm the house only when needed. This is done by making the temp 80 degrees when you want the stove to come on and 50 degrees when you want the stove to turn off. This according to some people is the best way to use a thermostat because I heard if it cycles too much by setting the thermostat to temp you want in the room may prematurely wear out the control board. If anyone knows anything else about this please chime in?.......Don



Don, the flapper in the auger chute is supposed to have been removed by the dealer, as per Travis Industries in the fall of 2008.  It's not needed, and will cause pellet jams.  There is NOT a problem with the fire backing up into the auger tube.

As for the thermostat, whoever told you that "setting the thermostat to temp you want in the room may prematurely wear out the control board" is someone that you probably should stop listening to......it has no effect on wearing it out. The only thing it will do (the same as ANY pellet stove that is an "on-off" stove), is using the ignitor more often.  My 2005 Astoria had MANY tons put through it, and still had the original ignitor in it when I sold it. 

Set the programmable stat to "normal" settings, up early in the am, down at night before bed, etc, etc.


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## Don2222 (Feb 6, 2010)

Hello

Thanks MacMan. 

  The Salesman at the Stove Shoppe told me the control board would fail if I used the thermostat normally. If I can use it normally that is good news. Does your stove cycle on and off alot when using the thermostat? What temp setting and times do you program it for? Please let us know for reference.

Also I have not had any pellet jams with the trap door installed. The trap door in my stove is weighted at the bottom and swings very easily. Thanks again I will check into that.

Don


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## coobie (Feb 6, 2010)

Are there any options you good folks would suggest I should get when I buy the astoria?Thanks,coobie.


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## imacman (Feb 7, 2010)

Don2222 said:
			
		

> Hello
> 
> Thanks Inferno.
> 
> ...


Don,  it's obvious that the "salesman" at that place doesn't have any idea what he's talking about.  I would have SERIOUS doubts about using him in the future for any kind of reliable info or help.  

The stat will cycle on and off more often if you keep the heat setting too high.  If you find it does that, it just means the stove is putting out more heat than you need....lower the heat some.

As for settings for the stat, it depends on your "schedule".  I have mine set to come to 70 °F  at 5:30am, then back down to 65 right after everyone leaves for the day.  Then, back up to 70 about 1 hour before the first person arrives back, and then back down to 65 about 1/2 hour before everyone is in bed.

Glad you haven't had "trap door" problems, but just remember about it for future reference in case you get a pellet jam.  If it was me, I'd remove it now before you DO have a problem (like in the middle of the night when it's 10 °F outside.


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## dhungy (Feb 7, 2010)

So apparently I paid to much for my stove in addition to not receiving the full tax credit... excellent day


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## Don2222 (Feb 7, 2010)

Hello

Thanks MacMan, I think you are right about the salesman. He was also a bit of a wise guy too. I returned a bag of New England wood pellets from the Ton I bought and he said "You came all the way in here just for that! I got a new bag but will steer clear of him.

Thanks for the info on the Stat setting. What heat setting from 1-6 do you use in your schedule??

Also thanks again on the flapper door, I will keep that in mind.

The only other issue I had was:
In mid winter when the garage got so cold, that when I brought a bag of pellets in and dump them right into the hopper the condesation created when they warmed up, jammed the auger. The instructions were very good and so I just stuck a long screw driver up into the auger chute and dislodged the stuck pelletes next to the top of the auger. Now I just bring in 3 bags next to the pellet stove so they will be room temperature before I dump them into the hopper.
Also in a similar case I cleaned the fire brick design metal back and pit it back into the stove while it was still damp and wet. That is a real NO NO since the moisture again jammed up the top of the auger chute. 

As far as accessories, I heard the log set just gets dirty with pellet dust all the time and is a pain to clean. Is that true?

Don


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## imacman (Feb 7, 2010)

Don2222 said:
			
		

> ....Thanks for the info on the Stat setting. What heat setting from 1-6 do you use in your schedule??
> ......when I brought a bag of pellets in and dump them right into the hopper the condesation created when they warmed up, jammed the auger. The instructions were very good and so I just stuck a long screw driver up into the auger chute and dislodged the stuck pelletes next to the top of the auger. Now I just bring in 3 bags next to the pellet stove so they will be room temperature before I dump them into the hopper.
> Also in a similar case I cleaned the fire brick design metal back and pit it back into the stove while it was still damp and wet. That is a real NO NO since the moisture again jammed up the top of the auger chute.
> 
> ...



The heat setting is something you have to determine on your own......trial & error.  Different stove set-ups, different pellets, etc, etc....there's no way for anyone to be able to tell you what to set it at.  For what it's worth, I usually had mine on 1st or 2nd yellow heat setting in the winter.....depending on the outside temp.

As for your theory about condensation causing auger jams....I doubt it.  I've brought pellets that were outside in my shed in real cold weather, put them in the stove.....no problem.   REMOVE THE FLAPPER!

Yes, the log set makes cleaning a big pain.  Don't bother.

BTW Don, the name is MacMan, not Inferno....see the left end of the blue bar above each post.


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## geek (Feb 7, 2010)

macman said:
			
		

> BTW Don, the name is MacMan, not Inferno....see the left end of the blue bar above each post.



LOL.. 

...


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## Don2222 (Feb 7, 2010)

Hello 

Thanks MacMan. It is good to talk to someone with the same stove to compare notes. Since I have our stove in the basement to heat the whole house I came up with this rule of thumb for the heat setting.

Outside     Astoria
Temp        Heat Setting

10 +or- 5       3
20 +or- 5       2
30 +or- 5       1

For example, last night temps went down to 12 Degrees F at approx 5:00 AM

So I set the stove for 3 and the upstairs was 68-67 Degrees all night. The basement got up into the high 70's  77-80
I use Logik-e pellets that seem really dry and give off great heat.

I also hear the rule of thumb is, if the heat setting used most of the time is above medium then a larger stove is needed.
Sometimes I use 4 or 5 just after turning the stove on to heat up the house faster.
Although one night I ran on 5 all night because the wind was 20 MPH and temps dropped to 4 Degrees with a wind chill below zero.
So if it is wind speed increases by 5 mph I add 1 to the setting or more until the comfort level is reached.

Thanks again for all the info.

Don


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## imacman (Feb 7, 2010)

Don, glad you have a "handle" on what settings you need.  Sounds like the stove is doing a good job heating your home, especially since it's a basement install!

As far as " the rule of thumb is, if the heat setting used most of the time is above medium then a larger stove is needed" is almost correct.  IMO, if you need to run the stove on high MOST of the time, THEN a larger stove could be needed.  Doesn't seem to be the case for you.  

Running the stove on high occasionally does happen, as evidenced by the "the wind was 20 MPH and temps dropped to 4 Degrees with a wind chill below zero" you had.

Just make sure you have the blower matching or higher than the heat setting, ESPECIALLY on high heat settings.

What air control do you need the stove set at with those pellets and your set-up?  

And I've never heard of those pellets...any chance you can post some pics (of the pellet bag, and the stove install too)?


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## Don2222 (Feb 7, 2010)

Hello Macman

I just took a walk around the block to get a feel for the weather because I had to add 1 to the heat setting. I could feel the wind and it seemed like 10 mph. So I just came in and checked the wind speed on weatherbug for my area. It is 9 MPH. Ah Ha.
First I did not mean double the setting in the previous post, I meant add 1 to the heat setting for each 5 MPH increase.


So my revised chart is as follows. 

It will also explain the 5 heat setting at 20 MPH when temp was 4 degrees. the first arrow on the chart says 6 for the heat setting. At that time, we had it set to 5 when we were asleep and 6 when we woke up for more warmth and comfort!!

*Pellet Stove Heat Setting, with the Air Restrictor on 2
 and the Convection Fan on 6 (Highest)*

Wind    
Speed >            5                 10              20    
+or-5
MPH

Outside          Astoria           Astoria       Astoria
Temp         Heat Setting  Heat Setting Heat Setting
+or-5
Degrees

0                      4                   5                6 <<<

10                    3                    4               5

20                    2                    3               4
                                                <<<
30                    1                    2               3

Example: today (02-07-2010) at 2 pm, the temperature was 27 degrees F, and the Wind Speed was 9 MPH
Therefore, the chart above (2nd arrow) puts the heat setting between 3 and 2 (slightly closer to 2) We have it set to 3 for comfort although 2 would be adequate!!

The pellets called Logik-e and I purchased them at Dodge Grain in Salem NH. The are made in Canada and are excellent. See their web site  http://logik-e.com/default.htm but does not show their WOOD PELLETS!
See pic of logik-e pellets below.

You can see the 3 phase Slide Show of our pellet stove Install on my Web Server just click on the link below.
http://24.34.84.89:8080/trhproj.nsf...42e1a03a71224912852575f4000e74cb?OpenDocument


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