Ready to take the plunge

[namz111]

Hello all great place you have here. Well after getting killed with the high cost of oil I thought I would help try to off set the cost a bit with a pellet stove, heres what I am looking to do.
I have a 2 zone oil forced hot air system now, I am looking to use a pellet stove on the main floor that is about 1300sqft to heat just that floor I will still use oil to heat the 2nd floor at night I am hoping that should cut my oil use down by half. I went out look at stoves today and heres where I am at, The first one I looked at was a Harman Accentra that I can get for a good price I think about 2250.00 now the second one I looked at was the Quadra-Fire Santa Fe for about 2000.00 both almost about the same but is it worth the money to go with the Harman? anyone have one of these. Any pros or cons?
Would be good to hear what everyone thinks about one or the other, I like them both but always thought Harman was the best you could buy, but again being new to all this I have read a lot but just wanted to see what others thought about this.

thanks!

 

[Shane]

Get the one you like the looks of the most. The brands are owned by the same company. Harman is good, everyone on this board will tell you that they're gold. The majority of pellet stoves anymore are fairly comparable. Many use the same components, there are a few basic designs and control methods that everyone seems to use etc.

 

[namz111]

well they both look almost alike any reason to spend about 200.00 more on the harman?

 

[Souzafone]

We love our stove. We've had it for 3 years now and it's saved us a lot of money. Good job of finding this site before purchasing, most people come here only after having problems. Keep in mind that most posters here are having problems and their opinions tend to get swayed by that fact. This site has slowed down quite a bit from winter and you may not get a lot of responses this time of year. We have a small ranch style house with forced hot air and have used less than 1/8 of a tank of oil the last 2 years. I moved the thermostat for the furnace into our bedroom and turned it way down so the furnace only kicks on during the coldest nights. During the day the bedroom doors are open and the stove heats the entire house. We burn approx. 4 tons of pellets during the season. Maintenance is important and hopefully you won't mind the time involved. Storage is important, you might want to check into bulk storage and delivery. Good luck and enjoy.

 

[namz111]

nice to hear... I just wanted to make sure its worth the extra money.

 

[BubbRubb]

I believe that is really a matter of personal preference, namz111. If you like how the Harman looks then you could probably justify it.

 

[Bxpellet]

My Harman gives off a plenty of he My house is new and well insulated, the first floor main area stay between 72 to 78 degrees all day long my FHA system barely kicks on And my Con Ed bill are way lower then last year, I think you will be happy they are easy to use and cleaner then a wood stove.

 

[drizler]

It should heat the whole house to some extent including the upstairs at least to some extent since heat rises. With the help of a small fan or 2 it can rise real well up a stairwell and down a hall. One question though; why aren't you using coal if you are in PA? Coal is so dirtass cheap there and heats a lot better than pellets or corn. Looking at some of the stoker stoves out there it seems like they made the granular fuel leap nearly 100 years ago. Don't forget that pellets are a tad on the dusty side as is corn.
If you don't already know of it here is a forum dedicated to coal heat. You will find it quite similar to this one. http://www.nepadigital.com/bb/index.php Since you are already looking at Harmon they do also make a top rated stoker boiler and if memory serves me a stoker stove as well. If I could get my mitts on coal for $200 /ton I wouldn't be messing with pellets or corn, no way. Unfortunately up here the whole coal infrastructure is pretty much gone by the way side.
If you do decide to go pellet you might consider something multifuel so you can burn corn, cherry pits or grass pellets straight or in a mix. It pays to be versatile today.

 

[muss]

When i chose my Lopi Leyden, it was a few hundred $$ more than the next model down . It basically had the same workings only it had a bit more btus , but the main reason was it was made & looked like a traditional cast iron stove. I like that cause i have to see every day even when the heating season is no longer with us. Just could not see a pedestal type sitting in my living room . Asthetics are very important in something like this . Kinda like a piece of furniture . Good luck, Muss

 

[namz111]

Been there done that with coal and I hated it was such a mess I am looking just to offset the oil a bit easy on easy off I do like the idea of being able to burn diff things I will check into that, thanks

 

[drizler]

Been there done that with coal and I hated it was such a mess I am looking just to offset the oil a bit easy on easy off I do like the idea of being able to burn diff things I will check into that, thanks

Yea I hear you with the crud. Corn is way messier than wood pellets too but if it is half the price suddenly the crud isn't important any more. Coal is better relegated to the basement in one of those nice stoker boilers like Harmon and a couple of the other outfits make. That is a good option if you ever decide to tell the oil man to take a hike. Running an insert will certainly make a big dent in your oil bill. Hell, I tried it with my 1400 sf ranch in a lot colder place than you and it has but the boiler out of business. All we use it for now is supplemental and domestic hot water to the tune of a tank a year . In the summer I turn it on for 15 minutes to heat the hot water for the day then let it go cold. To hell with it not lasting 40 years because it isn't kept hot, its not going to matter anyways. All I can say is even if you don't have a stove yet but as long as you know you will get one keep an eye out for pellets. If you can find some on sale for say $175 - 180 a ton then grab at least a ton or 2. In the Fall buy up all you will need or nearly so to get you through the winter so you don't have to go scrounging during high season. The good news is that this last year there has been adequate supply unlike a few years back though in this weird world now days it can change tonight. You really never know with any of this stuff. Thats why I am going to put a wood stove in the basement this winter as we have mega acres of wood right here on my own land although most of it is softwood. Still it will do if the need gets great enough.

 

[kinsmanstoves]

Ask what the Dealer will do for you, service calls, discounts with pellets, instal, and explaining how to use and clean the stove. Ask for some customers that he did recent sales and instals. If he does not answer those basic questions walk away.

Eric
330-876-0200