About to buy a stove and looking for some info!

[stoveguy2esw]

only thing i would add to this would be if the Op is intending on putting the pellet unit in a different location i'd think about keeping the woodstove in place for the sake of having a "no power" heat source in case of emergency.

i tend to offer this little thought to folks who discuss the move from wood to pellet as many folks don't think about the need for power to operate a pellet stove whereas a wood stove is not limited that way.

just some food for thought, gets pretty dang cold up there and having a backup just in case is never a bad thing if the "footprint" the woodstove is sitting in is not going to be the location for the pellet stove.

 

[will711]

Good idea I have both.

 

[maineah1214]

Thanks for all the additional feedback. We do in fact have thermal drapes and they are a big help. They aren't pictured here, though.

As far as the size of the stove, thanks again. I will see what the hearth guy says on Friday once he sees the layout. I'd love to just go with the Santa Fe and be done with it, but, I also don't want to buy a 4 cylinder when I need a V6....and have the thing working its butt of constantly.

'ppreciate all the input!

 

[maineah1214]

PS -Will711 - I noticed you also have a Taco. Cheap beer, a taco, and a pellet stove. You are a good man.

 

[will711]

PS -Will711 - I noticed you also have a Taco. Cheap beer, a taco, and a pellet stove. You are a good man.

Thanks man

 

[Don2222]

Hello

I had 2 Quad Santa Fe stoves and they really belted out the heat! Talk about efficient, they were pellet misers! Sorry to see them go, but I replaced the Santa Fe in the shed with a Quad Contour. Same stove except it has the pie warmer compartment to keep my coffee mug warm! LOL The Santa Fe in the garage was replaced with a Harman P61, now a P61a. LOL
You can afford any stove if you get a good used one and fix it up a little bit. LOL

 

[Bioburner]

I agree with Don. A little elbow grease on a off season stove can yield some fine iron!

 

[saladdin]

First, thank you to everyone on here. I have been lurking for a while and reading up to answer some questions i've had but i've been unable to answer some. No doubt, I have learned a lot from here!

The local stove shop is coming to do a site assessment on Friday. We have a Regency F1100 we are looking to replace with something that will d0 95% of out heating needs. THe Regency just is too small to do overnight burns and it came with the house.

The Regency was picked by the previous owner as the layout of my house (cape) is small and it's placed right in the living room. If I want to keep using the existing hearth and vent out of the chimney, I am very limited in my options. Basically, it's come down to a Quad Santa Fe.

My concerns with the Santa Fe are not enough BTUs for cold nights. As stated previously, I want this new appliance to prevent my oil furnace from running for heat at all. Additionally, we have an 8 month old and to be able to gate off the wood stove adequately will basically prevent access to our stairs!

This brings in another option. If I do a corner install in my kitchen and vent it out the side of my house, the appliance could be bigger, the house would heat more evenly, and it would be out of the way for safety's sake with my baby. Only downside is I'd have to cut a hole in the side of my house.

Anyway, I plan on weighing these options with the stove guy on Friday. If we do a corner install, I am all but sold on a PS50 or a CB1200. I prefer the styling of the PS50 and it doesn't hurt that it's cheaper. My questions are, I realize that the PS50 doesn't have the exchanger tubes that the CB1200 does. What's the big deal here? It's still 85%+ efficient and 50,000 BTUs, am I missing something? I've read they're easier to clean and even saw a pic of the CAB50 or PS50 (can't recall) with a stove thermometer on the blower output vents reading 600 degrees! That's crazy hot....temps my F1100 rarely saw...at least not for very long!

Sorry for the long winded first post! Any feedback from you experts on my situation I would greatly appreciate!

I have the cab50 which is almost identical ( down to the control board)to the ps50. The main difference being the hopper size.

Just finished 2nd winter in The Great State of Tennessee. Heats 1400 sq ft easily. My pellet expense has been right at $350 for each winter (love the southern winters). I upgraded stat to the one in my sig. Works like a top. It is vented thru the wall.

I don't measure vent temps or anything anal like that. It works fine for me even with the design of the house being a little weird.

Curious as to the price you are seeing. 2 winters ago I paid 1969ish for stove, install and ton of pellets. Always curious as to price inflation.

I do think they changed control boards all ready. I'd check to see which board you would have. I don't know the difference between the"old" board and the new one (I have the old one) but it may end up being useful knowledge if you buy the ps50 and ever need to buy a new board.

 

[maineah1214]

After much review, I decided to go with the Santa Fe. The bigger stoves would have over run the area I was going to put it in and there was some concern about clearances to my basement dog house door roof. This will be plug and play into my existing thimble.

Thanks for the help, guys! Now...to buy fuel!

 

[maineah1214]

Well I ended up going with the Santa Fe! Just got it installed and have been playing with it. I have a couple of questions.

I did a search on this question and it seems the opinions are mixed. When the stove is cold, or, has been off for a period of time long enough to make the igniter run) I can smell a very faint odor of wood burning. This is consistent with a lot of smoke in the stove. I did a dark room/bright flash light test and saw a small amount of smoke coming out from around the pipe connection to the stove. I pulled it off and used more silicone to reseal it. I can still smell it. I noticed when I did this that the exhaust pipe out of the stove isnt perfectly round....has a very small dent. I am wondering if this is creating a problem with a tight seal. I am gonna recheck the connection tonight when it's dark again. Anyway, is this normal for this stove?

Second question is, the air coming out on the right side of the stove is hot, and the air coming out on the left side is luke warm. Is this normal?

Thanks!

 

[Bioburner]

The Santa Fe does not have a true OAK system with the ash pan not being totally enclosed and the fresh air coming in behind it. If the stove has a good vertical rise in its venting the smoke should evacuate easier. More silicone or use of foil tape to seal things up. Hope you get it sorted out soon. We had frost warnings in the state last night again.