Consumer Reports Rates Six Freestanding Pellet Stoves

[imacman]

Great news! I just bought an NPS40 for $1500 plus the stove is certified for the tax credit. The CR rating is fabulous. Can't beat that. It may not have thermostatic control but, personally, I think connection to a thermostat tires the stove and igniter. Better to run it on low steady heat. I purchased the stove at Spring Brook Ice and Fuel Company in Waterville Maine. Incidentally, they sell venting and pellets cheap.

Welcome to the forum Sandy. Don't forget to post the cheap pellet prices on the "Fuel Price Reports" section at the top of the forum page...we all need to get pellets as cheap as possible, so help your fellow pellet-heads out!

 

[rowerwet]

having seen CR give a lousy rating to a product one year (cutco knives) for having an "uncomfortable handle" and then praise them a year or two later for "comfort and balance" I don't trust their ratings for not so major items. A year ago they rated a rainbow vacuum as heavier than a kirby (the anvil of vacuums). They liked one portable play yard because the top rails didn't fold (try that in any car trunk smaller than an SUV, and said the rest were unsafe.
I look at the ratings on cars and appliances, their recomendations or non I don't give to much use to. I find with cars they were in love with some companies and could never give a good recomendation for others, even when the ratings were good, it gave me the impression they are all BMW driving snobs who don't like small or domestic cars, never saw the point of driving a pickup truck, or large SUV, and think vans are only for tradesmen.

 

[muss]

I think to have a true rating for a pellet stove, you would have to go thru at least 1 burning season. Yes, i had multiple auger jams but out of 4 brands , the Athen pellets were the only ones that gave me the problem, otherwise, i'm perfectly satisfied with my Lopi Leyden . Muss

 

[MainePellethead]

Hey Muss....good to see you mussling around for the heating season.....dont see u too much during the summer.... all ready for the pellet season?

 

[zinfit]

If they had the Quadra Castille that I had it would be on their reject list. Based on the discussions on this forum they got the number 1 right.

 

[John Ackerly]

I was glad to see CR rate pellet stoves but like many of you, think it was flawed. I wish they had tested for blower noise. That is the sort of more objective thing they are really good at. And, they should have listed emissions. Among those 6, the Napolean is the only one that hasn't been voluntarily tested, so as far as I know it can't be sold in Washington State, get the tax credit in Oregon, or the rebate in the upcoming Keene NY changeout. They also had a snarky attitude towards renewable energy and some simple tasks, like loading the hopper of a pellet stove once a day.

We did a longer review of their review at http://www.forgreenheat.blogspot.com.

 

[rowerwet]

so WA is allowing some pellet or wood stoves now?

 

[stoveguy2esw]

so WA is allowing some pellet or wood stoves now?

washington state has had tighter standards for some time now , however pellet stoves if they are epa certified virtually always meet the standard , we have sold pellet stoves in washington state for many years, as do other brands, now that more brands are submitting their units for epa phase 2 certification a larger selection should be availible.

 

[CSCPeter]

CR did the testing last fall, and Lopi has already sent a letter stating that the flaw of the flap has been removed from all the stoves over 10 months ago. I do believe that CR is going to re-test and I am pretty sure that they will be retracting that "don't buy" label. As a retailer that is my number one seller and the only trouble was that flap which we have removed from all the units that were installed.

 

[drizler]

"but you’ll have to hoist 40-pound bags of pellets and empty the ash pan regularly"

Really, wow who would have thought!
While I do like many of their reviews, especially the auto reviews you do have to wonder what they are thinking sometimes. The seem to treat their readers like totally helpless idiots who are completely clueless.