Knowing what you know now about pellet stove would you have bought the stove you have now or a diffe

[Ohio P43]

I really like the Harman P43. I came from cutting and splitting my own wood for years and this is just much easier, although I never had to pay for the wood. The pellet prices in this neck of the woods seem pretty good though. I can usually buy for $159 to $179/ton. The P43 will burn up to a 50% corn mixture but with the cost of a bushel of corn, I will pass. Not sure if it will burn wheat, cherry pits, etc... This is my 3rd season with this stove and I have no complaints. I have a 2350sq. ft. home and have not used the heat pump yet in this house.

 

[teetah222]

Still happy with my Summers Heat (Englander brand). Parts are easy to get, and it's pretty too! It's fairly quiet (occasional squeak from the auger, but nothing I can't live with). Used to wish I'd gone for a multifuel, but wood pellets in this area are prevalent and cheap so no loss there.

 

[Nicholas440]

I have a Quad Castile insert going on its 4th season, and it's reliable, and works great, however it's noisy, has rattles and I dont like the sound of the flame when its on medium or high, it has that howl to it or as some say sounds like someone blowing over the top of a beer bottle, it's just the way these round firepots are, they create a vortex swirling flame and its very loud.

Having said that and knowing what I know now after 4 years, Im not sure what I would prefer, I think I would prefer a rectangular firepot with a nice quiet wider flame than the one the Castile uses. Fit and finish on this Castile is terrible as well , I would prefer a stove that isnt made in China also if there is such an animal nowdays.


Every stove seems to have a problem at one time or another, some just seem to have higher failure rates than others, and thats another reason I appreciate this Forum so much, we get to see which brands are prone to certain problems. We also get to see what stoves are easier to work on and clean.

 

[Ironhorse74]

This is my 4th season with a pellet stove and I am happy with the performance of the St. Croix. Saying that If knew what I know now back then I would have bought a stove that was more multi-fuel capable like the Enviro Omega seems to be.

What exactly are you trying to do with the St. Croix that an Omega would do better? Personally, I'd prefer any stove over a St. Croix when it comes to maintenance or operating noise....but for multi-fuel, the prescott will do alright with the versa grate. No stove is without some issues.

A properly maintained versa grate is not noisy. Maybe it is time for you to invest in getting a proffesional service person out to work on it. A Prescott is not a multi fuel stove.

Brad

 

[Ironhorse74]

This is my 4th season with a pellet stove and I am happy with the performance of the St. Croix. Saying that If knew what I know now back then I would have bought a stove that was more multi-fuel capable like the Enviro Omega seems to be.

What exactly are you trying to do with the St. Croix that an Omega would do better? Personally, I'd prefer any stove over a St. Croix when it comes to maintenance or operating noise....but for multi-fuel, the prescott will do alright with the versa grate. No stove is without some issues.

For one I can't burn 100% corn if I wanted to nor cherry pits or wheat seed. I want to burn whatever cheapest at the moment and is available in my area. That's why I got into this pellet thing is to save money over oil without chopping wood all day.

The operating noise does not bother me but than again I have nothing to compare it to, this is my first stove. A far as maintenance of the stove I can't complain it's simple. I can take the stove apart in about 10min that includes removing the backplate, combustion motor fan and room air blower. properly cleaning the frontend of the stove can take some time, like changing the oil in a car would.

The Prescott is not a mult fuel stove. The Auburn is the mult fuel version of the Prescott. St Croix's multi fuel technology is second to none. I woud avoid anything with a pot stirrer.

Brad

 

[skidozer]

I love my quad castile insert, love the way it looks. Yes shes a bit loud and rattles but I can work on that this season.

Bought it used on CL but would buy one again.

The best thing about it is "IT GOT ME OFF THE PROPANE" now I have money for stuff like gas for my truck, clothing and maybe a vacation.

Heres a big middle finger to you Mr Propane!

 

[IHATEPROPANE]

I love my quad castile insert, love the way it looks. Yes shes a bit loud and rattles but I can work on that this season.

Bought it used on CL but would buy one again.

The best thing about it is "IT GOT ME OFF THE PROPANE" now I have money for stuff like gas for my truck, clothing and maybe a vacation.

Heres a big middle finger to you Mr Propane!

I second that!

 

[drken567]

Got a Harman XXV about 1 yr. ago, have put around 5 tons of pellets through it. Pretty much completely replaced the furnace, although that still runs occasionally to produce hot water (water heater is a zone off the furnace). Produces pretty much all the heat we can use in a 3300 sq ft home. Had in mind to buy the Quadrafire Mt. Vernon last year, but wife pronounced it "UGLY" and she liked the XXV, which was my second choice anyway. I did like the Quad being a floor model and would've been WAAAAY cheaper, but I mainly wanted the Quad for the extra 8000 or so BTU's (I think?) but the XXV is more than holding its own. I was kind of stuck on the idea that a pellet stove should be roughly the same capacity as my furnace, but it turns out that's a logical fallacy.

Bottom line, REAL happy with the XXV. Would certainly buy again, although is slightly overkill for the amount of heat I need here in NE.

 

[DneprDave]

I bought a bunch of parts from a guy on Craig's List. There was almost enough to make two Whitfield Advantage 2 stoves. A local stove store had the missing burn pot I needed and I still have three extra control panels, a extra combustion blower and a convection blower. I paid more for the exhaust piping, at the stove store, than I did for the stoves!

I use one to heat an enclosed porch and the other for the garage. On the lowest setting the 400 sq ft porch is often warmer than the house! If I leave the sliding glass door open, stove warms the house too

I didn't know anything about pellet stoves, when I got them, but this forum and a couple of other websites got me going in the right direction.

They work great! I'm real happy with my choice.

Dave

 

[pelletash]

From a heat perspecrive i'm happy. From a noise perspective, not as happy. I got what I paid for though, and will continue to dream of the day I can bring a M55 insert home.

 

[Rokal]

Still love my XXV..........

+1

I wanted a large BTU stove but my wife really liked the look of the XXV. So far, we have been very pleased and I would definitely buy another Harman. The XXV has been able to keep up with heating a 2300 sf house.

 

[heat seeker]

I'm very happy with my Afton Bay. It's a workhorse, and doesn't seem sensitive to pellets, and is very easy to keep clean. The noise issue I had appears to be due to a non-OEM combustion blower that someone put in before I bought it (used). I got lucky when I bought this stove, as I knew virtually nothing about pellet stoves at the time. This forum has taught me much, and continues to do so.

I'm thankful for the helpful folks who take the time and effort to share their knowledge!

 

[RKS130]

The not so simple answer is Yes and No. I love the Accentra FS. It puts out tons of heat and is easy to maintain and clean. BUT, if I knew what I know now I probably would have opted for a stove with a higher BTU rating, perhaps the Harman XXV or the Enviro 55. I wanted a larger stove but Madame Defarge loved the looks of the Accentra.

The stove is great but I wonder if it will struggle when we get prolonged low temps. Time will tell, but to be honest, no complaints so far.

 

[DirtyDave]

I love the Whitfield advantage stove I have. Parents purchased new in 94, no frills machine. I got it like 6 years ago, used in shop and this year stuffed it into the house. can reweld rods in firebox in about 40 mins, and last several years. just clean it often since I hate a dirty stove. I would buy this unit new if they still made it.