What Size Pellet Stove Do I Need

[danrclem]

Long time wood stove user here. I'm 69 years old so depending on my health, I don't know how much longer I can keep cutting and splitting wood. I think I'm going to buy a pellet stove before the end of the year because of the tax credits. I'm reading two different things on the tax credits. One of them says 22% and another says 30%. Does anyone know which one it actually is?

I live just below Louisville, Ky. where temps don't go into single digits very often but through the years we've had temps well below 0 but that doesn't hardly ever happen. My house is fairly well insulated.

My house is 1,300 sq. ft. with a full basement. My wood stove is in the basement and I use it to heat the basement and the upstairs. We spend a lot of time in the basement family room. I'm used to the upstairs being cooler than the basement. The upstairs doors are all usually open with the exception of a small bedroom. About 650 sq. ft. of the basement is open and being heated so all total I'm heating a little less than 2,000 sq. ft. I'll probably go bigger than what is needed just to make sure that I have enough heat. I know it depends on the individual unit but would a stove rated for 2,800 sq. ft. work for me or would it be too much?

So what do you all think.

 

[johneh]

Go bigger than you think you need it is easier to turn
the temp down on a stove than to pull more heat when
the stove is maxed out

 

[Washed-Up]

Everything Johneh said…I’m partial to Harman, I find it easy to clean and maintain…I have a Harman P61a and it heats a 1500sq ft mobile home it -40c/f without issue

 

[danrclem]

Everything Johneh said…I’m partial to Harman, I find it easy to clean and maintain…I have a Harman P61a and it heats a 1500sq ft mobile home it -40c/f without issue

If your P61a heats your place well, then I'm guessing that I don't need one that big since I'm a lot farther south than you are.

I have checked out the Harman and have found that they're pretty expensive but people here seem to love them. I was looking at the P43 and it's rated at 17,200 to 43,500 BTUs. It also says it'll heat a home that is from 800 to 2,400 sq. ft. so it should heat my house but sometimes specs are different from real world situations.

I'm also looking at a ComfortBilt HP22 that is a little less than half the price of the Harman P43. The HP22 has a BTU output of 41,000 so it's a little less than the Harman.

I think the ComfortBilt needs to be cleaned ever couple days with a vac. How long can the Harman go without cleaning?

Thank you both for your replies.

 

[johneh]

If you are looking at the Harman P43 and the Comfortbilt HP 22
then a look at the 45tuousand BTU Enviro Meridian might be worth a look
I am inclined towards enviro stoves and have 2 one in the house and a heat beast in the shop

 

[danrclem]

If you are looking at the Harman P43 and the Comfortbilt HP 22
then a look at the 45tuousand BTU Enviro Meridian might be worth a look
I am inclined towards enviro stoves and have 2 one in the house and a heat beast in the shop

Thank you and I will check it out. What would make you want one of them over the two models that I mentioned? I need to get all the information that I can before I make a decision.

Any other recommendations are welcome.

 

[johneh]

The stove I use in the house is an Enviro ef3 this year is its 22 heating season.
The only repair needed was a combustion fan 4 years ago just routine and annual
cleaning, 4 tons of pellets a year. The shop stove is an Enviro Maxx and this year is its
15th heating season no faults or parts replaced just cleaning and weekly maintenance
this stove uses 5 tons of pellets The stoves are the best investment in heating I have ever made
For years I serviced Harman, Envrio,Pelpro, Hudson,and Englander stoves and always liked the Envrio
My best advice is buy the stove your Better Half likes

 

[danrclem]

The stove I use in the house is an Enviro ef3 this year is its 22 heating season.
The only repair needed was a combustion fan 4 years ago just routine and annual
cleaning, 4 tons of pellets a year. The shop stove is an Enviro Maxx and this year is its
15th heating season no faults or parts replaced just cleaning and weekly maintenance
this stove uses 5 tons of pellets The stoves are the best investment in heating I have ever made
For years I serviced Harman, Envrio,Pelpro, Hudson,and Englander stoves and always liked the Envrio
My best advice is buy the stove your Better Half likes

Thank you for the reply. I was only able to find one price on the Enviro Meridian and it was $5,975, USA. That puts it way over my budget because buying a Harman would've been more that I really wanted to spend.

How would you rate the other stoves that you serviced. I can buy a Pelpro for not much over $1,000 but I know from experience that cheap isn't always the way to go. I think I read that they do have a 5 year warranty.

I found a used Harmon P61a with an extended hopper and a basic exhaust kit for $1,800. It looks like it's in pretty decent shape and is about 120 miles from me. That's a lot of money to take a chance on so I'm not sure about it.

 

[Washed-Up]

I’ve bought and refurbished a few P61A stoves and that’s a decent price, not saying it’s better than any other stove, just that they are easy to maintain and put out amazing heat

 

[johneh]

In my tiny mind you get what you pay for
for long-trouble-free service buy a top-of-the-line North American Built Stove
few people with those stoves regret buying them