We are getting ready to remodel the kitchen/dining/lounge portion of our lodge. It's basically a 72x20 building, 8' ceiling height. Roughly 1000sf will be an open floor plan. The stove will be on a thermostat, semi-centrally located with ceiling fans for circulation. The other 400sf will have a separate heater. My question is what brands have you used, pros/cons, etc. I know most stoves are capable of heating the space, I'm just curious to your experience, suggestions. Gracias in advance.
ugh! pellet stoves, too much cleaning and too much repairing. seems like they are always breaking down. some pellets burn better then others depending on manufacturer. all I can say is if you get one be sure to clean it more than they recommend. that may help with break downs.
I'm using a vintage 70's CT. made combo wood and coal stove and with a coal dealer 10 miles from camp IMO you just can't beat coal once you get the hang of trying to burn it. We get about a 14 to 16 hr. burn time.
I have a Harmon that I left in storage in NY. It was a great stove for us. All of my in laws have them as well and use for their primary heat source with no issues. My best bud back home owned a small HVAC business and was the primary installer and maintenance guy for a Harmon dealer, they were the best stove he was around according to him. Dusto - We both have allergy issues.....do yourself a favor and buy the vacuum unit made for pellet stoves to clean with. If you don't you will introduce a lot of dust into the place. Also only run Premium Hardeood pellets through it, not the junk you buy at Home Depot or similar.
I was ready to switch over to a pellet stove till my wife discovered that they are just as dusty as a wood stove. I will be switching over in the next 10 years though don't see myself cutting and hand splitting when I am 60.
I've been looking at the Harmons here, they seem to have excellent reviews. Thanks for the input. Miller, I will get the vacuum :D
We had a Breckwell Big E. But as mentioned above, it not a low maintenance stove. Lots of cleaning and access doors that required special tools to reach inside. Kept it for 3 yrs before moving on. I would recommend avoiding ones with glass doors if possible.
Im burning a Enviro pellet stove, and its doing great with no problems. I would check them out also. I would also go out and buy a few bags of different brands of pellets and burn them. That way you can see what burns the best, before you buy in bulk. I went through 2 or 3 types before I found a pellet I like. Im burning a soft wood pine pellet now. I think I get a little less BTU from it over a hardwood pellet, but the ash is way less and the build up in the pot is almost zero. I only need to clean the stove once a week now, where before I had to clean it with every bag from the cheaper pellets.
Harmons are more expensive but they are more efficient and do burn cleaner. My son uses only pure oak pellets. They are about $100 a ton more but give off way more BTU's and burn way cleaner. NEVER buy pellets in a "brown paper" wrapper. You tend to get a lot more crushed and powdered pellets. Look for pellets in a clear plastic bag.
We had Enviros growing up they were good stoves, the igniter went bad in the first one after about 10 years, we lit it with a torch for a while, the other never had any issues. My dad has since built a new house and my Inlaws are a Harmon dealer, so dad bought a Harmon this time around and I have to say it is incredible. With good quality 100% hardwood pellets I'll bet my dad doesn't clean it more than once a month. Last week I asked him where the ash tray was, spent a min trying to figure out how to open it, he hadn't even looked at it in 4 months, and it wasn't half full. They're spendy but well worth it if you're going with pellets... Fuel oil per BTU is cheaper right now though...
I run a Harmon stove. 4th year. Other than clean it once a month and feed it a bag or so a day it's been trouble free. Heats our entire 1500 sq ft. 2 story home easy. We go through about 3 tons of pellets per season. Unlike a common wood stove. Pine pellets will burn better with less ash and more BTU's. Pine is more expensive so watch for sales or buy when your dealer has early season specials. Your best buys are by the ton so you need a place to store them and a trailer to haul a ton or more at a time. The only downside is the blower fan noise. Another tip buy one of those indoor/outdoor thermometers that has a remote pod you put outside and a receiver inside. Put that pod in your basement by your water pipes if near a exposed wall. Your basement will cool down if the stove is your primary heat. An extended sub zero period you might have to kick in the furnace in to warm up the basement. Average winter temps I've had no issues.
We have a Pel Pro stove. It works but it's definitely not the best quality stove out there. How often you have to clean can be influenced by the length of your exhaust pipe. A buddy ahs the same exact stove as mine. He has a 3 for exhaust run as his is in his living room. Mine is 7 feet as it is inn the basement. I clean mine about twice as often as he does. You may find that the fly ash will build up faster on the pipes and the fins of the exhaust blower. @ Sota, not sure why someone would say pellet stoves are as dusty as wood burners. Having had both, there is a night and day difference. I originally wanted an add on wood burner in our new house. The wife said no fawking way buddy!
my sisters' pellet stove turned to whole outside of her house black. I don't think hers was burning right but she had fun trying to wash the soot off.
