pellet furnace options

As some of you know, I've been working on getting a pellet furnace for awhile now. I have a 2400 sq ft colonial that I've been heating with a Englander 10 CPM for 3 years now, and it's done a decent job and introduced me to pellets. It also lost the battle repeatedly during the really cold and windy times this winter, and I am finishing the basement and want that area to be warm and cozy, along with the upstairs master bath. That toilet is COLD in the winter.

I was previously settled on a St. Croix Revolution. I put a deposit down, and waited for it to arrive. That was a month ago. I'm still waiting. My dealer called me a week after I put the deposit down, and informed me that he couldn't get me one till "fall". He blamed it on St. Croix, and was very apologetic. I emailed him two weeks ago wondering if he heard anything, and no reply. I called on Monday, and he said he would call me back later that day after he talked to St. Croix. No callback as of yet.

If he won't call me back now, how are things going to go after he has my money? In addition, he's too far away to service it, but has offered to help over the phone. I think it's time to ask for my deposit money back, and move on.

The Fahrenheit unit is nice looking, but I'm pretty sure it won't heat my house all by itself on the worst days. Given the option, I'd like to get rid of the CPM and get that floor space back.

I can get a Harman PF 100 for around $5000 plus install. The dealer will come to service if necessary, but I'm around 40 miles so I assume the service call will be expensive.

I can get a PSG Caddy Alterna for $5500 plus install. Same deal with service. Does anyone have experience with one of these? I know they're supposed to be pretty good, but there aren't many people that have them. I like the fact that you can change the settings to make them a 60 or 80 or 100K BTU furnace, and the blower is 1650 CFM with 4 settings.

Thoughts?

 

Just remember for a 100,000 btu furnace that will be about 12 pounds of pellets per HOUR running full blast. If you are used to burning a bag a day that is only making 13,666 btu per hour. With a furnace you also have to have back draft dampers installed and make sure the existing duct work is able to handle the new furnace. Even at $5000 that unit will not work correctly unless the install is done right. That is just the start of a furnace install.

Eric

 

and I believe Eric is alluding to the fact that you'd darn well better get an installation cost and be sure what it includes....because none of this is cheap, and could approach the cost of the unit. In some places you have to be licensed to do this work, etc, all adding to the cost.

What wasn't said is that the furnace is capable of better putting the heat where you need it, rather that the radiant system of a freestanding pellet stove.

 

The Harman dealer had me talk to his installer, and he quoted about 2000-2500 for the install, including all the parts. I live in a newer house (1997), and I'm not worried about duct work or install issues. That part should go pretty smoothly, regardless of which I choose. Lots of ducting and easy access to all of it.

Regulations are very very loose in this county. No building code, very few things need inspections, etc. We don't have nearly the red tape that the Northeast has.

I know the furnace will burn more pellets than the free stander, and I'm ok with that. I went to school too long and work too hard to sit on a ice cold toilet seat. Anyway, the Alterna is tempting because it can be programmed back to a lower level. I probably only need somewhere between 60-80K btu, but there's not many options out there in that range. I know about the Trager/Pinnacle line, but no dealers anywhere near here.

 

hey....they make heated toilet seats!!!
http://heatedtoiletseat.com/

talk about derailed, but its an option......kinda like radiant flooring, but for the butt!

 

See if Eric will sell you one and install it!!

 

Yes we have installed them but with the cost it is hard to justify a furnace.

Eric

 

I know. The $7000+ that it would take to have a PF purchased and installed buys a LOT of supplemental heat via space heating in the bathroom and occasionally running the LP to help out the stove. That's why I haven't pulled the trigger on anything. I could reasonably justify the $4K plus self install costs on the Revolution, but the next step up is a big step.

 

The worst problem areas are the master bathroom and the work-in-progress basement will need heat too.

The reasons I'm considering the furnaces are:

1. Need more BTU. Running the CPM on 8/9 burning Somersets for hours on end can't be good for it. I'm already on burn pot #2 and the stirrer will need replaced next year too.
2. Want to get the noise and dust out of living areas - I have slight hearing loss, and the hum of the CPM in the background makes it very difficult for me to hear the TV. I have to turn the TV up pretty loud when the stove is on, and that makes it difficult to keep the kids asleep, especially since we have to leave their doors open in the really cold weather.
3. I want to take advantage of the waste heat from the furnace to enhance the efficiency of the soon to be installed HP water heater.
4. Need to heat the basement, and don't want the dust or noise in that living area either.

As you've probably noticed, I have issues with OCD tendencies, and am REALLY annoyed that I can't get the Revolution. I finally made my mind up on something, and now I can't get it, so I have to be patient (yeah right) or decide all over again. Gonna call the St. Croix dealer again tomorrow...

 

Forgot to mention there are location issues with the ductable stoves. If I put the ECO 65 where the pellet furnace would theoretically go, the outside venting is ok, but it's directly under the kitchen and on the opposite side of the house from (and two stories below) the kids rooms. If I put it directly underneath the current stove, I can put ducting through the floor and get decent heat into the living areas, but there are issues with the outside venting. All the plumbing and wiring run right through that area. Just no decent place to put one. Thanks for the thoughts though.

I'd love to swap out the current furnace for the Alterna, but it's too far from the wall. The alterna only allows for a limited amount of horizontal venting, and the 12+ feet that I'd need are waaay over what they want. The LP furnace vent is inaccessible through the middle of the house, and the center of my ductwork is not anywhere near an outside wall. Tis a shame because all the HVAC stuff is 17 years old, and the AC started with a slow leak last year.

 

Got an email from St. Croix today. They're out of the Revolution, and not planning on making any in the near future. In the words of the St. Croix rep..."you may want to look for a different furnace".

 

Try these guys… may have one in stock they could ship to you…


www.pellethead.com

 

I picked up a St. Croix SCF 050 today. Brand spanking new, paid $1400 for it. Would have preferred a Revolution, but couldn't find one since they stopped making them. It's a little smaller than I wanted, but it will work.

The Harman and Alterna were too expensive. The Pinnacle unit was nice, but I would have had to keep the 10 CPM for the shoulder season because the Pinnacle wasn't an auto light, and keeping the 10 CPM made that one too expensive. Would have loved a Fahrenheit, but there aren't good used models around, and a new one was 4K.

Will start an install thread when I get closer. Gonna be a summer project.

 

Install question...I had a HVAC guy out today because I'm in need of a new AC unit. When he was done with the estimate, I asked him about duct sizing for installing the SCF 050. He looked at the manual, and thought that it would be ok to hook the hot air output up to the cold air return of the existing LP furnace, and use the blowers in tandem to move heat.

I know it's not supposed to be that way, but I don't remember why. Can someone explain this to me?

 

My understanding is that without backdraft dampers in place between the two furnaces, you're essentially making a loop in the ductwork. I'd have to dig out my manual to be sure but there was an explanation in there as to why that wasn't recommended.