It's 82f in the upstairs right now, and the lady of the house is completely spoiled. I tried a woodburner downstairs a few years ago, and didn't like it. Too much mess. So we put in the propane fireplace. (I'm telling you, our gfa furnace almost NEVER runs.) Only now I've got her so spoiled with the princess upstairs that she wants a pellet eater downstairs. So who makes the best for the buck? I'm hearing names like Harman and Quadrafire being bandied about, but what's the straight poop? Sign me, pellet perplexed, Your humble correspondent.
Well done! Now you get to shop for a new pellet stove!! I have a new Drolet. Sorry, its too new to steer you in one direction or the other. In my previous research the Harman stood out on reviews (I wanted a bigger blower though). I am not certain but I believe the Quadrafire is related or is a Harman. Good luck, I cant wait to see what happens next! When ladies of the house are spoiled they are much more fun.
What's the total sq ft you are looking to heat? Is this going to be more Primary or a secondary type of heat?
The BK upstairs eats wood, total sf is bout 1400, and I don't have a set budget. And it'd be used as primary heat. I hate it when I have to run the furnace.
oops! Didn't catch it was a wood eater. Well I own the Harman in my sig. It's the only stove that I have direct experience with but all the Harman's are similar in design and user interface. IMO they are set and forget and will burn any pellet. Easy to clean and operate too. Even the Boss has no trouble with it and she is admittedly mechanically challenged . There are many other great stoves so I am sure you will get an earful !
I have cleaned trails of bark for over 20 years, the pellet stove is much cleaner for me. We still have a woodstove, (no furnace) but our primary heat now is pellet. I wonder if hauling bags of pellets up stairs would be easier than hauling wood?
House is built into a slope, so if you walk in the front door, upstairs. If you walk in the back, downstairs.
There's good stoves in the $1k - $2k range and good stoves in the $2k - $4k+ range. The one thing you'll definitely not want to do is to get something that is undersized. If you're not handy with tooling around and fixing things you'll probably want to look at stoves that have dealer warranty/support. If you are handy than you could look at box stores and online. The biggest thing with pellets stoves is you must keep them clean. There is probably more maintenance involved with these things than people think.
If you want to save some $$ and don't have to have the fanciest stove, these are solid stoves at a great price. This should handle your 1400 sq. ft with some capacity left over for the "real cold" nights & days. Customer service is the best in the business, and the senior tech is a member on this forum: http://www.amfmenergy.com/55trpep--epa-certified-pellet-stove--2000552000.html
I bought a used St Croix for $900.00 in '06… has been almost perfect every year. 35K btu IIRC. Keeps our main floor between 72-76 on # 3 out of six in all but sub zero temps. Second floor never see's lower than 62F in below zero temps. I also have a 'borrowed' Englander stove in my shop. Belongs to my friend who doesn't have a place to use it anymore. It's about 35K btu's… it's been trouble free for three years. He paid under $900.00 for it from AM/FM Energy. Good stove… simple… I one who doesn't believe in paying $3-4,000 for a stove. Looks won't heat your house. There are many good stoves on the market… choose wisely and you'll save some significant money.
