Pellet Stoves: opninons and installation question.

[Bob Weisner]

Hi:

I am thinking of getting a pellet stove this year and would like to know if any of the members have one and what is your opinion of them. I am thinking of getting the Englander pellet stove. Are they easy to install or should I get a contractor to install the through the wall chimney kit? How long does a ton of pellets last?

Thanks,

[Thomas Prondzinski]

Bob
I will be picking up and installing a Harmon pc-45 corn stove today.I think installation will be pretty straight forward. I can by corn cheaper than pellets,but I can also convert to pellets if need be.

Tom

[Rob Littleton]

Last year we bought a pellet stove and I had a guy come out an give me a quote on installing it. I went to the place I bought it and got there advice and they gave me a list of pipe I need. I got the and installed it in about 2 hours. That is, cut the hole in the wall, mount the hardware and run the pipe up and add a spark deflector.

I have NEVER done anything like this before but it was so easy.

A ton of pellets........? I have no idea but when we run the pellet stove all night and day (thermostatically controlled), we use a bag of pellets every 2 or 3 days.

I am considering one for the shop now as this thing works so good.

take care

[Tim Morton]

I have been looking into this as well....funny how all things old become new again. If anyone has any pellot stove advice that is off topic to this let me know.

[John Shuk]

I too have a Harmon Pellet stove. It is wonderful. I like that it is fully automatic. It adjusts itself to the room temp as well as shuts down and reignites according to the temp as well. There is alot of good technology with pellet stoves out there now. Getting a good one shouldn't be too hard. I installed mine and it was pretty easy. The one thing that was a pain is getting the right parts and knowing which ones to get. I put in an outside air kit and have found it really isn't needed and causes it's own problems. Last year I went through about 2 1/4 tons of pellets. Figure from late November till it got warm. I bought 3 tons this year since they should keep if I don't use them. This year I got DRY CREEK brand pellets. I'm told they are very good. It does make a difference what pellets you get. I had some not so great ones last year and then got hold of some pretty good ones and the difference was incredible. This year I paid $600 for 3 tons delivered. A week later I was seeing prices like $245 and up a ton without delivery so you might want to strike soon. Good luck whichever way you go.

[Richard Gillespie]

Bought an Englander Pellet Stove last fall. This was a replacement to an Englander Wood Stove I had used for 17 years. The wood stove still worked but I was tired of cutting, splitting and stacking 4 cords of firewood a year. Not to speak of the ash, dirt and insects trailed into the house and 3 chimney cleanings a year.

Initially, I wasn't impressed with the pellet stove's heat output. After a month's use, I called customer support and was led step by step through adjusting the vacuum switch on the pellet feed. Heat output was then increased to my satisfaction.

I live 26 miles south of Washington, D.C. and last winter wasn't all that cold. The pellet stove is a supplement to our heat pump. I burned 65 bags of pellets during the season. That's about 1-1/4 tons. The one ton pallet of pellets had to sit in my shop during the winter. That occupied some space I could have used otherwise. You have to buy your pellets in the fall. That seems to be the only time they are available in my area.