Pellet Stove

**Brian H Drifer** · 12-21-2009, 04:11 PM

I have been thinking about getting a pellet stove for the basement. How many of you guys have them and do you like it?

**suede** · 12-21-2009, 04:15 PM

We had one in our house, I would advise it being near a door if possible, packing bags in can become a chore, along with dealing with the ashes, but for what it is made for it worked excellent, we also would mix in 2 gallons of shelled corn for every 50lb bag of wood pellets, it would really kick out some heat after that....

**Pitchlock** · 12-21-2009, 04:27 PM

Heats the house up in Maine great. Very easy to clean and you dont have to shut it down to do so. Big pellet hopper so only need to fill every 5 days. Big heat output.

**Brian H Drifer** · 12-21-2009, 04:29 PM

I am looking to heat around 1700 sq'... what model/ brand do you guys recommend?

**DrMilhouse** · 12-21-2009, 04:35 PM

My parents have one, it's nice. It heats well. I have no idea the brand/model. I do know that lugging those bags of pellets can be a drag. If you're doing it in the basement and you're a planning kind of guy, you definitely wanna keep that in mind.

**joejenkinsglass** · 12-21-2009, 04:49 PM

I have one. Wish I would have bought an outdoor boiler instead.

**Brian H Drifer** · 12-21-2009, 04:50 PM

Originally Posted by joejenkinsglass

I have one. Wish I would have bought an outdoor boiler instead.

They're really nice... you can burn just about anything in them. lol

**0rion** · 12-21-2009, 05:41 PM

I have one here. It was here when we moved in and they put it in the family room upstairs.....3rd level, so whoever put it in was a moron. Can't really run it up there as it gets too hot up there when I do. It's nice and like I say it gets hot as hell. The drawbacks to them are the pellets can get costly if you're running it full time. Regular oak pellets are about $4 a bag I think but you can get cherry pits that burn hotter and longer for ~$6 a bag I think. The other HUGE drawback to it is that it runs on electricity. If your power goes out so does your auxillary heat because it takes electricity to run the auger and fan.
My advice would be to find you a good pot belly wood burner.

**Brian H Drifer** · 12-22-2009, 02:20 PM

Originally Posted by 0rion

I have one here. It was here when we moved in and they put it in the family room upstairs.....3rd level, so whoever put it in was a moron. Can't really run it up there as it gets too hot up there when I do. It's nice and like I say it gets hot as hell. The drawbacks to them are the pellets can get costly if you're running it full time. Regular oak pellets are about $4 a bag I think but you can get cherry pits that burn hotter and longer for ~$6 a bag I think. The other HUGE drawback to it is that it runs on electricity. If your power goes out so does your auxillary heat because it takes electricity to run the auger and fan.
My advice would be to find you a good pot belly wood burner.

Its a toss up between a wood stove or pellet stove... I'm putting the stove in the basement and the basement doesn't have a door going outside. I really don't want to carry wood in the house and then down the stairs. I would also have to run triple wall stainless piping which is like 40 bucks a foot. pellets seem easy to deal with, but not sure how much it would cost to run with buying pellets and paying for the electric to run it.

**LoneGunman** · 12-22-2009, 03:20 PM

Totally not worth the money IMO. I worked at Harman Stove for a while and built these things. They are well built, but you are gonna pay over 2 grand for a good one. Pellets run about 300 bucks a ton, and they'll generally use half a ton a month. Coal is the way to go, WAY more BTU's per pound, and at around 190 bucks a ton you can't go wrong. Two tons of coal will last you the winter 400 bucks. Two tons of pellets won't get you through the winter, and at 600 bucks for 2 tons it's not worth it. http://www.woodpelletinfo.com/calculator/

**Brian H Drifer** · 12-22-2009, 03:24 PM

Originally Posted by LoneGunman

Totally not worth the money IMO. I worked at Harman Stove for a while and built these things. They are well built, but you are gonna pay over 2 grand for a good one. Pellets run about 300 bucks a ton, and they'll generally use half a ton a month. Coal is the way to go, WAY more BTU's per pound, and at around 190 bucks a ton you can't go wrong. Two tons of coal will last you the winter 400 bucks. Two tons of pellets won't get you through the winter, and at 600 bucks for 2 tons it's not worth it. http://www.woodpelletinfo.com/calculator/

The only thing that is nice about the pellet stove is how you can vent it out the side of the wall.... If i don't get a pellet stove i would go with coal before wood.

**LoneGunman** · 12-22-2009, 03:28 PM

Originally Posted by Brian H Drifer

The only thing that is nice about the pellet stove is how you can vent it out the side of the wall.... If i don't get a pellet stove i would go with coal before wood.

Yeah, direct vent is nice, but Harman makes direct vent coal stoves too http://www.harmanstoves.com/products...toves&f=DVC500

**Brian H Drifer** · 12-22-2009, 03:32 PM

Originally Posted by LoneGunman

Yeah, direct vent is nice, but Harman makes direct vent coal stoves too http://www.harmanstoves.com/products...toves&f=DVC500

awesome... Thanks for the info... got any pull at harman to get me a better price?lol

**LoneGunman** · 12-22-2009, 03:34 PM

Originally Posted by Brian H Drifer

awesome... Thanks for the info... got any pull at harman to get me a better price?lol

My best friend is QC Supervisor. He's got lotsa pull

**Brian H Drifer** · 12-22-2009, 03:41 PM

Originally Posted by LoneGunman

My best friend is QC Supervisor. He's got lotsa pull

hmmm what part of pa are you in.

**LoneGunman** · 12-22-2009, 03:49 PM

Originally Posted by Brian H Drifer

hmmm what part of pa are you in.

About 30 miles north of Harrisburg. I'm only 20 minutes from Harman's plant.

**Brian H Drifer** · 12-22-2009, 03:57 PM

Originally Posted by LoneGunman

About 30 miles north of Harrisburg. I'm only 20 minutes from Harman's plant.

I am about 20 miles south of harrisburg. It looks like i can't buy right from Harman and would have to buy from a dealer.

**LoneGunman** · 12-22-2009, 04:17 PM

Originally Posted by Brian H Drifer

I am about 20 miles south of harrisburg. It looks like i can't buy right from Harman and would have to buy from a dealer.

Yeah you would have to go to a dealer. Employees used to get huge discounts on "red dots" (ones that were not cosmetically perfect) but now they have stopped that since they were bought out by Hearth and Home Technologies. Some employees who are HUGE boot lickers (like my buddy) can still get deals though.

**Brian H Drifer** · 12-22-2009, 04:20 PM

I didn't see a price on the coal stoves. but i am sure its more then the pellet stoves.

**LoneGunman** · 12-22-2009, 04:46 PM

Originally Posted by Brian H Drifer

I didn't see a price on the coal stoves. but i am sure its more then the pellet stoves.

Not true. Sometimes the pellet stoves are WAY more than the coal stoves

http://www.southernhearth.com/freest...et-stoves.html

http://www.portersmvs.com/stoves/harman_mark3.html
Gives you a rough idea on price. My buddy has a price list of all their products, I'll have to get it the next time I'm over there.