# Pellet Stove Reliability



## Virgil (Sep 29, 2009)

General question concerning wood pellet stoves. I have read over many online reviews from folks who have bought these stoves. And Wow !!!!...nearly all makes and models have numerous electrical/mechanical problems.... such as burned out expensive auger motors, blower motors, control boards...etc... The cost of many of the microprocessor replacement boards are +$200... From what I have read thus far, I would be concerned with the maintenance cost and the readability... Any opinions, comments, or real life experiences with these stoves on this web site ???
Thanks...


----------



## TnAndy (Sep 15, 2005)

Amazing.....old stoker coal furnaces used an auger to feed the coal in, and managed to do it without a circuit board from about 1920 on.....


----------



## Becka03 (Mar 29, 2009)

We have one- and there is some maintenance along with it- but we are very happy with it- and it heats our 3 bedroom ranch house all winter- not having to use our electric heat


----------



## where I want to (Oct 28, 2008)

I have one that I bought from a contractor's supply. It had been used many years to heat their show room and I have used it 12.
The only problem I've had is that a snap switch failed and I replace it myself.


----------



## Oakshire_Farm (Dec 4, 2008)

We just put one in. LOVE it, we have a Enviro stove, they are made in Canada. It heats up fast, and we have had ZERO problems with it so farm, we bought it used. I have a friend that bought their new 6 years ago, and have had no problems. They are easy to maintain.


----------



## Virgil (Sep 29, 2009)

Thanks all for the input.... 
Virgil


----------



## Virgil (Sep 29, 2009)

Does any one have real life experience with the Upland 207 pellet stoves ???


----------



## swampyoaks (Jan 6, 2008)

Had a US stove company stove we bought new at TSC for a couple of years. The ignitor rod burns out quickly. So we just started using a propane torch to ignite the pellets. The burn pot had to be cleaned at least every couple days. The fan ran all the time stirring up dust. The price of pellets just kept going up and up. Using a soapstone wood stove now and it beats the hell out of the pellet stove.


----------



## Upland Stove (May 9, 2012)

Virgil said:


> Does any one have real life experience with the Upland 207 pellet stoves ???


The *Upland 207 Pellet Stove* is a beautiful, durable cast-iron pellet stove designed specifically for the D.I.Y. homeowner. If you are thinking about replacing an old woodstove, this is an ideal option. Details and Instructions are available at *www.nutec-castings.com*.

Unbiased, unedited consumer reviews for pellet stoves can be found at Wise Heat | Heating Stove Reviews and Information.

Please call or email NU-TEC Inc. with your questions on the Upland 207 Pellet Stove. You will receive prompt, accurate answers. * (401)738-2931 or [email protected] *


----------



## Sherry in Iowa (Jan 10, 2010)

We've been burning for 12 years..went out on a limb when we built the house. We don't have a furnace, so we depend heavily on the corn stove. We start our fire with pellets and sometimes we mix a few pellets in with the corn. The more corn..the hotter the fire, so weather makes a difference what we burn.

The first stove was here for 10 years..hard use..every day that it was cool or cold. We sold it and bought a second one as close to the first kind that we could find.

We opted to go with the least bells and whistles..it's kinda like a vehicle with all the electric windows/doors..more things to go wrong. Both of ours were Countrysides..plain janes..

IF you are careful with the quality (clean) and moisture content of your corn..you probably won't have any trouble either.

I am the primary caretaker of the corn stove. I can fix it by myself..so you know it is not complicated. 

Hope this helps you.


----------



## moeh1 (Jan 6, 2012)

I had an old corn stove, traded up to a multifuel when they had the biomass tax rebate. Glad I did as corn went nuts and pellets came back down. I;ve had a Farenheit for a few years and its been no trouble at all. My son has an Amish Hitzer coal stove, no moving parts at all except the fan and that is really troublefree


----------



## Upland Stove (May 9, 2012)

Unbiased, unedited consumer reviews for pellet stoves can be found at Wise Heat | Heating Stove Reviews and Information. Wise Heat | Heating Stove Reviews and Information

You may sort various brands or models by rating, five stars being the highest.



Virgil said:


> Does any one have real life experience with the Upland 207 pellet stoves ???


----------



## ET1 SS (Oct 22, 2005)

Still gotta have electricity for them to operate.


----------



## Jim-mi (May 15, 2002)

The electrical requirements were what turned me off on the models I looked at.
Ignition is from a glo-bar . . . . 500 watts . . .
And the sales lady said that the glow bar was active on for 10 minutes each cycle....
So if the thermostat has the unit cycling on and off "a few times" per hour your using quite a bunch of electric........


----------



## where I want to (Oct 28, 2008)

The pellet stove I have uses the auto ignition to start the stove which then runs till the set temp is reached. But there is about a 5 degree drop before it comes on again, so it only has to ignite a few times a day. Less if it is really cold enough to run longer. 
My electric for the whole house runs about $35/mo in the winter with being all electric except the water heater so I don't think it uses a lot of power.


----------



## ovendoctor (Jun 28, 2006)

we have 2 breckwell pellet stoves and heat 2800 sqft of old house
no major problems with the units going into our 3rd season of heating
we run them on low all the time instead of using a thermostat

with 10 months of snow and 2 months of bad snowmobiling they get a good work out ound:

average 6-8 tons of pellets a season 
other options are ready for use if needed for power outages

Doc.


----------



## farmboy2011 (May 6, 2012)

Me and my wife have a bakers choice wood burning cook stove bought through a menonnite website no electric parts at all even has a water tank for heating water. and its great for winter and when the power goes out.It's advertised for use as a pellet stove also but i use wood logs in mine.


----------



## ET1 SS (Oct 22, 2005)

farmboy2011 said:


> Me and my wife have a bakers choice wood burning cook stove bought through a menonnite website no electric parts at all even has a water tank for heating water. and its great for winter and when the power goes out.It's advertised for use as a pellet stove also but i use wood logs in mine.


The 'Bakers Choice' is a nice stove.

I was not aware of them being marketed as using pellets. 

Usually the big drawing feature of pellet stoves is the hopper/auger. You can fill the hopper once/day and the electric auger feeds the fire through-out the day for you.

Since a 'Bakers Choice' stove has no hopper, nor auger, I would assume that pellet fuel must be fed manually one scoop at a time into the firebox.

Is this correct?


----------

