Pellet Stove Reviews

Last Updated: December 2017

The US Stove 5660 Bay Front is an interesting option. It has an interesting and attractive design that is uncommon in pellet stoves, solid temperature control options, and a decent range of heating. As you may have guessed, there is indeed a catch: the Bayfront is plagued by quality inconsistencies. That being said, if you are dissatisfied with some of the other excellent options we have reviewed, or you don’t mind taking a chance then this stove might be best for you. For those reasons, we decided it was worth a closer look. Read on for our full review…

  

Key Features

• Heating Capacity: 1,800-2,000 sq. feet
• EPA Certified: Yes
• Hopper Capacity: 55lb
• BTUs: 48,000
• Mobile Home Approved: Yes, with separate kit purchase
• Model: 5660 Bay Front

 

What We Like

✔Heating Ability:This stove seems to be able to warm larger spaces quite well although there are some inconsistencies in the reviews with certain users claiming less heat and others more. In many cases these inconsistencies are chalked up to user error, and in our opinion it appears that this stove should be able to output heat in line with the given heating capacity above.
✔Design:This is an example of refreshing stove design. There is an expansive bayfront window that allows for exceptionally clear viewing of the fire inside. The tasteful chrome handle and modern trapezoidal styling make this a truly attractive product to behold.
✔Large Capacity:The 55lb hopper means that you don’t have to fill up the stove throughout the day as it can easily accommodate an entire bag of pellets. This is standard in most stoves, but still always good to know. 
✔Control Options:This is an area of pride for the 5660 (…when it works). It offers a built in thermometer, 6 heat settings, a 120 CFM blower, and a build in digital control board. Just to clarify on some of these. The thermometer will not maintain a specific temperature instead it will prevent the stove from going below that temperature. For example, if the stove is set to 73 then it will increase the burn rate if the temperature drops to below 73. The issue is that this higher burn rate will be sustained even once 73 is reached again. This concern can be addressed by testing which heat settings work best, but it is something to be aware of.

What We Don’t Like

The majority of these problems come back to what was discussed at the beginning of this post: inconsistent manufacturing…

✖Quality Concerns:US Stove reviews are very well split between satisfied customers and grossly under-satisfied customers. The majority of these issues revolve around matters of quality. Multiple users have been shipped stoves with defective/broken parts such as the control board. IN these situations not only does the part have to be replaced, but the user is obligated to perform the fix. There are videos online, but this is concerning.
✖Reliability: Again, this is a bifurcated category. Some users say that the stove has lasted them 3 years while others say it has broken down after months. This reliability issue seems tied to quality, because improper seam welding or deficient parts are main causes of breakdowns.
✖Noisy: A few people complained about the fan being loud.

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Final Thoughts

So there you have it, our US Stove 5660 Bay Front review. This is definitely a polarizing stove. If you manage to purchase one with no manufacturing issues then it should serve you well, but if not then it is a struggle. It is surprising that a stove at this price point still has unresolved quality control issues, but such is life. Ultimately, the decision is yours, so weigh the costs and benefits we have outlined and choose wisely! If you’re curious about more stoves then check out our main page here. 

Last Updated: November 2017

Pleasant Hearth products are no strangers to our website, and we are happy to be reviewing another model just in time for some of the coldest months of the year. Overall, this stove provides a lot of heating for the price, and is well loved for its simplicity/ease of use. So is this the burner to escort you through the holidays? Read on to find out…

  

Key Features

• Heating Capacity: 2,200 sq. feet
• EPA Certified: Yes, 85%
• Hopper Capacity: 80lb
• BTUs: 50,000
• Mobile Home Approved: Yes

 

What We Like

✔Reliable Heating: This is the most important aspect of any home heating device, and Pleasant Hearth performs admirably. It has a wide coverage and reviewers report it keeps their large houses between 65-70 degrees Fahrenheit even in subzero temperatures! Additionally, the high EPA rating means you are wasting very little pellet fuel. There is also blower included to ensure the heat can spread around easily. Finally, deficiencies in any parts are covered by a 5 year limited warranty. You won’t get a replacement stove most likely, but at least they support replacing parts.
✔Easy-to-Use Features: Some products try to inundate users with lots of useless features, but Pleasant Hearth keeps it simple and effective. There is an auto ignition feature that uses electricity to assist you in lighting the stove (like ignitor on outside grill). Then there is also an adjustable thermostat making it easy to dial in your desired temperature.
✔Design: The Pleasant Hearth has a classic, timeless design. From the cast iron door to the ceramic viewing window-this Made in the USA beauty adds a cozy touch to whichever room it is placed within. The one thing to be aware of when purchasing a pellet stove is that the flame pattern will be different than that of a wood stove. Not a big deal, both look nice, but something to be aware of. Watch your holiday parties get taken to the next level as guests gape at your hot (pun intended) stove.

What We Don’t Like

None of these are really deal breakers, but they’re definitely things you should be aware of when finalizing your purchasing decision. 

✖Needs Electricity: Electricity is used to power the blower and the auto-ignition. If you are concerned about being reliant on electricity, we suggest purchasing a small backup generator to power the stove in case of extreme emergencies.
✖Glass Cleaning: Someone mentioned the glass on their unit gets dirty quickly, while this could be easily due to burning poor quality fuel it is also sometimes the reality of these stoves. We suggest you purchase some glass cleaner, so you can polish the ceramic viewing window every now and then
✖Potential Quality Inconsistencies: Some people have reported that they’ve been shipped slightly damaged products and others have reported issues with parts (covered by limited warranty). These people were in the minority of users, but definitely something to be aware of.

♥PRO TIP: Ensuring long term pellet stove performance and reliability is due in large part to the quality of pellets you use. We recommend checking out our pellet guide, but here are some good rules of thumb. Look for shiny, and hard pellets that smell like either wood or sawdust (other smells are from additives you want to avoid). Finally, try to opt for smaller pellets as they have a less likely chance of jamming the augur(device that feeds pellets into burn chamber).

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Final Thoughts

Hope you learned a lot from our Pleasant Hearth review. There are some cons to be aware of, but with proper usage they can be mitigated. We feel relatively confident in recommending this device and hope it serves you well. This is a great stove for first timers and pros alike! Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving and good luck with your stove shopping! For more stove options be sure to check out our main page. As always, if you have any questions don’t hesitate to reach out!

Last Updated: October 2017

The Comfortbilt is a simple stove that performs its job well and is backed by impressive and caring support. With 80% 5 star ratings on Amazon this is a product people are willing to get behind. And why shouldn’t they? After all, with great heating capacity, functional design, and long term reliability it’s a no brainer. Let’s jump in (figuratively of course) and see what makes this such a great stove!

  

Key Features

• Heating Capacity: 2,000 sq. feet
• EPA Certified: Yes, 86%
• Hopper Capacity: 55lb
• BTUs: 42,000
• Weight: 320 lb
• Model: HP22

 

What We Like

✔Exceptional Heating:If there’s one thing that comes up over and over again in the reviews it’s customers raving about how well the Comfortbilt heats their home. 2,200 square feet is decent capacity, and one reviewer mentions how his 2,600 square foot ranch was kept warm and cozy all winter long! Quality of heat is one thing, but reliability is another-not all stoves (like some of the models on our homepage) can stand up to the test of long term usage. The ComfortBilt can with reviewers regularly posting updates after months or even years in some cases!
✔Design:The design isn’t the most beautiful we’ve seen but its bay windows with large glass viewing panels are pretty nice. Aside from decent aesthetics the form is pretty well conceived. There’s a handy digital control panel with a thermostat that ranges from 61-84 degrees. There is also a remote that comes with and has the same functions.
✔Customer Service:This is an area where comfortbilt truly shines. There is a single support rep for the US whose name is Glenn. This guy is the real deal. He answers all questions over the phone, sends replacement parts, responds to Amazon queries. Scroll through the reviews and you’ll see what I mean.
✔Quiet:This stove runs relatively quiet. One purchaser remarked that it sounds like a gaming pc. Overall, you may have to turn up the volume of a tv slightly, but it doesn’t seem like there are quieter stoves. 

What We Don’t Like

While there isn’t much to truly find fault with (especially considering some truly trashy options on the market) we wanted this review to be comprehensive, so here goes…

✖Hopper Filling:The hopper has a small filling hole, which requires you to rip off a corner of your bag of pellets and carefully pour the pellets inside.
✖Instruction Manual:.The manual is filled with hard to read font and tiny print. This is a small gripe..we know, but we just thought you should be prepared.
✖Burn Pot Overflow:If you run this stove on the highest setting the burn pot may overflow slightly. One solution to this is simply attach a tiny fan to the air intake port with a variable speed controller. You can then set the fan speed to a low setting (~10 CFM) and that will drastically increase the burn rate and thus prevent overflow.

♥PRO TIP: As with any stove you will have to do some cleaning. One important thing to note about this model is that there are some extra panels that can be cleaned if you pull off the silver panels on either side of the stove. If you do not clean these then the future flames will not burn as strongly.

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Final Thoughts

So there you have it, our Comfortbilt review outlining the key pros and cons to this highly reccomended machine. The Comfortbilt is great for people looking to buy their first pellet stove and will provide heat for years to come. Happy stove shopping, and if you have any questions don’t hesitate to reach out!

Last Updated: August 2017

The Castle Serenity is a popular favorite among pellet stove enthusiasts, and has rightly earned its place as a top selling model on Amazon. Castle really thought out the whole user experience, and this stove is near perfection. What makes it so special? A combination of smart design, easy to use features, and high quality manufacturing. Let’s take a further look!

  

Key Features

• Heating Capacity: 1,500 sq. feet
• EPA Certified: Yes
• Hopper Capacity: 40lb
• Burn Time: 12 hours
• BTUs: 31,960
• Weight: 186 lb
• Plug In: 120v
• Operating Wattage: 77w

 

What We Like

✔Easy Installation:The stove can easily be installed by a homeowner, and the included manual walks through all the required steps. Estimated installation time is less than 2 hours, and the compact stove size means finding space is easy. Additionally, this stove can be directly vented (no chimney/flute required) and since it is EPA certified it will apply with regulations on both state and local levels. Finally, this stove is mobile home approved. This compact stove is perfect for all the adventurous folk who live/travel in their RVs and want a practical heating solution
✔Programmable:The unit has a built in thermometer and features a 24 hour programmable controller for each day of the week. This allows you to set times for the stove to be on/off, which means you can wake up warm-have the stove turn off while you’re at work-and have it turn back on 30 minutes before you arrive back home. This feature will save a lot of pellets, while ensuring you don’t have to suffer through the cold. There are also five levels that you can set the stove to burn at depending on the heat intensity you desire. The burn time ranges from 12 hours (highest setting) to 24 hours (lowest setting).  This level of control is rare on such compact product.
✔Easy to Clean:All that needs to be done is a quick sweep of the exhaust pipe and a dump of the ash pot. The interior of the stove is smooth to prevent ash buildup and make any additional cleaning easy.

✔Customer Support: Castle offers live customer support on its products, which means that in the event of shipping damage or a part malfunction it is easy to get into contact with a helpful representative. Just to give you some examples of the level of care we are talking about here, there was a man who received a defective stove part-he calls up Castle-the free replacement gets sent out the same day. Another guy who just wanted to talk with someone to make sure installation had been done correctly-2 calls to Castle over a 3 day period later-problem solved and he’s buddies with the guy on the line. If anything is wrong Castle will make sure to send you a free replacement stove, from what we’ve read about these guys they are the real deal.

What We Don’t Like

There’s not much to dislike about this stove, because many of the errors are due to users who don’t read the manual or those who don’t understand you need to “cure” your stove. Curing means letting it burn 2-3 times outside while all the oils in the interior/exterior paints are “off gassed.” This process can be done indoors as well, just make sure the room is heavily ventilated.

✖Tight Hopper: While the hopper is the standard 40lbs, there is very little wiggle room. Essentially, if you try to add another bag of pellets while the hopper is still slightly filled-there will be overflow.
✖No Ambient Temp. Turnoff: This one was discovered by some of the users who set their stove for a certain ambient temperature. Once the ambient temperature reached the setting the stove would not turn off; it simply switched to its lowest setting. This could pose an inconvenience to some users.

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Final Thoughts

We look at stoves frequently, and few stand out as much (for positive reasons….) as the Castle Serenity. This product is perfect for someone with little to no log/pellet fuel burning experience. Between the great features, strong performance, and fantastic customer support this is truly one of the best pellet stoves of 2017.