Fireplaces, Heating Stoves, Flues and Chimneys - Harman Accentra on sale--are new models better?

I am interested in the Harman Accentra pellet stove insert for my main living area. One dealer in my area if offering about a 25% savings on the stoves this week (even though they will not be available until the first week of April--standard backorder due to the demand).

I called another dealer in the area and they said no sales and they would not even know what would available until the manufacturer show next month.

Does anyone know if the new line of Harman pellet stove inserts will dramatically improved over this year's model or not?

I do like the discount to around $2100 + flue and framing. Does anyone have this particular stove with recommendations in favor or against. My wife loves a fireplace but we live in Denver and wood burning bans and also we presently have a gas fireplace insert which is pretty worthless for heat output.

Thanks, Brad

Please read this before purchasing ANY Harman product.

In addition to the looking at the relative merits of any alternate fuel heating units you are considering, regardless of type, also consider the manufacturer’s service and support policies. I didn’t do this when I bought a Harman Model 2600 multi-fuel central furnace in 2000 to replace an ancient wood and oil burning furnace that we had had for many years. I now regret the choice. Three seasons ago I decided to run the furnace on oil only until my wife recovered from her lung cancer surgery, so that there would be no chance of even a whiff of wood smoke entering the house. When the furnace fired we smelled oil. This has continued right up to this season and we’ve tried everything to get it repaired, complete cleaning and resealing of the oil heat exchanger (twice), various adjustment to the oil burner, chimney cleaning, etc. We even had the air conditioning oil pulled so that the heat exchanger could be inspected for cracks (none found). My heating technician is at his wit’s end and blames it on poor furnace design. Emails, telephone calls, and faxed and snail mailed messages to Harman asking for technical help or referral to a technician who could solve the problem have been unanswered. They won’t even send me a replacement manual. Their standard reply is that all service and parts orders must go through the dealer who sold me the furnace. I of course called the dealer from whom I bought the furnace and was told by the owner’s widow that when her husband died, Harmon pulled her dealership and gave it to someone else, even though they sold 84 Harman units a year. She said her very experienced and qualified service technician would no longer service Harmon products because of the way Dane Harman and his company treated her. The two Harman Dealers within reasonable driving distance from me do not handle furnaces, only stoves, and do not have service technicians qualified in the oil heat part. The bottom line – Do not purchase ANY Harmon product unless you are absolutely sure that your dealer will remain in business for as long as you own the stove and will be willing to provide service and parts when needed.

Jack Jennings
Sicklerville, NJ