Drolet High-Efficiency Eco-45 Pellet Stove,
April 15, 2008
By MarkInMaine from Dover-Foxcroft, ME
"Looking to save on our heating oil bill, a friend of mine turned me to Northern Tools website where we found the Drolet Eco-45 pellet stove. At it's rating maximum of 45,000 BTU/hr it was more than adequate to heat my house. I would rather buy a model that is more than capable of reaching a comfortable temperature than one that will struggle on its highest setting. This one was a perfect match. I ordered it through Northern Tool & Equipment and their friendly and helpful staff. They gave me patience when I had an arms-length of questions to ask, answered as many as they knew and told me who to call that would know the rest of the info I was looking for. I installed this pellet stove on February 24, 2008 and have been heating my home with it ever since. My oil delivery for the month of March was an all-time low of 49 gallons! I still heat my water through the oil furnace, but otherwise it saw almost nothing for heating the house. I had to call everyone and tell them what a difference it made! I hope to look into an on-demand hot water system to cut the oil even further. Although there was some damage in shipment (not Northern's fault!) they went good on replacing the bottom floor platform no questions asked! Now that's service! I am very impressed with this pellet stove and I am glad I did not buy one that was way more expensive for the same amount of heat output. The bottom line says that I would buy from Northern Tool & Equipment again due to how smoothly this went for me. Thanks Northern!"
What is your level of technical expertise? Home Handyman
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
Kinks,
June 23, 2008
By Bernd from Bobcaygeon, ON
"After ironing out a few kinks this particular model (1700 range) needed a different auger to produce a slightly stronger pellet feeding. I contacted the manufacturer directly (located in Quebec, google for "Drolet" stoves). The company has support services in english or french. They even sent me a few extra parts such as: gaskets, heat sensor (F-140).
I am very satisfied now and am using the product with an external thermostat and therefore the pellet usage is very economical.
I suggest to keep the stove reasonably clean including vacuuming the convection fan screens once a week."
What is your level of technical expertise? Home Handyman
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
Drolet 00045,
January 31, 2008
By Disspleased from Northern Pa.
"This is my first winter using this unit. I have not had a complete cycle keeping it burning, I thought that i did my homework since it is the second brand of stove that i have had this winter..
The manufacturer is in Canada and they are hard to reach and sometimes helpful, not seeming to go out of their way to call you back.
I still have issues with them on giving me answers, my unit cannot run on high for long. They are not specific on the cause or correction, My suggestions have gone unnoticed. I have a background in technology .
I have an external thermostat and it will function if I can get these issues resolved.
They sent me a heat blanket but was not specific as to its installation on its effect on the warrenty."
What is your level of technical expertise? Home Handyman
1 of 1 people found this review helpful.
ECO45 - Good or Bad?,
January 18, 2008
By njchaos from New Jersey
"This is my second winter using this unit. There are pros and cons to this particular unit. I would do your homework before getting into this one. The first year I had nothing but problems with it staying lit. I was on the phone with the manufacturer MANY times. I was getting all kinds of errors. I spent more time fixing it then enjoying it that is for sure.
As for the manufacturer – they are in Canada…helpful but hard to reach and hard to understand unless you speak French.
This year I must say that after figuring out what the problem was I am happy. There were two issues that needed to be corrected which turned out to be the cause of all my issues. One was a missing heat blanket in the stove protecting a sensor – that was found last year. This year I have not had too many issues and have been overall happy after replacing the F-140 sensor.
I also added an external thermostat which helps keep the heat stable.
A final note: Do your homework and find a local company if you have one in your area that offers service and a warranty."
What is your level of technical expertise? Home Handyman
10 of 10 people found this review helpful.