Low maintenance burner – This patent pending technology has an agitator rod in the burn pot that breaks up any clinker or ash and helps move it into the ash pan. This greatly reduces cleaning intervals and also allows you to burn lesser quality, inexpensive pellets and alternate fuels.
Quick start ignitor with air pump
Quietest pellet stove in the industry – (40 – 45 dB at 10 ft. away)
Fluted cast iron firebox liner
Built-in floor protection – no hearth pad required
I have recently purchased the M55c-Fs pellet stove. Had it installed by local dealer(12/13/14) as far as heat out put the stove is a monster(setting 5,i use 3). Found when I lower the setting(2) it seems to make a rattling noise. just wondering if anyone else has experienced this problem. The stove itself is a bit louder then I thought too. when I was in the showroom of dealer the model they had wasn’t as loud. If anyone could help or share tricks of the trade it would be helpful. I am a newbie to pellets and don’t have much experience. Thanks
This is our second year with the Enviro M55C FPI, and we absolutely love it! Have experienced none of the issues mentioned previously: only a very powerful yet quiet beast that has responded to anything we’ve asked it to burn – from cheap box store pellets (Nation’s Pride) to my favorite (so far): Northern Max (Cubex). We’re heating a 1600 sf ranch house on a mountain in Massachusetts with this stove without a problem. Here are some general reflections/comments about our experience:
PELLETS AND CLEANING: I’ve found with the Northern Max pellets (and, in general, most ing this month) I do have to clean it more often (every 5-7 days) and with these pellets there is also a noticeable drop in BTU’s from the Cubex.
CLEANING: I think (as with most things) taking care of your stuff is the most important factor when it comes to longevity. I’ve taken this stove apart in the off season to see how it works, and the system is simple and very efficient. I have no idea how some of the problems in general I’ve heard some people describe about their pellet stoves could happen if they were really maintaining them, following manufacturer instructions, and paying attention! Warped burn pots? Perhaps with an older model but this thing is solid steel. Blown out circuit boards? Are you using the proper kind of surge protector for a pellet stove? Sometimes I wonder what people put into these stoves (or the kids when we’re not looking!) Anyway, I’m very thorough when I do clean, and the M55 insert is pretty easy to do a complete job on in about 15-20 minutes once it cools.
OVERHEATING PROBLEM? THIS IS NO LONGER AN ISSUE! Apparently the older model M55’s had a smaller blower fan and different feed hole that occasionally caused overheating and shut-down. This has been fixed on the newer stoves with a larger blower and re-engineered feed, so you want to make sure your dealer is either selling you a new stove or will upgrade the old one. ZERO problems with this on ours (late 2013 build date). This baby will run really hot if you want it to and the new fan may be louder than the old one, but it’s still noticeably quieter than all of the others we tested of similar BTU.
THERMOSTAT: Although it came with a basic wall thermostat, this season we are using a touchscreen LUX TX9600 7-day programmable thermostat and it has worked flawlessly to heat the house when we’re here and drop the temp when we’re gone. It’s been a beautiful thing – ever since I set the program all we worry about now is making sure the M55 has pellets and it does everything else automatically.
IGNITOR: Ignitors on ANY pellet stove are a wearable item: they all have limited lifespans. You can improve the lifespan of your ignitor by NOT using the AUTO/OFF setting of your stove with the thermostat. Set it to HI-LOW so the stove will cycle but never shut off, and your ignitor will last longer. Also, at the end of the season if you leave pellets in the hopper, you can expect to have more problems with your auger and ignitor because the pellets will attract moisture. Bottom line, again: Listen to your manufacturer’s instructions and become knowledgeable about your stove!
BURNING PELLETS: Not sure how people are getting this thing to burn 3 bags a day unless they’re running it on full (5) all day and night (which it would happily do and crank out a lot of heat too!). This is a 55,000+ BTU stove, people: It will heat a 2400″ square foot house if you want it to, in which case 3 bags a day is going to be pretty normal. I averaged 9 or so bags per week last winter to heat our 1600 sf ranch – a little over 1 bag per day. 3 tons total from mid-December to April!
LOOK: We fell in love with the look of this stove, and we also love the fact that you can swing the doors open to get a slightly more modern/open look. It’s simply a classy-looking stove with just about the best flame I’ve ever seen on a pellet stove.
FAUX LOG INSERT: We bought this because my wife wanted it to look more like a wood stove. To make a long story short, the faux logs really look great, but they interrupt the air wash pattern on the glass. This makes the glass dirty much quicker (within 2-3 days, depending on the pellets) then when we leave the log set out. Bottom line: we only use it now when we’re going to have company… sometimes. Otherwise they sit in the basement. Skip this feature unless your wife must have it.
CLEANING RAILS: I clean the stove myself in the off season, and it’s easy to do with just a couple 2×4’s framed together (look for pictures online). Unlatch two hooks and the M55 rolls right out onto the frame and lets you get to the back, where everything is easily accessible. Fans are lifetime-lubricated on the newer models of the M55C.
BOTTOM LINE: Some friends have raved about Harmans and others have mixed reviews. If you go to a Harmon dealer, expect the “Apple” sales pitch, even if it’s over-hyped and over-priced. They’re good stoves – but there are a LOT of good stoves out there in 2014: Get out to look at your options! Make those salespeople turn on the stoves. Watch the stoves go through their lighting cycles and listen to the fans. We spent a lot of time doing this, fell in love with the Enviro M55C, and highly recommend it based on out experience since. Having said that, Pellet stoves are not for everyone. Make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into!
Thanks for reading this review – hope it helps you make a decision that works for you!
I have purchased the M55 the first winter it worked very well for the first 4 months, from then on I have had nothing but issue’s with this stove. Last year it refused to light the burn pot warped, the auger motor went, the blower motor went, and now they cant get it to start when the T Stat ask for heat. It is now out of warranty and I am left with a stove that don’t work. This is not my first Pellet stove but my 4th and by far the worst experience ever.
This is my second year with the m55 cast fs and it have performed very well for me. It keeps the house warming even when it is very cold outside. The only issue I have had after I got it dialed in was one over temperature trip otherwise this unit has run flawlessly. I do clean the stove thoroughly every week. I am very satisfied with the stove.
We purchased the Enviro M55 in December of 2012. After reading up on the stove we asked the dealer if the model we ordered had the updated blower motor, as many owners posted that the stove overheated the electronics; they said yes. We were lied to. I am now told Enviro has no motors in stock, that our motor has failed and we are on our 4th week with no pellet stove, as the temperature drops below zero for the third day in a row. I call the dealer each week and he says they still have no motors at Enviro, and there are 2 other customers waiting. Note that Enviro is made in Canada, and their website gives out no way to contact them directly. Enviro is a fly by night outfit and I should have bought the Harman – it was the same price. Next time I will buy American.
This is my first year with my new Enviro M55 insert and I also have the issue with the stove going through 3+ bags of premium pellets per day on level 3. This is even after I had it serviced with a magnahelic gauge. I just bought my 5th ton of pellets today and it is only January…I will go through at least 7 tons this year at this rate. PLEASE let me know if anyone knows of or finds a solution for this. I also keep this stove very clean and service it every 5 – 7 days. I would love this stove if I could get the pellet consumption under control.
We bought our Enviro M55 in 2009. We are on our second convection blower p/n 50-2064. The first one was sqealing. The second one the idle end fell out making the fan rattle in the bottom of the housing. this fan does not move enough air through the pipes to take heat away so the stove kicks off on high fire. It also goes through a lot of pellets. I had heard the company knows about this fan and pellet problem. How can I get this problem fixed. It should come under recall problems.
The M55 Enviro circuit board malfunctioned in the stove. I have been waiting over 3 weeks and it is still not fixed. It is under warranty. This happened at the coldest time of the year when I most relied on it. I bought it to eliminate the use of electric heat. While it worked it was great but the repair time is a sick joke
I am in my second winter with the M-55 cast freestanding. I have had 2 major issues, both of which turned out to be known problems that were addressed by the manufacturer and serviced under the warranty by the store. The first issue is that the blower is not strong enough to circulate the heat. Enviro put out a much stronger blower, and the service guy told me that he has replaced 100% of the blowers in this stove model. The second issue was the size of the auger feed. The pellets were feeding through the stove at an alarming rate, and the stove was running at 15-20k BTU over spec. This was fixed by installing a cover over the auger to reduce the feed level. I think someone else mentioned this, but it was NOT complicated or difficult to install, and it took my guy under an hour. In my case, it burned out the thermostat, so I was also having trouble keeping the stove lit. The service guy fixed that too, all under warranty. The stove has had its problems, but it’s running great now and I’m using it exclusively to heat my 2300 sf house. I go through about 2 bags a day, which seems high based on what people say about other stoves, but I’m still saving a lot of money over propane. The problems you guys are having are known issues with the stove, and should be addressed asap.
I can’t keep this pellet stove running on a continual basis. Ths stove is one year old and its been serviced twice. The high temperature heat sensor keeps tripping at low temp setting i.e. 2 and 3. It’s frustrating! I think the high heat sensor is not working as of yeterday 12/7/12 and the stove is not working at all. It’s frustrating to make an expensive purchase that doesn’t work on a regualar basis. Can anyone help!
41 Comments
I have recently purchased the M55c-Fs pellet stove. Had it installed by local dealer(12/13/14) as far as heat out put the stove is a monster(setting 5,i use 3). Found when I lower the setting(2) it seems to make a rattling noise. just wondering if anyone else has experienced this problem. The stove itself is a bit louder then I thought too. when I was in the showroom of dealer the model they had wasn’t as loud. If anyone could help or share tricks of the trade it would be helpful. I am a newbie to pellets and don’t have much experience. Thanks
This is our second year with the Enviro M55C FPI, and we absolutely love it! Have experienced none of the issues mentioned previously: only a very powerful yet quiet beast that has responded to anything we’ve asked it to burn – from cheap box store pellets (Nation’s Pride) to my favorite (so far): Northern Max (Cubex). We’re heating a 1600 sf ranch house on a mountain in Massachusetts with this stove without a problem. Here are some general reflections/comments about our experience:
PELLETS AND CLEANING: I’ve found with the Northern Max pellets (and, in general, most ing this month) I do have to clean it more often (every 5-7 days) and with these pellets there is also a noticeable drop in BTU’s from the Cubex.
CLEANING: I think (as with most things) taking care of your stuff is the most important factor when it comes to longevity. I’ve taken this stove apart in the off season to see how it works, and the system is simple and very efficient. I have no idea how some of the problems in general I’ve heard some people describe about their pellet stoves could happen if they were really maintaining them, following manufacturer instructions, and paying attention! Warped burn pots? Perhaps with an older model but this thing is solid steel. Blown out circuit boards? Are you using the proper kind of surge protector for a pellet stove? Sometimes I wonder what people put into these stoves (or the kids when we’re not looking!) Anyway, I’m very thorough when I do clean, and the M55 insert is pretty easy to do a complete job on in about 15-20 minutes once it cools.
OVERHEATING PROBLEM? THIS IS NO LONGER AN ISSUE! Apparently the older model M55’s had a smaller blower fan and different feed hole that occasionally caused overheating and shut-down. This has been fixed on the newer stoves with a larger blower and re-engineered feed, so you want to make sure your dealer is either selling you a new stove or will upgrade the old one. ZERO problems with this on ours (late 2013 build date). This baby will run really hot if you want it to and the new fan may be louder than the old one, but it’s still noticeably quieter than all of the others we tested of similar BTU.
THERMOSTAT: Although it came with a basic wall thermostat, this season we are using a touchscreen LUX TX9600 7-day programmable thermostat and it has worked flawlessly to heat the house when we’re here and drop the temp when we’re gone. It’s been a beautiful thing – ever since I set the program all we worry about now is making sure the M55 has pellets and it does everything else automatically.
IGNITOR: Ignitors on ANY pellet stove are a wearable item: they all have limited lifespans. You can improve the lifespan of your ignitor by NOT using the AUTO/OFF setting of your stove with the thermostat. Set it to HI-LOW so the stove will cycle but never shut off, and your ignitor will last longer. Also, at the end of the season if you leave pellets in the hopper, you can expect to have more problems with your auger and ignitor because the pellets will attract moisture. Bottom line, again: Listen to your manufacturer’s instructions and become knowledgeable about your stove!
BURNING PELLETS: Not sure how people are getting this thing to burn 3 bags a day unless they’re running it on full (5) all day and night (which it would happily do and crank out a lot of heat too!). This is a 55,000+ BTU stove, people: It will heat a 2400″ square foot house if you want it to, in which case 3 bags a day is going to be pretty normal. I averaged 9 or so bags per week last winter to heat our 1600 sf ranch – a little over 1 bag per day. 3 tons total from mid-December to April!
LOOK: We fell in love with the look of this stove, and we also love the fact that you can swing the doors open to get a slightly more modern/open look. It’s simply a classy-looking stove with just about the best flame I’ve ever seen on a pellet stove.
FAUX LOG INSERT: We bought this because my wife wanted it to look more like a wood stove. To make a long story short, the faux logs really look great, but they interrupt the air wash pattern on the glass. This makes the glass dirty much quicker (within 2-3 days, depending on the pellets) then when we leave the log set out. Bottom line: we only use it now when we’re going to have company… sometimes. Otherwise they sit in the basement. Skip this feature unless your wife must have it.
CLEANING RAILS: I clean the stove myself in the off season, and it’s easy to do with just a couple 2×4’s framed together (look for pictures online). Unlatch two hooks and the M55 rolls right out onto the frame and lets you get to the back, where everything is easily accessible. Fans are lifetime-lubricated on the newer models of the M55C.
BOTTOM LINE: Some friends have raved about Harmans and others have mixed reviews. If you go to a Harmon dealer, expect the “Apple” sales pitch, even if it’s over-hyped and over-priced. They’re good stoves – but there are a LOT of good stoves out there in 2014: Get out to look at your options! Make those salespeople turn on the stoves. Watch the stoves go through their lighting cycles and listen to the fans. We spent a lot of time doing this, fell in love with the Enviro M55C, and highly recommend it based on out experience since. Having said that, Pellet stoves are not for everyone. Make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into!
Thanks for reading this review – hope it helps you make a decision that works for you!
I have purchased the M55 the first winter it worked very well for the first 4 months, from then on I have had nothing but issue’s with this stove. Last year it refused to light the burn pot warped, the auger motor went, the blower motor went, and now they cant get it to start when the T Stat ask for heat. It is now out of warranty and I am left with a stove that don’t work. This is not my first Pellet stove but my 4th and by far the worst experience ever.
This is my second year with the m55 cast fs and it have performed very well for me. It keeps the house warming even when it is very cold outside. The only issue I have had after I got it dialed in was one over temperature trip otherwise this unit has run flawlessly. I do clean the stove thoroughly every week. I am very satisfied with the stove.
We purchased the Enviro M55 in December of 2012. After reading up on the stove we asked the dealer if the model we ordered had the updated blower motor, as many owners posted that the stove overheated the electronics; they said yes. We were lied to. I am now told Enviro has no motors in stock, that our motor has failed and we are on our 4th week with no pellet stove, as the temperature drops below zero for the third day in a row. I call the dealer each week and he says they still have no motors at Enviro, and there are 2 other customers waiting. Note that Enviro is made in Canada, and their website gives out no way to contact them directly. Enviro is a fly by night outfit and I should have bought the Harman – it was the same price. Next time I will buy American.
This is my first year with my new Enviro M55 insert and I also have the issue with the stove going through 3+ bags of premium pellets per day on level 3. This is even after I had it serviced with a magnahelic gauge. I just bought my 5th ton of pellets today and it is only January…I will go through at least 7 tons this year at this rate. PLEASE let me know if anyone knows of or finds a solution for this. I also keep this stove very clean and service it every 5 – 7 days. I would love this stove if I could get the pellet consumption under control.
We bought our Enviro M55 in 2009. We are on our second convection blower p/n 50-2064. The first one was sqealing. The second one the idle end fell out making the fan rattle in the bottom of the housing. this fan does not move enough air through the pipes to take heat away so the stove kicks off on high fire. It also goes through a lot of pellets. I had heard the company
knows about this fan and pellet problem. How can I get this problem fixed. It should come under recall problems.
The M55 Enviro circuit board malfunctioned in the stove. I have been waiting over 3 weeks and it is still not fixed. It is under warranty. This happened at the coldest time of the year when I most relied on it. I bought it to eliminate the use of electric heat. While it worked it was great but the repair time is a sick joke
I am in my second winter with the M-55 cast freestanding. I have had 2 major issues, both of which turned out to be known problems that were addressed by the manufacturer and serviced under the warranty by the store. The first issue is that the blower is not strong enough to circulate the heat. Enviro put out a much stronger blower, and the service guy told me that he has replaced 100% of the blowers in this stove model. The second issue was the size of the auger feed. The pellets were feeding through the stove at an alarming rate, and the stove was running at 15-20k BTU over spec. This was fixed by installing a cover over the auger to reduce the feed level. I think someone else mentioned this, but it was NOT complicated or difficult to install, and it took my guy under an hour. In my case, it burned out the thermostat, so I was also having trouble keeping the stove lit. The service guy fixed that too, all under warranty. The stove has had its problems, but it’s running great now and I’m using it exclusively to heat my 2300 sf house. I go through about 2 bags a day, which seems high based on what people say about other stoves, but I’m still saving a lot of money over propane. The problems you guys are having are known issues with the stove, and should be addressed asap.
I can’t keep this pellet stove running on a continual basis. Ths stove is one year old and its been serviced twice. The high temperature heat sensor keeps tripping at low temp setting i.e. 2 and 3. It’s frustrating! I think the high heat sensor is not working as of yeterday 12/7/12 and the stove is not working at all. It’s frustrating to make an expensive purchase that doesn’t work on a regualar basis. Can anyone help!