When shopping for pellet stoves, it can be difficult to find the wood pellet facts. That’s true of all brands, and the PP 130 Pelpro pellet stove is no exception. It’s a great pellet stove from a manufacturer with a good reputation, but nailing down its actual performance numbers is harder than it should be. The numbers you’ll see on sales pages from retailers like Tractor Supply Company and Amazon aren’t written by the companies that make pellet stoves. They’re usually written by clerks that barely understand what a pellet stove does.
Pellet stove performance numbers need to be taken with a grain of salt. The PP130 Pelpro pellet stove is advertised as producing up to 50,000 BTUs per hour, but that number can be misleading. The Pelpro website also says the PP130 produces 46,900 BTUs. Which is correct? Probably both numbers are accurate, but require explanation. When comparing the Pelpro PP130 to similarly sized Vogelzang pellet stoves like the Slimline VG 5770, for instance, it’s safe to use their stated numbers to determine their relative heating power. You’ll have to do a little more digging to determine exactly how much heat you’ll get out of them. The maximum “input” heat might be 50,000 BTUs, but that doesn’t take into account the efficiency of the stove, or the amount of BTUs per pound in your wood pellet fuel.
By any measure, the Pelpro PP130 is an affordable, powerful and economical pellet stove. It’s one of a number of models from various manufacturers that can reliably produce over 40,000 BTUs of heat. Big output doesn’t mean a lot of pellet refills and cleaning chores, however. Keep reading to find out more about the Pelpro Pellet Stove PP130.
Pelpro PP130 Wood Pellet Facts
- Freestanding automatic wood pellet stove
- Produces from 11,000 to 50,000 BTU input
- Produces up to 46,900 BTUs output
- Can heat from 1,200 to 2,200 square feet
- EPA certified 81.6 percent efficient
- Top loading
- Hopper holds 120 pounds of pellets
- Flue collar size: 3 inches
- Burns up to 80 hours on one load
- Automatic ignition
- Variable speed blower moves up to 265 CFM
- One dial controls heat output for 12 settings
- Rear venting
- Approved for mobile home use
- Dimensions: 22-3/4″ x 24-1/2″ x 36-1/2″ high
- Weighs 239 pounds
- Optional 200-pound capacity hopper extension available
- Made in the USA
- One-year limited warranty
Pelpro Pellet Stove PP130 Features and Benefits
Many pellet stoves require several adjustments to get the heat output you desire. The Pelpro PP 130 has a single rotary dial that lets you set the output of the stove quickly and accurately. The stove won’t cycle on and off like a traditional furnace. It will automatically regulate the amount of wood pellets being supplied to the burn pot in order to hold your preset temperature. This feature not only increases comfort, it saves fuel by avoiding overheating the rooms it serves.
One of the main complaints of pellet stove users is the amount of noise they produce. Pellets stoves require two fans in order to supply heat to a room. First, a combustion fan needs to draw in fresh air and exhaust fumes through the flue to the outdoors. Secondly, a circulating fan must gather room air and pass it over a heat exchanger to transfer the BTUs and send it out into the space you’re heating with the pellet stove.
The PelPro PP130 has a variable speed circulating fan, and that cuts down on unnecessary noise. When the stove is on low, the fan is very quiet. It’s difficult for a fan to be quiet at high speeds, because the sound of the moving air is enough to produce a rushing noise. With the PP 130, you won’t hear a lot of circulating air noise on the lowest settings.
The PP 130 can be dialed down to as low as 11,000 BTUs per hour, making it just as useful in “shoulder” seasons as it is in the dead of winter. Until recently, pellets stove users had to choose between high output and versatility, but that’s no longer the case with stoves like the PP 130, and other big stoves like the Harman P61 or the Vogelzang VG 5790. They all have automated controls to hold a steady temperature without a lot of fussing.
Here’s a handy video of the Pelpro Pellet Stove PP130 in action:
Pros
- Handsome, flat black enclosure
- Small footprint fits in almost anywhere
- Easy to operate
- Regular maintenance is easy
- Hopper holds 120 pounds for long burn times
- Highly adjustable automatic settings save fuel and increase comfort
- Fun to watch flames in the large viewing window
- Optional hopper extension more than doubles run time between refills
- Fresh air kit uses outside air for combustion
- Larger CFM fan than some competitors moves heat further into the space
- Very affordably priced
Cons
- Optional hopper extension is useful, but too tall for easy loading
- Warranty isn’t as comprehensive as some competitors
Final Word on the Pelpro PP130
If you need a wood pellet stove that’s easy to operate but still puts out a lot of heat, the Pelpro PP 130 might be right for you. It has some of the simplest and most effective controls of any pellet stove, but it puts out almost as much heat as the largest freestanding pellet stoves on the market. The PP 130 has more settings than most pellet stoves, and that will increase your comfort while saving you money on your pellet fuel. The 81.6 percent EPA efficiency rating on the stove means you’ll save even more.
The cost of fuel is only part of the cost of operating a pellet stove. The Pelpro PP130 saves you money right away on its purchase price. Pelpro pellet stoves are carried by trusted dealers, including Aubuchon, Home Depot Canada, Menards, Tractor Supply Company, and many others. There’s a good bit of competition for your pellet stove dollar between these discount retailers, and that means you can sometimes find the PP130 for less than $1,000. That’s an amazingly low price for such a big and efficient stove, and why we rate the Pelpro Pellet Stove PP130 as a best buy.
Have had problems from the start , vibrations , broken glass , noisy convection motor , which I have to replace , cleaning ash is dusty mess in house, on furniture
Hello Leonard- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts, and for offering our readers the benefit of your experience with the Pelpro PP 130.
Were the defects like the convection blower and the broken glass covered by your warranty? If so, what is your opinion of customer service from Pelpro?
Trying to decide on whether or not to purchase this stove. Concerned about reliability. Have heard many horror stories about customer service. Willing to spend a little more for a better stove that isto say, more reliable in the Long Haul. Not looking for a stove that has to be replaced every four or five years. Is this one of those stones that will last?
Hello Marc- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts, and for leaving a comment.
Reviews of the Pelpro PP130 from several different outlets are about 90 percent positive. However, it appears that when a consumer has a problem with theirs, it’s hard for them to diagnose and fix.
Large stoves like this one at around the $1,000 price point shouldn’t really be expected to be as reliable as stoves like the Harman that cost three or four times as much. If I were purchasing a PP130, I’d anticipate at least having to replace a blower, temp sensor, or other electronic part within four or five years of purchase.
Glass was covered , still waiting on convection blower from another source, would not purchase another pelpro regardless of cost , these are cheaply constructed pieces of junk
Hi Leonard- Thanks for sharing your experience with the PelPro pellet stove with our readers.
A convection blower can cost quite a bit. Many pellet stove users like yourself have discovered that parts purchased directly from the manufacturer are quite expensive. If you poke around on the internet, however, and know the part number, you can usually find it for a lot less.
I have run 3 tons of pellets through this stove with only one problem which was the convection fan. While it still functioned it became loud and I was afraid it would fail so I replaced it.($70) Could have done it under warranty but did not want to wait as it was at the time my main source of heat. For the price as long as you are willing to put in some maintenance on a daily basis it is a very good stove.I live in an old farmhouse (minimal insulation) so i needed more heat and bought a second stove and moved this one to the basement to offset the convection from the first floor drawing in cold air from the basement . Worked like a charm as the pelpro in the cellar is working like a charm . When it hits single digits I crank it up and when using it alone I ran the stove hard and it performed perfectly, just was not enough to heat my old home. I bought a Harman P68 brand new and cost me a ton but this is the first year between the 2 stoves our house is warm consistent. Without the Pelpro in the cellar the Harman could not keep up so the Pelpro has been working perfectly . It is not for someone who is either Lazy or someone who for physical reasons cant perform daily maintenance, but if you are short on cash and willing to clean it daily (15 minutes max) and once a month spend an hour for a more thorough cleaning it will serve you well at least mine has. Cranks out some heat and I do believe it does do the 55k BTU if you maintain it. Very simple to work on took me 6 minutes to replace the convection motor.
My 2 cents
Hello Daniel- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts, and for sharing the benefits of your experience with the Pelpro PP 130 pellet stove.
Your approach of having pellet stoves in two location in your home, instead of placing one, much larger unit in one place sounds very smart and useful. By placing them on two levels, and far apart from one other, you spread the heat around better without the need for a lot of fans.
You’ve also pointed out that pellet stoves need daily maintenance. A stove like the PP130 is easy to clean, but you have to keep after it. In your case, it must be much less disruptive to turn off one stove for maintenance because the other stove is still providing you with heat. Also, if one stove is out of service while it needs a repair, you’re not entirely without pellet heat.
Buy a Harman and forget the rest. I did the routine of buying a Whitfield and Lopi and was constantly cleaning them everyday. Yes they work and function but the maintenance involved is too much. I work with someone that said but the harman and I ignored him. Guess what He was absolutely correct. I clean it maybe once a month and never have to worry about what type of pellet to burn it takes all brands without issue.
Hi Lorenzo- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts, and for offering our readers the benefit of your experience with several brands of pellet stove.
Your recommendation of a Harman stove is shared by many of our readers. Harman stoves cost more, but they reward their users with better performance and longevity. In general, we’ve found that many inexpensive pellets stoves work well, and can produce a lot of heat, but they also require constant cleaning and maintenance or their performance suffers.
We bought the PP130 last year (Jan. 2017) and could not be happier. It is rare that I buy something and have absolutely no regrets. We had been using propane, but have saved enough in the first year for the stove to have pretty much paid for itself in half a season.
Contrary to some of the things I read about some stoves, this one seems to work well with any pellet (we have tried about 4 or 5 different manufacturers so far) and heats about 3000 sq. ft. of our house with the unit turned up less than half way. Admittedly, the house is very well insulated and we do not bother heating the basement area (another 900sq. ft.), but we could. We keep it about 70 degrees and it is perfectly comfortable for us. We do use a box fan to help move the heat around though. I only clean it about every week. Just takes a few minutes and is easy to do.
We just bought 5 tons of pellets for less than $800 (very cheap $155/ton) and this might just be enough for the entire season depending on how cold it gets. Very cheap heat…hope it stays that way.
I have no connection with the company at all, but their product seems very well built and we are very happy to have bought this one.
Greg Green Michigan
Hello Greg- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts, and for offering the benefit of your experience with the Pelpro PP130.
Wood pellets are a lot cheaper than propane here in New England, even when you pay the average going price, about $250/ton delivered. Your bulk purchase of $155 per ton is one of the lowest prices we’ve seen for any brand of pellet, and that makes burning wood pellets over propane that much more economical for you. Pellet stove users are well advised to take advantage of early season specials on bulk purchases as you did. It saves a lot of money, and avoids having to accept delivery of your pellets in bad winter weather.
Thanks again for reading and commenting.
Does the pp130 have an Air Wash system to keep the glass clean?
Hello Eric- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts.
The PP 130 doesn’t specify if it has an air wash system. In our experience all compact pellet stoves, whether they have air wash in place or not, soot up the glass pretty quickly. Older style “bay” front pellet stoves have more distance between the burn pot and the glass, which makes the air wash effective. The Pelpro has a shallow combustion chamber, so the burn pot smokes up the glass. Similarly sized pellet stoves like the Vogelzangs and US Stove models soot up pretty quickly for the same reason.
We’ve found that increasing the air to the combustion chamber slows down the glass sooting up. Using 100% softwood pellets can also help, but they’re more expensive.
I just purchased a pelpro130. Sad to say it started out good but now it doesn,t do anything. can’t get it to burn at all now. Cleaned and was working a little bit burnt one pot of pellets. then amber flashing and now it doesn’t even start. Put it in off and that’s when it would fill and burn and now doesn’ t even do that. I am almost ready to send it back. Only have had it for 1 week.
Hello Deborah- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts.
That sounds like a serious problem that needs immediate attention. I would contact the manufacturer or the outlet where you purchased the Pelpro PP 130 and have them handle it while it’s still in the warranty period.
Reading the responses makes me hesitate buying one of these stoves. If you are this rude to people and unhelpful to your customers why would I want to become one?
Hello Theresa- Thanks for visiting Wood Pellet Facts, and for leaving a comment.
You’ve highlighted a real problem in the wood pellet stove industry. For the most part, customer service isn’t very good. Part of the problem is that there are multiple vendors involved. For instance, you might buy a Pelpro from Aubuchon Hardware, or Menards, or Tractor Supply. However, if there’s a problem, you’re directed to call the manufacturer for help. Of course this encourages the pellet stove company to look at the big retailers that sell the stove as their real customers, and to treat end users as an annoyance.
In our experience, customer service for all pellets stove brands can be good one day and bad the next. You might get someone who’s polite and helpful, but doesn’t have very much technical knowledge. Other times, you might get an engineer who understand perfectly how the pellet stoves work, but aren’t trained to handle customer service calls politely and effectively.
One of the reasons we started Wood Pellet Facts was to allow pellets stove users to compare notes about different brands and models. We’re by and for pellet stove users.
I purchased this stove 1 year ago this weekend. By the time it arrived and installed it was late Dec 2016.
I have tried several different pellets trying to find one that didn’t soot up the glass or the fire area. This stove requires daily cleaning and with the soot build up cleaning the fire area about every week and a half.
Then Thanksgiving 2017 spent time cleaning the entire stove as I was going to switch to a blend pellet. Finally started the stove around 3 pm and while my wife and I were watching football around 8:30 she looks over and notices there was no flame. I walked over to the stove bent down to look at the fire pot and as I was standing straight up BOOM the door literally exploded. There was never any error codes, it ran fine from 3pm. We had hot amber flying by the window where the exhaust vent is outside. I was holding the door shut as the fire pot was full of pellets and then decided to burn. We figured a way to hold the door shut and let it burn itself out.
As I write this review the control on the side of the stove is still flashing green and if I turn it up so it loads pellets it would burn as it show zero errors.
Needless to say I will be contacting the customer service people on Monday since they were closed on Friday for the Holiday. We no longer trust this stove and I have purchased a new one.
Hello Gary- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts, and for sharing your story with our readers.
I’m very glad to hear that you and your family weren’t injured due to the malfunction of your pellet stove. You’re smart to contact the manufacturer about your accident. I would be very wary of that stove going forward. Imagine if that happened when you weren’t home to look after it.
Wood pellets don’t really have that much stored energy in them, so the smoke they produce isn’t as explosive as liquid fuels like propane or heating oil. However, all wood burning appliances produce creosote over time, and creosote burns incredibly hot, very quickly, and with great force. One of the most effective safety precautions that pellet stoves have that other wood-burning appliances lack is a double-walled airtight exhaust pipe. If you saw burning embers coming out of your exhaust, you had a very hot fire inside your stove and/or exhaust stack. If that had been the old single-wall, black iron stack piping that’s common with wood stoves, your house could have very well caught on fire.
I hope that the Pelpro customer service helps you out. Thanks again for reading Wood Pellet Facts.
We have had pp130 for 4 years and within the first year blower motor noisy call manuftr and replaced for free and also didn’t think control didn’t work correct either so the rep also thru one of them in also, so have been very happy with stove also made some shields for the sides of stove with room for copper coils that heat from side of vents that go to my radiant floor heat that also has a small electric water heater but doesn’t run very often when stove is on full fire very pleased with stove for price.
Hello Michael- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts, and for offering our readers the benefit of your experience with the Pelpro PP 130.
It sounds like you received good customer service from Pelpro. Most pellet stove owners don’t seem to mind the need to look after their stoves, including replacing parts as necessary. They do mind if they receive poor support from the manufacturer.
Those are interesting modifications you’ve added. It sounds like you’re able to improve on the efficiency of the stove, and increase comfort in the room its in.
I’ve had a pelpro 130 installed for 2 weeks and run maybe 20 bags of pellets through it. It has already failed. Talked to pelpro and they said its the control panel. Said its very common. Talking to friends about it they bought same stove same time and first the ignighter went out then their control panel. Less than a ton of pellets through that one. Pelpro knows its an issue and keeps selling them. Menards is looking into this currently Dec 9th 2017
Hello Todd- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts, and for telling our readers about your experience with your Pelpro pellet stove.
Control panels are circuit boards, and circuit boards are easily broken by rough handling, static electricity, and surges from brownouts. Pellet stoves are heavy and get shipped long distances, so they often get knocked around a lot.
It can be quite infuriating to troubleshoot a stove that has a broken circuit board, because you start replacing good parts, one after another, that aren’t working because the control panel isn’t sending them the right signals at the right time.
If your replacement circuit board solves your problem, I suspect the stove will operate normally for a long time without any further problems. Good luck with your repair, I hope it works for you.
Todd call pelpro and tell them about the issues having say to the rep this is bullsh*t and you want replacement parts to make the stove work correct and if the rep can’t help you tell the to put on someone that can and will resolve problem parts are warrenrteed so there should be no charge that is what I had to do. let me know
Them. For the above comment for Todd
Hello Michael- You’ve highlighted a familiar experience with customer service at pellet stove manufacturers. The quality of the help you receive is directly related to the particular person you talk to. Sometimes you get a very organized, well-informed representative, and your problem gets solved quickly. Other times, you get less helpful service from customer support persons who really aren’t that up to speed on the products. Your advice to Todd to keep asking questions until he gets a satisfactory answer is wise. It does sound like Pelpro is helping Todd properly, so it’s likely his problem will be solved and his stove will work as it should.
Thanks again for reading Wood Pellet Facts.
Stove worked for one month fine , then it went into cool down mode , and it won’t do anything , they were supposed to send out a new dial control Monday , I called to ask when It would be here , I was anxious because it’s 15 degrees, well they don’t have any. , so I guess I’ll just stare at the unit while I shiver ,
Hello Jason-Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts.
One of the common problems we’ve encountered is a disconnect between the manufacturing plants and the customer service facilities. In the past, when appliances were made locally, the customer service was in the same building. They could get any part out of inventory and mail it to you immediately. With most appliances being manufactured overseas, it’s common to find that the parts department you’re talking to doesn’t have many parts available to them. They have to order them and wait for them the same as a customer would. That leads to shortages in parts, and long waiting times. That’s a shame, because a part like you’re waiting for could be placed in an overnight envelope inexpensively.
Almost all pellet stove manufacturers sidestep their obligations by specifying that pellet stoves aren’t supposed to be your primary source of heat in their warranty. Of course, for many consumers, a broken pellet stove means no heat, or alternate heat that’s not as safe or affordable. We believe that pellet stove manufacturers should do a better job at supplying their customers with helpful support and fast access to any part on any stove.
I ordered a ProPel 130 and installed it 12-2-17. It worked a week before the dial quit working. I received to new dial under the warranty and changed it. Now it won’t put out enough heat to get the house up to 67 degrees on setting 9. What a piece of junk.
Hello E- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts, and sharing your experience with your PelPro pellet stove with our readers.
The single rotary dial on the Pelpro is a nice feature, and a lot less complicated than the controls on many other pellet stoves. Of course if it doesn’t work as designed, it’s not much good to you. I hope that you’re able to receive additional help from Pelpro in order to get your pellet stove working as designed.
Well here I sit waiting on a dial control for 2 weeks now after my first call to costumer service. I sure hope this new magical dial control fixes the problem! It’s in the teens outside. 2 to 3 days is what I was told 2 weeks ago so on day 4 I called and asked about the part and they said my order hasn’t been completed yet because they didn’t have my shipping address! I emailed my address for the 2nd time (wonder how long I’d be waiting for this part if I didn’t call) anyway now the part is on back order and will be 5 to 7 business days! Today is day 8 and if it don’t show up soon I’m going to have a melt down!!!! This part better fix the problem
Hello Greg- Thanks for leaving a comment at Wood Pellet Facts.
It’s a mystery to us here at Wood Pellet Facts why pellet stove manufacturers don’t pay better attention to customer service. Of course warranty work is a cost, but selling parts could be lucrative for customers who are out of warranty. If the same clerks handled the parts and warranty work, the customer service departments would be more efficient, and they’d probably more than pay for themselves. Customers would be much more likely to purchase a brand that had reliable parts and support services, too.
Bought the PP130 Pelpro stove late November. Installed it in December of this year. Worked awesome for about a week. Then it wouldn’t turn on. Called pelpro cs. They told me it was there fault, that it was a faulty dial control. They would send me a new one…… but it was on back order. December 20 2017 it finally show up. Installed the new dial following the instructions provided. Stove started, but wouldn’t heat up the house. Put the old dial back in after cleaning it with contact cleaner. The stove started up and heats good. Dial is still a problem!!!!!! Pelpro is sending another one?? I have to keep this up!!! Sh*tty customer service!!!! Crappy parts and shotty craftsmanship!!!! It is going back to were it came from! If I get any flack from them we are contacting an attorney. This is BS!!!!!!!!!
Hello Rodger- Thanks for visiting Wood Pellet Facts.
Most people who purchase pellet stoves are pretty handy, and are willing to tinker with the stoves to get them to work correctly, especially if the manufacturer has good instructions, customer service, and easy availability of parts. However, it can be infuriating to replace the same part over and over, and wait for it each time, too. Pellet stove makers really should have a complete supply of parts ready to ship to customers when there’s a problem, but many consumers like yourself report that parts are back ordered and ship slowly. We hope Pelpro stands behind their product and is able to help you fix the stove or receive a refund.
Thank you Alex! I am good with my hands and like to take things apart and figure out how they work and put them back together. …. I am thinking of replacing the pot( dial) on my own. Trying to find an equal replacement for it. Seems cheaply made. Hope to find an upgrade for it.
ONE WEEK after purchase of PP130, it began to malfunction by burning irregularly on multiple dial settings and eventually degraded to the point of pellets dropping and burning while in the OFF position (DANGEROUS). Contacted Pelpro and they sent a replacement dial. Installed new dial which operated well for only 1 WEEK. Now it cycled off and won’t start back up, just the ready flashing green light. They are sending ANOTHER 3rd dial control. Perhaps their control board is shorting out their dials (because the dials seem to have about a 5-7 day life). Have not been able to attain reliable heat for a period of over a week yet. Any input on similar problems and solutions will be greatly appreciated.
Hello Vass- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts.
Because of the nature of our website, we have a tendency to hear more from pellet stove users who are having problems than consumers whose pellet stoves are working correctly. That can skew our view of how reliable a stove is. For instance, a top-selling stove like the PP 130 is bound to have more bad reviews than stoves that aren’t as popular, simply because there are more potential reviewers. That being said, Pelpro really does seem to be having a substantial problem with their operating dials. They also have apparently been made aware of this problem, because they mention it when you call customer support.
For a fairly inexpensive stove, the Pelpro offers a lot of value for your money. However, if it doesn’t work well, there’s really no value. We think that the rotary dial for the controller on this stove is one of its best features, if it’s working correctly. Most other stoves only have a few settings, making it more difficult to achieve the perfect amount of heat. Pelpro would be smart to fix this ongoing problem as quickly as possible in order to safeguard the reputation of this stove as an economical, versatile machine. We hope that you’re able to get yours working properly, and that Pelpro offers you good customer support.
worst pellet stove i ever bought turns on shuts down good thing i had a wood burning fireplace or would have froze 3 different pp130 stove with in a month bought a vogelzang vg5790 works great
Hello James- Thanks for commenting at Wood Pellet Facts.
We have a lot of experience with the Vogelzang VG5790, and it has worked well for us over the years, too. It makes a lot of heat. It requires a great deal of cleaning to keep it running correctly. You can read our review of the Vogelzang large hopper pellet stove here.
Replaced our wood stove with a PP130 about a month ago love the stove. The pellets dropping into the pot is a little noisy but the fan is soo much quieter than the one on our old stove. No more ash mess no more packing wood in and having to clean up the debris. We clean the stove about every other day use shop vac completed in 5 minutes or less. The coldest it has been so far has been in the 20’s but has kept our entire house 1500 square feet at 70 degrees with the stove on the 3 setting. We burn it 24 hours a day as our only heat source and have used about a 40# bag of pellets every day and a half to 2 days. Great stove for our needs and priced at less than $900 at Tractor Supply.
Hello James- Thanks for offering our readers the benefits of your experience with the Pelpro PP130. You’ve highlighted some of the most attractive features of this stove, including its low price. A pellet stove for less than $1,000 that can heat your whole house is a great deal. The price of heating oil has dropped a lot in the last year or so, but pellets are still more economical. We have also heated our house strictly with firewood in the past, and switched over to pellets, and share your sentiments about how much easier and neater it is to burn pellets instead.
We have the Pelpro PP130 stove. Have had it for a year. The blower has went out. Were do we get a new blower for the stove? You do have to clean them at least every other day for them to perform ok. I think they all have some sort of problem. But the blower is our major concern. Please help! We purchased the stove at Menards in Lawrence.
Hello Edwinia- Thanks for visiting Wood Pellet Facts.
We’re sorry to hear about your trouble with your Pelpro PP130 stove. It’s likely that your pellet stove is no longer covered by a warranty if you’ve owned it for over a year. You can purchase replacement parts for the PP130 directly from the manufacturer on their website here.
I have a pelpro pp130 In the delivery day came with the door handle was broken call costumer services they said will send you a new door 2 month later nothing the never send one , ok I when to a shop and weld the door handle now the unit don’t feed pellets won’t turn on the ignator and the worst part is the unit will turn on with the dial in the off position can be the control board or the dial control any suggestions?
Hello Felix- Thanks for visiting Wood Pellet Facts.
If your pellet stove starts up with the dial in the “off” position, I don’t believe it’s safe to operate, or even have plugged in. If the unit is still under warranty, I’d return it.
Since so many things are malfunctioning at the same time (no igniter, no pellet feed, etc.), I suspect your pellet board is no good. I’d contact the Pelpro customer service line here: Pelpro customer service.
We have had this stove for 5 weeks and have liked it. Until yesterday.
We turned it up because it isn’t keeping up to temperature like it’s supposed to. After it came on and shut off on its own it would not come back on. It came on in the middle of the night by itself. Now today we had it set on 3 as normal (about 72) and it comes on and shuts off before it gets warm. Turned it up to 5 and it isn’t getting any hotter than it did on 3.
After reading other reviews about customer service I guess I will pack my patience tomorrow when I call.
Can it be returned so I could get another? Is that up to Northern Tool?
Hello Judy- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts.
You seem to be having several issues at once with your Pelpro stove. However, no stove should ever start up by itself. You should immediately unplug the stove and contact Northern Tool. They may refer you directly to Pelpro, but it’s smart to get the retailer involved as well. You’ll probably have the best luck with their live chat here.
I purchased my PelPro 130 in December 2017 from Home Depot Canada (HDC). The first year I used only softwood pellets w/o bark and I was super impressed. Wow …. no more propane. I clean mine daily – the cats love the fiddling and sleep right on top. I moved my cold air return for the basement about 6 feet from the top of the stove and put my furnace on “CIRC”. We have a large bungalow and keep the basement at 70F and the upstairs by default runs around 73F. This year HDC switched pellet manufacturers and I’m using a wood mix w/ bark and I’m not liking that as I’m using about two bags per day instead of the normal one bag per day. It’s been -25F here for about two weeks and our usage has been a tad higher. My only issue is the fan (not sure which fan it is yet) which is normally very quiet has started to make much more noise (and I’m over the warranty period by two weeks), so if anyone has any troubleshooting techniques for which fan is the culprit — I’d appreciate knowing. Fire and heat are tough on stuff (I used to be in manufacturing), so I’m not disappointed just wondering how to get the stove back to running great! BTW … my Pelpro 130 was $1200 CDN while the Harman equivalent was $7000 CDN.
Thanks.
Hello Jake- Thanks for visiting Wood Pellet Facts, and for leaving a detailed description of your experience with the Pelpro PP 130. It sounds like it’s delivering a lot of value (and heat) for the money.
As far as troubleshooting the fan, it’s easiest during startup. The combustion fan will come on immediately during startup. Later on, after the fire is lit and the pellet stove heats up, the room air circulation fan comes on. If the pellet stove is noisy right away, it’s the combustion fan. If it gets a lot noisier when the circulating fan comes on, that’s the culprit.
Hey thanks, Alex. I took the darn sides of the stove and found the culprit. It’s the convection fan.
What are the general thoughts on the types of pellets? Or does it even matter?
Jake
Hello again Jake- Glad you were able to diagnose the problem with your stove.
As far as pellet brands go, it depends a lot on what’s available in your area at a reasonable price. Here in Maine, you can get a ton of Maine Woods hardwood/softwood blend pellets delivered for about $250 this season. We use that brand as a benchmark for performance and price.
Pellets are not like firewood. In general, softwood pellets burn hotter and cleaner than hardwood pellets, and cost substantially more. We’ve been using Okanagan Platinum softwood pellets this winter as well. They cost about 10 percent more by the ton, and deliver about 10 percent more heat, so it’s basically a wash if you calculate your cost by $/BTU. If you want to get a few extra degrees out of your stove, use 100% softwood.
We try to avoid pellets that use recycled materials, like building materials. They’re full of bits of plastic (usually paint residue) that makes a hard, brick-like klinker in the burn pot.
Purchased a PP130 on 12-9-2017 and it worked fine the first weekend at the cabin. The second weekend it basically does what it wants to do no matter where you set the dial but heats the cabin even though the flame is only pot tall. The third weekend the stove is still running 24/7 but flame goes from pot high to top of the door glass high once an hour even though the dial is turned to “off”. Sometimes the blower fans don’t even come on even though the fire is roaring. Stove is getting to be dangerous. Called Pelpro customer service several times and can only get a recording over and over and nobody ever answers. Listened to the same loop for over 60 minutes…giving up and going to talk to Menards now! What a complete waste of money!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hello Jim- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts. It sounds like your Pelpro is slightly haunted. While the erratic operation of your stove is bad, anytime I hear that a stove does anything while it’s in the “off” setting, alarm bells go off in my head. You’re smart to contact both the retailer and the manufacturer at the same time. As far as I know, Pelpro doesn’t have a live chat on their website, but they do have an email form you can fill out in addition to calling them on the phone. The email form for Pelpro can be found here.
I purchased my PP130 from Tractor Supply, had to order online. Stove was delivered on dec 16 2017.
It took a long time to get the stove going the first time. It worked for about two weeks, on dec 24, the stove went out. We cleaned the entire stove, did everything the book recommends and could not get it going again. It’s our only source of heating. Tractor supply has been exstreemly helpful. After 2 1/2 days of trying, without success, I gave up on it. We had to spend Christmas with friends. When I got back home, the stove was working. However two days later it went out and we have not been able to get it going again.
Pelpro is a worthless company, no support, nobody works on these stoves. Calling or emailing pelpro is a waste of time, support is closed on holidays and not available after 6pm or weekends. When you buy a Pelpro, you are on your own, the so called warranty is only on parts and not on labor !!! What a joke, I will never buy another pelpro product and do not recommend any one to purchase any of their products.
Tractor supply is a very good company and they have been fantastic, they arranged a new stove to be delivered at no cost, however we have been pretty much without heat since dec 24 2017 and Pelpro can care less.
DONT BUY PELPRO !!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hello Luc- Thanks for sharing your experience with your Pelpro PP130 with our readers.
You’ve highlighted an ongoing problem with Pelpro, and other pellet stove manufacturers: their customer support isn’t very good. Tractor Supply has a robust customer support system, and of course you can talk to a live person in their stores, too. Pelpro and other manufacturers treat the retailers, i.e., Tractor Supply, as if they’re the customer, because they sell the stove to them to sell to you. They really should understand better how exasperating it can be to spend around $1,000 on a heating device, and be unable to get it to work.
Ah yes …. I called Pelpro about the convection fan issue. they suggested I bench test the blower – so I did. Works fine for about 5 minutes, then screeches and stops. Called PerPro again … told them “hey this blower is only 13 months old – shouldn’t this really be covered under warranty?” Nope. Ok, scoured the internet for a replacement motor …. no luck. While I saved a ton of money on buying a PelPro over a Harman, I fear I will make up the difference in purchasing parts. Has anyone out there ever MacGuyvered a blower of another make to fit the PelPro? Or found a replacement motor? Thanks.
I bought my PelPro 2 years ago, and continue to struggle to keep it running without a problem. I have to clean it daily or it doesn’t run correctly. It is now overfilling daily. It runs good for a few hours then overfills. Ready to rip it out of the wall! Customer Service has long hold, and wait times, your kind of SOL. I’ve read the manuals, watched troubleshooting video’s, etc. Not sure if this is normal or if something was wrong with the stove from day one, no one can figure it out. I would rather just go back to my expensive fuel oil, than have this frustration everyday.
Hello Jake- You can purchase a replacement convection blower direct from Pelpro here. I believe it’s item number KS-5020-1052. If you search for that part number online, you can find it from other vendors, like this supplier.
Hello Meagen- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts.
You’ve highlighted an important point about this stove, and many others like it. They don’t run well if you don’t clean them all the time. I feel that pellet stove manufacturers are guilty of downplaying just how much cleaning their stoves require. This might sell more stoves, but it certainly disappoints many customers.
For most pellet stoves, overfilling of the burn pot is usually because the flame is too low. The preset feed amounts need a certain level of combustion or the pellets overwhelm the burn pot. We have a similarly sized stove made by another manufacturer, and if it’s not drawing in air properly, it overflows the burn pot, too. If we clean out the flue, the interior housings, and check the fresh air intake, we can usually get it back to working well. We’ve also noticed that very strong wind from the wrong direction can cause back pressure on the exhaust flue, which leads to a smoky, lazy fire. Our flue is a typical “candy cane” shape, with an exhaust hood on the end. We find that if you turn the exhaust hood about 22 degrees one way or the other, it helps deflect the wind.
Bought a PP130 about 3 years ago and it has been nothing but problems. Heats fairly well when it is working but keeping it going is a nightmare. Since purchase we have had to replace the feeder screw pin 5 times, replace the exhaust blower fan, and clean out and disassemble the feeder assembly countless times due to jamming from just dust. I’m also not a fan of the dial control system and the way it attempts to maintain temperature. It must be cleaned almost daily to keep it running.
I have a Vogelzang in my shop that runs 24-7 in the winter months, never any problems in 5 years of ownership. Wish I would have put one of those in my house too. Clean it once every 7-10 days and it just keeps running.
Hello Joel- Thanks for reading Wood Pellet Facts, and for offering our readers the benefit of your experience with the Pelpro PP130 and the Vogelzang pellet stove.
The repeated problems you’ve had with the augur indicates a design flaw. Components fail randomly, but having the same one fail over and over usually means the part isn’t capable of performing the job it’s supposed to do.
You’ve highlighted another interesting detail about this, and other pellet stoves. Too much cycling between speeds is a bad idea. In our experience, pellet stoves work best when they’re left on the same setting for long periods. Constant shifts in settings to hold to a preset temperature can overwhelm the burnpot with too many pellets before they get a chance to burn off. A sudden decrease in feed rate has the opposite effect. If the fire cools off and the exhaust fan slows down, the half-burned pellets in the pot don’t fully burn, and turn to klinkers.
Thanks again for commenting at Wood Pellet Facts.
I recently bought a Pelpro PP130 and hooked it up, filled the hopper and it ran great! For 3 days, now its shutting down no matter what setting I put it on, it starts up. runs for a few minutes then shuts down. I turned the dial to the off position and went out to run a quick errand only to come homw and find the stove operating IN THE OFF POSITION! why did this stove make me so happy for only 3 days and why would it run in the OFF position and keep shutting down in all other settings? Yes I have tried low setting, temperature range settings and high setting, the same thing happens no matter the setting, starts up and shuts down in minutes.
Hi Jerry- Thanks for visiting Wood Pellet Facts.
We love to tinker with our pellet stoves. I’ve performed a lot of maintenance and repairs over the years. We hope our website is useful to consumers shopping for a pellet stove, and to current pellet stove owners. We’ve offered advice on many repairs that consumers can perform themselves on their pellet stoves. However, in my experience, there’s one rule you should never break: If the pellet stove ever runs when it’s turned off, it’s not safe, and shouldn’t be used. Since your Pelpro pellet stove is a recent purchase, you should be able to get a replacement or a refund for it.
Thank you For the swift reply Alex. I’ve called Pelpro and explained my issue, for anyone else having an issue with the Pelpro PP130 the repressive instructed me to unplug the unit, run the dial control from off to high settings 20 or 30 times, return the dial to the off position then plug the stove back in, and turn the dial control to “5” setting and see if it preforms normally. It did not, so at the instruction of the representative I am calling them back and they will send me a new dial control.
Hello again Jerry- Several of our readers have mentioned a problem with their dial controller on their Pelpro PP130. In our review, we mention that the dial control is one of the details that sets the Pelpro apart from other similarly sized pellet stoves. It appears that Pelpro is aware of this problem, and is offering replacement dial controls to customers who have problems with theirs. I’m glad to hear that you’re receiving good customer service from Pelpro. In general, customer service is not a strong suit in the pellet stove industry. Good luck with your repair!
Bought a new house 12/06/2017 with electric radiant ceiling heat. I am remodeling some things and have not moved in yet. Bought a PP130 12/08/2017 installed it 12/10/2017 it started and ran great for about a week. Then overnight it ran wild and burned a full hopper of pellets overnight. Looked at the troubleshooting in the booklet. (written by children) By the way I owned a commercial and industrial HVAC company specializing in energy management. So I do know a bit about these controls.
I call customer service and they are very nice and try to be helpful. I say I need the part that has the logic and see says “Dial Control”. It comes in 2 days so I’m thinking all will be good. Open the package and all it is a dumb as a stump potentiometer. The potentiometer is one of the cheapest ones you can find. Never has a “potentiometer” ever had any logic of any kind! I install the magic potentiometer and WaLa the stove starts after the mandatory 20 minute cool down for an already cold stove. Burner comes on and cycles off within 3 minutes. Another 20 minute cool down. After an hour of this nonsense I install the old part. Call customer and they want to send me another Dial. I refuse and ask to speak to a supervisor. She tells me they have had problems with the Dial controls and they are on back order. But they do have the control board and they will send that out expedited but she didn’t tell me it was by pony express because it has been 3 weeks!
Since this started I did some more research on this product. I found the logic for the control board and to be completely unbiased. The person that wrote the algorithm for this stove should seek a job they are better qualified for.
Would I recommend this stove, no I would not. Once this one is working safely it will be donated to Habitat for Humanity. If it does not work properly it will be hauled to the scrap yard.
bought a new 130 worked good for 2 weeks then started building up with pellets in the fire box and had a hard time starting called for help they gave me some things to try did not work called back they told me it was the controler but they where out of stock would send me one in 2 weeks went back to the store to try to get a part or return the stove they could not take it back but took the part of a stove on the floor and gave it to me helped but I have to adjust the trim each time I change settings called the service tech from farm and faimly he has to give his ok to return it or fix it can not get him here to look at it so iam stuck with a bad stove that does not work as it should it gets to neg 20 and more here and the tech keeps comeing up with bullsh*t resons not to come look at it even got to the end of my drive but said I live too far off the road 300 feet to come down my drive at night so if your looking for service or help good luck would not buy this brand
Hello John and WIllis- Thanks for offering the benefits of your experience with the Pelpro PP130 to our readers.
It appears from multiple reports that the dial control on this stove has a known problem that the manufacturer is unable to handle effectively. If I were the pellet stove manufacturers, I’d get a process in place to handle customer complaints more effectively. Many of our commenters report entering a kind of Twilight Zone when they need customer service on their stoves. They don’t get the help they need, and they can’t return the item without a lot of trouble.
Happy pp130 owner.started mind nov,2016.used 5hrs a day till may.started nov2017 and working 5hrs a day and today feb 14 I
Stove going strong. Set on 5. Trim on +3. 1800 sf house. Clean every day. Takes less than 5min. Dealt with customer service once. Experience and results were excellent
Hi Harold- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts. Thanks for sharing your experience with the Pelpro PP130 with our readers.
Purchased this pelpro stove in June, installed in Sept. ran for 4 months great and nothing but problems since then. Replaced every part, clean every area you can think of and still am having issues. It is not like I can run up and fix it every day which it is becoming the issue. Customer service kept saying we will have it fix…haha….Now you don’t want to help us out by replacing it.
I don’t recommend this stove to anyone.
Hello Kathy- Thank you for giving our readers the benefit of your experience with the Pelpro pellet stove. Since your stove is probably still in the warranty period, I hope that Pelpro either helps you solve the problem, or offers you a refund or exchange.
They will not give us a refund or exchange, we have to take it back to where we purchase it or continue to try to problem solve….haha, not a happy camper.
We are starting on our fourth year with our pp130 it has been one of the best investments we’ve ever made. We clean on a daily basis. We use Western wood pellets from Big R and have never had a problem with them. This is the first problem we’ve had its the convection blower but again we’ve used it for 3 years in the winter time it runs 24 7. I would buy this again and I would recommend it to anybody who wants to put in a little work to get a lot out of it. Customer service was good the part was relatively inexpensive and we did get it from pelpro.
Hello J Underwood- Thanks for visiting Wood Pellet Facts, and for leaving a comment about your Pelpro PP130.
You have highlighted an important point about pellet stoves. Once you get them set up and working properly, and find a dependable supply of pellets, pellet stoves like the PP130 offer a tremendous amount of bang for the buck. With the price of heating oil and propane rising so quickly, we hope more people discover how economical pellet stove heating can be.
Purchased 11/14/2018. Delivered 11/21/18. Installed 11/24/2018, today. We have been trying since 11 am CST to get this PP130 to ignite. Codes were ambient temp probe … and Missed ignition. I have since relocated the probe and no longer receive that code. But the Missed ignition still occurs.
The auger is not turning at all. It was checked and is receiving power. The auger can be turned by hand and pellets will drop.
Of course this is a holiday weekend and I have to wait until Monday to call customer service.
I really hope this can be fixed easily, and I haven’t wasted my money.
Hello Deborah- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts.
We think that pellet stove manufacturers should have some form of customer service 24/7/365. A heating appliance is more important than an appliance like a washer or dryer, which you can do without for a few days. Holiday or not, you should be able to get help.
It sounds like you’ve done a good job troubleshooting already. Most of the causes for a “missed ignition” would be very unlikely in a brand new unit, because they usually result from a buildup of ash in the burnpot or the vacuum switch. That leaves the most likely culprit: the hopper lid switch. Most pellet stoves have a switch to turn off the auger when the lid is opened. This is to keep you safe if you put your hand in the hopper during refill.
I’m not familiar with the particular switch for the PP 130 pellet stove. I’m sure you’ll be able to find it, and ensure that it’s working properly when the lid is closed. On other models I’ve seen, it’s just a spring clip, and if you bend it a little, it engages the switch properly and allows the auger to turn. You can also jump the switch temporarily to see if the auger turns, then replace the switch if it’s broken.
Good luck!
Have been running a PP130. Love it. Simple and effective. Last home I owned, I had a higher class, higher priced Quad. The PP130 was less than a third of the cost and performs much better, and that’s even on poorer quality pellets. (Can’t find supplier for premium pellets in my area.)
Only thing I wish for is an easy clean in the firepot, but to turn it down an clean only takes 5min, so not bad.
Hi Skeff- Thanks for sharing your experiences with the Pelpro PP130 with our readers.
You’ve touched on a sore spot with many consumers. Pellet stove manufacturers are so eager to sell pellet stoves that they downplay the amount of cleaning and maintenance their units require. Many new owners are surprised at how much work is involved in setting up and running a pellet stove. To experienced users like yourself, regular maintenance is a minor annoyance.
We believe that pellet stove makers would be smarter to come clean with their marketing materials so that so many new users weren’t frustrated with pellet stove operation. In the long run, it would save them money on customer support anyway.
5th year of use. Runs 24/7 from October till April. Have only replaced a convection blower ($75). Has been an excellent value compared to some higher priced stoves. Expect to do some work to keep it in top shape. Most negatives I’ve seen about this stove were caused by:
1). A bad batch of dial controls were installed that caused stoves to operate erratically. These were recent stoves (2016-2017). I dodged this bullet. (My stove is a 2013). Pelpro has remedied this dial control issue, but some of those stoves might still be on store shelves. (I hope not)
2). Unrealistic expectations about heat output. I’ve seen advertising claims of 78%, 82%, 86% and even 88%. 50,000 btu is input rating, and output is more like 46,000. Expect about 80-82% efficiency, and to heat a 1700 sq ft house max. (In northern states) Any advertising you see above this are BEST CASE values.
3). Unrealistic expectations about work involved. You will get soot on you. The fire pot on this model is recommended to be emptied daily. I clean behind the heat exchanger panels weekly, and the exhaust pipe once a month.
4). Soot on the glass. This is just a fact of most pellets stoves. Burning on low will soot up the glass quickly. As will running with a dirty, plugged up stove. A plugged up stove with also cause incomplete burning, inefficiency, and lead to an overflowing burn pot. This stove doesn’t have an air wash system for the glass, but then again this stove isn’t 4000-5000 dollars either.
Overall a decent stove for a thousand bucks. I save that much in propane every three months. Hope you do too.
Hello Steve- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts. Thanks for offering our readers the benefits of your experience with the Pelpro pellet stove.
The defective rotary dials on these stoves really hurt Pelpro’s reputation with consumers. Older reviews of this stove had great reviews (like yours), but they sort of fell off a cliff until Pelpro sorted out the problem.
That’s an excellent observation about the accuracy of BTU ratings. We’ve never encountered a pellet stove that put out the maximum advertised rating. Of course it starts with the exaggerations of the pellet manufacturers. Pellets are tested under ideal conditions, so you’ll never achieve the BTU output per pound on the bag. Then pellet stove manufacturers take those numbers and multiply them by the pounds per hour feed rate. I think it’s really hard for pellet stoves to beat a 75% efficiency rating in the real world.
i have owned this pelpro pp130 stove for 2 years now i live in northern minnesota and this stove is a pain very hi maintenance unless you run it on low pellet feed is to fast to often to completely burn the burn pot fills way to fast and clumping of ash is a major problem
dont waste your money as there are way better stoves out there this will be my last winter using this one for sure
Hello- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts. Thanks for offering our readers the benefit of your experience with the Pelpro pellet stove.
Have had a Pelpro pp130 for years. Great stoves at a bargain price. I now have two of them, one in the shop and one in the house. My problem was the one in the garage. Setting the dial control to ‘Low’ is only about 65 degrees. Its really the only fault I’ve found with this stove. I wanted to keep my shop from freezing, but not 65 degrees either. I found a product called a ‘Pellet Miser’ thermostat adapter that works on dial control stoves like this one. I can now set my thermostat to 38 and the stove will turn on. They should incorporate this into the stove.
The stove in the house has needed a convection fan replaced, but it was a cheap (under warranty) and EASY fix. 5 minutes tops. ALSO I should mention, there is no difference between the PP130 and the PP130-B that I can see (I have both). I emailed customer service and they told me the same thing.
Very pleased with both stoves, my oldest (the garage stove) turns 7 this year and still works great.
Hello Christopher- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts. The Pelpro pellet stoves are good stoves for the money, and it sounds like you’re getting more than your money’s worth out of your stoves. That’s a neat trick with the thermostat adapter. In “shoulder” season, it can be tough to keep the pellet stove running without overheating the house. Of course most people select a stove based on the maximum output they require in the dead of winter, but the ability to turn the stove way down would be a blessing in the spring and early fall.
Thanks for sharing your experience with your Pelpro pellet stoves with our readers!
Bought pelpro 130 3 months ago absolutely love it until this morning when we woke to the sound of smoke detectors. Went to basement and door off of stove was on the floor. Locking handle and hinges completely sheared off of the door… wife said she heard a boom b4 alarms sounded. My guess was a backdraft. Called pelpro and a new door is on the way. Great service
Hello Brian- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts.
You’re very lucky that the mishap with the Pelpro pellet stove didn’t cause a serious fire or injury. I’ve never encountered a fuel/air mixture rich enough to cause a violent ignition like that. I’m glad to hear that PelPro is helping you out. If I were you, I’d also double check that your exhaust flue is installed properly and doesn’t have a blockage.
My pp130 fire pot fills up with soot and pellets daily. I keep adjusting the trim but the pellets keep dropping until its over filling? The bliwer fan makes a metal on metal vibrating sound ? The stove is functioning well except for these issues. I’m afraid to keep it running without periodic supervision, it seems to be dumping in too many pellets and I’m going through 2 bags a day, in a 900 sq ft basement, heating it up to 70 deg. I want the metal vibration sound and overflowing pellets to stop?
Hello Kenneth- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts.
In our experience, too many pellets in the burn pot means that they’re not burning up fast enough, not that they’re being fed too quickly. If your exhaust (combustion) blower isn’t moving the air through the burn pot fast enough, you’ll get a lazy, smoky fire. If your fan is defective, that might be the cause. A blockage somewhere along the exhaust line could also cause the same problem. If you solve the problem with the amount of air, the pellets will burn faster, at a hotter temperature, and your stove will throw more heat on a lower setting.
We’ve only had our PP130 for about 4 months and we had to replace the convection fan because it was making a loud whining noise during normal operation. Brittnay at Pelpro took our information and responded very fast and friendly to send the replacement fan. We’ve had two other pellet stove prior to this PP130 stove, and this one does pretty well. So far, the stove has now working well, with low ash, heating the house on the lowest setting.
Hi Dale- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts. Thanks for sharing your experience with the Pelpro PP130 with our readers.
We love our Pelpro PP130. We’ve had it for just over a year now, and have been very impressed with the heater and the company’s customer service. Within a month or two something went wrong internally – something on a board I think? My husband called their customer support number, described what was happening, and they shipped us a replacement part within a week for free. The representative also walked my husband through how to switch the part out, so he was able to get it back up and running within a few minutes of receiving the new part.
It is also easy to load and clean out. I’ve never had a pellet stove so the noise of pellets feeding into the box and the fans took a little getting used to, but I don’t think either can be helped and the noise isn’t a deal breaker. Maybe be a bit smarter than me and think twice about installing your pellet stove right next to your tv, lol.
I would definitely recommend this brand and model – it heats our whole 1800 sq ft home all day with no problems and little maintenance. Before we installed this stove I could not get comfortable in the winter, but now I can warm up by the fire whenever I want! This Pelpro definitely checks the “fire in the fireplace” box for me.
Hello Jessica- Thanks for visiting Wood Pellet Facts, and for offering our readers the benefit of your experience with the Pelpro PP130.
Biggest pile of junk I’ve ever purchased. Was told they are great stoves, the one we bought supposedly heats over 1000 square feet and doesnt heat half of it, the auger has broke twice, the mother board and safety switches have all gone bad 2 months after buying it. I’ve had the stove 6 months and am on the phone again trying to get it fixed. Theu are having trouble getting parts for it because it sat on the menards shelf for so long it’s been discontinued, wish I had known that before we spent 1500 bucks on it. The customer service line for pellet pro is rude and inconsiderate. You live and learn I guess but I would never buy this product again.
We have 2, PP130 Pelpro stoves. A 2016 with 500 bags ran thru it. Replaced the igniter and auger motor. I also own a 2018 with 300 bags thru it. I believe we replaced the Dial on that one.
I can save ya’ll a lot of trouble. Have a Igniter pre purchased (amazon cheap!) after 2 or 3 years these do go out and are about 15 minutes to replace. Anytime I buy a part, I buy 2. The Life of the part will likely be the same thus I proactively replace them. I do buy better quality aftermarket when available.
If your overfilling the burn pot, then the igniter is not doing its job, within the time slated to ignite. Igniting late with a full pot. Replace the igniter.
Keep your stainless vacuum next to the stove. We vacuum the burn pot and wipe the glass off every other day. Complete clean up of stove once per month. Very important to remove the baffles, back panel of stove and vacuum the dust out, remove the stove pipe at entrance and vacuum. I thoroughly inspect the pipe inside and out for build up of ash and creosote.
Remember, all the parts for this stove are on Amazon! You can get them in 2 days.
I have called customer service several times over the years and have always got a helpful person on the other end. I know my way around these stoves now so not much need anymore. Good luck ya’ll
have had a pp60 for 6 yrs now and as of today have never had any big problems yet.. the only thing is that I have it in my bed room and it is set between 1 and low it will kick on and run for about 20min then shit off when the room get cooled of in about 2hrs it wii run again for 20min then turn of dont know if it’s is suppose to do this and for me it really isn’t a big deal I dont like a hot room ,,, but is this normal for this model?
I have had problems since day one and will never recommend this pellet stove to anyone. It is only a year and a half old and I have replaced the glass gasket, cleaned the fan several times. That requires taking it apart, no small deal. I also replaced the sensor probe which was not easy to get at and now the thing still does not work. I get 4 red flashes indicating maybe an ignition problem but I don’t know where to go from here. I have had it with this thing!
Have had ours for about 1 1/2 yrs. Clean it daily. Right after 1yr warranty was up we started having problems. It feeds pellets and ignites just like normal. Exhaust blower comes on, drops pellets then ignites, then after a few minutes of burning convection blower comes on then and stops feeding pellets. Then red light comes on blinks once to say empty hopper. Hopper is not empty. Have spoken with pelpro and its always a different part to try. Tested the hopper lid switch and its working. So far just this winter I have replaced the oxygen pressure switch and hose, on our 3rd exhaust probe, and replaced motherboard. Don’t know what else to do and have a pallet of pellets going to waste. I would appreciate any kind of help
Ok, I’ve had my pp130 since they came to my area, 2016 I believe. The only real issue is conv blower, they start grinding then stop working. Problem is the two bearings. ( Cheap- Taiwan’s bearings ).
I’d bought 2 replacent blowers before actually fixing problem for good…. Replace the two bearings with ( skf 625-22 / lht23 ) bearings.oh my god , less noise, blows better and no issues in 4 years….
P.s – I am a person who hates waiting so when I bought stove I invested in the basically only 4 things that can leave you without stove , ( extra – motherboard, exhaust blower, feed assy, conv blower. And only one that’s went out was conv blower . And now with bearings that’s good.
Bought one of these stoves. Nothing but trouble. Blower motor goes out every other week and other electric parts have gone out. Had it only for one winter and is main source of heat. Had to go out and buy a whole bunch of other heaters to try and heat my house. DO NOT BUY!
Hi, I work for Pelpro just an FYI for anyone buying a Pelpro these units are not meant to be a one source of heat they are meant to work with another source. Also Pelpro stoves are sold as a DIY stove which is why you find them in big box stores. They don’t get the Tech service you would get with Harmen or Quadrafire stoves. It is up to the buyer to make sure the stove is cleaned and to preform all maintenance on a PelPro stove. MOST problems come from dirty stoves. I work in the customer service part of Pelpro I’m the person you get when you call in with problems. I’m basically a blind technician when you call in I only know as much as you tell me. If I ask you if you properly cleaned your stove and you say yes but really haven’t I can only go by what you tell me. Also a lot of our troubleshooting involves testing parts with a multimeter to give us readings to be able to tell whether or not that particular part is working properly. If you cant use a multimeter I really cant tell you over the phone whether your stove is working properly. The problem with “bad customer service” is a lot of customers don’t know how to test things we need to know, don’t want to, don’t understand that they are the technician, or don’t give us honest information to help them. We are blind when helping the customer we only know what they tell us and not what is actually going on.
Just saying ….
PP130 is a horrible pellet stove. Mine is 6 months old and I have nothing but problems. This includes ignition failures, and if the power goes out the stove goes into shut down mode for at least an hour after power comes back on. This last time it’s been “shutting down” for 3 hours. There is nothing you can do to stop this. Anything you try just starts the process over again. It is also very labor intensive to clean out compared to others, and needs to be cleaned very often.
I have searched all over for this, Roughly how many pounds per hour on high? Or how long does 1 bag last on high?
A full hopper on high? Any of these are appreciated I can do my own math. Thank you
Hello Chris- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts.
How many pounds of pellets per hour does a Pelpro PP130 consume? That’s a great question. Pelpro is like many pellet stove manufacturers, however. They make it hard to find out hard information that can answer simple questions like yours. They use vague stats like how many square feet of floor space the unit will heat, or how long the unit will run on its lowest setting, to tout their units.
To answer your question, we’ll have to do some math. First, Pelpro says the PP 130 can produce between 14,200 and 46,900 BTUs. In another place on their brochures, they mention (in very small print) that they estimate that a pound of pellets will yield 8600 BTUs. That means Pelpro is estimating that you’d burn from 1.65 pounds of pellets an hour on low, up to 5.45 pounds of pellets an hour on the highest setting. With the 130 pound hopper, that’s approximately 78 hours on low, 24 hours on high.
In the real world, those numbers for BTUs seem high to us. Pellet stoves, and pellet fuel, rarely put out the max BTUs they’re tested at. In addition, those are input BTU numbers. Due to the efficiency rating of the stoves (Pelpro says the stove is 81.6% efficient), the actual ouput amount of BTUs of heat you end up with in your home is nearly 20 percent lower. The rest goes up the flue.
I hope this helps!
Good product except…
Among other things I install heating appliances such as wood burning and pellet…the PP 130 in particular has a convection blower failure rate to date 100% of the time resulting in replacement within the first two years…upon contact the product representative said transport jostling from China is to blame…upon challenge I noted the answer was unacceptable and could no longer promote their product to which the product representative replied “That’s your decision to do what ever you feel you need to do. These are electrical components and need to be cleaned and maintained just like the rest of the stove. If they are not being properly cleaned and maintained they may not last as long as they should. In the last month doing 80+ cases a day nation wide I have had to replace 2 blowers.” Of a more minor issue the pressure switch sticks when new requiring a gentle exercise of the vacuum component by mouth. Otherwise the PP130 and PP60 are simple and dependable units.
Beware
Hello Zoningzar- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts. Thanks you for sharing your experience with Pelpro pellet stove maintenance and repairs with our readers.
In our experience with other affordable brands, the original factory blowers are not as good as replacement parts. In other industries, OEM parts are considered the best parts you can buy, but with pellet stoves, I’m not sure that’s the case. There are a lot of good aftermarket parts available nowadays, and many manufacturers seem to be cutting corners everywhere they can on their new pellet stoves.
If the company representative attributed the problem with the fans to damage in shipping overseas, they should realize that they’re responsible for that part of the supply chain, too.
Bought a pelpro pp130 in oct 2019. My USSC 25000 btu unit had been in use for 22 years and I was estimating about 66000 hours on it. I figured it was time to update for more capacity and to grab any gains in efficiency over the last two decades. While the pelpro rep for customer service wasn’t of the greatest, I figured I could live with it. Prices were between 900 to 1250 in my area from farm supply, heating specialty, and big box hardware stores. Prices changed frequently due to sales. One big box frequently advertises 11 percent off but raises the price about 12 percent the night before the sale starts! I finally found one at a farm supply store that offered the stove for 950 but threw in a ton of pellets. They were last years but stored properly and they burned well. That brought the stove price down to about 725 or so making it a good deal.
I brought it home and put it in the garage since installation was going to be a little bit involved. The exhaust height above the base was about 4 inches lower than the previous stove and would require some effort. In mid January (coldest day that year 13 degrees) the pellet auger motor died on the old stove. I brought the pelpro in and hooked it. I had a spare base on the porch and setting it on top of the old base brought the height to right where I needed it to be. I put in a bag of pellets and did the initial burn. I liked the capacity of the stove and it’s ability to put out heat, but was not at all impressed with the rotary control. Seems like every time I tried to dial it down low it tripped the shutoff feature. Everything on the stove seemed to be biased towards shutting off the stove and I got the impression the legal department was as much involved in the design as the engineering staff. Though it was a bigger stove than before but seemed awful hungry for pellets and the fire was a kind of weak orange flame with a lot of “ghost pellet” remains in the burner pot. It seemed to be over feeding pellets and they did not have time to burn completely before the next pellets were dumped in.
I used it the rest of the season and in early April I did a deep cleaning and shut it down for the season. In October we had a cool spell and I started it up to check things out. When it started I found I had no feed to the pellet auger and checking with the multimeter revealed the problem to be with the circuit board. I call the manufacturer and was told that according to my warranty info I had bought it 53 weeks ago so the electrical warranty was expired. For about 200 they could ship me a new board same as the old one that failed in 10 weeks use. I declined the offer and decided to make some changes.
There are four basic electrical elements to a stove, the room blower, the draft blower, the igniter, and the auger. If I took control of them I would be in charge of the stove. So I installed some switches in the side panel and wired in direct control. The two blowers and the igniter were simple, the auger somewhat more involved.
I first tried a 1 rpm motor vice the original 2 rpm motor and it still over fed the pellets. I next tried a dimmer switch but it didn’t have the desired effect. Then I made an aluminum restrict or plate to install over the auger opening but it was prone to plugging in the hopper. I needed to replicate the control boards seconds on and off feature. I finally found a controller used in hydroponic gardening that worked and gave me the control I needed for about 30 dollars. I installed it on the side of the stove and it gave the pellet control I needed.
After 2 days of running the stove stopped feeding. I checked and found the auger running backwards. I switched the wires figuring I had made a dumb mistake. Two days later the same thing happened and I realized the auger had a unplugging feature. If it plugged it reversed itself and the control board reversed it after a few seconds. I reinstalled my 1 rpm motor and all has worked happily after since then.
Do I recommend this to everyone? No I don’t. Many people are going to want to keep their stove as built. All the (in my opinion excessive) safety features that were built in have been bypassed by my mods and any remaining warranties have been expired.
But in my defense i am not in hostage to a manufacturer for poor quality service and poor quality control on parts. I reduced my pellet use by 30 percent based on the hours of burn I get out of a hopper and my fire is hot and bright with just a little bit of fine ash out of the stove. I spent about 60-70 dollars for parts and I can get replacement parts 5 miles away at the hardware store if I need them. The 30 percent pellet reduction saves me at least 200 per year since I don’t have to buy that 3rd pallet.
Bottom line is that the stove works better than it did when new and fits my needs. Takes a few more minutes to start than it did with the single dial but it starts every time.
Hi Bob- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts. Thank you for supplying our readers with such a detailed rundown on your Pelpro pellet stove for price, installation, repairs, and modifications. We’ve modified a pellet stove with a switch to increase the amount of time the exhaust blower stays on during the shutdown cycle. That helped with a problem with smoldering pellets filling the room with smoke after the pellet stove shut down. Your modifications go way beyond that, of course, and being able to completely run the stove with individual settings on each component is an interesting approach. It sounds like it works great for you.
Thanks again for your detailed review of you Pelpro pellet stove.
I also built an extension hopper for my stove. Made a 3/4 x 1/8 angle iron bottom and top frames and used sheet metal 12 inch high. Increased capacity to 6 bags. Factory extension hopper holds 8 bags but retails for close to 300 dollars. Mine cost about 50 and works well. I only have to fill once a week in winter.
Junk wouldn’t buy another one which is what you get for the price door handle made so cheaply broke mine thought is was just mine but nope broke another on the show room floor replaced auger motor and convection motor and have to replace exhaust motor gasket already and haven’t even had it 2 years plus dirty and nasty to clean almost everyday good for a camp to use maybe a couple times a year but not for a house
Hello James- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts. Thanks for offering our readers the benefit of your experience with your Pelpro pellet stove.
Just bought this stove last week. So far I am impressed with how easy it is to operate. Unfortunately I have to clean the burn pot 3 times a day or it gets clogged up. I plan on trying different brands of pellets to help with this issue. This is my second pelpro. My older one does not have this same problem.
Hello David- Thanks for visiting Wood Pellet Facts and leaving a comment.
It’s not normal to have to clean out a Pelpro burn pot three times a day. Is it possible that the pellets are damp? We’ve found that damp wood pellets tend to smolder more than if they’re dried and stored properly. Perhaps another brand of wood pellets, or another supplier, will solve your problem. Good luck!
I purchased a Pel Pro (PP 130) Dec 16th, 2021 this is my second Pellet stove over the past 12 years, the first stove being a Danson Corn/Pellets Stove 2008 Model , they are both great stoves but the technology in the PP130 is pretty amazing . I clean it once a day which is just me doing what I like to do.The reverse technolgy used on the uger when a pellet gets stuck is cool also(When a pellet get stuck in the Augar the motor will reverse to get it unstuck then continue to feed pellets after it is unstuck,amazing…This stove cranks out the heat and turns it’s self on and off as heat is needed,I notice the blower fan turn on to clean the Pod as it restarts.I can go on and on about this stove but I’ll stop here…..GREAT Stove
Hello Ray- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts. Thank you for offering our readers the benefit of your experience with your new Pelpro PP130 pellet stove. A reversing auger is a great idea. I don’t know why more manufacturers don’t add it to their pellet stoves. In our experience, the augur is more likely to be jammed by a buildup of sawdust than a stuck pellet. We’ve had to remove the housing inside the hopper to get access and clean out the caked sawdust more than once. A reversing auger would probable help with that, too.
Bought one of these stoves and from the get go nothing but problems. First start ( had all new pipe and surge protector set up), no turning of the auger. So found the vacuum switch had to use a jumper wire. nice it worked. Only for a day. Turned it on the next day and nothing worked. Support says it was the control board. We’ll send you one (but we have to let you know they are on back order). So packed it up took it back. Grabbed another one this one all set up wouldn’t turn on at all. Once again 120vac at the wall at the board nothing would turn on. Forget it brought it back, store managed to have one left. Tested it before trading out, yes it worked. Brought it home installed it. Worked for 2 days. My grandson and were sitting down watching tv and boom a flash. Jumped up and I was stomping out cherry embers on the floor. It had blown the door latch off so now you could not close it. Shut down packed it up took it back got my refund. Remind you that all of these stove no matter how fast you had the exhaust fan going it did nothing but roll coal out of the exhaust pipe outside. To say the least I am not happy with it. Owners manual appears to be written by children. The electrics on them seem to be trying to copy Harmoms. Also the use of a simple rheostat dial is a little cheesy. Plus the fact that you can not use a thermostat on it.
Hello Duane- Thanks for visiting Wood Pellet Facts, and for giving our readers a review of your experience with your Pelpro pellet stove.
You’ve highlighted an interesting thing in your review. Returning a pellet stove to the retailer for a refund or exchange is a big deal. These pellet stoves can weigh hundreds of pounds. It makes you wonder how many manufacturers simply figure that once you buy it, you’re probably going to be stuck with it, because not many people are in a position to return one that isn’t working properly while under the warranty period.
pelpro is CRAP company is incompetent nothing but crap door latch melted in first month 90 bucks auger broke 85 bucks fire box melted 70 bucks back up kerosene to heat when stove was down 150 bucks stay away. company dose not want to know anything if I could send it back I would nothing but a headache and would make a great boat anchor
Hello Ken- Welcome to Wood Pellet Facts. Thanks for informing our readers about your experience with your Pelpro pellet stove.
Hi BOB BURKHART,
I’ve read your post about the modifications you’ve made on the PP130 stove. I’m interested in more details about the modifications.
• The two blowers and the igniter switches. Are these switches only manually controlled?
• controller used in hydroponic gardenin – wondering specific controller that was used?
how have all the modifications been working up till know?
DOWN HERE IN DANIELSON CT. HOW MUCH FOR 3 TON DELIVERED ??
Hello George- Thanks for visiting Wood Pellet Facts. We’re an informational site, and are not affiliated with any particular pellet manufacturer or supplier.
You should be able to find pellets in Danielson for between $350 and $400 delivered, especially during this time of year. You could try Blakeslee in Middletown, for instance. They have several brands to choose from, and they deliver.
Don’t buy a Pelpro pellet stove. We have had nothing but trouble since we bought it. We bought it as soon as it was hooked up the control board was no good. Then the door broke. The control board has been replaced every year. The blower motor dont last long either.
Hi Dawn- Thanks for visiting Wood Pellet Facts, and for informing our readers of your experience with the Pelpro pellet stove.
Very interesting reading all of these posts so thought I would share my experience with my PP130. I bought mine in 2017 and have had to replace a couple of parts over the years (blower, feed motor & lid switch.) Replacing each of these was pretty simple and did not take a long time. I am not a mechanic nor consider myself to be particularly handy when it comes to repairing things, but this has seriously been a piece of cake. Each time I ran into a problem I did some research online and found that there are a couple of great sources for PelPro diagnosis and repair. I wouldn’t waste my time dealing with PelPro customer service or parts. Any part of the PP130 can be purchased online from a multitude of places at very reasonable prices and none of them are hard to swap out. I have spare parts on hand that can easily be changed without much down time at all. I really do like my stove but have also taken the time to educate myself enough that I am prepared in advance should something stop working. Two additional things to mention that may be helpful are that I keep it clean, and I moved the ambient temperature probe around the outside of the stove until I found a spot that perfectly regulates when the stove turns on and off for my circumstances. Thanks so much for this website as if is very informative to hear feedback and the moderator replies!
Hi Toasty Warm Bill- Love your screen name. Thanks for reading and offering our readers such a detailed comment.
Like you, I don’t find pellet stoves to be all that complicated to run or repair. People need to be somewhat self-reliant, as you mentioned. Help lines from almost all the major manufacturers have a very dubious reputation, and for good reason. There are plenty of people on the internet who understand particular pellet stoves really well, and can help people figure out how to maintain and repair their pellet stoves. And parts are generally easy to find, once you know what you’re looking for.
Bought the Pelpro PP-130B sometime in 2019. Had problems in the get go with keeping it lit, or restarting. Changed pellets from hardwood to the softwood, and it basically ran more, and more efficiently.
The main problem over the course time is that I’ve replaced the igniter 4 -6 times. And it’s looking to be that yet again I’m going to have to do it one more time. I’ve learned it’s always best to keep a new spare on hand.
Hi Dale- Thanks for reading and commenting at Wood Pellet Facts.
That’s a smart strategy for pellet stove users, especially if you rely on the pellet stove as your main source of heat. We keep an extra igniter, exhaust fan, and thermodiscs on hand for our everyday pellet stove, in case we need it.
That many replacements of an igniter is unusual in our experience. We’ve only replaced ours once in ten years.