Review: NU-TEC Upland 207
Reviewed October 23, 2013 by
bmw_nutmegger
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Efficiency:
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NU-TEC Upland 207
We have been heating with pellet stoves at primary home (2,200 sq. ft.) and a second home (1,600 sq. ft.) for over 16 years here in New England. We have owned (or do now own) a Whitfield Cascade (currently burning), a Glowboy Royce (currently burning), a Harmon P43 (sold) and a Lopi Leyden (sold). We have used the pellet stoves as our primary space heating unit with convention backup (e.g., oil burner or propane whole house heater). Each of these stoves have their advantages and disadvantages. For example, no matter what the manufacturer advertises, they have multiple components that are only available from the manufacturer for some definite period of time and do fail with age, they are noisy, they are very sensitive to the quality of pellet fuel that is burned, they require frequent cleaning, they are really not designed to be maintained by the homeowner [I have always done all of my own maintenance], with some exceptions, and the manufacturer's customer service is not always stellar.
The Upland 207 Pellet Stove is very different and excels well beyond all others in all aspects. It has a great appearance. It has a fabulous heat output. It has a minimum of components. Most of the components can been obtained from your local hardware or electronics store. It is very quiet while operating – because it requires a draft, like a traditional wood or coal stove, there are no heavy duty fans moving air through the fire pot – we can actually use the family room during the Winter with it running. It has very long burn times. It only needs to be shut down and cleaned once every 4-6 weeks – there is no ash removal until then. The glass on the door remains clear and clean over time unlike all other pellet stoves. Because of its bottom feed, like the Harmon (which is very noisy), it can burn a wide variety of pellets efficiently (although we do use premium softwood pellets with an advertised ash content of less than 0.5%). Information related to the stove is clear and concise on the Upland 207 manufacturer's website (e.g., setup, operation and FAQs), including one or more YouTube videos. Last but not least, the support from the designer/manufacturer is superior, putting the word “customer” in customer service, the word “quality” in quality product. How many stove companies return your phone calls or emails when you have a question or something goes wrong?
We cannot say enough good things about this pellet stove. We recommend it without reservation. We only wish we had purchased an Upland 207 Pellet Stove years ago.