Review: Fahrenheit Technologies Endurance 50F
Reviewed February 02, 2010 by
Frank from Ottawa, Canada
Overall Performance:
Efficiency:
Ease of Use:
Fahrenheit Technologies Endurance 50F
I've commented here a few times before and here's my latest update:
This is my 2nd year using the F-50 and a lot of its performance depends on your location, how cold your winter is, the size of your house, level of insulation, the temperature you set it at, etc. More specs are on my previous postings so not to repeat.
But here's my rounded experience:
The F-50 will keep us warm by itself in almost the coldest of conditions (-25C or -13F) but to a point. It needs to work harder than the oil furnace and that takes its toll. The cast re-light plate melts (after a few months of hard Canadian use) because of the continuous heat requirments (it first augments in size and I have to grind the sides, then it later turns into a cup and has to be replaced.) But everytime I've gotten the best customer support and free plates.
Their new control panel took care of previous issues and has been working flawlessly. (Also free replacment.)
The cleaning... arg. I had to do lots of that (deep clean every other week taking things apart) because we use it lots and I mean I get dirty... and only coconut soap can clean me. And as such, the F-50 belongs in a basement or in a cottage where there's no worries about where the black powdery sute lands while cleaning. Vacuming the inside of the F-50? Forget it... It just clogs up and stops working after a few tries. Use gloves, a mask, old clothes and set the shower curtains 3/4 closed before you use it so you don't need to touch them. No such need for cleaning on an oil furnace for years... and now the price of oil and pellets are about the same, (for now). You need a lot or room to store a season's worth of pellets, in my case 6 to 7.5 tons. The heat that comes out is so nice though, much nicer than heating oil. So much so that I can tell if the house is heated by one or the other using the same temperature. The house feels warmer and cozier.
So here's what has worked for me to make the F-50 work best and to last: I've stored the pellet supply in my dry basement so I am ok to carry them forward for a few years if I don't use them all. When the outside temperature is above -5C or 23F, I use the F-50; when it's colder I use the oil furnace. (I use the programmable thermostats and program the F-50 for the day and the oil for the night for instance.) This way the F-50 isn't overwhelmed (it starts and stops on occasion instead of running 24/7) and I save on oil when it's higher priced.
If you live in a region where the outside temperature doesn't go much lower than the stated above, the F-50 is an awesome machine. As I've mentionned, make sure it isn't overwhelmed... It has got to be able to stop now and then to cool off or at least to not need to produce the highest heat all the time. But below that temperature it will need to work too hard and might melt down some parts. For us, it will be ideal during spring, fall and part of the winter and on some cold summer nights. It will also mean less pellets to buy, store and manipulate, and less maintenance. My score would likely be an overall 5 if I was living in a location where it is not as cold. No regrets and a lot of that has to do with their awesome, first class customer service.