DH and I have been talking about a pellet/corn/biofuel stove for a few years now and are leaning towards the Quadra-Fire Mt. Vernon model. We intend to use it as a primary heat source for our home and will be removing/moving some interior walls and doing some minor modifications to increase room to room venting. Does anyone use this stove as their home's primary heat source and if so, how is it working out for you? Are you having to supplement with any other type of heat, and if so..under what conditions? We live in south central pa, and a typical winter day has temps in the mid 30's with the overnight low averaging in the 20's. Our home sits on a hill and is subjected to a fair amount of wind, but we are working on sealing up air leaks and beefing up our insulation. We currently heat our home with a propane furnace (outrageously expensive, I just paid $3.75 per gallon for 200 gallons of propane that won't even last me through the end of the season) We also have to currently supplement with a portable kero-sun kerosene heater in the room we spend most of our time in. We spend an average of $2300.00 + per year to heat our 2100 square foot ranch style home and are looking to lower our heating bills as well as to become less reliant on fossil-fuels. The Quadra-Fire Mt. Vernon model including installation and optional accessories will come to just under $5,000.00 total. I know we could put in a more efficient furnace or cheaper pellet stove, but I fell in love with the looks and finish on the Mt. Vernon (I chose the porcelain enamel finish in mahogany-type color...i forget what it's called!)

I'd love some opinions from current Mt. Vernon owners, and if anyone can post pictures I'd really appreciate it! We want to build a hearth to put the stove on (but I need ideas!) because I want it to be a focal point in the room.

Thanks!

jiggreen