i have to ask!

[TMFARM 2009]

who here uses a pellet stove for primary heating?

here's the deal. i just purchased this house, 3 story all wood construction. basically non insulated. the original owner/ builder had a wood stove and electric baseboard heaters. all have been removed since.
the p.owner removed almost all the chimney due to insurance regs. when they purchased this place.
that said. i dont have the funds to re-install an entire chimney the full 3 stories.
but am rather not impressed with the central air and heatpump system for heat.
id like a pellet stove that is thermostatically controlled, because i work a lot and cant be here to feed and babysit a stove wood or pellet.

i will be installing in the basement going out through a concrete wall with the vent system.
also it will be handier for me to unload without carrying pellets up steps.
budget is on the low end for cost. as i mentioned i just bought this place. lol

what are your experiences and recommendations.

 

[madjoe]

who here uses a pellet stove for primary heating?

here's the deal. i just purchased this house, 3 story all wood construction. basically non insulated. the original owner/ builder had a wood stove and electric baseboard heaters. all have been removed since.
the p.owner removed almost all the chimney due to insurance regs. when they purchased this place.
that said. i dont have the funds to re-install an entire chimney the full 3 stories.
but am rather not impressed with the central air and heatpump system for heat.
id like a pellet stove that is thermostatically controlled, because i work a lot and cant be here to feed and babysit a stove wood or pellet.

i will be installing in the basement going out through a concrete wall with the vent system.
also it will be handier for me to unload without carrying pellets up steps.
budget is on the low end for cost. as i mentioned i just bought this place. lolView attachment 459911

what are your experiences and recommendations.

I honestly don't know a lot about pellet stoves. But I did help a friend of my dad's install one a few years back. I asked him how he liked it and he seems to like it a lot. Still says he likes it and it heats pretty much the same as a wood stove. He has a smaller 2 story house.
One thing I got to go with the wood stove is a 30,000 btu wall mounted propane heater.

 

[UpOnTheHill]

About 6 years ago, I bought a Breckwell BigE pellet stove for our previous house. Also bought a milliamp wall thermostat for it. Put it in the finished basement with open stairway to upstairs. It had a huge hopper - it held 3 bags of pellets. I could keep the basement at about 74 degrees for 2 or 3 days without touching it and keep the main living area upstairs about 68 to 70 degrees. I had to clean the burn pot every few days and refill it. One to two complete cleanings a year including blowers, flue, etc. I bought it from Rural King for $1299 with free shipping to my door. I liked it.

 

[Marine5068]

I use a Pellet stove as my primary heat source and back it up with wood stove.
I have an Enviro Evolution pellet stove that works good for my open-concept home.
Burn about 100-120 bags a year at $4.50/bag CAD.
That's about 1/3 to 1/4 the cost of other heat such as oil, natural gas, electric and propane.
Main reason I put the stove in and it paid for itself in less than two years (payback period was about 1.6 years)
Great heaters if it suits your place and application.
I will say that you should go as large as you can afford. The bigger the better.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Where do you live?

My folks down in Maine installed a rice coal stove a few years ago to heat their home (replaced a 35 yr old wood stove). They have been very pleased with it.

It works very much like a wood pellet stove. The brand is Alaska Stove, they are not up here though, I think PA or maybe OH.

 

[Marine5068]

I'm in Ontario as it says on my avatar.
You still should be able to get some good brand name pellet stoves there in Alaska.
Harman, Lopi, Enviro, Drolet and plenty other pellet stove and pellet furnaces out there.
What's the price of pellets per bag there now?

 

[CrufflerJJ]

The main thing that scares me about pellet stoves is the relatively high level of maintenance needed, along with complicated pressure/vacuum sensors, motor-driven augers, circuit board failures,.... Thermostat control sounds good, along with a feed hopper to keep things going for days, but they still sound overly complex.

I enjoy my simple wood burning fireplace insert. Open the door, toss in some wood, close the door. Occasionally adjust the air inlet, but that's it.

 

[cat10ken]

With a pellet stove you can not be self reliant; you can't go out and make your own pellets, you have to rely on someone else to provide you with a supply of pellets. Wasn't it last year when pellets went up to $8 a bag? Who's to say they won't create another shortage this year? With firewood I am my own supplier and I am 4 years ahead and that's a good feeling.

 

[UpOnTheHill]

With a pellet stove you can not be self reliant; you can't go out and make your own pellets, you have to rely on someone else to provide you with a supply of pellets. Wasn't it last year when pellets went up to $8 a bag? Who's to say they won't create another shortage this year? With firewood I am my own supplier and I am 4 years ahead and that's a good feeling.

While true that you're not completely self reliant with a pellet stove, you can buy ahead like I used to do. If you have the storage, you can buy as much as you want when it's on sale, and store it. If you shop around in the summer, you can find deals. Some pellet manufacturers will sell directly to the end user if you buy in quantity, which some people do. I've heard of friends and neighbors buying together..... Renting or buying a large trailer or moving truck and buying right from the pellet plant. You can get great deals this way!
You can also put a hopper outdoors or in a garage and buy it in bulk (not bagged). Have to have delivery for that method though....

 

[Dirtboy]

Everybody has a different situation. I would not want a pellet stove because they can be rather high maintenance (compared to a woodstove). Also, years ago I remember a ton selling for under $200. I think they are selling for around $270 now around here. Plus you are at the mercy of the pellet producers. Three times over the past 6 or 7 years everybody ran out of pellets to sell around December. What ever places had a ton or 2 left were selling it by the bag at ridiculous prices.
That being said, it sounds like in your case that might be the only way to go. I would suggest you stock way up on as many tons as you can afford and store in a dry location. Some stores will put them on lay away during the off season, and prices are usually a bit lower than if you wait until November.

 

[TMFARM 2009]

Where do you live?

My folks down in Maine installed a rice coal stove a few years ago to heat their home (replaced a 35 yr old wood stove). They have been very pleased with it.

It works very much like a wood pellet stove. The brand is Alaska Stove, they are not up here though, I think PA or maybe OH.

i have considered the multi fuel stoves, but cannot afford one....

The main thing that scares me about pellet stoves is the relatively high level of maintenance needed, along with complicated pressure/vacuum sensors, motor-driven augers, circuit board failures,.... Thermostat control sounds good, along with a feed hopper to keep things going for days, but they still sound overly complex.

I enjoy my simple wood burning fireplace insert. Open the door, toss in some wood, close the door. Occasionally adjust the air inlet, but that's it.

i can see your concern with a cantankerous stove. but i believe some brands have cured most issues.

With a pellet stove you can not be self reliant; you can't go out and make your own pellets, you have to rely on someone else to provide you with a supply of pellets. Wasn't it last year when pellets went up to $8 a bag? Who's to say they won't create another shortage this year? With firewood I am my own supplier and I am 4 years ahead and that's a good feeling.

as mentioned above you need to stock up when its off season. cheaper.

Everybody has a different situation. I would not want a pellet stove because they can be rather high maintenance (compared to a woodstove). Also, years ago I remember a ton selling for under $200. I think they are selling for around $270 now around here. Plus you are at the mercy of the pellet producers. Three times over the past 6 or 7 years everybody ran out of pellets to sell around December. What ever places had a ton or 2 left were selling it by the bag at ridiculous prices.
That being said, it sounds like in your case that might be the only way to go. I would suggest you stock way up on as many tons as you can afford and store in a dry location. Some stores will put them on lay away during the off season, and prices are usually a bit lower than if you wait until November.

first off firewood by cord runs @ $125.00 - $225.00 a cord here. yes i have approx 4-5 cords to get rid of. but i cannot afford to install a full chimney 3 stories high, at this time.
also im looking at the future, firewood is plentiful right now but more and more woods and fence-rows are being cleared leaving nowhere to cut locally.
yes i agree a wood stove is simpler. i have heated with wood stove for 20 years. but for me not a good fit for my situation.
i need a backup source of heat other than running my electric heaters./ don't get me wrong my eden-pure heater is awesome. but i can't heat the entire house with it. the poor thing runs 24/7. its only rated for 1100sqft.
have kerosene emergency heaters in shed.(if power is out)
house is 2500sqft total.
i have considered a second eden pure also.

currently outside temps range from 30F- 50F @ night to 50-60 F day... inside temp on bottom floor is steady 50 F second floor is @ 64-70 F third floor is 65 F steady.
my theory is to heat the bottom floor letting it rise up to 2nd and 3rd floors, should keep the entire house more consistent.
im surprised this un- insulated house is staying so warm yet at this point.

besides the insurance co will allow a pellet or owb. problem is the p.o.a banned owb's!
that's where im at.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

My post was to the person that started the thread. Your avatar doesn't say anything about location, all it shows at the top of each post is a picture (avatar) and the username.

Pellet stoves are not common around here. Last time I saw pellets for sale it was at Lowes and was $9/bag, so $360 a ton, or equal to a $540 cord of firewood!

I'm in Ontario as it says on my avatar.
You still should be able to get some good brand name pellet stoves there in Alaska.
Harman, Lopi, Enviro, Drolet and plenty other pellet stove and pellet furnaces out there.
What's the price of pellets per bag there now?

 

[TMFARM 2009]

My post was to the person that started the thread. Your avatar doesn't say anything about location, all it shows at the top of each post is a picture (avatar) and the username.

Pellet stoves are not common around here. Last time I saw pellets for sale it was at Lowes and was $9/bag, so $360 a ton, or equal to a $540 cord of firewood!

i knew who you were talking to.
i understand that pellets were as high as the moon for a while.
now that there is more suppliers and manufacturers of pellets. the price for me locally is down a bit.
averaging 4-$5 a bag here in ohio. mainly due to the fact that when pellets went high most people simply quit using their stoves. anyhow i appreciate all the comments so far.

i still would like more input on experiences etc.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Yeah I know, that is what I quoted Marine5068 who quoted my post to you like I was talking to him. If that makes any sense haha!

$5 a bag isn't too bad. When I lived in Idaho about 10 years ago I'd see them come on sale for $220-230 a ton. I can't imagine they'd be any cheaper now though.

I haven't used a pellet stove myself, but from all the posts I've read about having to constantly clean them out, replace blowers, sensors and electronics and needing electricity I haven't really thought too highly of them.

i knew who you were talking to.
i understand that pellets were as high as the moon for a while.
now that there is more suppliers and manufacturers of pellets. the price for me locally is down a bit.
averaging 4-$5 a bag here in ohio. mainly due to the fact that when pellets went high most people simply quit using their stoves. anyhow i appreciate all the comments so far.

i still would like more input on experiences etc.

 

[ChoppyChoppy]

Your numbers aren't working out actually.

If you use 120 bags of pellets, that's 2.4 tons. That's equal to about 160 gallons of fuel oil. At $5 a gal that would be $800, so your pellets would need to be $1.65-$2.20 a bag to be 1/4 or 1/3 of the cost of oil.

At those prices you save about $260 a year on pellets vs oil. Right now though pellets are quite a bit more than the cost of fuel oil.

I use a Pellet stove as my primary heat source and back it up with wood stove.
I have an Enviro Evolution pellet stove that works good for my open-concept home.
Burn about 100-120 bags a year at $4.50/bag CAD.
That's about 1/3 to 1/4 the cost of other heat such as oil, natural gas, electric and propane.
Main reason I put the stove in and it paid for itself in less than two years (payback period was about 1.6 years)
Great heaters if it suits your place and application.
I will say that you should go as large as you can afford. The bigger the better.
View attachment 460395

 

[TMFARM 2009]

its not that easy to calculate. due to different consumption rates etc.
ive looked into a few different options of heating. it gets difficult to calculate actual values for different types of heat.
also gas heat and electric heat doesn't feel like wood heat. at least not to me.
no better heat than wood or a variant of wood products.
also it will also depend on temps and insulation values of individual homes.
this is what i am trying to figure out, what will fit the bill best, before i purchase something and find out its all crap!

 

[unclemoustache]

Actually you can make your own pellets. Lots of different kinds and sizes of pellet mills. Get some neighbors and split the cost or sell them your extra pellets.

 

[ash man]

Uncle. I'd have to keep that pellet maker going 24-7 to heat my house and out building as slow as that thing is. No thanks, I like running chainsaws to much anyways