Pellets vs Wood

[charlz]

If you think it is messy, get a proper "ash vac". If you vacuum up every time there is an ash spill, it stops the migration of the dust right at the source. Costs $90.

I paid almost $200 for mine.


With some pellet stoves having a 'ash vac' is almost a requirement. My stove is an insert so had to fit in limited space. The ash pan is strictly for what falls out of the firepot when you pull the clean out. All the fly ash just accumulates in the area around the firepot. You can spend lots of time trying to scoop all this out or spend a few minutes with an ash vac. To another persons comment: with an actual ash vac you don't have to worry about live embers... it's made to suck them up to.

 

[Highbeam]

Well it sounds like there are lots of pellet burners. I would like to have a pellet stove in addition to my woodstove for those times when I'm away from the house for a couple of days or when there's a burn ban and I need to burn stealthily. I would not use it for primary heat because the pellets cost money vs. wood that only costs labor to get, the dang things make noise that I hate, they don't warm you with radiant heat (who cozies up to a hair dryer), etc.

A pellet stove should be used when the cost per btu is cheaper than the central furnace in the home. Why would you use it if your particular central heat is cheaper? If the pellets are cheaper then they are superior to a woodstove in that they are thermostatic and you can purchase the fuel easily.

So... the pellet stoves have their place but I am a diehard wood burner. I use a soapstone woodstove and the silent heat is wonderful. It soaks your bones while making no noise. It makes tons of heat from trees that I want to get rid of anyways. I am young and really enjoy the harvest and processing of firewood. 16 cords in my backyard this September.

It's a personal decision based on many factors. Either heater is great.

 

[Piperflyer]

Highbeam you mentioned a burn ban at your place, so you can't have a fire at certain times at your place?

 

[Highbeam]

Highbeam you mentioned a burn ban at your place, so you can't have a fire at certain times at your place?

That's right piper. We have a rather corrupt clean air agency that leans heavily towards banning woodburning outright. They predict that our air quality might get hazy so they call out these burn bans that prohibit the burning of all solid fuel heaters unless it is your only source of heat. This includes fireplaces, old woodstoves, modern EPA woodstoves, all pellet stoves, and even a charcoal bbq. Seriously, these people are not even reasonable and the latest ban was called for when our temps were in the single digits. Bans are 24/7 for about a week.

A pellet stove doesn't cause a smokey chimney so you can be sneaky about it. The fine for being caught burning one time is 1000$. Yes, 1000$, which to me is far too high.

The bans are county wide which includes cities like Seattle and Tacoma all the way up into the wilderness of Mt. Rainier. The data never supports a ban on average, a couple of cherry picked weather stations deep in the city are sometimes moderately hazy. Far from unhealthy even as determined by that lame agency.

 

[Piperflyer]

Unbelievable......more of our freedom being taken away

 

[wolc123]

I think it depends mostly on how easy it is for you to get wood. If there is any hassle involved, then go with the pellets. I personally love almost everything about wood. I have a 5 acre woodlot on the back of my farm that has provided all the heat my family has required for (5) generations. We have learned over the years how to minimize handling and mess. I actually find making firewood fun and relaxing. Most folks who complain about mess or hassle involved in firewood are going about wrong. If you got yourself a couple nice chainsaws (a big one and a small one), a splitter, a tractor, a woodshed, and a nice little woodlot, then there should be no hassle at all. If you try to go about it with no splitter, no tractor, a single chainsaw, and bring wood in from somewhere miles from home, then you are looking at trouble and would be better off with the pellets. You also got to learn how to keep a sharp chain and avoid cutting into the dirt. All you got to do to minimize mess is have a door to the outside, with covered outside storage for at least 1/2 cord, right next to the stove (I actually designed my house around the woodstove). Fireplace inserts are also a joke, get yourself a free-standing woodstove for best efficiency. I like to cut live trees in Feb and leave them lay in the woods until mid-summer, then drag them up next to the woodshed with the tractor and cut/split, burning at least 1.5 years later. I allways use the smallest, sharpest chainsaw I can to minimize lower back strain. Jan-Feb is when there is the least moisture in the trees, and not cutting them up right away lets leaves try and form, sucking out much of the moisture that is still there. The best way to store and season firewood is under a roof but in a building with open sides, and it is best to stay at least (1) season ahead (I always have 1-2 years worth stacked up in the woodshed). Also learn the advantages of different types of wood. I prefer oaks or hard-maple because they burn long and hot and leave little ash. I dont like ash because it lives up to its name and makes lots of ash requireing frequent clean-out. It does give lazy folks, who dont have time to let other woods properly season, something they can burn right away.

 

[Steve C]

I'm burning wood now for partial heat in my home (woodstove insert). With as many times as you handle wood, I'm thinking of putting in a pellet stove insert and getting rid of the wood stove. Good or bad idea? I'm thinking about cost, handling, ease of use, etc.

Wood is good but pellets have advantages. I have done both, but now I only have a pellet stove. It was clearance at the end of the season and I got it for $500. It was money well spent and it works much better than I ever dreamed possible. It will run 24 hours and only generate enough ash to half fill a 3 lb coffee can that we put the ashes in.

It is very flexible with 9 feed rate and 9 blower settings making it very easy to dial in the exact amount of heat needed. The autostart is a great feature, no matches required, fill the hopper, hit start and it is done!

The ugly side of pellet stoves is the pellet mills. There are a lot on new mills coming on line and they want to get the equipment paid for in a hurry so many of the pellets are priced much higher than they should be. It is a young industry and it needs some fine tuning. I have purchased great pellets for $120 a ton when propane was $2.70 a gallon. Now that propane is $1.70 a gallon the mills are trying to sell the pellets for $250 a ton.

Duh...what makes more sense, the convenience of just turning up your thermostat on the furnace or running out to the barn and hauling in bags of expensive pellets?

I think if the industry is to survive as a sustainable enterprise, they are going to have to peg their BTU cost to other available fuels / selling it for a little less due to the inconvenience and try to become more effecient in the production and economy of scale. Untill then the mills are going to be going through a boom and bust cycle, selling overpriced pellets while running at reduced capacities rather than selling low priced pellets while maintaining 100% capacity. The bottom line is the same but with overpriced pellets the demand is going to drop and they are going to go out of business.

Having said all that. I do like my pellet stove. This year I purchased 5 tons of pellets delivered to my door for less than I could have bought them anywhere. ($205 per ton) I suspect that they will be on sale later in the season.

 

[charlz]

Now that propane is $1.70 a gallon the mills are trying to sell the pellets for $250 a ton.

Even at those prices pellets are cheaper on a btu to btu basis:

Propane $1.70/gallon @ 92000 BTU/gal = $314.13 per 17million BTU*
Pellets @ $250/ton @ 17millionBTU/ton = $250 per 17million BTU (ton)**

*Assuming propane has 92k btu/gal (estimates vary)
**Assuming that wood pellets have 8500 btus/lb (estimates vary)

If you burn 6 tons that's $384.78 that stays in your pocket...

 

[charlz]

Highbeam you mentioned a burn ban at your place, so you can't have a fire at certain times at your place?

We have that here as well... due to the mountains and weather patterns we get an 'inversion' which leads to unhealthy air. In the county (where I am) it is OK to burn pellet stoves during a burn ban. In the city limits, about 1/2 mile away, it is illegal to burn pellet stoves during a burn ban.

 

[soulasphil]

Has anyone tried to produce their own pellets? What is the equipment required and can it reasonably be bought by the home-owner? Most of us have trees and thus fire-wood. Some of us would like to enjoy the practicality of pellets rather than handling logs. Can we turn our logs into pellets?