Heating with Pellet Stove???Wth?

[jonyyuma]

I looked at another house last weekend. It had a Pellet stove for heating? What does it burn, I mean beside the obvious?What can you tell me about yours? Do they have cats on the exhaust? Heat output?

 

[Raspy]

My sister used one for years. The heat and predictability was fine, but it always had to run on the same thing, pellets. So she was always dealing with supply and price.

The beauty of a good wood stove is that you can burn fuel from so many sources in it. Plus wood stove needs no power to operate.

Seems like you might as well have fuel oil if you are thinking of pellets.

 

[Gods Country]

I used a pellet stove for 15yrs.
They have their place.
The price of pellets has realy shot up since then however. It was really only worth it for me because I had electric heat in that house. It was a relatively cheap purchase, zero clearance, and installed myself, so it worked.
I always purchased my pellets during the summer when prices were lower.

 

[Pete Judd]

We have one as well, and it heats our 1900 sq ft house. We go through 2.5 bags a week, sure cuts down the elect bill. I empty the ash tray about once every 2 weeks, and a major cleaning every year. We only burn it when we are home and not overnight. Just light it in the am while the coffee is being made, heat the house up, and then let it run on it's lowest setting all day.

 

[brokenknee]

Here is a fuel price calculator. Wood is the cheapest for me, I have electric baseboard heat. Wood is a lot of work, I don't mind it though good reason to get outside and do some exercise. I have 40 acres of mostly poplar, I do cut some; but also get wood in logger lengths (last load 10 cords for $700 for red and white oak). I am considering a pellet stove for the shoulder seasons, (when it is not cold enough to burn 24 / 7). I have looked into them and there is a lot of difference in quality from the low end to the top end. Top end have thermostats, ignitors, dc fans that are very quiet and allow you to burn other bio-mater such as corn etc. (corn at $6 a bushel would not be economically sound) Pellet stoves do require some work, but not as much as wood.

Pellet Fuels Institute - Compare Fuel Costs

 

[mbohuntr]

We heat almost exclusively with pellets, our house is 2400 sq ft and well insulated. we burn 3-4 tons per season, Oct thru April. You might wish to research one that doesn't need frequent cleaning, that can be a pain. We use an Englander bottom feed that will run over 15 bags before cleaning, and never gets "clinkers".

 

[newbury]

Here is a fuel price calculator. Wood is the cheapest for me, I have electric baseboard heat. Wood is a lot of work, I don't mind it though good reason to get outside and do some exercise. I have 40 acres of mostly poplar, I do cut some; but also get wood in logger lengths (last load 10 cords for $700 for red and white oak).

With that much acreage if you have any use for lumber you should investigate getting a small sawmill.
They generate a LOT of slabs, which burn well.
It's still a lot of work AND exercise, but it sure is pretty after I go thru the process of getting a tree to lay down and split up into lumber.

 

[Ken45101]

We bought a pellet stove 5-6 years ago. Big mistake. I does not do an adequate job in cold weather (below 30F). Pellet prices jumped and pellet quality declined.

It's good for "in between" weather when it's too warm to run the wood stove but we still need some heat.

We got an excellent deal on pellets last fall (TSC had a good price plus a 10% off coupon). I bought 3 tons and 2 of them are still in the barn.

Some stoves (like ours, a Harmon Advance) are an absolute nightmare to clean. I know one guy who traded his Advance on a different Harmon model just because of the cleaning issue.

Pellets are more convenient than a wood stove (the thermostat is nice!) but wood is less costly (even if you buy wood) and provides much better heat. I've actually been chilly sitting 6 feet way from our pellet stove! The blower can make things drafty. My wife and I very much prefer the wood stove in winter! The pellet stove is okay for spring weather.

hearth.com has a fuel comparison calculator. Pellets only come out ahead better than electric heat (and maybe propane, depending on prices).

Speaking of which, my son has a unvented propane fireplace. That's all they use for heating, it has cut their heating bills significantly vs. the central propane furnace.

Ken

 

[clemsonfor]

They use wood pellets. These can be bought online and drop shipped to you by the ton or bag. You can go to TSC or lowes maybe and buy them there as well or any stove store. Folks say its constant heat and in a good insulated home can be all you need.

I think in the future as more mills open the price may fall as demand increases as does supply. Some stoves burn pellets only some burn corn, yes a dry corn kernal, for fuel and some burn both.

Both type pellet stoves do not have cats, and can vent directly behind themselves if on an outside wall through a 3" steel pipe. Only exhaust is heat and water and CO really. There very clean burning, but like folks said you HAVE to have power to get any operation, they have fans to push heat an auger to move pellets an igniter i think? as well as some i think have an exhaust fan? My wood stove should not be burned wide open with out blower but can on a lower setting, and i can always leave the door open and use it like a fireplace as well. I can heat without power a smaller portion of the home with the wood stove, but i have a generator so thats not my problem. I sit there blower going fire wide open in my warm house, watching my satellite tv.

 

[forgeblast]

I have a vented Jotul lp stove. Its our main source of heat in the winter, along with electric baseboard heating. It has a battery thermostat system so it works if the power is out. I can sit on the couch and turn it on with the remote. It looks like a wood stove and many people mistake it for one.
its the firelight
Jotul GF 600 DV II Firelight Gas Stove