Thoughts on a pellet stove for a large shop

[mx842]

I'm at the point where I need to put some heat in my new shop. I have plenty of wood that I could use but I am also looking at pellet stoves. I don't know much about them, but I like the Idea of being able to load up and not have to worry about it for a couple days. I'm not trying to keep it 85 degrees in there but would like to keep the shop 50/60 degrees so that my machines stay happy, and my pipes don't freeze.
It seems no one builds a stove that doesn't have a glass door on it. I don't care about looks or sitting around watching a fire burn, I just want the heat. I could build a stove and it may lead to that, but time is getting short, and my shop is still not all the way tooled up yet. I know I couldn't afford gas or electric and I don't generate enough used oil to keep a waste oil burner going so my options are limited. Just looking for ideas about the pellet burning stoves. The idea of not having to have a full-blown chimney appeals to me because they just vent through the wall.

 

[sweettractors]

I'm at the point where I need to put some heat in my new shop. I have plenty of wood that I could use but I am also looking at pellet stoves. I don't know much about them, but I like the Idea of being able to load up and not have to worry about it for a couple days. I'm not trying to keep it 85 degrees in there but would like to keep the shop 50/60 degrees so that my machines stay happy, and my pipes don't freeze.
It seems no one builds a stove that doesn't have a glass door on it. I don't care about looks or sitting around watching a fire burn, I just want the heat. I could build a stove and it may lead to that, but time is getting short, and my shop is still not all the way tooled up yet. I know I couldn't afford gas or electric and I don't generate enough used oil to keep a waste oil burner going so my options are limited. Just looking for ideas about the pellet burning stoves. The idea of not having to have a full-blown chimney appeals to me because they just vent through the wall.

Pellets are great but kinda expensive compared to free wood from your land. Ken Sweet

 

[ericm979]

A lot of insurance companies won't allow wood burning stoves in shops. Vented gas/propane shop heaters cost less than a pellet stove. A lot of people are putting mini splits in their shops. They use way less electricity than resistance heaters and can cool and dehumidify too.

 

[D&D]

I'm at the point where I need to put some heat in my new shop. I have plenty of wood that I could use but I am also looking at pellet stoves. I don't know much about them, but I like the Idea of being able to load up and not have to worry about it for a couple days. I'm not trying to keep it 85 degrees in there but would like to keep the shop 50/60 degrees so that my machines stay happy, and my pipes don't freeze.
It seems no one builds a stove that doesn't have a glass door on it. I don't care about looks or sitting around watching a fire burn, I just want the heat. I could build a stove and it may lead to that, but time is getting short, and my shop is still not all the way tooled up yet. I know I couldn't afford gas or electric and I don't generate enough used oil to keep a waste oil burner going so my options are limited. Just looking for ideas about the pellet burning stoves. The idea of not having to have a full-blown chimney appeals to me because they just vent through the wall.

I like my pellet stove. I have found the bottom feed stoves to be more efficient. I buy a years supply of pellets at a time (3 tons) and this year with the price increase it’s at $250/ton (50, 40 lb bags).
Expensive compared to “free” wood, well free is relative. Tractor fuel, chainsaw fuel, oil, filters, drying time, stacking, restocking, stoking the fire. I open the bag, dump it in, vacuum out the ash and clean the glass every other week. The blower and feed mechanism do need electricity to operate so they are on emergency power.

Depending on brand/model there are some rebates/grants/tax incentives to buy.

A pellet furnace may be more inline with your setup. The Harman PF120 hot air runs 120000 Btus @ 86% efficiency

 

[D&D]

A lot of insurance companies won't allow wood burning stoves in shops. Vented gas/propane shop heaters cost less than a pellet stove. A lot of people are putting mini splits in their shops. They use way less electricity than resistance heaters and can cool and dehumidify too.

Mini split’s might be a good option too

 

[fatjay]

Pellets can be annoying to buy and store. 50lb bags would mean I'm the only person in my house that can feed the stove. And if i mess up my back, shoulder, knee, etc that takes a few days to recover from, that makes hauling those 50lb sacks a whole lot harder.

I have a wood stove, i cut wood on my land, i buy cord wood, and i buy wood bricks, depending on what's most cost effective at the time. Wood bricks are sold by the ton/pallet, they're the same thing as pellets, but in a brick form. The packs are 30-40lb which is easier to manage than a 50lb sack.

 

[JJT]

Pellets can be annoying to buy and store. 50lb bags would mean I'm the only person in my house that can feed the stove. And if i mess up my back, shoulder, knee, etc that takes a few days to recover from, that makes hauling those 50lb sacks a whole lot harder.

I have a wood stove, i cut wood on my land, i buy cord wood, and i buy wood bricks, depending on what's most cost effective at the time. Wood bricks are sold by the ton/pallet, they're the same thing as pellets, but in a brick form. The packs are 30-40lb which is easier to manage than a 50lb sack.

My neighbor solved the problem of being the only person in the house to handle 50# bags. Once a week during the heating season he dumps 5 bags of pellets into 10 5 gallon buckets. His wife can easily handle a 25 pound bucket of pellets when the stove needs to be fed while he's working 16 hour shifts.

 

[KennyG]

I heat my shop with a classic wood stove but if I was in your location, I would seriously consider a mini-split. There are lots of DIY systems. If you have 220 volt supply to the building, the cost won't be much more than a pellet stove and you will get A/C as a bonus, which would be great for a shop in Virginia. Pellet stoves have kind of lost their popularity in our area now that pellets are over $300/ton here.

 

[CADplans]

Is the shop insulated??
My shop is 57X45,, and up to 22 feet high,,

I modified a "Papa Bear" type stove to "SUPERCHARGE" it,,
That stove does almost zero towards heating my shop.

Two big wheelbarrows of dry hardwood (like oak),, will raise the shop temp maybe 10degrees F,,

My shop is all steel walls, but, I do have six inches of ceiling insulation.
I insulated the ceiling to keep out summer heat,, that was successful.

My stove mod was to create a lower chamber to allow the stove to have air fed under the wood.
It probably doubled the BTU output.

 

[Lineman North Florida]

I know zero about a pellet stove, most of us down here in Florida that heat with wood just have a regular wood burning stove, never even seen a pellet stove but being able to load it up and leave it for a 24 hour period does sound appealing. I do know a little bit about DIY mini split heat pumps as the one I installed in my 800 square foot hunting camp has worked flawlessly, as someone else already said it might be a dealbreaker though if your ceiling height is really tall, if not look into them as it's really amazing how little electricity they use.