# Replace wood stove with pellet stove



## stoveNewb (Dec 28, 2014)

Hi there,

I need some help. My wife and I bought a house back in May which had a wood stove. The insurance company did an initial inspection and ending up dropping us because we had the wood stove and no papers on it (installation/inspection?). We ended up selling it to the guy who was cutting down some trees for us for $75, I know I'm an idiot. After we got rid of the stove we got another policy with the same insurance company, which ended up dropping us for not having a railing on our front steps. So we decided to go with a new company who hasn't given us nearly the same amount of trouble.

On to the point... We have a concrete slab in the basement, and a 6 inch diameter hole in the wall to the chimney that was there for the wood stove. We have a propane boiler, but it seems expensive to run and we really don't like the company that is in our area which delivers the propane, so we have been looking into alternative heating solutions. We did some research into pellet stoves and getting another wood stove. I like each for different reasons. Mind you the list above is purely what I think I understand from research online and visiting a local stove shop.

Pellet stove Pros:
 * Fuel comes in easy to handle bags
 * Seems cleaner
 * Less danger, maybe?
 * Lighter

Wood stoves Pros:
 * Lots of people sell firewood
 * Stoves seem to be cheaper, only slightly though
 * No electricity needed, can use in case of power outage
 * Minimal installation ( drop it on the slab and connect some piping )

Pellet stove Cons:
 * Installation cost / labor (running electricity, buying + installing adapters + fresh air in...)
 * needs electricity to run
 * could be noisy?

Wood stove cons:
 * Heavier
 * More dangerous
 * More frequent chimney sweeping?

So my questions to you: 

Are there any good resources online to connect a pellet stove to a chimney that had a wood stove previously hooked up to it? 

Is the installation of a pellet stove has hard as I am thinking? 

Should I consider hiring someone to install it? 

Would I be able to contract someone to install a stove I bought from home depot?

Are wood stoves as dangerous and pellet stoves as safe as people say?

If you can answer any of these questions I would appreciate it. I'm starting to go crazy reading stuff online!

Thanks,
Mike


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## bags (Dec 28, 2014)

Mike, Welcome! How handy are you? Many do their own installs and it was very easy for me but I am a contractor. There are arguments (differing opinions) about every question you have asked as everyone has their preference on wood vs. pellet, brand of stoves, OAKS outside air kits, on down the line.......

Around here a ton of good quality pellets costs the same and equals one good quality cord of wood if you buy wood. Buying wood and getting good quality and the right amount of wood can be another battle in itself. I know what I see here but there are some reputable guys selling. I do my own wood mostly and have pretty much an unlimited free supply. Wood = work is my motto. I really used to enjoy it but needed a break. That's just me and I've found a very local friend here on the forum that may make wood processing fun again. It's more of a crazy busy time thing for me. I like my 'free' wood here. But I am not going to kid you. It's work.

I have heated with wood for a long time and this is my first season with a pellet stove. I like my pellet stoves. I know what you mean about getting tired of reading buddy but it is the BEST thing you can do. You really need to educate yourself on what the best route for you might be. I will say I believe pellet stoves can be safer than a typical wood stove and this was just argued here recently. Both if not installed, maintained, and used correctly can be unsafe. Neither are idiot proof. Insurance seems to not be affected as much with a pellet vs. wood burner. Varies by company and locality. I mainly went with pellet stoves for ease and convenience. That they are!

In my opinion (IMO) pellet stoves are much easier and user friendly in general. They have much longer burn times than MOST wood stoves in general. 40 lb. bags of pellets are easier to manage for my wife than cord wood too. I will always have wood burning abilities here to keep my options open though. Do a bunch of research on various pellet stoves and brands that might work for you and fit your pricing. They are machines and none are without break downs. Some are more work than others.

Glad you showed up here because there is a bunch of crazy stuff about anything all over the net. Use the search bar here (upper right) and search some of your questions. Pellet stoves can also have minimal installation and not much different than installing a wood stove. You would also have similar costs for a wood burner install if paying a company.

PS You have all the info you need right here at your finger tips on this forum for your questions.


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## chken (Dec 28, 2014)

You say you have a LP boiler, so does that mean you have radiant baseboards? If so, have you considered a pellet boiler instead? Also, can you tell us a bit more about your house and its layout?


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## CBL (Dec 28, 2014)

I would argue free standing pellet stoves are way easier to install than a cord wood stove. You'll have more flexibility to place it where you want and all that's needed is a vent system that goes through your exterior wall. 

Also, make sure you look at all your pellet stove options before buying something at home depot. The nicer quality stoves burn more efficiently and can overall give you less hassle (Harmans, Quadra-fires, etc..)


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## bags (Dec 28, 2014)

CBL said:


> You'll have more flexibility to place it where you want and all that's needed is a vent system that goes through your exterior wall.


Very true! But you can also locate a free standing wood stove anywhere too if set up right. Bigger holes and thru the roof possibly which does make a pellet thru the wall very simple. Not sure but OP had a stove taken out and sold for $75 so they may want to go back into an existing hearth which could be a game changer on the ease of installation.


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## bags (Dec 28, 2014)

stoveNewb,
There are numerous threads on your exact topic I've seen here so you might want to search those too.


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## stoveNewb (Dec 28, 2014)

chken said:


> You say you have a LP boiler, so does that mean you have radiant baseboards? If so, have you considered a pellet boiler instead? Also, can you tell us a bit more about your house and its layout?



We do have a radiators, we looked briefly at the pellet boilers but they were easily all double the price of standard pellet stoves, so we didn't think much more about that.

Thanks!


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## stoveNewb (Dec 28, 2014)

A little more info about our house. We have a pretty small house about 1500 of living space, about 900 downstairs and the rest on the second floor. We only use the downstairs, so we would only need to heat that. The previous stove was located in the basement.



> Not sure but OP had a stove taken out and sold for $75 so they may want to go back into an existing hearth which could be a game changer on the ease of installation.



This was my though process, that I would just be able to "plug and play" another wood stove into the existing chimney. To install the pellet stove seemed like a bigger/more expensive venture.

We are going to visit a local stove company again tomorrow to get more information on our different options. Last time I talked to the guy at the stove shop I asked about installation, he never really answered me, but said that installation isn't hard and I could probably do it. I am just a little worried that I will mess it up.

Thanks Guys!


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## SKOAL MAN (Dec 28, 2014)

No sense heating a basement you don't use! You could hook up the pellet stove on the main floor, through the wall kit $300. In saying that heat rises, if firewood is cheap where you are a good woodstove should roast you out of that house from the basement. Newer wood stoves can get up to 24 hr burn times!


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## bags (Dec 28, 2014)

Check wood stove threads on basement locations. Sometimes that setup does not roast you out. It depends on many factors.


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## Skier76 (Dec 28, 2014)

Do you have any pics of the proposed location? Could help with getting some of your questions answered. 

I have both; a pellet at our primary house, a wood stove at our weekend house. I could probably write a novel on the pluses and minuses of both types of stoves. 

Wood:
Cheaper stove acquisition cost.
Easy to run, hardly any moving parts, no electronics. 
Fuel can be cheap if you have a reliable source.

Pellet:
Set it and forget it; it'll run for hours without a reload. 
Consistent heat
Can be hooked up to a thermostat. And if you really want to nerd it up, a wifi thermostat. 
Bags of pellets take up less room than cordwood.


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## stoveNewb (Dec 28, 2014)

Thanks everyone!

After doing more research on stoves, fuel availability, maintenance, installation and calling some local places we are leaning towards getting a new wood stove. 

Mike


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## Chrisnow86 (Dec 28, 2014)

I've been heating with wood for a while now.. After burning 9 cord a winter and I was my only source of heat I went to pellets... Pellet stoves still require maintenance but if you think of all the time cutting and splitting wood it's no where near it.. So far I'm happy I made the switch.. I always just make sure to have a nice stock up of pellets (have about 2.5 tons in the garage now) and have a few extra parts incase something breaks, auger motor combustion blower etc. i purchased a low cost stove couldn't see myself dropping 4k on a stove esp if I didn't know if was was gonna be totally sold on it. But now I am.. If it was supplemental heat and did if for fun and somthing to keep yourself busy I would stick with wood.. But as a only heat pellets over wood all day


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## stoveNewb (Dec 28, 2014)

Chrisnow86 said:


> I've been heating with wood for a while now.. After burning 9 cord a winter and I was my only source of heat I went to pellets... Pellet stoves still require maintenance but if you think of all the time cutting and splitting wood it's no where near it.. So far I'm happy I made the switch.. I always just make sure to have a nice stock up of pellets (have about 2.5 tons in the garage now) and have a few extra parts incase something breaks, auger motor combustion blower etc. i purchased a low cost stove couldn't see myself dropping 4k on a stove esp if I didn't know if was was gonna be totally sold on it. But now I am.. If it was supplemental heat and did if for fun and somthing to keep yourself busy I would stick with wood.. But as a only heat pellets over wood all day



Wow 9 cords sounds like a lot. I was hearing about 7 cord is average use. If you don't mind me asking how big were you heating with the wood stove, and what was the placement (finished basement, unfinished basement, first floor, etc) 

Mike


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## Chrisnow86 (Dec 28, 2014)

2000 sq ft all cathedral house loft style master bed room very open floor plan. My stove was a old Nashua not sure what model I know it was the second from the biggest model took a 24 in log and was 90k btu but a load of wood would last 6 hours at best buring seasoned oak.


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## Big papa (Dec 28, 2014)

stoveNewb said:


> Hi there,
> 
> I need some help. My wife and I bought a house back in May which had a wood stove. The insurance company did an initial inspection and ending up dropping us because we had the wood stove and no papers on it (installation/inspection?). We ended up selling it to the guy who was cutting down some trees for us for $75, I know I'm an idiot. After we got rid of the stove we got another policy with the same insurance company, which ended up dropping us for not having a railing on our front steps. So we decided to go with a new company who hasn't given us nearly the same amount of trouble.
> 
> ...


Welcome to the forum!to put my cents in ,the work involved and ease of use in a good quality pellet stove is much less than a wood stove should have got my new stove years ago. I live a busy lifestyle and the pellet stove has made things much more enjoyable over our old wood stove no where near the amount of work.except for cleaning week on the stove my daily routine consists of scraping the pot and filling the hopper maybe 5to 10 min a day and walk away for 12 to 15hour burn time  can't beat it as far as ease of use. New pellet stoves run on t-stats so your temp will be more consistent than the wood burner and not too hot on warmer days.good luck let us know what ya decide


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## tjnamtiw (Dec 28, 2014)

I know you would all die of shock if I didn't chime in!!\
YOU LIVE IN PENNSYLVANIA!  Anthracite coal!  You will heat for 1/2 to 1/3 the cost of pellets AND you will get 2 to 3 times as many btu's out of the stove IF you need it!  Modern coal stoves are about the same price as a good pellet stove, very easy to operate the stoker variety, and very little mess IF you learn how to handle the coal properly. AND they run on a thermostat.  The ash can go out with the trash.  Yes, more ash by far but WAY more heat for a longer time per load. 
www.readingstove.com
www.leisurelinestoves.com
www.keystoker.com

http://www.leisurelinestoves.com/product/pioneer-let/

Coal right now in Tamaqua is $170 a ton picked up.  A ton of coal is almost twice the btu's as pellets.


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## Jigger (Dec 28, 2014)

I burned wood for many years in a wood stove.In that time I had one chimney fire. Which cracked the flu and had to be repaired. At the time I was a some what young man. But as time went on cutting and splitting and stacking 5 cords a years started to get old. One of the problems I hated about wood was having to go out in a raging snow storm to get wood to fee the stove. The other thing about carrying the wood into the house. Was I never knew what type of bugs got into the wood during the summer. Bring the wood in and watch them run around the floor was not nice. Wood stoves also generate a ton of ash. Wood stove also mainly a radiate heat source unless you get one with a blower to circulate the air. I work a long day and I'm gone close to 14 hours a day. Coming home and finding a cold house with a fire that had gone out was no fun.
   I've been burning pellets for the past 6 years. Since I switched I'll never ever go back to burning wood. I store my pellets out in my shed. I carry the pellets in a 5 gallon bucket. I do not have to worry about bringing bugs into the house. The pellet stove has a built in air circulator that keeps my house nice an warm as the air is moved through out the house. I fill the stove prior to leaving in the morning and it is still going when I come home 14 hours later. The one thing nice about a pellet stove is you do not have to put heat shields around the stove similar to a wood stove. Pellet stoves are also more user friendly to an insurance company. Because the likely hood of a chimney fire is very minimal. They do happen but not as often. The ash content is much less then a wood stove. I just finished burning a ton and presently have a little over a 1/4 of a 5 gallon bucket full.


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## Tony garofalo (Dec 28, 2014)

tjnamtiw said:


> I know you would all die of shock if I didn't chime in!!\
> YOU LIVE IN PENNSYLVANIA!  Anthracite coal!  You will heat for 1/2 to 1/3 the cost of pellets AND you will get 2 to 3 times as many btu's out of the stove IF you need it!  Modern coal stoves are about the same price as a good pellet stove, very easy to operate the stoker variety, and very little mess IF you learn how to handle the coal properly. AND they run on a thermostat.  The ash can go out with the trash.  Yes, more ash by far but WAY more heat for a longer time per load.
> www.readingstove.com
> www.leisurelinestoves.com
> ...


You live in pa. It is a no brainer, Go with a leisure line stoker stove, I did and love it.


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## tjnamtiw (Dec 28, 2014)

Tony garofalo said:


> You live in pa. It is a no brainer, Go with a leisure line stoker stove, I did and love it.


That's good to hear, Tony!  Which one did you get?


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## Big papa (Dec 28, 2014)

Pa corn at $130 a ton.dont want Coal dust in my house.


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## samfatboy (Dec 29, 2014)

I have the luxury of having  both a wood burner and a pellet stove.  One on each side of my center wall colonial 2200 sq ft home.  

The pellet stove, an Englander 25 PDVC, which is rated for 1500 sq ft,  is in the living room, and does a great job heating most of the house, and especially the bedrooms which are above it.  For temperatures above 35 degrees will heat the whole house.  The pellet stove is especially great for the work week when I don't have a lot of time to be cleaning, loading, and tending a fire.  I vacuum the burner pot once a day, which takes 5 minutes.  A full extended hopper will last 24 to 36 hours depending on outside temperature.  I do an extended cleaning once a week, cleaning out the augur tube and vacuuming  up the rest of the burning area.  

My wood stove is in the family room, and is an Appalachian 52 Bay catalytic model, rated for 2500 sq ft.  The radiant heat of a wood stove is satisfying in a primal sense, and all of the family members tend to spend hours just watching the wood burner in action, whereas the pellet stove is pretty much non captivating.  I burn the wood stove on the weekends, or whenever the temperatures drop well below freezing.  

Not sure if your basement is finished or not, but if it is, you might consider putting a wood burner down there, and a pellet stove with a through the wall installation   on the 1st floor.  Then you could enjoy the best of both worlds.


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## OhioBurner© (Dec 29, 2014)

stoveNewb said:


> Pellet stove Pros:
> * Fuel comes in easy to handle bags
> * Seems cleaner
> * Less danger, maybe?
> ...



Looks like you got a lot of the pros and cons but still some things I'll throw in... cost might average slightly higher for pellet stoves but it really comes down to individual stoves. There are very expensive and fairly inexpensive options for both pellet stoves and wood stoves. My pellet stove was far cheaper than either of the two wood burners I've bought in the last few years. Cost of fuel varies a lot by region (both pellets and wood). Around here pellets cost considerably more than wood. And with wood you can sometimes scrounge up free or inexpensive options locally. Wood stoves can also burn compressed sawdust bricks, which is similar to pellets just in much larger bricks. Wood stoves may not require power, but depending on the unit blowers can make a big difference. On my flush insert, it won't put out much heat at all without power. And it also can not be used in a power outage to cook on. Even my freestanding stove isn't very good to cook on, but at least possible. Danger... either stove operating properly the danger should be minimal. But yeah any stove can be dangerous if not maintained and operated properly. It would be much more common for a wood stove to run away on you though. If danger is a big concern for you I may suggest to stick with propane. Chimney cleaning goes back to proper maintenance and operation. If your doing everything right, that should be only a once a year thing for either type.

I have both types currently so I can get best of both worlds. Haven't decided yet, but I'm debating if I'll go with one or the other in the future. The main thing for me was my long hours at work. It was going to be impossible to keep my wood stove going for my 14hr workday. Pellet stoves can easily run all day, mine can hold 120 lbs which could last a few days on low and still over 24hrs on high. Now I know a Blaze King may be able to burn 24hrs+ too, but there were other reasons I went pellet, and I didn't have money to put into something as expensive as a Blaze King at the time.  (but might yet in the future consider one). Also running 2 wood stoves was a royal pain, especially trying to get them to run in sync so they were both ready to load at the same time. And it takes 20-30 minutes to get the wood stove going and settled out. Thats a major pain at 4am when you didn't get much sleep and are struggling to get to work on time. I have to set my alarm even earlier in the winter due to the stove. 

Pellet stoves aren't hands off though, and require more effort in cleaning, but this is far easier than handling wood still. Some, like Harmans, require much less cleaning. But some like my Englander can be a daily chore at times. The cleaning is fairly simple and can mostly be done without dealing with hot ashes like a woodstove though.

Everyone's needs/wants will be different but for me the big tradeoff is that wood is much cheaper to run, but can't generally heat my home for a regular workday, or a weekend out of town, whereas pellets might be more expensive but can run just fine for a whole workday (or even multiple days) without being shutdown.


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## stoveNewb (Dec 29, 2014)

tjnamtiw said:


> I know you would all die of shock if I didn't chime in!!\
> YOU LIVE IN PENNSYLVANIA!  Anthracite coal!  You will heat for 1/2 to 1/3 the cost of pellets AND you will get 2 to 3 times as many btu's out of the stove IF you need it!  Modern coal stoves are about the same price as a good pellet stove, very easy to operate the stoker variety, and very little mess IF you learn how to handle the coal properly. AND they run on a thermostat.  The ash can go out with the trash.  Yes, more ash by far but WAY more heat for a longer time per load.
> www.readingstove.com
> www.leisurelinestoves.com
> ...




Yea I live right in a very coal heavy area. Multiple people in my family have coal stoves and I actually used to enjoy helping my uncle load up their coal hopper when I was younger. My only problem with coal is that it seems to make the basement dusty and dirty, but like you said that may just be a symptom of not handling it properly I don't know.

Thanks for the input! I am going to take a look at coal also.


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## stoveNewb (Dec 29, 2014)

Jigger said:


> I burned wood for many years in a wood stove.In that time I had one chimney fire. Which cracked the flu and had to be repaired. At the time I was a some what young man. But as time went on cutting and splitting and stacking 5 cords a years started to get old. One of the problems I hated about wood was having to go out in a raging snow storm to get wood to fee the stove. The other thing about carrying the wood into the house. Was I never knew what type of bugs got into the wood during the summer. Bring the wood in and watch them run around the floor was not nice. Wood stoves also generate a ton of ash. Wood stove also mainly a radiate heat source unless you get one with a blower to circulate the air. I work a long day and I'm gone close to 14 hours a day. Coming home and finding a cold house with a fire that had gone out was no fun.
> I've been burning pellets for the past 6 years. Since I switched I'll never ever go back to burning wood. I store my pellets out in my shed. I carry the pellets in a 5 gallon bucket. I do not have to worry about bringing bugs into the house. The pellet stove has a built in air circulator that keeps my house nice an warm as the air is moved through out the house. I fill the stove prior to leaving in the morning and it is still going when I come home 14 hours later. The one thing nice about a pellet stove is you do not have to put heat shields around the stove similar to a wood stove. Pellet stoves are also more user friendly to an insurance company. Because the likely hood of a chimney fire is very minimal. They do happen but not as often. The ash content is much less then a wood stove. I just finished burning a ton and presently have a little over a 1/4 of a 5 gallon bucket full.




You brought up a few points which were making me hesitant about a wood burning stove. Mainly the bugs and the chimney fire. I keep switching back and forth in my mind between wood and pellets... and now coal...


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## stoveNewb (Dec 29, 2014)

Big papa said:


> Pa corn at $130 a ton.dont want Coal dust in my house.



I asked a local stove retailer about stoves that can burn multi fuel, he told my I wouldn't want one of them because the cost of corn is going up because of ethanol productions. Does the ton of corn burn at the same rate as pellets? If so then that would make corn (where you are at least) about half of what pellets would cost me.


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## tjnamtiw (Dec 29, 2014)

Big papa said:


> Pa corn at $130 a ton.dont want Coal dust in my house.


Spoken like someone who knows nothing about coal and how to handle it.  I get more pellet dust in my house now than I ever got from coal AND I sift it!


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## tjnamtiw (Dec 29, 2014)

stoveNewb said:


> You brought up a few points which were making me hesitant about a wood burning stove. Mainly the bugs and the chimney fire. I keep switching back and forth in my mind between wood and pellets... and now coal...


You can get creosote from pellets as well as wood if you burn your stove improperly, like many this year appear to be doing.  Guess what, you can't get a chimney fire from coal!  No creosote!


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## tjnamtiw (Dec 29, 2014)

stoveNewb said:


> Yea I live right in a very coal heavy area. Multiple people in my family have coal stoves and I actually used to enjoy helping my uncle load up their coal hopper when I was younger. My only problem with coal is that it seems to make the basement dusty and dirty, but like you said that may just be a symptom of not handling it properly I don't know.
> 
> Thanks for the input! I am going to take a look at coal also.


Coal stoves have improved tremendously in function, style, efficiency, and safety since you helped load that hopper.


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## Big papa (Dec 29, 2014)

tjnamtiw said:


> Spoken like someone who knows nothing about coal and how to handle it.  I get more pellet dust in my house now than I ever got from coal AND I sift it!


My old stove burned coal and wood so after near 20 years of buring with that stove I think I might have a little experience.pellet dust is a lot cleaner than coal dust just my opinion and it also sounds like you need to move to Pa so you can be happy with all the coal you push.mines are shutting down here left and right so I'm not sure purchasing a long term coal stove is the way to go?


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## Big papa (Dec 29, 2014)

stoveNewb said:


> I asked a local stove retailer about stoves that can burn multi fuel, he told my I wouldn't want one of them because the cost of corn is going up because of ethanol productions. Does the ton of corn burn at the same rate as pellets? If so then that would make corn (where you are at least) about half of what pellets would cost me.


That's the price of corn here at the local feed mill but I know several farmers and can get it much cheaper from them especially corn left over from last year wich is much drier.


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## wood burner12 (Dec 29, 2014)

I just had a wood stove installed a couple month's ago and I was going back and fourth between the two. I wish I would have went with a pellet stove but the wife wanted the wood stove. With a new born on the way and trying to keep the house at a certain temp it's definitely a challenge. I have the stove set up in my living room and it does great, keeps the downstairs around 80. But getting up in the middle on the night and feeding the stove, coming home to a cold house it comes to be a pita sometimes. I have a all electric house so we installed it to cut down on our electric bill.


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## tjnamtiw (Dec 29, 2014)

Big papa said:


> My old stove burned coal and wood so after near 20 years of buring with that stove I think I might have a little experience.pellet dust is a lot cleaner than coal dust just my opinion and it also sounds like you need to move to Pa so you can be happy with all the coal you push.mines are shutting down here left and right so I'm not sure purchasing a long term coal stove is the way to go?


My home IS Reading, Pa where I grew up and lived until entering the service in 65, so I know coal, having heated with it for many years.  AND I'd be back there in an instant if I could and they cleared out the idiots running the state.  You know you're getting a 9.8 cent increase in sales tax on gasoline in three days, right?
If you had a 'coal/wood' stove then you didn't have EITHER one as each requires a different draft flow.  You had a mixed breed that couldn't do either well.  Also, with a 20 year old stove, you didn't have what's available today.  You are doing yourself a disservice by not researching the new ones, especially stokers, and talking to people who have them.  Most of your dust probably came from mishandling the ashes.  The coal itself should be delivered wet so there's no dust and then you should have been dampening it from time to time.  But what do I know. You know what you're doing. 
There will be plenty of anthracite for many years to come.  Don't let the @#$%^ scare you.  Sense will one day return to D.C.


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## Big papa (Dec 29, 2014)

I'm very satisfied with my purchase of a pellet stove will and have looked in to coal stoves. Coal is messy stored  inside or out maybe I didn't have a good way to store and keep things the cleanest but in the basement coal dust was all over storing it out side your mess was just moved and it was tracked in the house cleaning up after coal was more of a pain than what I got from it just my opinion


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## tjnamtiw (Dec 29, 2014)

Big papa said:


> I'm very satisfied with my purchase of a pellet stove will and have looked in to coal stoves. Coal is messy stored  inside or out maybe I didn't have a good way to store and keep things the cleanest but in the basement coal dust was all over storing it out side your mess was just moved and it was tracked in the house cleaning up after coal was more of a pain than what I got from it just my opinion


Interesting.  Where you getting it in bulk or bags?  Bags are VERY dirty since you can't wet it down.   I built a bin in the side of my garage that held 3 tons with several sliding doors at the bottom.  I burned it in a pot belly in the garage and in  a Franco Belge gravity feed in the house.  NEVER had coal dust on the garage floor, cars, or in the house.  I have two pellet stoves now, sift the pellets in the garage and carry them in in buckets and my wife (same one!) bitches about the dust.  She never once did about coal dust.  What size coal did you burn?  Stove or nut, probably.  I burned pea.


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## Stovensen (Dec 29, 2014)

Big papa said:


> Coal is messy


 
Yes, in several ways. I just found this article:  http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/coal-ash-is-more-radioactive-than-nuclear-waste/


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## Stovensen (Dec 30, 2014)

tjnamtiw said:


> Just plain stupid!


 
No, just adding another point in favour of burning wood pellets. After all this is the pellet section of Hearth.com




tjnamtiw said:


> Oh, and you don't have anthracite coal over there in Muslim-land.


 
From North Sea oil we make petroleum coke... almost the same carbon percentage ( over 90% carbon ) as anthracite coal.
Before installing our present Whitfield pellet stove, we burned a lot a petroleum coke in an old wood/coal stove. Actually this coal stove was the original that my great grandfather installed, when our house was built in 1898. The stove is put away in a store room, but still fully functional. If the Whitfield breaks down permanently, I can easily reinstall the old coal stove.
It was one of my friends, who is a geologist within sedimentary geology that told me many years ago that all fossile fuels are more or less radioactive, so this is a scientific fact.
Now, as for the term "Muslim-land"... I don't think we are allowed to discuss this any further in the open here at Hearth.com, but I am willing to have a private conversation on this topic. So, if you're interested, tjnamtiw, please send me a private message, so we can exchange our opinions on this matter


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## F4jock (Dec 30, 2014)

tjnamtiw said:


> Give me a f$%^  break!  Some people believe ANYTHING written by a tree-hugging environmentalist!  Just plain stupid!  Quick, run inside and put your lead suit on!  I never learned that one in my nuclear engineering courses  Heck, we should be running our subs on coal ash all these years!  OMG.  GIVE ME STRENGTH TO ENDURE THE STUPIDITY GROWING EXPONENTIALLY!
> 
> Oh, and you don't have anthracite coal over there in Muslim-land.


Re your earlier post - Isn't Wolfie gonna repeal that nasty old tax? After all, it was a big point in his campaign. . . .


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## smg64ct (Dec 30, 2014)

Growing up we had a wood stove and we burned coal. I had a really nice wood stove and always kept the chimney clean and use to split my own wood and kept it dry. I had this wood stove for maybe 6 or 7 years and this thing took off on me, the fire went out of control and the stove was glowing bright red. 

I got that very out luckily with no damage to my house. I sold that wood stove and bought a pellet stove and that was 15 years ago. The wood stove was too much work. I was tired of fiddling with dampers and on windy days having the puffs of smoke going into the house. Love my pellet stoves.


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## tjnamtiw (Dec 30, 2014)

F4jock said:


> Re your earlier post - Isn't Wolfie gonna repeal that nasty old tax? After all, it was a big point in his campaign. . . .


Expecting a politician to honor what he promised in an election???      I just saw it on the news Sunday.


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## bags (Dec 30, 2014)

wood burner12 said:


> I just had a wood stove installed a couple month's ago and I was going back and fourth between the two. I wish I would have went with a pellet stove but the wife wanted the wood stove. With a new born on the way and trying to keep the house at a certain temp it's definitely a challenge. I have the stove set up in my living room and it does great, keeps the downstairs around 80. But getting up in the middle on the night and feeding the stove, coming home to a cold house it comes to be a pita sometimes. I have a all electric house so we installed it to cut down on our electric bill.



Welcome! I really appreciate your honesty and that is what this forum is or should be based upon. My motto is wood = work. I have been a wood burner for years and wood is a great way to heat so I am not against it a all. I will always have a way to heat with wood even if it is only a back up.

That said, I do fire out on some of these that mislead people that harp on wood being as easy as pellets. Not sure what they are smoking but there truly is not a comparison with everything considered. There are some Blaze Kings and catalytic stoves that do get long burn times but these stated 30 hour plus burn times are questionable IMO. I can also go two days on a bag of pellets. Sure can in an unrealistic 48 hours of heating when it is 60 out and a low in the 50's. That's when they are getting their long burn times on low burn too. Realistic FACTS need to be stated so people like yourself can make good decisions.

But realistically when the temps drop it is 2 bags in 24 hours and if super cold then that number can grow. Not a lot but I also state the facts and I do not fluff them and mislead people interested in pellet and / or wood stoves. The BK's are not getting 30 - 50 burn times then either.

BTW, Congrats on the new one arriving soon! You can always switch to a pellet stove also. You could keep your wood stove and find another place to install a pellet stove. That will also give you more options.  I can relate to wood being a PITA as many others here too. I did it for a long time and have three kids.

If it's any consolation the PITA wood IS way better than high dollar beat down electric heat bills. You could set your stat for the electric to kick on at 60 or whatever works for you and it will buy you some time to fire the stove back up. Ladies don't like to be cold. Pregnant ladies......... Ya better keep that house warm bro!


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## SKOAL MAN (Dec 30, 2014)

smg64ct said:


> Growing up we had a wood stove and we burned coal. I had a really nice wood stove and always kept the chimney clean and use to split my own wood and kept it dry. I had this wood stove for maybe 6 or 7 years and this thing took off on me, the fire went out of control and the stove was glowing bright red.
> 
> I got that very out luckily with no damage to my house. I sold that wood stove and bought a pellet stove and that was 15 years ago. The wood stove was too much work. I was tired of fiddling with dampers and on windy days having the puffs of smoke going into the house. Love my pellet stoves.


Glad your saved your home. Wood stoves have came a long way since 15 years ago.  I love my pellet stove, but get frustrated that everyone compares how much work there 20-30 year old wood stove was compared to there 2014 pellet stove!  I have a  new truck, I also have an 81 Bronco, guess what the Bronco needs more maintenance and it's also harder on fuel! Go figure.


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## bags (Dec 30, 2014)

SKOAL MAN said:


> I love my pellet stove, but get frustrated that everyone compares how much work there 20-30 year old wood stove was compared to there 2014 pellet stove!  I have a  new truck, I also have an 81 Bronco, guess what the Bronco needs more maintenance and it's also harder on fuel! Go figure.


*If* you read what was stated the guy said *he just had it installed a couple of month's ago and his wife wanted a wood fire instead of pellet.* Seems they were looking at new as they bought and had a wood stove installed. How in the hell does that equate to a 20- 30 year old stove? To me that says it is not decades old so you are WRONG. Go ahead with your critical BS but deal with the facts. Why aren't you heating with wood again? That's what I thought. What's your excuse?

Thought you were blocking me anyway......... More BS! What a cynical joke. GO FIGURE.....


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## Tony garofalo (Dec 30, 2014)

I had the Pellet stove ,It worked But I do not like to clean it all the time .My coal stove only needs cleaned out about every 6 months. The heat is more like the wood stove, and I only burn 20lbs a day and keep house at 75 all the time. I wish I would have done this 20 years ago  .The coal is almost dust free compared to the pellet stove. This is a leisure line pioneer. 90.000 btu. ITs a heating machine.


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## NHcpa (Dec 30, 2014)

Tony garofalo said:


> I had the Pellet stove ,It worked But I do not like to clean it all the time .My coal stove only needs cleaned out about every 6 months. The heat is more like the wood stove, and I only burn 20lbs a day and keep house at 75 all the time. I wish I would have done this 20 years ago  .The coal is almost dust free compared to the pellet stove. This is a leisure line pioneer. 90.000 btu. ITs a heating machine.


Nice.  Can you run it without power?


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## Tony garofalo (Dec 30, 2014)

NHcpa said:


> Nice.  Can you run it without power?


NO, it like a Pellet stove needs Power. But a I have a 4400 watt. Generator ready to go. The stove only needs 1.5 Amps of power to Rock.


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## tjnamtiw (Dec 30, 2014)

Tony garofalo said:


> I had the Pellet stove ,It worked But I do not like to clean it all the time .My coal stove only needs cleaned out about every 6 months. The heat is more like the wood stove, and I only burn 20lbs a day and keep house at 75 all the time. I wish I would have done this 20 years ago  .The coal is almost dust free compared to the pellet stove. This is a leisure line pioneer. 90.000 btu. ITs a heating machine.


THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT, Tony!  Beautiful stove and beautiful installation!


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## tjnamtiw (Dec 30, 2014)

Tony garofalo said:


> NO, it like a Pellet stove needs Power. But a I have a 4400 watt. Generator ready to go. The stove only needs 1.5 Amps of power to Rock.


And if power is a worry, some models don't need any power but not the stokers.


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## jss227 (Dec 30, 2014)

I thought I was on Yellow Bullet here for a minute.


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## tjnamtiw (Dec 30, 2014)

Yellow Bullet?  My sub's faster than your Rambler?


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## jss227 (Dec 30, 2014)

tjnamtiw said:


> Yellow Bullet?  My sub's faster than your Rambler?


 Rambler? Surely you jest. This is a prime example of Ford engineering my friend. A 1968 Galaxie 500. Nicknamed "TUGBOAT". It's about the same size as your bathtub toy, and your probably right about you being faster.


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## tjnamtiw (Dec 31, 2014)

jss227 said:


> Rambler? Surely you jest. This is a prime example of Ford engineering my friend. A 1968 Galaxie 500. Nicknamed "TUGBOAT". It's about the same size as your bathtub toy, and your probably right about you being faster.


Yea, I jest!    You have a 390 in there?  I had one in my 67 Cougar GT.  That thing was awesome but too light on the rear.  it would light up 10" wide tires in third gear and scare the crap out of you.


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## jss227 (Dec 31, 2014)

tjnamtiw said:


> Yea, I jest!    You have a 390 in there?  I had one in my 67 Cougar GT.  That thing was awesome but too light on the rear.  it would light up 10" wide tires in third gear and scare the crap out of you.


 It's got a 460 and c6. Definitely not to light at 4200 pounds without me ( add another 275), but it is fun and I have gone rounds racing.


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## tjnamtiw (Dec 31, 2014)

Yahoo  Gotta be a blast!  LITERALLY!  My 'fun' days are over at 71.    Can only think back at all the cool cars I've had and HOW CHEAPLY I SOLD THEM  69 427 Vette 4 speed side pipes......    
63 Porsche 356B Super 90 cherry with no rust....... over 100 grand now!
64 1/2 Mustang 289....


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## SKOAL MAN (Dec 31, 2014)

bags said:


> *If* you read what was stated the guy said *he just had it installed a couple of monthago ago and his wife wanted a wood fire instead of pellet.* Seems they were looking at new as they bought and had a wood stove installed. How in the hell does that equate to a 20- 30 year old stove? To me that says it is not decades old so you are WRONG. Go ahead with your critical BS but deal with the facts. Why aren't you heating with wood again? That's what I thought. What's your excuse?
> 
> Thought you were blocking me anyway......... More BS! What a cynical joke. GO FIGURE.....


I got that very out luckily with no damage to my house. I sold that wood stove and bought a pellet stove and that was 15 years ago.

Another illiterate from Kentucky!  Your cousin called she wants her virginity back!

il·lit·er·ate
i(l)ˈlidərət/
_adjective_

*1*.
unable to read or write.
"his parents were illiterate"
synonyms:unable to read or write, unlettered
"an illiterate peasant"
_noun_

*1*.
a person who is unable to read or write.


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## webfish (Dec 31, 2014)

And that is the end of this thread.


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