Convinicing my husband to buy a pellet stove
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hyfire
Minister of Fire
You may want to get a small pellet stove for the basement and a ductless split heat pump for upstairs, the best of both worlds. Its cheaper to run the ductless split heat pump than the pellet stove when its near freezing outside....
Luvmesomesamples
Burning Hunk
Kids are resilient.....they don't mind being cold. Put it upstairs where you will gain more useful heat and be able to enjoy the ambiance more. I had an Accentra insert last year and upgraded to a pellet boiler but I definitely miss sitting in front of the burning pellets stove. Something about it for sure.
Don't forget that Harman and some other brands make pellet boilers and furnaces. I myself seriously consider a water coil in my ductwork and line to the water heater or a air to air furnace in the basement.
TonyVideo
Feeling the Heat
I would get 2 stoves and zone heat when you are 65 when not around and 72 when you are around. Both at 72 when extreme cold sets in. This will help not running 1 to the max and too hot in 1 area. I have a P68 in my main area and a P43 in the back side of our 3000 Sq ft 1880's home. Ceiling fan running up keeps it at the desired temp in each area evenly in this old home. Upstairs in the 0 degree days about 8 degrees cooler which I like for sleeping. Both units never run max unless bumping up the temp until stabilized. Still have gas heat for when we are gone for more than 24 hours. Also use it a few times when Temps fall below - 0 to keep pipes in cellar from freezing as ductwork heats up to keep it above freezing. I then put the stoves on constant heat and let the gas thermostat kick in every so often for the sub floor and cellar.
The Harman XXV is a gorgeous stove. That being said, based on our experience with heating a single level 1402 sq. ft. 1950s bungalow with a pellet stove in the far corner of the house- go bigger rather than smaller if you want the stove to heat both levels. If I had it to go over again I would have bought a pellet stove with a larger heating capacity than our Napoleon for our bungalow. The Napoleon is rated to heat 2000 sq. ft. but our bungalow has no wall insulation. It really challenges the Napoleon in the coldest weather. We had to do a lot of work with caulk and spray foam to seal up air leaks, as well as adding a lot of insulation to the attic so that the pellet stove could carry the house comfortably. It's easier, IMHO, to burn a bigger pellet stove on a lower setting than to coax more btu's out of a smaller stove.
Others can speak to this with more experience than me (I've never tried to heat more than one level at a time) but either two smaller stoves, one on each level, or one larger stove that can be ducted may be a good solution for heating two levels. Those who say that a pellet stove is a space heater speak the truth. Yes, the space we heat is our homes, but we put a lot of thought into moving that heat around and hanging onto those btu's.
You might want to check on fire codes before you put open vents between the floors to allow heat to rise out of the basement (if that's what you are referring to above.) Others have told me that open air vents between floors are against code.
I remember exchanging ideas with a girl who was on the forum last year from Canada- they had recently installed a Drolet pellet stove in their downstairs (basement?) and they were ducting it to the upstairs. I was fascinated by the possibilities.
Also, area rugs are your friends. In fact, any properly installed insulation is your friend.
If you grew up with wood stoves, you are going to be surprised at the difference in heat from a pellet stove. Pellet stove heat is a lot gentler but you really need to think about insulation to hang onto those btu's. With a new construction house it won't be as challenging for you as it is for those of us with old drafty houses. Still, heat that you don't sacrifice to a heat sink is money in your pocket.
How insulated is the basement? I'm also fascinated with the Owens Corning basement finishing systems but I don't have any first or second hand knowledge about them. I think the idea is fascinating and it adds R11 to your basement walls.
Others can speak to this with more experience than me (I've never tried to heat more than one level at a time) but either two smaller stoves, one on each level, or one larger stove that can be ducted may be a good solution for heating two levels. Those who say that a pellet stove is a space heater speak the truth. Yes, the space we heat is our homes, but we put a lot of thought into moving that heat around and hanging onto those btu's.
You might want to check on fire codes before you put open vents between the floors to allow heat to rise out of the basement (if that's what you are referring to above.) Others have told me that open air vents between floors are against code.
I remember exchanging ideas with a girl who was on the forum last year from Canada- they had recently installed a Drolet pellet stove in their downstairs (basement?) and they were ducting it to the upstairs. I was fascinated by the possibilities.
Also, area rugs are your friends. In fact, any properly installed insulation is your friend.
If you grew up with wood stoves, you are going to be surprised at the difference in heat from a pellet stove. Pellet stove heat is a lot gentler but you really need to think about insulation to hang onto those btu's. With a new construction house it won't be as challenging for you as it is for those of us with old drafty houses. Still, heat that you don't sacrifice to a heat sink is money in your pocket.
How insulated is the basement? I'm also fascinated with the Owens Corning basement finishing systems but I don't have any first or second hand knowledge about them. I think the idea is fascinating and it adds R11 to your basement walls.
brokenknee
Burning Hunk
If you grew up with wood why not consider a wood stove? I have both a Harman P68 pellet stove and a Harman TL300 wood stove. I installed both last year, I thought I would get the pellet stove to make it easier for the wife when I had to travel for my job (usually not more than 3 or 4 days at a time) We used the pellet stove for a little over four months until the wood stove was installed. Neither the wife or I really care for the pellet stove all that much; they are way to noisy and the heat is not near as nice as a wood stove.
With our old wood furnace we were burning 10 to 12 full cords per year (4X4X8) with our new wood stove I hope to cut that down to around 7 cords per year. I also get much longer burn times with the new stove. Although the P68 is easy to clean it still requires weekly cleaning, that means you have to let the stove cool down then clean and vacuum the stove and empty the ash pan. For me the cleaning part took about 15 - 20 minutes. Wood stove take out the ashes once a week - 3 minute job.
Yes you do have the work of cutting / splitting / and stacking, but you can always purchase it that way, around here you can get log lenght ash / oak for $70 a cord. If you want it cut, split and delivered it is around $180 a cord.
Both are more than enough stove for our home and would be able to heat a house much larger. Our house is a 1600 square foot slab home. We live in a very cold climate, minus 20 below is pretty much average for the low in January and February with a minus 30 to almost minus 40 happens maybe five six time a year for the low.
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