Head spinning: pellet or wood?

[BIGDADDY]

Holy smokes. I didn't anticipate so many replies already. Thank you. My thought so far:
- natural gas: the gas company already indicated that there's no way they will extend gas lines to my street. Not enough residents to make it worth their effort
- Mitsubishi Hyper Heat. I'm going to look into it. CT has some of the highest electric rates in the country, so I'm wary of astronomical electric bills.
- blade's option #3 of wood stove plus compressed wood. Sounds ideal, but the nearest NIEL dealer is too far away to deliver. I can get biobricks, though. Would they be cost-effective as a heat source relative to pellets?
- reason for wanting to choose anything over oil: Even with a price cap, I've been paying up to $4.10/gal. for oil for several yrs.

- Unstated reason why I favor wood stove over pellet stove: Aesthetics. I think pellet inserts are ugly, and pellet flames are lame. If I could have hidden a pellet stove in a corner, that would have been the way to go. With an interior fireplace front and center in the room, an insert will be very noticeable. I'd prefer something less brutish, such as a flush wood insert with real flames.

So…
1. heat pump will be investigated for cost to run, plus whether I need 1 upstairs and another downstairs.
2. will troll pellet forum for inserts that aren't ugly and can throw nice flames
3. would love advice on whether anyone heats exclusively with compressed wood such as biobricks.

Is your current heating hot water baseboard or air? If air you can use existing ductwork if you go with a heat pump.
I have a geothermal heat pump. If you go with a high efficiency air to air heat pump it will probably cost 8-12 thousand maybe more but then it's just set the thermostat and sit down.

 

[BIGDADDY]

Hurry, get out now while you still have the chance!

Hilarious

 

[blades]

Several different names/mfgs on compressed wood products, generaly on a pound for pound basis cost is about the same as pellets. Pricing varies by area. in some areas the compressed products are less than equivalent amount of cord wood. A ton of pellets/bricks is roughly equal to a cord of decent hard wood.

 

[Michael Golden]

Really nothing dangerous here! You get a lot of opinions and a lot of knowledge in one place. I learned a lot here and have tried to teach some of my family that burn the rights and wrong. They laugh at me, but hey I don't fight wet wood!

 

[eclecticcottage]

If I could have hidden a pellet stove in a corner, that would have been the way to go.

I'm pretty sure there is such a thing as a pellet furnace. I know there are add on wood furnaces, which will work with your existing furnace (my aunt and uncle ran such a set up for years, using the wood furnace exclusively unless they went on vacation). Perhaps there is the same in pellet? You'd still have to get the pellets home and into the basement, but you could keep them there-no lugging back up the stairs to feed a stove and it would be even more hidden than a stove sitting in the corner.

 

[BIGDADDY]

I'm pretty sure there is such a thing as a pellet furnace. I know there are add on wood furnaces, which will work with your existing furnace (my aunt and uncle ran such a set up for years, using the wood furnace exclusively unless they went on vacation). Perhaps there is the same in pellet? You'd still have to get the pellets home and into the basement, but you could keep them there-no lugging back up the stairs to feed a stove and it would be even more hidden than a stove sitting in the corner.

Yes you are correct. I did a search on the net after reading your post and found pellet furnaces.

 

[Dave A.]

the dealer I visited thinks hearth.com is "dangerous"

Exactly. Dangerous to dealers who get by only by duping their customers.

 

[Slow1]

Exactly. Dangerous to dealers who get by only by duping their customers.

Well, and dangerous to my productivity spending too much time reading when I should be doing something...

 

[Sprinter]

Exactly. Dangerous to dealers who get by only by duping their customers.

Dealers are probably jumpy about internet sources in general. Let's face it, there is a lot of very bad advice out there, and they probably hear it all. This site is unusually diligent about keeping information at a high level, stressing accuracy and safety. Some dealers just don't know the difference.

 

[BrowningBAR]

Has anyone mentioned a Pellet add-on furnace or boiler? Seems like it might be an option. Some of them offer over-sized hoppers that can hold a weeks worth of pellets.

 

[Firedancer]

My dealer told me he has never heard of anyone monitoring the temp on an insert!! Really? Never? THAT sounds dangerous to me.


I am all for burning wood. I'm new to the insert thing-we have two open fireplaces in our home-and they really came in handy during hurricane Sandy. We had no power for just over a week. Wood just seems easier to come by...and thanks to Sandy, I have plenty of it.

I am AMAZED how this insert heats my entire 1600sqft home.

 

[Wear More Layers]

Once again, thanks for all of your "dangerous" advice. With the workweek now in my way, I haven't had time to do any further exploring. On my to-do list is to find someone who uses a heat pump to see how much power they use in cold weather, and I'd like to find a wood stove that fits inside my sloping firebox.

 

[gandalf]

Maybe the dealer thinks hearth.com is dangerous to his business. After all, educating yourself can help make you less dependent on stove dealers and heating "professionals". The more well-educated you are, the less likely you are to make an expensive or dangerous heating mistake or overpay for a stove or installation/maintenance services. You would also more likely be attuned to the differences between respectable and inferior workmanship. Maybe there is a lot of misinformation out here, but IMO, hearth.com can be an excellent source of information.

 

[gandalf]

2) all of the wood stove inserts I could find won't fit my firebox shape. The back wall of my firebox slopes forward. Whereas the depth of the firebox at the base is 20", the depth at the top of is only 13". Looks like I'm outta luck should I decide to go with wood.

I wouldn't be ready to give up just yet. A smaller insert might work for you, or you could look into a larger unit with the option of an extended-onto-hearth install. For example, the Lopi Freedom wood insert has an extended installation option. When installed this way, it requires 13.5 inch depth into fireplace. It's 21.75 inches high. If your fireplace depth at that height is at least 13.5 inches and the other dimensions work with your fireplace / hearth, it might be a solution. With an extended-on-hearth install, the insert extends 7 inches from the fireplace. If you do do something like this, make sure your clearances are sufficient. (broken link removed to http://www.lopistoves.com/TravisDocs/100-01162.pdf) for more details. Full disclosure: I've never owned or used a Lopi Freedom or other Lopi insert/stove.

 

[Mainely Saws]

I don't think that I read in your post why propane isn't an option . There are some very nice propane wood stoves & inserts out there that are very realistic , energy efficient & low maintenance , along with being user friendly ( thermostat) . I would think that either a wood stove install or a pellett stove ,along with buying fuel for them would have a very long pay back time , reqiure a fair amount of on going work/effort & would cost you more money than continuing burning oil .....

 

[eclecticcottage]

I don't think that I read in your post why propane isn't an option . There are some very nice propane wood stoves & inserts out there that are very realistic , energy efficient & low maintenance , along with being user friendly ( thermostat) . I would think that either a wood stove install or a pellett stove ,along with buying fuel for them would have a very long pay back time , reqiure a fair amount of on going work/effort & would cost you more money than continuing burning oil .....

We used to heat our Old House with two DV stoves. They were natural gas instead of propane, but basically, it's the same (I think propane tends to be more blue, flame wise, at least when I compare the flame on our VF we have now that's LP vs one we used to ahve that was NG).

Our first stove was (is) a Lopi Hampton Bay DVS. It's not a bad little stove, and some people did think it was a wood burner. To me, the flame was ok, but it looked like a gas stove. Our second stove was newer, a Lopi Berkshire (the first generation, not the current style). Now that stove we nearly moved to the Cottage with us when we turned the Old House into a rental. It's a darn nice stove for a gas model. Good looks and a much nicer flame. And man does it throw the heat.

If LP is an option and wood/pellets are too much weight/lifting, but you still want the look, an LP insert or stove might be worth looking into.

 

[SteveKG]

Here is something about this forum, if you haven't figured it out already. There are many varied opinions on everthing wood stove: how to burn, how to split, how to store wood, how to build fires, and countless other subjects. However, you can bet that if someone posts a suggestion or idea that is just plain stupid, dangerous, lethal, or even laughable, a bunch of folks will let him or her know in no time. There are many of us who have been operating wood stoves for many decades and will continue to do so. For you [OP], there are a couple considerations many of us don't have, such as your potential problems storing or carrying the fuel supply. These are real considerations. Good luck and stick around the forum.

 

[tsquini]

Go with cord wood. When you don't have power you can still heat. Correct me if I'm wrong, With a pellet stove you have to have electricity for it to run.

 

[Sprinter]

Go with cord wood. When you don't have power you can still heat. Correct me if I'm wrong, With a pellet stove you have to have electricity for it to run.

That's true, but a small generator can take care of that and it's good to have one anyway, IMO. Still, it is a consideration.

 

[Dave A.]

I thought there was at least one pellet stove that operates more like a wood stove (i.e. without the blowers). Though it may still require electric to operate the feed mechanism. Supposedly it's not as noisy, anyway. Whether it's as effective at heating as the ones with blowers is something else again.

 

[Phoenix Hatchling]

I'm new but have read many posts. Thanks to everyone for being so informative, helpful, and polite to the uninitiated. Here's my story:

- 1,400 sq. ft 2 story home
- oil heat
- live in New England
- want to replace oil as my heat source
- propane and natural gas aren't options

I originally investigated free-standing pellet stoves with small footprints (such as St. Croix Element) to minimize loss of space in my small living room. I avoided wood burning stoves because the black chimney pipe is too obtrusive for the room. After an in-house visit from a dealer, I now realize that even small pellet stoves require more space than my room can accommodate. I do, however, have a fireplace in the room and won't lose any space if I place an insert into it.

An insert means that I could go with either a wood burning or pellet insert because I no longer have to worry about ugly stove pipes. Here are my worries in choosing between pellets and wood. Of this list, what should I be focusing on?

Fuel: Pellets seem to be widely available now. I don't ever plan to cut my own wood and would have to purchase it. It's doubtful that I can find wood dry enough to start burning now.

Transporting inside: I have a bad back. Lugging 40 lb bags of pellets is an unpleasant thought, but at least everything is inside once I'm done. Walking in the freezing cold repeatedly to a pile of wood in the yard doesn't seem fun.

Storage: I'd have to store pellets in my basement, making transportation worse. I have no wood shed, and unless you think it's kosher to store wood in an unfinished basement, I can't think of a good way to keep wood dry in winter.

Heat: The dealer told me that a wood burning stove would make my living room feel like an oven. I tend to like it cool and would find an 80 room unpleasant. I'm under the impression, though, that a wood stove can heat an entire home better and more quickly than a pellet stove.

Heating patterns: I tend to turn the heat low or off during the day and then turn it up when I get home at night. I don't know which stove better matches this pattern.

Maintenance: The pellet forums and dealers describe pellet stoves as high maintenance relative to wood burning stoves. If you add stove maintenance to the transporting, storing, and loading of fuel, I can't figure out which stove requires less labor.

Annual costs: Fuel + maintenance + service seems like a wash between pellets and wood, but I fear I'm overlooking something expensive.

Models: If I buy a pellet insert, it will be the St. Croix Ashby because the dealer is 1 mile from my house. If I buy a wood insert, I'm lost. I really like the looks of flush inserts but don't know if they throw enough heat to reach upstairs. And I can't figure out what the value of a hybrid is.

Smell: A neighbor burns wood. It's smelly and smoky. I don't want to pollute the neighborhood and can't determine which type of stove will annoy the neighbors less.

At the moment I'm leaning toward wood, hence posting in this forum. Thanks for reading something so long.

Ever consider getting a coal burning insert? Less work like a wood burner, more consistent and steady temps, cost is comparable (@300/ton) , and you could carry smaller quantities from your stash via a coal hod (carry what you can handle).

 

[Lighting Up]

Wood stove would be my choice...you can buy season wood cut and split and they will stack it to. Yes at a cost but you will love the heat that a stove gives...IMHO.

 

[Grisu]

Ok, the post about coal gave me another idea. Do you maybe have a walkout basement with still some room in there? Maybe you could get a wood furnace. Pay the firewood guy some extra to stack the wood outside and in the fall you grab a little 4-wheel hand-cart and transfer the wood from the stacks next to the furnace. Minimal lifting required but you can still burn wood.

 

[Wear More Layers]

I don't think that I read in your post why propane isn't an option . There are some very nice propane wood stoves & inserts out there that are very realistic , energy efficient & low maintenance , along with being user friendly ( thermostat) . I would think that either a wood stove install or a pellett stove ,along with buying fuel for them would have a very long pay back time , reqiure a fair amount of on going work/effort & would cost you more money than continuing burning oil .....

Propane: Is propane as expensive as oil, and does it require a giant tank right next to the house.

 

[eclecticcottage]

Depends on where you live but usually not, and not always. You can have a big tank far from the house or a smaller one next to it, you'd have to talk to a propane co about that. We run our hot water (tankless), kitchen range (1950's era, standing pilot for the burners) and a small 10k btu blue flame (when it's in the 20's or below regularly) on two 100lb tanks plumbed in sequence so the appliances draw on both evenly. We'll refill them 2-3x a year at about $50 each per refill. Our VF runs on a separate 100lb tank. Those can be heavy to move though, you might want to look into a bigger tank away from the house.