Husky
Feeling the Heat
I'm with you. Burn NG furnace and use pellet stove for nice warm living room/kitchen area. We love the ambiance of the fire and the nice warm (75-76) living area.
Heating Oil vrs Pellets.[whole story?]
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womaus
Feeling the Heat
As the OP, thought the replies we're interesting although it's inevetable that after a few posts it goes off track.. no biggie..
I do think that no one scratches the're head when a person spends 20K on a brand new car and another buys same car but goes for all the comfy or kewl add ons and ends up paying 25k For the same car. This would explain why some here DON'T mind paying a bit more for pellet heat. Ambiance, steady heat as opposed to on/ off/ rinse/lather/repeat of convention heating..
and if your strictly using oil or gas, what the heck are you doing here in this forum pickin on pellet users in the 1st place?
just kiddin.. no I'm not. yes I am..
I do think that no one scratches the're head when a person spends 20K on a brand new car and another buys same car but goes for all the comfy or kewl add ons and ends up paying 25k For the same car. This would explain why some here DON'T mind paying a bit more for pellet heat. Ambiance, steady heat as opposed to on/ off/ rinse/lather/repeat of convention heating..
and if your strictly using oil or gas, what the heck are you doing here in this forum pickin on pellet users in the 1st place?
just kiddin.. no I'm not. yes I am..
mass_burner
Minister of Fire
That's fine, but I confused this thread for a discussion on cost oil v. Pellets, of which I burn both. But it's apparently a "oellets , how do I love thee, let me count the ways" post.
So, good day sirs.
As the OP, thought the replies we're interesting although it's inevetable that after a few posts it goes off track..
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Most folks who burn oil are not hanging around here. They are dancing around with current oil prices.
When I burned pellets I would burn about 5 tons and parts of the house were cold. The room where the stove was was hot. Now that we have geothermal, heat and hot water for the winter months is about $1300 for a 2700sq/ft house and its 70F in most rooms.
When I burned pellets I would burn about 5 tons and parts of the house were cold. The room where the stove was was hot. Now that we have geothermal, heat and hot water for the winter months is about $1300 for a 2700sq/ft house and its 70F in most rooms.
I do sometimes put the fireplace show they have on Netflix on sometimes. If you stand close enough you can feel the warmth from the TV.
pellet stoves are best with an open floor plan.
have been in a few homes where every room is like a maze with a walkway here/walkway there.
Impossible for pellet heat to move around corners like that while the room the stove is in melts walls.....
in those cases I would deff have more of a central system like baseboard or forced air.
Babaganoosh
Minister of Fire
Dead on Tony and I'm one of those with an open floor plan, you can walk through my house and not feel a temp difference room to room.I have been heating with pellets for 13yrs. so I could not even begin to tell what it would cost me with oil vs pellets I just know the whole house feels warmer heated with pellets and if there is a premium to pay for that I'm willing to pay it.
![[Hearth.com] Heating Oil vrs Pellets.[whole story?]](/talk/data/attachments/174/174922-f03d5aa6a0722bfc44c8ad04c7388103.jpg?hash=B2A7JhG-jS)
reallyte
Feeling the Heat
I like sleeping at 58. Dining room adjacent to living room so its plenty warm. Shower water heats the bathroom. I have a simple 1100sf cape cod.
WE all burn wood/pellets for different reasons.. at different times. This year i am burning my pellets to get rid of them.. as they are not good enough to take up garage space. Last year I was burning them because I was saving money. Next year I assume I will be burning them because I like the heat.. not really sure why people have to twist arms to get them to admit they are wrong and the other is right. Oil is definitely less expensive than pellets now.. not so sure about wood (prices have varied depending on where you are). I have oil, pellets and wood. Definitely burning more oil this year, but still burning the other two for comfort and other reasons.
Yes there is more to using these stoves than just saving money in fuel... sometimes. Ambiance, radiant heat versus forced air, and nice warm stove room, steady heat as you say... these are all possible advantages besides the fuel cost. There are disadvantages too of course.
I might be the odd duck on this particular subject, for me it is simply about fuel cost. Some of these benefits you all have are quite different for me... my pellet stove makes my house a rollercoaster of temperatures - not even at all, and has no ambiance factor being a somewhat ugly plain black box. not to mention noisy. You can't even see the flames much more than a few hours after a cleaning. It's far less reliable than a furnace, and sometimes I even forget to top it off and come home to an empty stove. For me it is mainly about saving fuel cost, and the only reason I did it rather than wood was because I had long shifts at work and my woodstove couldn't burn long enough. Well now I've come to find that some modern woodstoves can burn as long as pellet stoves, and with propane (not all of us have oil) cheaper per btu than pellets, I may reconsider burning more of that or a wood stove for that side of the house, I'm still on the fence.
Everyone's house is different, so gallons per day is pretty meaningless when comparing different members. $/btu with a rough estimate of the efficiency of your appliance is probably the best calculation imo.
That's something everyone needs to take into consideration when buying any stand alone heat source. If the house design isn't favorable for air movement throughout the building then I don't care if it's pellet, wood or a space heater, you will not be happy except in the room the appliance is in. Now an appliance that is built into the heat duct system will make a big difference but not a stand alone stove.
mrjohneel
Feeling the Heat
My take on this is a little unusual. I heated with a pellet stove for a few years and stockpiled 3.5 tons of Barefoots in my garage. But at the end of 2014, I converted from oil to gas, taking advantage of the utility company rebates, etc. So from October 2014 on, I heated with gas. In October/November 2015 when I turned my heat on, I decided to burn pellets. Why? Because I still had that 3.5 tons piled in my garage and paid for. Rather than spending "new" money on fuel, I'm burning what I paid for two years ago. I think it makes sense -- for me.
I love the short-term memory by alot of oil burners. One cheap season and they forget not 5 years ago they shelled out 3.50-4.25 a gallon. I have Propain, because I worked with oil for 10yrs. I wrenched on 90 gallon/hr bypass burners. So I had access to 5-10 free gallons a day. Still chose Propain. Propain follows #2 on the price chart, but its less of a head-ache at 2 am. I also cannot afford to run my boiler at 72 degrees. For my open floor plan, single-story 1600 sqft, pellets keep me at 72 for one bag or less in a 24 hr period.
When I have to replace an auger, combustion blower or a set of gaskets, the overall cost will jump for a season. Id wager that will happen at 2am with 35mph winds at -20.
Oil heats best, is a decades old phrase. While its the most BTU per volume, the cost has offset its merits.
When I have to replace an auger, combustion blower or a set of gaskets, the overall cost will jump for a season. Id wager that will happen at 2am with 35mph winds at -20.
Oil heats best, is a decades old phrase. While its the most BTU per volume, the cost has offset its merits.
Not only what you say but for the future. While right now NG is cheap that isn't going to last. More people are now using it and more everyday hookup to it. While the electrical generating industry has been forced to change over to NG electrical generators the price will only increase. Also with the fracking business now slowing down in the U.S. so will NG production and up goes the price.
I agree with going with what is the most cost effective, but long term having the ability to change over, especially with a bio-mass burner is comforting to some extent to me.
Phoenix Hatchling
Minister of Fire
But then what...the rest of your house is 45 degrees? BTUs are BTUs. Take the heat out of your one 72 degree room and disperse it throughout your house. No longer that toasty is it?
reallyte
Feeling the Heat
I cant direct my oil furnace heat, single zone. Coldest room is bedroom at 58 being the master how I like it. All a matter of preference. I agree btu is btu and oil per btu is cheaper, but having the ability to direct the btu where it's truly needed or desired is another thing that factors into the comfort and cost.
Aside from what's already been said heating with pellets is my winter hobby, camping and fishing in the summer. I enjoy tinkering with the stove and the adventure of trying new pellets etc etc.
A forced air system that is hot cold hot cold isn't set up right! Check your anticipator settings on your thermostat, change your nozzle to a smaller GPM (if oil) if you have a 2 speed blower try setting it on low to run all the time..some will kick up to high if the furnace reaches a certain temp. You cannot compare pellet stove heat to wood stove heat...except for possibly a few models you do not get the radiant heat from a pellet stove...it just looks pretty and blows hot air.
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