Now after you've owned a pellet stove

[Wi Thundercat]

So far so good ! Cleaner than wood and more work than propane but at half the cost of LP for the winter and a much more comfortable house to boot, don't think i will be giving my pellet stove up anytime soon Couple of friends and a co-worker have now bought stoves after checking out my stove set up. Another co-worker is kicking around buying before to rebates end.

 

[Excell]

I will have it as long as I own this place .

 

[Nicholas440]

I like my Castile insert, but with my natural gas rates reduced to a very low rate i can heat the house for less money than I can using pellets. The pellets pay off when the temps outside are about 35 on up.. at those temps it keeps the house toasty. In the fall and spring my furnace doesnt have to run at all. Only when it dips down to about 25 or less. I havent been able to heat the entire house soley with pellets..

 

[Excell]

I needed to do some work on the floor beneath the stove today. I told my wife that it may need to be down for a day or two while I'm fixing the floor. Her response was.. "What are we going to do for heat??? Oh yeah, I forgot about the oil..." We've used almost none of the oil heat since we got this stove. No way would I ever be without one. Wife says "I love the pellet stove", so we'll always have one, even if it's just for the ambiance.

I would be interested in a geothermal system for heat though.

You had better burn that oil ,it actually does go bad .Then you have to pay to get rid of it .

 

[tinkabranc]

1) Will you ever be without one; if you move do you plan on buying a new one or taking your old one

I plan to burn pellets as long as I can afford it. I don't plan to move any time soon, but if I did I would
consider taking one with me and leave the other behind.
I have my favorite ;-)

2) Have you ever tried to talk a friend into buying one

Never tried to talk anyone into it, but have answered a bazillion questions and dispelled alot of assumptions like
smelling wood smoke in the house..lol

 

[tjnamtiw]

1) If I continued to live in the South, I would forgo buying pellet stoves because of the escalated, inflated pricing in the South. Instead I would invest the money in an upgraded geothermal heat pump system.
If I moved to the NE, I would invest in a coal fired Harman Insert or free standing stoker since coal is still available at reasonable prices and is much, much more reasonable per btu than pellets or anything else.

2) No I haven't tried to talk anyone else into buying pellet stoves for the very reasons I listed above. I know misery loves company but I wouldn't screw my friends like that!

 

[dragracer300]

I would not go without now i actually just bought a used pellet furnace also. I'm not sure if i'll put it in the house or shop? I used to burn wood but that is a ton of work to cut split stack and try to keep dry till you use it. I bought my pellet stove this year and after selling my saw's splitter and used wood burner i was able to install my pellet stove and buy enough pellets to last at least this winter. I also still have natural gas as a backup but have yet to use it this year. If my house had hot water heat i would put in a pellet boiler in a heart beat.

 

[bjr23]

No to both questions. I'll never be able to afford to leave the present home. Around here there's a surplus of used pellet stoves on the market, I think the novelty of the pellet stove has wore down and any kind of extra cleaning or the word of "maintenance" and a stove gets moved to the garage and winds up on craigslist. I like mine and don't mind the maintenance, but, I'm definitely the exception around my area. The people I know have had a then got rid of their stoves with the comments that "they just didn't need the mess and expense". bjr23

 

[fadippides]

Have Geothermal and we use the Pellet stove a lot. Ashes are good for winter driveways to boot.
Would get one in the next home.

 

[tjnamtiw]

Have Geothermal and we use the Pellet stove a lot. Ashes are good for winter driveways to boot.
Would get one in the next home.

I can't for the life of me understand why you would think a pellet stove is saving you money over a geothermal heat pump. You should be getting a COP of about 3 or 300% more efficient than direct electric heat strips. All the cost comparison charts show you should be much cheaper with geothermal unless you are paying a terrible price for electricity.

I also see you are in NE Pa, so you are within striking distance of the coal regions and could pick up all the coal you want in Tamaqua for less than $200 a ton and use a Harman coal stove. 70,000 + btu's!! and cheap to run plus the beautiful blue flame is something to behold in the evenings!

 

[AVIVIII]

I will always have some sort of wood-product-burning appliance; pellet/wood stove/furnace, I just love the heat.

 

[fadippides]

Have Geothermal and we use the Pellet stove a lot. Ashes are good for winter driveways to boot.
Would get one in the next home.

I can't for the life of me understand why you would think a pellet stove is saving you money over a geothermal heat pump. You should be getting a COP of about 3 or 300% more efficient than direct electric heat strips. All the cost comparison charts show you should be much cheaper with geothermal unless you are paying a terrible price for electricity.

I also see you are in NE Pa, so you are within striking distance of the coal regions and could pick up all the coal you want in Tamaqua for less than $200 a ton and use a Harman coal stove. 70,000 + btu's!! and cheap to run plus the beautiful blue flame is something to behold in the evenings!

Its a deeper open loop system and while still better than oil and propane takes a good amount of electric to pump. The Pellet doesnt save a ton, maybe $200 a season, but it can be run off a generator where the geothermal + well cant.

 

[tjnamtiw]

Its a deeper open loop system and while still better than oil and propane takes a good amount of electric to pump. The Pellet doesnt save a ton, maybe $200 a season, but it can be run off a generator where the geothermal + well cant.

yea, open loop leaves you at a disadvantage. (

 

[fadippides]

Disadvantage yes, but compared to Oil and LP so much better. While it doesnt save a ton of money the stove makes it more comfortable and I dont mind the heat kicking on at night so much.

 

[tjnamtiw]

Disadvantage yes, but compared to Oil and LP so much better. While it doesnt save a ton of money the stove makes it more comfortable and I dont mind the heat kicking on at night so much.

No doubt about that! Can you convert to a closed loop system, which would certainly improve things? Before buying the pellet stove, were you aware of the coal fed versions?

 

[Rooscooter]

I have had several pellet stoves in the past and currently own 2. I will probably always have one unless I move to Hawaii!

I own an architectural practice specializing in Healthcare Buildings, however on occasion I get the opportunity to design homes/cabins on some of the lakes in our area (I live in Spokane, WA). Over the years I have specified many different types of stoves (both wood and pellet) depending on the design of the home. I usually tend to specify the European wood stoves (Rais) and recently Enviro, Ekoteck and Bosca pellet stoves.

We are in the early design stages of a retirement community to be built in Montana that will most likely have a ducted pellet stove in each independent unit (85 units).

 

[slls]

Have Geothermal and we use the Pellet stove a lot. Ashes are good for winter driveways to boot.
Would get one in the next home.

I can't for the life of me understand why you would think a pellet stove is saving you money over a geothermal heat pump. You should be getting a COP of about 3 or 300% more efficient than direct electric heat strips. All the cost comparison charts show you should be much cheaper with geothermal unless you are paying a terrible price for electricity.

I also see you are in NE Pa, so you are within striking distance of the coal regions and could pick up all the coal you want in Tamaqua for less than $200 a ton and use a Harman coal stove. 70,000 + btu's!! and cheap to run plus the beautiful blue flame is something to behold in the evenings!

Then all you have to do is figure out what to do with all the toxic ash.

 

[tjnamtiw]

Then all you have to do is figure out what to do with all the toxic ash.

Thank you, Al Gore. Somehow, the amount of ash you are going to generate burning maybe 3 tons a year is a pebble of sand on the beach compared to the amount of ash gernerated every day by China as they struggle to keep up supplying us with Chinese-made crap using coal-generated electricity. We can be GREEN as hell but it is a total waste of time with China and India ignoring the problem.

 

[AVIVIII]

The same thing can be said for the 100s of 40lb plastic bags that we will all go through every year.

 

[G00k]

I wondered, but couldn't tell from the models in your signatures, whether there are more stand-alone stoves or inserts responding with such loyalty and affection. I have a Castille insert, and if I moved somewhere built new, I would certainly not bring it. I'd want the most quiet, efficient stove possible. (But I don't know which that would be.)

 

[fadippides]

I didnt really know of a zero clearance coal stove until after using the pellet stove for a while. I dont think I would want to deal with the coal stove in the living room though, but if I finish the basement I may look into one for there The Pellet stove replaced a ventless LP log insert which was never hooked up due to the many concerns with ventless operation. As to converting to a closed loop, not a chance. The two wells are 400 feet deep and only one would be able to be used for a closed loop and at a conservative estimate of 200ft per ton I would still need an additional 400 ft.
House is ~2700sqft and decently insulated. The worst heat bills are ~300 for the very cold weather at about 13c kwh, avereage heat bill might be 200-225. If I burn full time I am pretty sure I keep it slightly under a ton per month (and my well runs a lot less extending the life).

 

[tjnamtiw]

I didnt really know of a zero clearance coal stove until after using the pellet stove for a while. I dont think I would want to deal with the coal stove in the living room though, but if I finish the basement I may look into one for there The Pellet stove replaced a ventless LP log insert which was never hooked up due to the many concerns with ventless operation. As to converting to a closed loop, not a chance. The two wells are 400 feet deep and only one would be able to be used for a closed loop and at a conservative estimate of 200ft per ton I would still need an additional 400 ft.
House is ~2700sqft and decently insulated. The worst heat bills are ~300 for the very cold weather at about 13c kwh, avereage heat bill might be 200-225. If I burn full time I am pretty sure I keep it slightly under a ton per month (and my well runs a lot less extending the life).

Your electric rate is the same as mine. Drilling another 400 ft well WOULD be expensive! I think around here they usually use bored wells so they can get more loops in there. Not sure though. They either trench or they use a new machine that drills down and then horizontally and back up in various directions. Then they feed the pipes back through the holes. I can't imagine what they charge for that!

I had a Franco Belge coal stove in my family room in Reading, Pa years back and it was no problem keeping it clean and dealing with the little ash was simple. Certainly no more than the dust from the pellets and from cleaning the stove even with the exhaust running.

 

[magsf11]

1. I would take my stove with me, Never had the buliding inspector see mine. Installed it myself using specs from manf, then pluse some. Planed on getting one when I remodled the livingroom. The only thing is I dont have hard wire smoke detors and that would kill me if i ever sold the house.
2. yes talking my freind into a insert for their new home, they love ours and the warmth.

 

[countk]

I probably won't be moving so that's a moot point. The way I see it as long as Grandpa can get that 40lb. bag up from the basement I'm all set. Come to think of it, didn't someone come out with a 25lb. bag. Looks like I could burn pellets even longer!

 

[countk]

I wondered, but couldn't tell from the models in your signatures, whether there are more stand-alone stoves or inserts responding with such loyalty and affection. I have a Castille insert, and if I moved somewhere built new, I would certainly not bring it. I'd want the most quiet, efficient stove possible. (But I don't know which that would be.)

My enviro empress FS is a very quiet stove and I would say certainly efficient for it's size. There are many stoves that will put out more heat and BTU's, it depends on the size of the area you would need to heat!