pellet newbie lurking around

[Mike D]

Are planning to add any insulation to that house? That sounds to me like it might be close to the top of the list of things to do before winter.

 

[newbieinCT]

Also... Nice pup dogs!

Thanks, stayfitz! They are catahoulas. If I can't figure out the stove situation, at least I know I can lay with the boys. Furry furnaces

 

[newbieinCT]

Are planning to add any insulation to that house? That sounds to me like it might be close to the top of the list of things to do before winter.

Yes! Insulation is a must - there is not much here. We brought in someone for an estimate to get an idea of what we would have to pay. He told us about the Home Energy Solutions program offered here in CT. It will help us get rebates on insulation. We'll take any help we can get - new homeownership is expensive! They come tomorrow to do an assessment and then we can get in touch with the insulation guys. We can't actually schedule anything until then if we want the rebates. Thanks for the advice - I didn't realize how little insulation we had or the importance of it until we got in the house!

 

[briansol]

http://www.ctenergyinfo.com/
and make sure you shop for a cheaper provider.
(broken link removed to http://www.energizect.com/compare-energy-suppliers/compare-supplier-options)

 

[stayfitz]

Thanks, stayfitz! They are catahoulas. If I can't figure out the stove situation, at least I know I can lay with the boys. Furry furnaces

I wasn't familiar with the breed, I just did a little research. Do your boys have unusual eye color? Sorry for off topic question(s)

 

[newbieinCT]

http://www.ctenergyinfo.com/
and make sure you shop for a cheaper provider.
(broken link removed to http://www.energizect.com/compare-energy-suppliers/compare-supplier-options)

thanks for the info! I just had a company out here today for the assessment. Very thorough and they gave me a big energizect booklet that explained each rebate, was signed by them (an approved contractor) and I'll be getting a report in the mail soon. They gave us info on changing providers also - I never realized you could do that. Very helpful info. Thank you so much!

 

[newbieinCT]

I wasn't familiar with the breed, I just did a little research. Do your boys have unusual eye color? Sorry for off topic question(s)

I wasn't familiar with the breed either - we thought we rescued an aussie/lab mix. The vet pointed out that he was probably a catahoula. Up until a few years ago, they were uncommon up north, since they are a southern breed. All the transports that are popping up to bring rescue dogs up from kill shelters in the south have made the catahoulas much more popular up here these days. The crazy coats (and eyes) are what draw so many to them but they are a lot of dog to handle. We rescued the second one a year ago. He's the reason I'm going gray. They are smart. Too smart for their own good most of the time...and they need exercise. Lots and lots of exercise! One of my boys has the "cracked glass" eyes, which are two colors in each eye. The little guy has brown eyes and is most likely mixed with something else. He's much smaller and less houla-like. Here's a picture my sister took of Egon's eyes....one of the only ones we have. He doesn't stay still for long.

Sorry for the offtopic everyone - I love these dogs

 

[stayfitz]

I wasn't familiar with the breed either - we thought we rescued an aussie/lab mix. The vet pointed out that he was probably a catahoula. Up until a few years ago, they were uncommon up north, since they are a southern breed. All the transports that are popping up to bring rescue dogs up from kill shelters in the south have made the catahoulas much more popular up here these days. The crazy coats (and eyes) are what draw so many to them but they are a lot of dog to handle. We rescued the second one a year ago. He's the reason I'm going gray. They are smart. Too smart for their own good most of the time...and they need exercise. Lots and lots of exercise! One of my boys has the "cracked glass" eyes, which are two colors in each eye. The little guy has brown eyes and is most likely mixed with something else. He's much smaller and less houla-like. Here's a picture my sister took of Egon's eyes....one of the only ones we have. He doesn't stay still for long.

Sorry for the offtopic everyone - I love these dogs
View attachment 113521

Beautiful... I've never seen an eye color pattern like that! Makes me very happy to hear about animal rescue! Thank You!

 

[ChandlerR]

I know it's a pellet stove forum, but here's the wood stove (currently being used to hold our supplies while we fix up the house) and the pipe for the wood stove (one chimney guy said $2300 to replace, the other said it is an internal pipe, not external and needs to come down, online people say it is probably okay). I want to have someone else look at it. btw: it's held up by wire and a broken bracket. Another fun thing to fix


View attachment 113318 View attachment 113319View attachment 113320

NewbieinCT, just want to chime in and welcome you to the forum too! What makes this such a nice forum is you won't get bashed for speaking your mind...unless it's about beer. Everyone is helpful and we have some really talented and smart people here who will provide you with lot's of ideas and info.

That said, I was thinking about your situation if you decide to move the wood stove to the fireplace. I live in a 200 year old house that had a wood stove in the chimney and I found that the chimney was not lined. A huge no-no. I was a call firefighter in my past life and I saw what happened in a chimney fire with an unlined flue. If it's lined, you're probably good to go, although I would have it looked at.

I like the idea of a pellet stove in the family room, where you'll probably spend most of the time, and maybe you could move the little Cozy into the living room where it would keep your bedrooms warm. We have quite a few folks here that heat with two. If you're going to spend over $2000 for a chimney, maybe invest that in another pellet stove?

Chan

 

[ChandlerR]

Oh, forgot to say that I love the dogs too! Never heard of them...Good for you to Rescue them!

Chan

 

[newbieinCT]

Beautiful... I've never seen an eye color pattern like that! Makes me very happy to hear about animal rescue! Thank You!

The eyes are pretty cool - he's such a mush. You wouldn't know it by his crazy face though Glad to see some dog owners on here - I know my boys love the cold but they love warming their bones by a fire even more. Can't wait for this NE winter to get here (as long as it arrives AFTER we have the stove and insulation)!

 

[newbieinCT]

NewbieinCT, just want to chime in and welcome you to the forum too! What makes this such a nice forum is you won't get bashed for speaking your mind...unless it's about beer. Everyone is helpful and we have some really talented and smart people here who will provide you with lot's of ideas and info.

That said, I was thinking about your situation if you decide to move the wood stove to the fireplace. I live in a 200 year old house that had a wood stove in the chimney and I found that the chimney was not lined. A huge no-no. I was a call firefighter in my past life and I saw what happened in a chimney fire with an unlined flue. If it's lined, you're probably good to go, although I would have it looked at.

I like the idea of a pellet stove in the family room, where you'll probably spend most of the time, and maybe you could move the little Cozy into the living room where it would keep your bedrooms warm. We have quite a few folks here that heat with two. If you're going to spend over $2000 for a chimney, maybe invest that in another pellet stove?

Chan

Thanks for the welcome - nice to "meet" you. Everyone on the forum has been great and super helpful so far - I can't believe it took me this long to find it. As for beer, I like to try new ones, so I"ll be on the lookout for suggestions

Also, thanks for the heads up on the liner. Until we moved, I didn't know that stove chimneys needed to be lined. The pellet stove chimney is lined, fortunately. According to the inspection, it just needs a good cleaning. It's the furnace chimney that is not lined and OLD. We are having someone come install that next week (I hope). Thanks for the advice - it's nice to hear we are doing the right thing. It's a big learning curve in the wood/pellet stove world!

I like the idea of the pellet in the family room too - but someone mentioned that the pellet stoves are noisier. Hmm...decisions decsions...

 

[ChandlerR]

I like the idea of the pellet in the family room too - but someone mentioned that the pellet stoves are noisier. Hmm...decisions decisions...

Pellet stoves are a bit noisy... That said, they are no more noisy that the AC I run in the summer. You'll be able to tell how noisy yours is when you fire it up. Some are noisier than others. Mine is quiet until the room fan fires up on high. Still, we get used to it in a matter of minutes. I will put up with a bit of noise when it saves me thousands of dollars a year

 

[newbieinCT]

I like the idea of the pellet in the family room too - but someone mentioned that the pellet stoves are noisier. Hmm...decisions decisions...

Pellet stoves are a bit noisy... That said, they are no more noisy that the AC I run in the summer. You'll be able to tell how noisy yours is when you fire it up. Some are noisier than others. Mine is quiet until the room fan fires up on high. Still, we get used to it in a matter of minutes. I will put up with a bit of noise when it saves me thousands of dollars a year

Hmm...no more noisy than the AC. That's a good point...we don't have AC (another problem to solve over the winter) but I can remember the hum. It's not too bad. Thanks - I'll turn the TV up louder if it will save me some $$ too

 

[briansol]

after a while you don't even notice it. its like having the fridge run.