Hello, First post on the forum.
Lets start with a little background. Our house is a 3200sqft raised rancher. Built in 1972. Drafty windows and not enough insulation in the attic. We've been heating it with a heat pump and a wood stove for the past 7 years. I burn 4-7 cords of wood a year depending on how much wood I have, quality of wood, weather, ect. The past tree or four years I've had my act together and had enough good seasoned wood to last me the winter and burnt about 5 cords each year. Our large Fisher wood stove is located in the basement of the house and about 2/3's to one side. Next to the stove is the heat pump blower and ducts. During the winter I close off all the returns to the blower and open a 16"x16" grate on the return located about 6' from the stove and up near the cieling. Most of the time, if I keep the stove fed, I can keep the upstairs living area of the house at about 75, the basement is a darn site hotter then that, but it's only storage/shop area.
I'm working on my second back surgery in two years and I'm 38 years old. I'm also getting lazier in my old age. On top of that, I don't have a stick of wood cut for the winter of 2011/2012, I do have enough for this winter, but I'm finding it hard to get excited about keeping that beast fed. the wife and I have decided on a pellet stove. I've already sold my splitter and my wood truck, so there's no turning back.
I guess my main questions are. About what size stove would compare to the heat output of my Fisher? Dose anyone make a large, ugly, dependable, petllet stove? Should I just buy the Harman P-68 I've been looking at and be happy?
Thanks for reading, Phil
Lets start with a little background. Our house is a 3200sqft raised rancher. Built in 1972. Drafty windows and not enough insulation in the attic. We've been heating it with a heat pump and a wood stove for the past 7 years. I burn 4-7 cords of wood a year depending on how much wood I have, quality of wood, weather, ect. The past tree or four years I've had my act together and had enough good seasoned wood to last me the winter and burnt about 5 cords each year. Our large Fisher wood stove is located in the basement of the house and about 2/3's to one side. Next to the stove is the heat pump blower and ducts. During the winter I close off all the returns to the blower and open a 16"x16" grate on the return located about 6' from the stove and up near the cieling. Most of the time, if I keep the stove fed, I can keep the upstairs living area of the house at about 75, the basement is a darn site hotter then that, but it's only storage/shop area.
I'm working on my second back surgery in two years and I'm 38 years old. I'm also getting lazier in my old age. On top of that, I don't have a stick of wood cut for the winter of 2011/2012, I do have enough for this winter, but I'm finding it hard to get excited about keeping that beast fed. the wife and I have decided on a pellet stove. I've already sold my splitter and my wood truck, so there's no turning back.
I guess my main questions are. About what size stove would compare to the heat output of my Fisher? Dose anyone make a large, ugly, dependable, petllet stove? Should I just buy the Harman P-68 I've been looking at and be happy?
Thanks for reading, Phil