Pellet Stoves???

POOLMANinCT

hi guys,

I've been considering having a pellet stove for heating the house installed. I have an 1800sq ft "L" shaped ranch. & finished basement. obviously I'm going to give the local outfit a call & have a pro install, but I'm curious as to what the hvac boys pro&cons.

ty ray

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MechanicalDVR

Limiting yourself on what you can burn and how much you pay for the fuel is the biggest drawback. Why not a woodstove and choose the fuel of the week if you like.

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POOLMANinCT

well I don't know. I just
ass-umed it would go into the fireplace. I'm not looking to do away my oil system.... but to save a few bucks (granted investment won't be realized overnight.)
ty dvr

ray

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......Less with the jaw & More with the paw.....

daArch

Mechanical,

Are there multi purpose stoves? My primary heat has been from a burning wood for about twenty-eight years and my radar hasn't picked up a stove that is multi use - although I remember one that with a modification to the fire box could burn wood or coal.

I always thought that wood and pellets were such a different burn that one stove could not burn both.

Educate me, please.

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Wallcovering Installations by Bill Archibald|paperhanger|Eastern Mass|Greater Boston Area|Dover|Wellesley|Franklin|Sharon|MA

daArch

POOLMANinCT,

You want one that tucks into your FP, or one that will be vented into the flue?

A wood stove DOES save you money, but there are drawbacks - as to everything.

You got to store the wood (dry) - and keep it away from the house, many wood men deliver ants, BTDT, you gotta keep lugging wood into the house and ash out. Wood stoves are very MESSY - wood splinters, chips, spiders, sawdust, ash, etc. Stoves have to be installed according to local codes. This is one advantage a pellet stove has over wood, most do not require the clearance as a wood stove.

My experience with wood guys are they are the MOST unreliable people I have every dealt with. I have finally found a good one - but his prices are going up, up, up. I get green, cut, and unsplit for $150 a cord (4x4x8). I split (for exercise) and let season for a year.

My chimney is cleaned three times a year - I do it myself. Our stove (Vermont Castings, Encore) will not burn through the night - I get up after five hours and re-stoke.

After 17 years, I just bought a new one - the old one was COOKED. New one cost $2000.

It's become a life style that I would not give up. I enjoy it, but I am not normal. The area around the stove is always warm. Kettle on top adds moisture to air. Warmth of stove is great place to dry wet clothes. I like looking at the fire.

Will you save some $$$$. Yes. But with all the work involved, you could easily make up the difference by working at your job a couple more hours a month. I would not advise a wood stove for the great savings a working family will realize, but for the ambiance it imparts. If you were unemployed and living in a shack in the woods, then by all means, a wood stove is for you.

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Wallcovering Installations by Bill Archibald|paperhanger|Eastern Mass|Greater Boston Area|Dover|Wellesley|Franklin|Sharon|MA

MechanicalDVR

You would have to ask a guy in the business but I have seen stoves that will burn, wood, coal, and pellets (with an adapter). I would want the ability to burn the cheapest fuel as long as it is gonna creosote up the chimney too fast.

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POOLMANinCT

well I have no interest in lugging logs. initially attracted to pellets bc oil has become $$$$$ & my home is an not insulated built in 1954. no way in hell do I want to get up to stoke a fire. i ve heard about automatic pellet hoppers & thermostats on the pellet units.
I must admit I'm rather ignorant about these units & just fig it might work in a ranch style house.

as far as placing/venting the unit, I just assume they "pipe" them up the chimney.
any & all feedback much appreciated dvr!!!!!!!!

ray

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......Less with the jaw & More with the paw.....

KillerToiletSpider

I heat half my house with a high efficiency corn burner, it uses corncobs for fuel, it will go about 12 hours on two dozen corncobs.

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A flush is better than a full house.

daArch

Killer,

Nice sounding system. I've heard about corncobs. Was tempted to go that way. But I always figured living in the NE, they may not be as available as in other places. I'm sure Illinois has a few extra laying around.

Ray,

Have you investigated insulating ?

Yes they do pipe them into the chimney, but it's not just simply sticking the pipe up into it. For a good draft, you need to seal the chimney around the stove pipe. And the chimney flue needs to be dedicated to only the stove - no furnace or gas water heater using it also (at least here in Mass). The flue size of the chimney also needs to match the stove pipe size for proper draft. Is your chimney lined? That's always a good thing for safety. It may even be required.

I know, there is a lot of stuff to know. Hey, even after 28 years of dedicated stove use, I'm still learning. If I were you, I would spend about a week researching on the net, and then go talk to a number of stove stores. And don't worry, they will try to blow smoke up your butt flue (pun intended), but they do know what they are talking about for the most part.

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Wallcovering Installations by Bill Archibald|paperhanger|Eastern Mass|Greater Boston Area|Dover|Wellesley|Franklin|Sharon|MA

KentWhitten

We have a wood/oil/coal burner for our house. It uses almost always wood, never coal though. If I get the right terminology, it has an injector inside? for the oil.

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RCPainting

DeArch is right about the hassle of wood, I switched from a wood to pellet about two years ago and love it! It can burn all night without stoking. Most have a glass front that you can see the flame. The big difference is having a catalytic converter (less emissions), adjustable blower (greater control) and air intake (most have a seperate pipe that goes outside to draw in air). You can vent both pipes thru a side wall also. You can also get a battery backup so your stove still works if power goes out. I do miss going out in the hills to collect wood (a little). If you like collecting, splitting and the smell of wood burning, may not be right for you.

KillerToiletSpider

I love the thing, I bought it used from the farmer up the road from me that was using it to heat his chicken coop, he decided he needed something larger. He sells me cobs for twenty bucks a ton, delivered.

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A flush is better than a full house.

Chris Johnson

I had a pellet stove (Freestanding) when I lived in Ontario and swore by the thing, I used one bag of pellets over two days, back then a bag cost me $ 3.50 CDN (Cheap). This was my primary source for heat and it worked. I will say watch which pellets you buy, some burn faster and dirtier then others requiring a bit more cleaning of the stove.

If I needed another one again, it would be a pellet stove, one skid of pellets will last you most of the winter and as opposed to logs a lot less space needed for storage.

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Chris

daArch

OUCH!!!

Just shoot me, huh?

Sweeeet ! one ton must last a few days

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Wallcovering Installations by Bill Archibald|paperhanger|Eastern Mass|Greater Boston Area|Dover|Wellesley|Franklin|Sharon|MA

stampcrete

I bought a corn/pellet stove last year. It will burn cleaned corn (off the cob) or wood pellets or mixed. I will probably burn mostly pellets this year as the price of corn has jumped since the ethanol companies have been buying up all the corn. At least the farmers are making some $$. You should see how some of the diehards heat there homes with corn. check out I burn corn.com - Kirk

siberian

Well, for what its worth. I live in N.E Ohio. Baught a corn/pellet stove this year. Do I like it , yes. But there are drawbacks. First off , make sure you get a decent stove. I baught a StCroix furnace model that hooks right into the existing ductwork. Went threw pellets left and right last month. then it died on me. Called the folks that sold it to me and over the phone we figured out it was the blower. One nut wasnt on andvacum setting was messed up.He came over the next day (46 miles away) replaced the motr, did some fine tuning. Its burning like a champ. I think its worth the money to have a instaler hook it up, buy off a reputable place ( we could have baught cheeper off a box store). It is the cheapest heat we have had. Now, I am not addind time to get pellets or cor, loading time, or cleaning time. But if you have 5 minutes (no more , usualy a day) it may be worth looking into.

oldfrt

I like the wood.But it's almost gotta be free to make it worth all the hassle as deArch has said.
Got lucky this year,as some friends are clearing a huge lot and we go in and take the log lengths.
I could make more $ working than spending time with all the hauling and splitting,but I like the fact the oil companies aren't getting my money,and business slows this time of year.
My house is 2500sq/ft and it takes care of 60% of the heating needs.I still go through 2 tanks of oil(about 700gal.)but the current price of close to $3.00/gal makes it all worth it.

Brockster

I bought a Harmon fireplace insert pellet stove last year. It looks great and heats the house very well. I had all 220v baseboard heat and my electric bills were outrageous and now go through a bag and a half per 24hrs and the house is always nice and toasty.
I also have a pellet/corn stove in my shop that is well insulated. I can fire up the stove and in less than an hour it'll go from 35 to 65 degrees. I can fill up the hopper once a week and never have to worry about inside the shop freezing.

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POOLMANinCT

well i went with the pellet stove, i dont expect to realize the savings soon. i fig im spending it no matter what, so at least ill have the "hardware to show" for the dough. my fiance has moved in & is "humanizing me" so i plan to keep house warm this. as before i was only warming up for guests etc.
the installer is coming in the morning. i went with a remote control tstat, & an enamel finish. soup to nuts & pallet of fuel ill be out about 4300. my brother paid 3.62 gal oil last week & pop payed 3.81 today.

ray

__________________
......Less with the jaw & More with the paw.....

Chris Johnson

Within 2 heating seasons you should be ahead of the game

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Chris