It's Official - Changes from Wood to Pellets

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CT-Mike

CT-Mike

Minister of Fire
Mar 22, 2008
503
New England
I posted earlier about replacing the Lopi Freedom with a Mt Vernon AE pellet insert since the wife is sick and tired of the mess associated with burning wood.

So I sold the Timberwolf and 038AV Super about 15 minutes after putting it up on craigslist. I paid $3100 for the combo (not including sales tax), and sold the pair for $2750. I am not complaining since I literally paid $350 to rent the pair for 3 years.

Anyhow, I will have about 2 cords of 2 year seasoned hardwood to sell after this burning season is finished, and probably 4-5 cords of 20" unsplit rounds as well.

If anyone is local to the Southeastern CT area and is interested in this wood let me know. I will also be listing the Freedom for sale as well, this is the end of its' 5th heating season.
 
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For what it's worth , I talked to a guy who had a wood stove and now burns pellets , he said it's a lot dustier then burning wood...
 
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charly said:
For what it's worth , I talked to a guy who had a wood stove and now burns pellets , he said it's a lot dustier then burning wood...
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Probably a matter of personal habits. I think if you tried, you could keep a lot of the dust down by never opening bags in the house, filling the hopper slowly, etc.

But I do agree that pellets=some dust. I think of most of it as good dust.....although to a clean freak, nothing meets that test!
 
I have both stoves on two floors of our home and we keep both areas very clean. its a matter of how clean you choose to keep the place. I keep the wood stove hearth impeccably clean. Its more of a labor intensive thing. Just saying.
 
Besides the cleanliness factor, there is the matter of the labor involved with burning wood. I work 12 hour rotating shifts, and it is much easier for the wife to load a bag of pellets than it is for her to haul firewood.
 
CT-Mike said:
Besides the cleanliness factor, there is the matter of the labor involved with burning wood. I work 12 hour rotating shifts, and it is much easier for the wife to load a bag of pellets than it is for her to haul firewood.
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I hear ya! Just was told that pellets were dusty, that you mentioned a mess... Never burned them so I have no idea... Yes I take a dust pan to my hearth by the Fireview loading door and keep that swept up before it becomes and eye sore of a mess... all in how clean you want your stove area to be... It's nice to have a happy wife ;)
 
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CT-Mike said:
I posted earlier about replacing the Lopi Freedom with a Mt Vernon AE pellet insert since the wife is sick and tired of the mess associated with burning wood.

So I sold the Timberwolf and 038AV Super about 15 minutes after putting it up on craigslist. I paid $3100 for the combo (not including sales tax), and sold the pair for $2750. I am not complaining since I literally paid $350 to rent the pair for 3 years.

Anyhow, I will have about 2 cords of 2 year seasoned hardwood to sell after this burning season is finished, and probably 4-5 cords of 20" unsplit rounds as well.

If anyone is local to the Southeastern CT area and is interested in this wood let me know. I will also be listing the Freedom for sale as well, this is the end of its' 5th heating season.
Click to expand...


I'm down on the shoreline, how much you asking for the wood?
 
CT-Mike said:
I posted earlier about replacing the Lopi Freedom with a Mt Vernon AE pellet insert since the wife is sick and tired of the mess associated with burning wood.

So I sold the Timberwolf and 038AV Super about 15 minutes after putting it up on craigslist. I paid $3100 for the combo (not including sales tax), and sold the pair for $2750. I am not complaining since I literally paid $350 to rent the pair for 3 years.

Anyhow, I will have about 2 cords of 2 year seasoned hardwood to sell after this burning season is finished, and probably 4-5 cords of 20" unsplit rounds as well.

If anyone is local to the Southeastern CT area and is interested in this wood let me know. I will also be listing the Freedom for sale as well, this is the end of its' 5th heating season.
Click to expand...

Mike I completely understand the reasoning and congrats on the switch going well ! We have been considering a pellet stove for the 13 hours a days we are gone too but it never happens. I love the woods and wood to much lol.

Pete
 
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I live in east Hampton ct and may be interested in the wood. But I just have an f150 truck, so I'm not sure how much I could fit in one trip.
 
Mike, glad you got such a good return on your saw and your Lopi. I hope you still come on the woodshed forums and hang out, we'll miss your posts there.

I debated the pellet stove idea for a while before deciding to go with wood......the biggest two factors for me staying with wood are (a) I do tree removal and get my wood for free, so to speak, and (b)I wanted to be able to heat my home during a power outage in the winter. Something that, unless you have a battery back-up or a generator, you cannot do with a pellet stove. So if I were you, I'd be investing in a genny for that reason alone....

I personally know lots of people that heat with pellets and they love their stoves. It's all in what a person wants to do. Keep us posted on your install, and a report on how you like your pellet stove.

As for the "missus" not liking the stove for the dirty factor, you know what they say......if mum ain't happy, ain't NOBODY happy!
 
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Ansky said:
I live in east Hampton ct and may be interested in the wood. But I just have an f150 truck, so I'm not sure how much I could fit in one trip.
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You can get approximately 1/2 cord without overloading your truck too badly. You can rent a cargo trailer from U-Haul that will fit a cord + per trip.
 
Scotty Overkill said:
Mike, glad you got such a good return on your saw and your Lopi. I hope you still come on the woodshed forums and hang out, we'll miss your posts there.

I debated the pellet stove idea for a while before deciding to go with wood......the biggest two factors for me staying with wood are (a) I do tree removal and get my wood for free, so to speak, and (b)I wanted to be able to heat my home during a power outage in the winter. Something that, unless you have a battery back-up or a generator, you cannot do with a pellet stove. So if I were you, I'd be investing in a genny for that reason alone....

I personally know lots of people that heat with pellets and they love their stoves. It's all in what a person wants to do. Keep us posted on your install, and a report on how you like your pellet stove.

As for the "missus" not liking the stove for the dirty factor, you know what they say......if mum ain't happy, ain't NOBODY happy!
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Scotty,

It was actually the splitter and the 038AV Super that I sold. Still have the Freedom but will be listing it for sale at the end of the heating season. I already have a generator, but will be getting one of the Honda inverter generators to run both pellet stoves. We have a pellet stove in the bonus room over the garage and love it.
 
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If you don't depend on it for a main heat source, then a pellet stove might be a good move for you, considering you work long hours.
For me it was hard to use as a main heat source. It's worthless in power outages, unable to produce high BTU output and probably above all, I can never produce my own fuel. I didn't like being tied to a man made product like pellets. But, I never thought the stove created a dusty environment. Not nearly as much as wood stove anyway. I hope it works out for you.
 
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Best of luck and success with the Mt Vernon. It's a beautiful stove that has a lot of modern tech behind it. Hope it works out well for you and your wife.
 
I run both wood and pellet, if one had to go it would be the pellet. Sure you can run you pellet stoves on a genny if the power goes out (mine requires the best inverter type<>). I know in eastern Ontario and Quebec where the big ice storm knocked everyones power out for weeks, getting gas was a real issue. As far as mess goes I would have to say the pellet is a little more house friendly...the worst part is the accumulation of those damned bags!
 
I bet next year when you have single digit temperatures and pellets one day reach $300 a ton you will regret your decision
 
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lopiliberty said:
I bet next year when you have single digit temperatures and pellets one day reach $300 a ton you will regret your decision
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Actually I won't. I am currently sitting on 10 tons, and will be getting another 10 tons this Spring. That will keep me going for 3-4 years.
 
Sitting on 20 tons of pellets, you must have a very high seat. :)
 
I am going the opposite way, I gave my pellet stove to my mother about 3 years ago, it was the big Englander one, it just never seemed to warm the house up in winter but it works wonders at my moms little ranch, I have been cutting and stacking wood for last 2.5 years and will have the stove installed by the fall, got 3 cords of 3 year old hardwood waiting and have the following 2 years of wood in process

plus I have natural gas so its just as cheap to turn on the furnace compared to the price of pellets
 
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CT-Mike said:
Actually I won't. I am currently sitting on 10 tons, and will be getting another 10 tons this Spring. That will keep me going for 3-4 years.
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Never though I guess its like wood. Best to have a 5 to 10 year supply
 
I've lived with three pellet stoves and one wood stove and, as with most things, it's a tradeoff. The wood stove takes more attention in loading, managing air supply, and more effort to load more often. The pellet stove can be loaded in small batches (whatever you can lift), but all three of mine were much dirtier to operate than the wood stove. It's not the dust from the pellets, it's the soot when you open the stove to brush it out every day or two. Unless you build some sort of vacuum tent around the stove, very fine soot will drift around the room. YMMV...
 
CT-Mike said:
Actually I won't. I am currently sitting on 10 tons, and will be getting another 10 tons this Spring. That will keep me going for 3-4 years.
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your not worried the pellets will absorb moisture over that time frame?
 
tekguy said:
your not worried the pellets will absorb moisture over that time frame?
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I agree. I lived in SW Colorado (high desert) which was very dry. I kept the pellets in the attached garage and had to be very careful not to let any moisture near them (melting snow from the cars, for example). Once wet, pellets revert to sawdust and are useless in a pellet stove.
 
begreen said:
Sitting on 20 tons of pellets, you must have a very high seat. :)
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Yes, but he has none of the splinter issues associated with sitting on stacks of wood. ==c
 
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