I have NG looking for second heat source pellet,wood or NG

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jigger47

jigger47

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Feb 3, 2014
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Thinking about jumping into the pellet group. I have a 1100 (2200 with finshed basement) sq ft house. NG furnace as main heat source and older wood stove (Elmira brand). Looking at pellet for a number of reasons. Wood stove requires more clearance which will eat up floor space in new family room. Safety of pellet stove as the stoves do not seem to get as hot. We have young kids and fear them touching the wood stove. I would still make some type of gate around the pellet for safety. I've read that you will not be any further ahead if you have NG by buying a pellet. But my basement (insulated and finished ) doesn't get as warm as the main level. My plan would be to run the stove periodically to take the chill out of the basement. Or since I have NG should I just look at getting a NG fireplace instead. I was thinking of getting a blaze king and sticking with wood. In the event of a power outage but I've decided that I would just fire up the generator and plug the stove in. So that argument is taken care of. To many choices out there. I've read a lot if the posts in this forum and still not sure which way to go. On a side note anyone own or seen a jamestown pellet stove. I'm also looking at a harman p43
 
I can only say what I would do. I would pump more BTU's into the basement with my furnace you could have a few dampers that would allow you to regulate the temp there. Pellet stoves are not very good in a power outage you have to have a generator running continuously to power them. Most pellet stoves also say they need run on a inverter generator or something with a pure sine wave. I think its hogwash Ive run mine on a standard generator never had any problems but something to think about. I would look into the NG fireplace a bit more its a source for when the power goes out. Unless of course you like one better then the other really cant go to wrong with any of them.
 
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Pellet stoves also get hot especially the front glass.

On the other hand usually a kid will only make that mistake once and usually some ointment will take care of the issue. Of course there is always a life altering outlier so you have to judge.

Central heating is a recent invention. Somehow we survived thousands of years of raising kids around campfires!
 
jigger47 said:
Thinking about jumping into the pellet group. I have a 1100 (2200 with finshed basement) sq ft house. NG furnace as main heat source and older wood stove (Elmira brand). Looking at pellet for a number of reasons. Wood stove requires more clearance which will eat up floor space in new family room. Safety of pellet stove as the stoves do not seem to get as hot. We have young kids and fear them touching the wood stove. I would still make some type of gate around the pellet for safety. I've read that you will not be any further ahead if you have NG by buying a pellet. But my basement (insulated and finished ) doesn't get as warm as the main level. My plan would be to run the stove periodically to take the chill out of the basement. Or since I have NG should I just look at getting a NG fireplace instead. I was thinking of getting a blaze king and sticking with wood. In the event of a power outage but I've decided that I would just fire up the generator and plug the stove in. So that argument is taken care of. To many choices out there. I've read a lot if the posts in this forum and still not sure which way to go. On a side note anyone own or seen a jamestown pellet stove. I'm also looking at a harman p43
Click to expand...
They have some great and efficient NG inserts and also free standing stoves these days. If I had NG coming into my house I would investigate that route. Much cleaner burning way less maintenance than poet stoves. No 40 lb bags to store or carry. No brainer so to speak.
 
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If I had your situation I would get a 2000 watt trifuel generator, install a gas connection for it, and put a plug on the gas furnace to run it. As to heat in the basement I'd go with a vented gas stove.
 
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Nothing the matter with a nice gas stove. No power needed. DSCN0037.JPG
 
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I would go with a wood stove. During sandy gas supply was cut off too in some places. I would rather have a stack of wood in my backyard rather than rely on somebody else to supply the fuel to heat my house.

People with whole house ng generators thought they would be fine, but they were screwed when the supply was cut off and they had no backup plans.
 
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Jigger, read the book, "The Frackers" by Gregory Zuckerman. There is more NG in this country than I can comprehend. Supplement with a genny and u can handle anything. If I could NG I would switch I in a NY minute.
 
Thanks for the replies. Going to some local dealers and chat in Friday. Leaning towards BK but still undecided. More reading and pondering I guess.

I really like the ability to run it and forgot about that NG offers. But I would never heat my place past 22 (72) with NG it would just cost to much. normally keep my place at 20 (70) . With wood and I'm guessing pellet I'll get that whole house warmth that you miss with NG or propane or oil.
 
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Natural gas has historically been economical... If every thing stays like it is now...for the convenience alone gas vented heater/fireplace would be my choice. Pellet devices are a crap load of work! Its a "labor of love" for a lot..."labor of necessity" for many too....BUT you got GAS. Take the ball and run with it!!!!
 
BigJohnfromCT said:
Jigger, read the book, "The Frackers" by Gregory Zuckerman. There is more NG in this country than I can comprehend. Supplement with a genny and u can handle anything. If I could NG I would switch I in a NY minute.
Click to expand...


Read and listen to this report, companies are burning $1 million a day because they can not transport the NG from North Dakota

Much Of North Dakota's Natural Gas Is Going Up In Flames

http://www.npr.org/2014/01/30/265396179/much-of-north-dakota-s-natural-gas-is-going-up-in-flames
 
I'm not worried about running out of NG. But there is that possiblity of
a pipe explosion and the gas get shut off for a week or so. Happened this winter in Manitoba. My secondary heat source is for ambiance, heat and back up. The more I read about pellet the more I think I will pass the weekly cleaning and maintence might get a little annoying. I ran out of time today and only had 10 minutes at a local stove shop. Looked at a couple of Scan stoves and Napoleon stoves. Funny thing was it asked about BK and sales women says they don't sell a lot because if you don't have dry wood the catalytic boxes gum up. So more reading I guess
 
come heck or high water, a wood stove will put out heat and as long as there are trees, there is fuel. One thing to consider about wood heat is not just the cost of the appliance, but the venting as well. Double insulated stainless chimney pipe is not cheap and can easily crack $1000.00 depending on the height of your house. Pellet pipe is usually a much cheaper option because of the shorter exhaust runs, but it may balance out as Harman stoves are now above $3500 depending on the model. I had a P61A and loved it. If you are concerned about children and wood stove safety, check out the Kidco G3100 Hearth Gate....it adjust to any hearth shape and for only $170.00, it's great peace of mind. I have one and it does a great job of keeping my 5-year old son away from the wood stove.
 
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