Thinking of switching to a pellet stove

gfreek said:

Can you keep the wood burner and install a pellet stove in another spot ? That way you have best of both. Don't forget , power goes out so does the pellet stove, unless you have backup....

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+1

Tony garofalo said:

If you are in pa .You should look at a coal stoker stove , I had a pellet stove and I used about a bag a day heating 1,000 sq. feet I bought a coal stoker and now I burn a half a bag a day and I keep the house at 75 all the time .My hopper holds 2 bags of coal that I only fill up every other day , Same with the ash. I just can not believe how good this stove works . Good luck in what ever route you go.

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Hallelujah, someone beat me to it! If you get a pellet stove and use 2 bags a day, that's AT LEAST $10 a day or $300 a month! You're in coal country! $160 a ton right now in Tamaqua, which is 45 miles from you That's at least $90 a ton less than pellets for twice the btu's.
A coal stoker is brain-dead easy to use and will put out twice to three times the btu's if you need them than a pellet stove. For most people out of a few states centered around Pa., coal makes no sense but for you, it makes perfect sense. The ONLY downside are the ashes, which will be more than pellets but once you learn how to handle them properly, there is no more mess than pellet ash. You can throw the ashes in the trash - once they are cool.
Coal heat is steady and very warm with a beautiful blue flame above the cherry red coals. A lot prettier than a small burn pot with an intense little yellow flame.
www.keystoker.com
www.leisurelinestoves.com
www.readingstove.com
www.alaskastove.com

Check out your local craigslist if you can't afford a new one. New, they are in the same price range as a pellet stove of decent quality. A fellow in your neck of the woods was on here this fall, we found him an Alaska coal stove used and he is now enjoying 90,000 btu's if he needs them for $8/million btu's versus at least $19/million btu's for pellets IF you find them for $250/ton. http://www.buildinggreen.com/calc/fuel_cost.cfm

I am fortunate to have both. I'm a pellet vet of 6 years and recently mov d to a bigger home this summer. Had a big PE summit woodstove installed in fireplace because I thought the pellet could not keep up with sq ft.

As an after thought in October I had my pellet stove installed. Best thing I ever did. I have an open floor plan colonial and the pellet stove rocks!! So now I have a 2 headed heat monster with wood and pellet.