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J

jc8367

Member
Feb 14, 2008
13
Long Island
I know this question has been asked many times before so I appreciate your patience but I'd love to here your feedback.
7 yrs ago I was thinking of installing a pellet fireplace insert but held off because the location and layout of my house was not conducive to a good flow but I plan to redo the the house to open things up a bit. Now an insert will work perfectly but the question is should I still go with pellet or maybe wood or coal? I like the pellet because of the less storage required vs wood but how have prices been? Oil by me is sub $2.49 per gal (it will go back up) and wood cost particularly nothing around me if I'm will to do the work of cutting/splitting/stacking. As for coal my wife is against it because she grew up with a coal stove and she always felt it caused more dust then what its worth. Plus I really don't see an abundant amount coal buying options in my area. Living on the south shore of Long Island with a single floor 1500 sq ft house if pellets I would expect to use 3-4 tons, 6-7 cords wood or 3-4? tons of coal.
 
There Is a coal place on LI. Rella, Pella, something? You have no access to natural gas, Im assuming, even at a cost to run the line? In regards to coal: It used to be dusty. Now it comes washed, in bags. The amount of dust when dumping a bag of coal into the hopper is zero. Amount of dust from dumping a bag of pellets into a stove..well its not zero and can be a lot depending on how careful you are, type of pellets, etc.

That's going in...coming out, I think pellets are what, 3% ash? Coal I think is 35%? Disposal of coal ash is going to be your primary concern. Its not the nice ash you can toss in your garden. Make sure you have a plan for that. On the flip side, very steady price on fuel, steady supply, super simple to use and maintain and the cost difference between a 3"/4" liner and the 6" you'll need for coal is negligible.

Only nice looking stoker insert (nice means less ugly) I know of is made by Keystoker. If you figure on 3-4 tons pellets, figure 30% or so less than coal. I have had a documented average (at my old job) of about 3 tons per year for a 2000 sf home in central NY. I doubt you would use more than 2.5 tons and probably closer to 2 tons if your house is fairly tight.
 
Long Island - How much space do you have to stack wood? Most dealers claim seasoned wood but the reality is you need to buy their seasoned wood and let it season another year before you burn it. Bio bricks work great. Pellets are good if your tight for space, but remember you need electricity to use your pellet stove.
 
Fsappo said:
There Is a coal place on LI. Rella, Pella, something? You have no access to natural gas, Im assuming, even at a cost to run the line? In regards to coal: It used to be dusty. Now it comes washed, in bags. The amount of dust when dumping a bag of coal into the hopper is zero. Amount of dust from dumping a bag of pellets into a stove..well its not zero and can be a lot depending on how careful you are, type of pellets, etc.

That's going in...coming out, I think pellets are what, 3% ash? Coal I think is 35%? Disposal of coal ash is going to be your primary concern. Its not the nice ash you can toss in your garden. Make sure you have a plan for that. On the flip side, very steady price on fuel, steady supply, super simple to use and maintain and the cost difference between a 3"/4" liner and the 6" you'll need for coal is negligible.

Only nice looking stoker insert (nice means less ugly) I know of is made by Keystoker. If you figure on 3-4 tons pellets, figure 30% or so less than coal. I have had a documented average (at my old job) of about 3 tons per year for a 2000 sf home in central NY. I doubt you would use more than 2.5 tons and probably closer to 2 tons if your house is fairly tight.
Click to expand...
Thx for the input. Rella is the only place I know of on LI that sells coal so there's not a lot of competition. It seems with dropping oil prices there's not much savings with Pellet this year. Most people would have bought their winters supply 5 months ago when oil was +$4 a gal but the price of oil will go back up I'm sure. Last is a wood insert and what I like is the options for fuel source meaning I could do the wood myself, buy some cords if I had to or even go bio brick.

Thx again
 
Fsappo said:
There Is a coal place on LI. Rella, Pella, something? You have no access to natural gas, Im assuming, even at a cost to run the line? In regards to coal: It used to be dusty. Now it comes washed, in bags. The amount of dust when dumping a bag of coal into the hopper is zero. Amount of dust from dumping a bag of pellets into a stove..well its not zero and can be a lot depending on how careful you are, type of pellets, etc.

That's going in...coming out, I think pellets are what, 3% ash? Coal I think is 35%? Disposal of coal ash is going to be your primary concern. Its not the nice ash you can toss in your garden. Make sure you have a plan for that. On the flip side, very steady price on fuel, steady supply, super simple to use and maintain and the cost difference between a 3"/4" liner and the 6" you'll need for coal is negligible.

Only nice looking stoker insert (nice means less ugly) I know of is made by Keystoker. If you figure on 3-4 tons pellets, figure 30% or so less than coal. I have had a documented average (at my old job) of about 3 tons per year for a 2000 sf home in central NY. I doubt you would use more than 2.5 tons and probably closer to 2 tons if your house is fairly tight.
Click to expand...
Way to go Fsappo!!! In most places, coal ash can go out with the trash. As for pretty stokers, Keystoker, Reading Stove, and Leisureline all make very pretty stoves. Also, all the stokers put out AT LEAST 90,000 btu's of STEADY heat. Your wife's experiences with coal are no longer relevant.
 
kennyp2339 said:
Long Island - How much space do you have to stack wood? Most dealers claim seasoned wood but the reality is you need to buy their seasoned wood and let it season another year before you burn it. Bio bricks work great. Pellets are good if your tight for space, but remember you need electricity to use your pellet stove.
Click to expand...

Agree on the seasoned wood comment. As for storage I have the room but wood does take up a lot of space, at least with a wood stove I have less if any moving parts, just a blower. Plus I could buy some if I didn't have time to chop or go bio brick, I like that fact that I'm not stuck into one fuel source. Do bricks and pellets cost the same per ton?
 
Bio bricks are good, but they don't burn the same as wood - they burn hot and fast, and some stove manufacturers will void your warranty for burning the. Around here, a ton of bio bricks is more expensive than pellets.
 
bcarton said:
Bio bricks are good, but they don't burn the same as wood - they burn hot and fast, and some stove manufacturers will void your warranty for burning the. Around here, a ton of bio bricks is more expensive than pellets.
Click to expand...

Huh? the bio bricks I use burned a little hotter than cord wood (for size comparison) and lasted a little longer, I keep my split roughly 4 - 5" wide and 18" long, I will load 8 of those splits in my stove and get 10 hrs of good heat, when I did the bricks Ioaded (8) 3"high x 4"wide x 6" long bricks and had a greater burn for 12 hours, I think maybe each stove burns loads different, Im a blaze king princess (cat stove) they are very easy to keep in control, some tube stoves a much harder to dial the air in.
 
Forget switching to pellets, for the cost's involved get a new furnace installed, increase your house's worth, you blew your time window on buying 7 yr's ago when pellets and stoves were alot cheaper! price of oil isnt going anywere soon , by spring/summer oil will be well under $2 a gallon.
Right now it's 32 degree's outside, my stove is on a 2 heat out of 5, it's 70 in my living room, it's 62.1 degree's in my kitchen/dining room, your wife will love the space heater and uneven home heating a pellet stove provides..something to think about, you can buy ALOT of oil for the $3-5000 you'll spend if not more adding a pellet stove
 
Last edited:
Pellet-King said:
..something to think about, you can buy ALOT of oil for the $3-5000 you'll spend if not more adding a pellet stove
Click to expand...

You know that's a good point. For someone JUST starting out, the initial outlay of funds is not worth it, and the time to recoup only your initial investment is substantial, and not factoring in the cost of your pellet fuel. Currently, with oil what it is it is less expensive for me to heat with oil, and without the ritual cleaning/filling of the pellet stove. AND the heat is even throughout the house. If I hadn't made my money back on the cost of the stove already, I wouldn't even consider heating with pellets. I do know that next year, if the cost oil stays where it is or lower, I won't even fire up the Harman. That being said, and if I were to be considering a new install, I would look long and hard at coal. Much hotter and cheaper, if you have a source for fuel.
 
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The only thing "dusty" with coal today is the ash disposal if you are not careful. If you bump or drop the ash pan, or dump into the wind its like talcom powder! The coal itself is much cleaner than pellets. You dont get all the dust when filling like you do with pellets. Stokers work just like a pellet stove. Totally automated. Btu value is much higher. Just have to make sure you have reliable coal supply. Tractor Supply Store carried coal this year in some test markets. Good coal and good price. I think they are going to stock next season.
 
Wow, two coal 'pushers' in a row!!! My work here is done. :p Even ash disposal is less dusty than it used to be. Many stoves include two ash pans or you just buy an extra. Pull it out, spray it down with water, cover it, and put the new one in. Take the full one outside or the garage and dump it in a covered container. Also, remove the ash pan BEFORE shaking down so hot coals aren't in there creating rising hot air to carry dust with it. It's all in the handling.
Yep, stokers are simple to operate and put out some MAJOR heat if needed. They operate on thermostats just like pellet stoves.

The last I checked, coal was $170 a ton at the breaker for 50% more btu's per pound at least.
 
I assume hoppers are different - with one that can contain the entire bag top, one slowly pulls the "tails" of the bag so that any dust is contained within the hopper.
 
Bagged coal is vertually dustless. It is washed/rinsed before packaging. Anthracite coal isnt very dusty to begin with. It is hard rock like. Bituminous (soft coal) is the messy dirty stuff you hear about in the old days. Most stoves today burn anthracite. It burns as clean as NG.
 
WoW. I used to work in a store and tell people they could get something cheaper elsewhere.(why I don't work there anymore). Now we have a Pellet Stove Forum telling someone to get a Coal Stove.
Making me go look at Coal Stoves.
 
camdids said:
WoW. I used to work in a store and tell people they could get something cheaper elsewhere.(why I don't work there anymore). Now we have a Pellet Stove Forum telling someone to get a Coal Stove.
Making me go look at Coal Stoves.
Click to expand...

Its all about honest advice. No one is here to sell. Just do the math, get the facts and do what is best for yoyu
 
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