A little advice!

[msb91932]

Hello from northeast PA!

I am getting ready to replace my pellet stove. I am thinking about going with a direct vent gas stove. To be honest, I really liked my pellet stove, but am looking for something that is lower maintenance. I leave the house at 6AM and don't get home until about 7:30PM. Even though the dealer told me that "you just have to dump in a bag of pellets", there is more to it. The stove has to be cleaned every day, I have to hand carry in three tons of pellets into my basement, and I really just don't have the time for it.

Any advice on this? My biggest concern is cost to operate with Propane (no natural gas in my area). I am trying to determine how much the LP will cost daily as opposed to pellet fuel. I am guessing it will be more, but is there a way to properly estimate the daily/monthly cost? My house is about 1800 square feet. The stove will be used primarily for auxiliary heat in my finished basement.

A few other questions....

1. Will the heat from a gas stove be comparable to Pellets? My pellet stove cranked out a lot of heat. Will propane heat be similar?

2. Is this type of stove safe? I don't have any experience with any type of gas heat, so I am a bit intimidated by it. Is my house going to explode? Can I burn the stove all day while I am at work and not worry.

3. A friend suggested that I sell my pellet stove on craigslist. Any idea on what it might be worth? It is 14 years old. I took great care of it. Last year had it completely refurbished (new control panel, gaskets, paint job, etc). I paid $3,100 for it. Wondering what I should ask?

Any help or input that you can offer would be appreciated.

Thanks so much! Mike

 

[DAKSY]

Hello from northeast PA!

I am getting ready to replace my pellet stove. I am thinking about going with a direct vent gas stove. To be honest, I really liked my pellet stove, but am looking for something that is lower maintenance. I leave the house at 6AM and don't get home until about 7:30PM. Even though the dealer told me that "you just have to dump in a bag of pellets", there is more to it. The stove has to be cleaned every day, I have to hand carry in three tons of pellets into my basement, and I really just don't have the time for it.

Any advice on this? My biggest concern is cost to operate with Propane (no natural gas in my area). I am trying to determine how much the LP will cost daily as opposed to pellet fuel. I am guessing it will be more, but is there a way to properly estimate the daily/monthly cost? My house is about 1800 square feet. The stove will be used primarily for auxiliary heat in my finished basement.

Without knowing how warm you keep the basement & how many BTUs per hour your stove will burn to maintain the temperature you want, there is no way to know what the cost to run it will be. A 30,000 BTU (INPUT) rated stove will consume approximately one gallon of propane (LP) every hour that it CONSTANTLY burns. That equates to about 8 gallons every 24 hours.
Running it on a thermostat will allow the unit to shut down when the thermostat is satisfied, so your fuel supply will last longer. A larger unit will burn more fuel, but will also satisfy your thermostat more quickly. This will have to be a trial & error type test for you. After one season, you can compare your fuel costs & you will know where you stand. Sorry I can't be more specific...

A few other questions....

1. Will the heat from a gas stove be comparable to Pellets? My pellet stove cranked out a lot of heat. Will propane heat be similar?

Yes, as long as you set it on a thermostat. BTUs are BTUs.

2. Is this type of stove safe? I don't have any experience with any type of gas heat, so I am a bit intimidated by it. Is my house going to explode? Can I burn the stove all day while I am at work and not worry.

A correctly installed gas stove is as safe as a gas furnace.

3. A friend suggested that I sell my pellet stove on craigslist. Any idea on what it might be worth? It is 14 years old. I took great care of it. Last year had it completely refurbished (new control panel, gaskets, paint job, etc). I paid $3,100 for it. Wondering what I should ask?

You will have to tell us what MANUFACTURER & what MODEL stove it is, otherwise we can tell you nothing.

Any help or input that you can offer would be appreciated.

Thanks so much! Mike

 

[barmstrong2]

Hello from northeast PA!

I am getting ready to replace my pellet stove. I am thinking about going with a direct vent gas stove. To be honest, I really liked my pellet stove, but am looking for something that is lower maintenance. I leave the house at 6AM and don't get home until about 7:30PM. Even though the dealer told me that "you just have to dump in a bag of pellets", there is more to it. The stove has to be cleaned every day, I have to hand carry in three tons of pellets into my basement, and I really just don't have the time for it.

Any advice on this? My biggest concern is cost to operate with Propane (no natural gas in my area). I am trying to determine how much the LP will cost daily as opposed to pellet fuel. I am guessing it will be more, but is there a way to properly estimate the daily/monthly cost? My house is about 1800 square feet. The stove will be used primarily for auxiliary heat in my finished basement.

I'd recommend a Rinnai model ES38. (RHFE1004, if they have older inventory. Same heater, new model number.) 37,600 BTU, variable gas valve, variable speed fan, very efficient, quiet and will do the job you need.

A few other questions....

1. Will the heat from a gas stove be comparable to Pellets? My pellet stove cranked out a lot of heat. Will propane heat be similar?

A Rinnai won't necessarily crank out heat like your pellet stove, but, will maintain the temperature at an even level. Once the thermostat is satisfied, it will adjust the gas input to a very low setting, 5,000 BTU, and the fan will slow. This is maintenance heat, to avoid the "hot when it's on, cold when it's off" cycle. It will speed up as needed to keep the room at the set temp. I sell these, installed, for $1,800. I've seen other companies a little higher, but, that should give you a comparison. A basement install will be a little more, as additional material and time is required. I'd expect as much as $2,200 complete.

2. Is this type of stove safe? I don't have any experience with any type of gas heat, so I am a bit intimidated by it. Is my house going to explode? Can I burn the stove all day while I am at work and not worry.

All gas systems and supply lines are tested before being put into operation to assure the integrity of the system. The test will indicate a leak as little as 1/500th of 1 PSI over a 10 minute test. The fittings are dry, so, there is no solvent to dry out and cause them to leak. If the system tests tight today, it will remain tight indefinitely. Any time the system is broken for service, the test is repeated. I test any time I am on site, even if I haven't broken the lines, just for safe practice and documentation. The appliances have multiple safeties, all designed to fail on the side of safety. If anything goes wrong, the appliance simply will not work. You can absolutely leave the heater on while away and not worry. Ask the technician installing it any questions and to explain what he's doing. He should take your peace of mind seriously and be willing to spend the time answering any questions.

3. A friend suggested that I sell my pellet stove on craigslist. Any idea on what it might be worth? It is 14 years old. I took great care of it. Last year had it completely refurbished (new control panel, gaskets, paint job, etc). I paid $3,100 for it. Wondering what I should ask?

Any help or input that you can offer would be appreciated.

Thanks so much! Mike

I would like to make a correction to the info that Daksy left... A 30,000 BTU heater will burn approximately 1 gallon of fuel in 3 hours of continuous use. Daksy did have the final 8 gallons per 24 hours, so, I'm sure that was a typo. That said, because we know the appliance is not going to burn full bore 24 hours, we use a multiplier to estimate the usage. For a space heater, that multiplier is .25, so, estimated usage, for the worst outdoor conditions, is approximately 2 gallons per day.