coming out of the closet

greetings everyone
I've been lurking around here for a year with the help of many people on this site I purchased a p43 year ago.that stove cranks out some heat my family loves it.I have a raised ranch the pellet stove is on the first floor.my teenage son lives in the basement and I was thinking about getting a wood insert for the fireplacejust wondering does anyone use both their stoves wood and pellet at the same time to heat the house or does that seem overkill?thanks again for all the great information

Welcome G B O F......Several members on here burn both pellet and wood. What ever it takes and what works best for your house set up. I only have wood so can't speak from experience but I am sure some others will chime in. May want to post in the wood shed too since you are considering adding a wood appliance.

I burn both. Wood and pellets.

As said above. Do what's best and what works.

Pellets have the automation, but have a Price. Wood takes more work, but can be cheaper, if you have a source

i hate to use that word assume but i.'m thinking once i install the stove downstairs the pellet consumption upstairs will go down. i'm very excited to get off oil at least for heat. unfortunately i still have to heat my water up with oil. dexter what model wood stove do you have?

Englander 30-NC (3.5 Cu Ft Firebox) one of the bigger EPA models made. Plus a Pellet furnace pretty close to it

My father inlaw uses a Jotul 600 and a Mt Vernon insert. He gets his wood for free, and got the pellet stove to get more heat on the other side of his house. Really, what works best for you. However, wood inserts are rather inefficient, as most of the heat just goes up the chimney. You would better heat your house and keep everyone warm with a pellet insert. This is what we did, got rid of the wood fireplace and added the Mt. Vernon insert.

I'll have to respectfully disagree with that. Open fireplace yes but not a wood insert with blower. As a matter of fact very little heat goes up the chimney if you have an insulated liner and insulated block off plate.

Yes, agreed. A wood insert with blower does change the game. Thanks for the clarification.