Converting from Wood to Pellet

[spaznskitz]

Ok, I may have a rediculous question - I'm not sure... =)

My MIL has a Country Striker S160 wood burning stove, it works great, no problems BUT she is getting on in age and the wood is starting to become a real issue for her to deal with and unfortunately it is her only source of heat in the house and she lives in the mountains - so it gets really cold.

Do they make any type of conversion kit for a stove like this from wood to pellet? Or would it be an expense akin to buying a new stove anyway?

I'm clueless on this stuff, I've grown up on central heat & air and used a fireplace just for ambiance!

Thank you for your time!

 

[Jack Morrissey]

No such thing. Its a whole different stove.

 

[begreen]

It might be time to consider heating with electric. Moving a 40# bag a fuel or more a day is not for the frail. If she is getting too old for the wood stove, then she might be better with things being as simple and safe as possible.

 

[spaznskitz]

damn...lol

Ok, guess I'm buying her a pellet stove for early Christmas...any suggestions considering what she has now?

 

[RNLA]

Where is the 160? do you want to sell it or is it burned up?

 

[BrotherBart]

I agree with BG. Wrestling 40 pound bags of pellets is not for us old farts. If handling a split or two at a time is a problem, imagine a bag that weighs the same as a stove load of them. Go to Lowe's, or better yet take her, and heft a few.

 

[PastTense]

There are significant regional differences in the cost of fuels. Find out the costs of the various fuels available and plug them into the calculator:
https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/fuel_cost_comparison_calculator/

 

[fjord]

We don't recommend residential pellet wood stoves in our "Stump to Stove" workshops.
Larger commercial furnace units (e.g. Austrian units ) using pellets are another animal because of scale, reliability, supply and storage.

Why? It's been said many times before:

1. Pellet wood stoves do not have the same output/BTU as the same sized wood stove.

2. Residential pellets in the past have had irregular supply and price problems.

3. BG said: " ...40 lb bags are tough for anyone to lift into a hopper"

4. Mechanical reliability: the auger, motor, blower, feed mechanism does break down without serious maintenance and parts replacement.

5. Aesthetics: want to watch a pellet blown fire ?--no dancing flames.

6. Noise: the auger and dropping pellets symphony are (to me ) like Chinese Water Torture.

7. Cost: the pellets and stoves cost more than comparable wood CSD and wood stoves.

To give the industry their due, the marketing of "clean, hassle-free burns" has been excellent.

JMNSHO

 

[fjord]

For the Greens :
Investigate the total Carbon Footprint of pellets--waste to pellet. High.

 

[NH_Wood]

Are you close enough to help her move the pellet bag into the house and to the stove room? If someone could help her keep a week or two worth of pellets near the stove, she could just open bags and scoop pellets into the hopper (vs. lifter the bag). I have a vision of a pretty independent older woman - I'm not going to sell her short yet. I help my older neighbors offload all of their coal bags and pellets bags, and bring bags to their stove room. They are able to take care of the rest. I'd be a little scared of going completely electric - around here, the $ to heat entirely with electric is high. Not sure if NG is an option where you are. Perhaps a central furnace it worth some thought. Cheers!

 

[fjord]

One vital point:
Pellet stoves use and need power. i.e. electricity.

So, why not a small wood stove ? Wood is available, cheap, easy to handle if CSD as with most here, efficient, clean, sustainable, renewable, simple, proven.

Is there a sound if no one hears ?

 

[firefighterjake]

Are you close enough to help her move the pellet bag into the house and to the stove room? If someone could help her keep a week or two worth of pellets near the stove, she could just open bags and scoop pellets into the hopper (vs. lifter the bag). I have a vision of a pretty independent older woman - I'm not going to sell her short yet. I help my older neighbors offload all of their coal bags and pellets bags, and bring bags to their stove room. They are able to take care of the rest. I'd be a little scared of going completely electric - around here, the $ to heat entirely with electric is high. Not sure if NG is an option where you are. Perhaps a central furnace it worth some thought. Cheers!

+1 . . . before my grandmother passed away we had talked some about getting her a pelletstove in place of the woodstove which was getting to be too much of a chore for her. Of course we didn't expect her to hoist the bags or do the weekly or bi-weekly maintenance . . . having family close by would help with those chores . . . she would have been fine to scoop some pellets into the stove though.