Humidifier

My stove is coming in 2 weeks. Do you all have a humidifier in your house if so how big and what brand is good. I was also talking to someone yesterday and they told me not to put the stove in my livingroom because it will get so hot I won't be able to sit in there. I don't have a choice on where to put it the livingroom is the only room.

That's a good question. I am also considering getting a humidifier and would like to get others experience and information.

Yes, the room that the stove is located in will more than likely be the warmest room in the house, but it you have a ceiling fan in that same room you can turn it on low to help disipate/circulate the excess heat to other rooms.

Steve

I have this unit from Sears in my great room right next to the pellet stove I just got, and previously used it while I had a wood stove.....seemed to work OK.

This has worked great for me for the last few years.

Whether you heat with pellets or wood, you will need to humidify, a lot if you're in a very cold climate like we are in MN. We can go through 10-12 gallons a day in Feb, and only maintain 20-30%. There are many units out there that do the job, evap, ultrasonic, etc. Big thing is they all need to be maintained just like the stove, can't just dump water in for 6 months and expect them to work well. I would stay away from anything that hooks to your ducts without running a furnace (not sure your setup). When you go shopping, go with quiet and most water per hour. Use a treatment if your water is hard, bacterialcide regardless.

For the past 3 or 4 years I have used a Venta Airwasher.

http://www.venta-airwasher.com/

Great product. Puts 6 or so gallons a day into the air and also does a nice job cleaning the air. Reasonably quiet. Ten year warranty. What I like best is that there is no white dust whatsoever and no filters to replace (filters on some humidifiers are very high cost and don't last at all with hard water). The only expendable is a water treatment fluid; maybe $20 per season.

The worst part is the cost of the machine -- $400 for what is basically an assembly of rotating plastic disks and a fan. I only bought it because I found a good price on eBay.

Anyone interested should also check out the reviews at Amazon.com.

I just put a large pot of water on top of the pellet stove

I was wondering about putting a pot of water on the pellet stove. How many gallons of water do you estimate it uses in a day? Anyone else using this method with good results? Sure sounds like a cost effective way to acheive the same results.

Your stove will work a lot better in my living room, too.
I'll keep a pot of water on it for ya.

A pot of water won't do it on a pellet stove imho, it will do some, but not what you need. My stove doesn't get above boiling temp, enough to evap some, but not like a true wood stove. Get a humidifier.

I agree

Go with the Venta. I had one of those holmes ones from Sears, with filters and all that crap. Not worth it. I put two venta's in the house, one upstairs and one down. They put a bunch of water in the air, and just like thier commercial says, they filter out all the floaty dust so when the sun shines through a window its clean (I use mine into the spring during hellish pine pollen season here in Mass).
Quiet and efficient, ya just gotta remember to fill them every day.

Most pellet stoves do not get hot on the top, sides, or back. The Breckwell P-23 and P-24 have a small part that does but almost all the other ones are cool to the touch.

Eric