I am at a cross roads...

[tdibiasio]

Hello all - I have not posted much here in the past few years, but I am a very active reader of many of the forums here on the hearth. I find myself at a cross road that I hope to get some advise on - I have been burning wood as my primary heat source for the past 10 years. I have a 2000sf Cape that essentially I only use the first floor of as it is only me, my wife, and a dog and the MB is located on the first floor. I have a 3 flue chimney in the center of the house and for the past 10 years have heated exclusively with a Lopi Freedom insert. I have invested heavily in wood process and have saws\splitter\ and woodshed that will hold a full 14 cord of wood. I process wood 2 years in advance so it burns clean and safe. For the past few years I have found it more and more difficult to find log length wood for sale in Rhode Island. Right now I am sitting on 11 $100 bills to buy another load and for the life of me can not find someone who wants to deliver me logs. I decided at the end of this heating season that the Lopi has lived its life and needs to be replaced - so I spent hours and hours researching and was convinced my next stove will be the Blaze King Princess. But now I have almost convinced myself to take another approach and convert to pellets and buy a Harman 52i. I like the idea of consistent heat output without the ups and downs associated with a typical wood fire, and not to mention it is a lot less work and mess around the hearth. I currently have about 13 cords of C/S/S wood in the shed that I am very confident I could sell so there would be no money loss on the wood I already have, and the existing wood shed would be a perfect storage location for the many tons of pellets I would need to store. I think the all in cost for buying and installing either stove would be about the same so no big difference there. I am 42 years old and in good physical shape so up to this point processing wood has not been that challenging, although VERY time consuming. But as I consider this stove purchase as a 10 year investment - I just keep leaning twords simplifying my life in the winter and spring by going the pellet route. My main concern is that I just can not determine if it is going to cost me alot more each year to heat the house with pellets over wood.

I am hoping someone out there faced the same dilemma and can share your story and how it worked out. To give you perspective how on the edge I am - I told my wife last night that if someone called me today with a load of wood to sell, that I would buy it and go the wood route. But I keep going back to how easy it would be to set it and forget it, my only concern is that I dont want to go the pellet route and end up spending double the money to heat the house each winter.

Thanks in advance for anyone who can help with things that I may not be thinking about to finalize this decision.

TomD

 

[Michael6268]

Stick with wood. wood has more intense heat. No noise. No electricity needed. Price of pellets going higher and higher. Availability of pellets has proven inconsistant in the past.

 

[maple1]

There must be another heating system in place also - even though you don't use it? What would that be?

 

[MCPO]

Stick with wood. wood has more intense heat. No noise. No electricity needed. Price of pellets going higher and higher. Availability of pellets has proven inconsistant in the past.

I second that!

 

[TimfromMA]

Let me chime in from the pellet burner's camp.

Pellet stoves are alot easier to operate. Just plug it in, fill the hopper, set the thermostat and walk away. Using the thermostat, the stove can maintain the inside temperature to within a couple of degrees either way. While it's true you need electricity, battery backup systems exist that can provide hours of run time during a power failure. I don't know how much wood costs, but this past season, I kept my house at a comfortable 70 degrees all year despite having a pretty bad winter for about $1000. Most pellet stoves can go at least 24 hours before needing a refuel, hopper extensions can extend this even further.. Lighting a pellet stove is as simple as pushing a button.

 

[tdibiasio]

Sorry guys forgot a few facts... The primary heating and hot water system is an oil fired boiler. I keep the baseboard thermostats at 55 in all zones and I think I can count on one hand the number of times this past winter they came on. The boiler comes on often to keep the indirect hot water heater up to temp though so I am still dependent on the all mighty oil company. With regards to electricity and noise for wood heat - my current Lopi is an insert with blowers so I have the electrical drops in place and already have adjusted my sleep patterns to tolerate blower fan noise.

Tim - with regards to battery backups - I work for one of the world largest UPS company (APC - Actually Schneider Electric as they bought APC in 2007) so battery backup for proper shutdown and inverters\switch gear for continuous short term power outages are right in my wheel house.

 

[TimfromMA]

I added a couple of 90aH to and APC XS to give myself about 8 - 10 hours of stove runtime in a power failure.

 

[johneh]

I am much in the same boat I use a pellet stove to help heat my 2000 sq. ft. 150 year old
log home . I also have a wood/oil combo furnace ( wood hog ) which on the wood side heats my house .
I also own my own bush lot 220 acres of mixed hard wood . We are thinking of replacing
the pellet stove with a wood stove the only reason for this is that pellets are getting to costly
The only thing that has stopped us at this point is my health my body is worn out to many years doing
intensely demanding physical work . It has taken longer and longer every year to process the wood necessary
to keep the house warm . So basically what you are looking at is cost versus labor . At your age I'd stay with wood !

 

[maple1]

Sorry guys forgot a few facts... The primary heating and hot water system is an oil fired boiler. I keep the baseboard thermostats at 55 in all zones and I think I can count on one hand the number of times this past winter they came on. The boiler comes on often to keep the indirect hot water heater up to temp though so I am still dependent on the all mighty oil company. With regards to electricity and noise for wood heat - my current Lopi is an insert with blowers so I have the electrical drops in place and already have adjusted my sleep patterns to tolerate blower fan noise.

Tim - with regards to battery backups - I work for one of the world largest UPS company (APC - Actually Schneider Electric as they bought APC in 2007) so battery backup for proper shutdown and inverters\switch gear for continuous short term power outages are right in my wheel house.

If you're considering pellets, I would also consider a pellet boiler - since you already have a hot water system. It could also do your hot water in the summer if you wanted - but I'm not sure on the economics of that aspect. I would definitely investigate getting off of oil for DHW in the summer, regardless.

 

[CaptSpiff]

The pellet supply chain still seems to be "a work in progress", and thereby would give me pause to go all in (as you seem to be all in with cord wood). Can you take baby steps and find a place in the house with wall space for a free standing stove (like a Castle's Serenity). You could do a DIY for about $1200-1500, and decide if you like the process.

The pellet inserts are definitely cleaner (a big plus in the living room), easier on the back (for her and you), can truly run 24hr+ (can't say that with logs), and thermostatically controlled. But I think your cost of heating will likely double (that's the big unknown).

And what are you gonna do with all that extra time? (post more actively on Hearth.com of course)

 

[MikeDeslauriers]

My Short Answer: Pellets are easier, and, with my setup about equally affordable. Firewood was a process that I enjoyed, but with 2 kids, I no longer have the time.


My Long Answer: I burned wood and then switched to pellets last year. I had an old Jotul 8 and switched to a Breckwell SPC50. I was paying for wood, which was going up in price as well as pellets.

When I burned wood, my oil furnace ran more than now. The pellet stove has decreased my oil usage as the pellet stove runs continuously. The way I have it figured, I am breaking about even in fuel cost (*pellets and oil* VS *wood and oil*)

Pellets are just plain easier. Firewood has its own charm, but it requires more time. There was one season I split all my own wood to save money. I really enjoyed it. However, I do not have a lot of free time, and this ate into other responsibilities.


Years from now, when I retire, I would like to go back to wood. It was a process I enjoyed. For now, with limited time, pellets are the way to go for me.

 

[Bridgeman]

I decided that I had enough of the bugs, sawdust and scrounging wood every year. I spend more time fishing and hunting. The even heat is much better than the wood heat roller coaster too. I have no regrets about switching to pellets.

 

[Redbarn]

I use both pellets and wood heat. We have a 4000 sq ft 1815 house and heat 2000 sq ft with pellets and 2000 sq ft with wood.

The pellet supply chain has not been an issue for us in PA. I buy a years supply in April and store them in the garage for a year. It is much easier for my wife and as others say, you just load up the hopper, set the thermostatt and get an even heat for hours. The pellet stove does require cleaning every 10 days or so but its all pretty simple and straight forward. the pellet stove is really just a wood powered space heater.
However, the ambiance just sucks. There is nothing to beat a wood fire.

The wood stove requires all the preparation and work that we are all familiar with. Funnily enough, my wife has grown to love the wood stove and happliy runs it during cold winter days. I get to do the wood prep work and after buying all the gear (saws, splitters etc. etc.), I'm not sure wood is really "free" .

So there is no right solution. You weigh up the pros and cons and decide what works for you.

 

[mithesaint]

I've never burned wood for my current house, so I can't help there.

Two things from your post stood out to me.

1. You're ready to spend $1100 for wood. How much does that buy? How long does that last? Is that a season's supply of firewood?

2. You're concerned about the cost of pellets. $1100 buys approx 4-5 tons of pellets, depending on brand, and what the price of pellets is doing. You should be able to heat a reasonably sized house in RI with 5 tons of pellets or less each winter.

Depending on how much wood you get for $1100, pellets might not be any more expensive, and they're certainly cleaner and easier. Good luck.

 

[Peterfield]

Kind of depends on the value you place on your time. I burned cord-wood for several years and the past two years the price a cord has gone up by 50%. This winter, I gave my next door neighbor the wood from two felled trees from my property that was already cut to length because I switched to a pellet stove. He took a full weekend splitting, loading, and transporting the wood to his yard and later spent more time stacking it. A truck from Lowe's showed up with my two ton pellet delivery. The driver loaded two tons of pellets in my garage about ten minutes after arriving at my home. I tipped him $20.00. No more digging the wood out of a snow pile, no bark/snow/mud/bugs etc in the house and much better heat throughout the house and the best thing is coming downstairs in the morning and it's as warm as when you went to bed because the stove is burning at the same rate as the night before.

 

[Lake Girl]

The fuel cost calculator might help ... https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/fuel_cost_comparison_calculator/

 

[TimfromMA]

However, the ambiance just sucks. There is nothing to beat a wood fire.

I disagree here. I get about 10" flame that lights up the whole room. I will often turn off all the lights and the TV and just stare at the fire.

 

[bogieb]

If you're considering pellets, I would also consider a pellet boiler - since you already have a hot water system. It could also do your hot water in the summer if you wanted - but I'm not sure on the economics of that aspect. I would definitely investigate getting off of oil for DHW in the summer, regardless.

Put in a separate zone with a hot water tank run off you boiler. In my last house, we had the same set up as you and I really hated that the basement was "heated" during the summer to keep DHW hot (especially since the master bedroom was down there). So when the boiler crapped out, we put in new boiler with a separate tank, and our boiler would only go on a couple times a day.

 

[Michael6268]

If you want ambiance, you cant beat wood. Pellet stove is like staring at a blowtorch. Something else I didnt mention (I dont think anyone else did either) is there is more maintenance with pellets. If you read this forum you will see the constant cleanings, leaf blower cleanings and mechanical issues. Wood stove is pretty much maintenance free. Scoop ashes out every so often. No motors/moving parts or electrical to break down, and no frequent shutdowns for cleanings. Positives of pellets no bugs or seasoning and longer burn times between fueling.

 

[TimfromMA]

If you want ambiance, you cant beat wood. Pellet stove is like staring at a blowtorch. Something else I didnt mention (I dont think anyone else did either) is there is more maintenance with pellets. If you read this forum you will see the constant cleanings, leaf blower cleanings and mechanical issues. Wood stove is pretty much maintenance free. Scoop ashes out every so often. No motors/moving parts or electrical to break down, and no frequent shutdowns for cleanings. Positives of pellets no bugs or seasoning and longer burn times between fueling.

Dont forget, no splitting, stacking, even heat and push button ignition.

 

[peakbagger]

My contrary view is if you have the potential for solar and your utility has incentives is install a cold climate minisplit, possibly one of the new Mitsubishi split head units and heat the house with electricity. In many regions the cost to heat with a minisplit heat pump is less than pellets. With some solar panels on the roof you can net meter and depending on your electrical use you can heat effectively for free. I am in a far colder climate up in Northern NH and must admit that I use the minisplit for spring and fall and many winter days. I still have a wood boiler but find that its now mostly there for really cold stretches. Keep the insert and a few cords for the rare times when the temps drop below zero or when the power goes off.

 

[Michael6268]

Dont forget, no splitting, stacking, even heat and push button ignition.

I confused this post with another. I thought he was buying wood. Didnt mention stacking cause a lot if people have to stack pellets too unless they have direct access from delivery to final spot via pallet jack. I find stacking wood easier to stavk wood than 40lb bags.

 

[bags]

I am more than happy I switched to pellets last season. If I bought cord wood it costs about the same amount I spend on pellets. Pellets are abundant here and easy to find really. They are also reasonably priced compared to what some on this forum pay per ton. I paid $224 per ton so I heated my home for $1,300 this past season. 2,350 SQ FT two levels.

Pellets are so much easier than wood it's a joke. If you get a good quality stove and the Harman you mentioned is just that the cleanings and maintenance are a breeze. I still have wood burners etc; with plenty of wood on my land and plenty already processed and seasoned. I have heated solely with wood for many moons.

I am very happy with the pellet stoves I bought last fall. Night and day vs. wood burning. I too was hard pressed for time and doing wood is a serious expense of one's time. Believe me I get it and fully understand. My pellet stove shop just sent a flier I pulled out of the mail today. $230 per ton for Propellets which are good pellets. I used some of those last season and mainly burned Somersets which were great too.

I will still burn some wood but refuse to be enslaved by it from here on out. Pellets are easy. I am about your age also with kids and travel some for work so my time is also limited. Paying for and burning pellets was definitely the right answer here. Just as a foot note, a cord of wood pricing follows the pricing of a ton of pellets. At least it holds true around here. 40 lb. bags are a dream comparatively speaking.

 

[TimfromMA]

I confused this post with another. I thought he was buying wood. Didnt mention stacking cause a lot if people have to stack pellets too unless they have direct access from delivery to final spot via pallet jack. I find stacking wood easier to stavk wood than 40lb bags.

I recently had 3 tons of pellets, which represents an entire season's worth, delivered to my driveway. It took me 2 - 3 hours to move them into my basement 5 bags at a time and restack them

 

[Michael6268]

I recently had 3 tons of pellets, which represents an entire season's worth, delivered to my driveway. It took me 2 - 3 hours to move them into my basement 5 bags at a time and restack them

You carrying 5 at a time??
When I burnt pellets I brought home myself. Backed in garage. From there I humped 3 bags at a time on my shoulder, down a flight of stairs, across a 40 foot basement to their final resting place. Then back up the stairs for 3 more! After four tons I was almost dead and every year vowed to move to a warm climate! LOL