Lots of Questions and Hoping for input from folks from East Tennessee (Knoxville, Oak Ridge area)

[BobHearn]

I'm certainly glad I found this website. I've been surfing through it for several days now, researching, reading, and getting a lot of useful information.

I live in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, a small town to the west of Knoxville. I own a Model 19 - not that that means much to anyone who isn't familiar with them. It's a prefab house built in World War II as housing for Manhattan Project employees. It's concrete and cinder block, sitting on a concrete slab with a flat top (built up composite roof). Previous owners added on a family room and a master bedroom back in the 1960s. The original house does not have central air, but it does have a hydronic heating system, powered by a low pressure (hot water, not steam) boiler fired by natural gas. The added on portion has a central heat and air unit in it - the furnace is natural gas fired as well.

Apparently, the Oak Ridge Utility District has decided to fund it's building and retirement fund off of my gas bills. While I love the hydronic system (nothing beats a warm floor in the kitchen when you go to get that first cup of coffee), I hate how much the gas bill is running me.

So, I've decided to buck the system, and get off the pipeline. I'm looking at wood stoves, and I'm thinking that a pellet stove is going to be the best way to go. And so begin the questions.

For the folks in this area - where did you buy your stove (pellet or wood) and what was your experience with them?
Who did the installation, and how did that go?
Where in the heck do we get pellets around here? Wood is plentiful, and from what I can see - cheap or free, but I can't find anyone that sells pellets. Of course, I probably haven't looked hard enough yet.

Any suggestions or tips would be appreciated - I'll have more questions as we move along.

And thank you in advance - my wife, my 14 year old daughter, and my new born (17 days and counting) thank you - they complain about being cold (ok the newborn doesn't complain, she just looks at me sadly)

Bob

 

[begreen]

You'll definitely want to be sure you have multiple sources for pellets before considering a purchase. Start by asking the stores that sell pellet stoves in your areas. And be sure to run the numbers first. Often, natural gas is competitive with pellets, especially if the pellets are not made locally, but are trucked in some distance.

What does this house have for insulation in the walls and the ceilings?

 

[BobHearn]

You'll definitely want to be sure you have multiple sources for pellets before considering a purchase. Start by asking the stores that sell pellet stoves in your areas. And be sure to run the numbers first. Often, natural gas is competitive with pellets, especially if the pellets are not made locally, but are trucked in some distance.

What does this house have for insulation in the walls and the ceilings?

I kind of figured that the prices might be competitive with gas - that's why I'm also considering a standard wood stove as well. Wood is fairly cheap around here and quite plentiful. But I screwed up my back somewhat when I was in the military, so splitting/stacking would be a bear.

As far as insulation - well, it was built by the federal government in time of war. Fuel was supplied by the feds, so they weren't too concerned with the insulation. The roof, so far as I know, is it's own insulation - i.e., not much. The majority of the walls are cinder block, with no real insulation to speak of, only that of the cinder block itself.

Future projects for the house include new windows, relining the walls with insulation (putting up furring strips, insulation, and wallboard, mudding it all and repainting), a hipped roof (so we can have insulation overhead), and rewiring the place.

 

[begreen]

I'd put the money into insulation right now. It will start paying back immediately, year round. Can the outside walls be insulated then clad? You might want to contact a siding company about this.

Pellets come in 40lbs bags; expect to go through a bag a day. Will your back take that? At least with wood you can move it in smaller lots. I would imagine there are several wood suppliers in the area. Run the numbers for each fuel, including wood purchased already split and see what you come up with. I'm guessing that wood will come out way ahead.

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/fuel_cost_comparison_calculator/

 

[webbie]

Another comment on the Pellet Stove - they do break down and/or need service and cleaning....on a relatively regular basis. Depending on how and where you purchase one, you may have to do this yourself. So please keep that in mind. I am with BG that money should first be spent on insulation which helps you burn less of whichever fuels you use. Although wood might represent a savings over gas, pellets will (in your case) probably be less so if you don't have multiple nearby sources. Add in the initial expense and other factors (no more warm feet, a little noise, service) and you can see why the other projects may be wise to do sooner than later.

Depending on the weather, you will likely go through 1 bag a day at the least and 2 bags at the most. That can still be $9-10 a day, not including your other uses of gas (hot water, cooking, etc.) - so you will have to calculate any savings based on all that stuff.

 

[debbiels1979]

Definately be sure to have multiple sources to buy pellets. I know in my area when we first got ours in 2005 there were very few places that sold pellets and we had to drive over an hour to get any and luckily we have large trucks and could carry 2 tons at a time. I have heard of people in our area driving for an hour to only be able to fit 10 or 15 bags in their trunks. Luckily, a local farm supply store now carries them 10 minutes away. I am currently anti-pellet stove because I have had a non-functioning stove for 2 days and relying on back-up sources for heat. Maybe you will have better luck than I have had! Also, be sure you have multiple people in your area who works on pellet stoves because I have found the hard way there are very few that do and it can take two weeks or more to get someone out to your house and that is not fun when it's 20 degrees outside!! Also, if you have a newborn in the house, a stove that breakdowns can be a really bad thing!

Do your research and you will be able to make the decision that fits you best.

 

[pegdot]

You might start by checking with your local Lowe's & Home Depot to see if they sell stoves or pellets. Also, with Tractor Supply if you have one. Things might be better in your area but in this part of the south pellet stoves are just not very common so finding a dealer who sells them is hard. Finding pellets is harder and finding someone who will work on the stove is impossible.

I'd start by calling every place listed under fireplace equipment in the local yellow pages. We have lots of wood stove dealers in this area but only a couple of them sell pellet stoves. I knew that I'd have to install and service ours but I didn't think that finding pellets locally would be such a hassle. I love the job the stove is doing but they certainly aren't for everyone in every place.....yet. I'm hoping that will change in time.

 

[debbiels1979]

Definately be sure to have multiple sources to buy pellets. I know in my area when we first got ours in 2005 there were very few places that sold pellets and we had to drive over an hour to get any and luckily we have large trucks and could carry 2 tons at a time. I have heard of people in our area driving for an hour to only be able to fit 10 or 15 bags in their trunks. Luckily, a local farm supply store now carries them 10 minutes away. I am currently anti-pellet stove because I have had a non-functioning stove for 2 days and relying on back-up sources for heat. Maybe you will have better luck than I have had! Also, be sure you have multiple people in your area who works on pellet stoves because I have found the hard way there are very few that do and it can take two weeks or more to get someone out to your house and that is not fun when it's 20 degrees outside!! Also, if you have a newborn in the house, a stove that breakdowns can be a really bad thing!

Do your research and you will be able to make the decision that fits you best.

I just want to add that I finally got ahold of my dealer and they are surprisingly sending someone out today to figure out what is wrong with my stove. However, their fees for service calls is a bit crazy. They charge $80 an hour including travel time each way and we live an hour away. Therefore, I have to pay $160 for them to just ride here and back. I jam just praying it's nothing major. I beg you to check for local dealers because if you ever run into a problem you can't fix (this is the first time I couldn't fix the problem), it can get very costly to have someone come out to your house.

 

[begreen]

Best of luck debbie. This is pretty frustrating. Hope the cure is simple.