My mother is freezing

[Portis]

My mother is 74 years old and lives alone in Connecticut. She’s tough as nails and still mows her own yard, rakes leaves, drags tarp-loads of heavy compost across her acre of property and shovels snow from her driveway. I’m based in Africa for my company so I’m not around to help her very often.

The house she lives in was built in 1923. It has the original windows and it’s drafty and cold in the winter. She keeps the oil heat just above freezing because of the cost to keep the house warmer otherwise. The downstairs is 1200 sq/ft. with a fairly open plan. Most her time is spent in the 450 sq/ft living room that has a large fireplace. The upstairs is about 800 sq/ft.

As it stands my mother wears a huge long down coat in the house when it’s cold. I don’t want her to have another winter like that so I’m getting her set up with a stove before heading back to work.

I’ve now narrowed it down to two very different options. A Jotul 500 Oslow wood stove or a Harman Accentra 52i wood pellet insert. The wood stove would be set in the fireplace but about half of it protruding into the room.

I’ve read the wood vs pellet pros and cons online until blue in the face and I feel like I understand the difference between the two. If it were for me I would get the wood stove without question. However I’m concerned that as the years go on it might be difficult for my mother to operate a wood stove alone. That said, sacks of pellets are heavy as well, but seems to be much easier to operate. But would it really be that much of a bigger deal to have a wood stove?

Would I be crazy to get a wood stove in this house? Would a pellet stove be the smart choice for someone of her age? She wants to maintain the integrity of the house and a pellet insert isn’t really her style. She loves her Radio Shack am/fm radio with a non-digital manual dial. She’s never sent a text message. You get the idea.

 

[bholler]

I would say get her a simple pellet unit that being said we have several women customers in their late 80s still tending their wood stoves.

 

[pen]

In this case, since it doesn't sound like she's a current firewood burner, I'd be more inclined to hedge towards a pellet unit. Yes those bags are heavy, but they can be opened and carried to the stove in smaller scoops.

Also, depending on her situation, I'd be looking at local agencies that may help her with weather-sealing the home.

Regardless of wood or pellet, the stoves need maintenance and she needs to be familiar and be taught/prepared for what it takes to keep things working well.

In this case, with the pellets, I definitely think she'd be better off but still, she needs to know the stove inside and out, as they are not plug and play propane units...... cleaning is involved.

 

[Portis]

We had a huge wood stove for about eight years here at the house in the 1980s. My mom had a lot fewer years then, and also my help all the time, but she’s no stranger to building a fire and keeping it going. We were impressed in the showroom today with the pellet option, but then again I’m worried we’ll get it home and then regret not having wood! I agree that the pellet is logical, but we're still tormented with this choice.

 

[HotCoals]

Pellets stoves need more maintenance and repairing then a wood-stove does is my thought. still I think the bags of pellets might be easier to deal with then a whole lot of firewood. I mean she could buy pellets as she needed them also would not have to worry so much about a runaway or chimney fire with the pellet stove?

 

[BruceNorEast]

My in-laws have a pellet stove and they love it. For the past year my father in law has been ill, yet they have no trouble with the pellets.

Have someone deliver the pellets inside, so she can take what she needs from them a little at a time.

Who knows what the future holds, maybe there'll be a terrible shortage of pellets...

But if she's not used to burning wood, it's very possible the stove will spend a lot of time cold.

In my opinion odds are she'd be more likely to use the pellet unit.

PS: You are a good son!

 

[BrotherBart]

Once she starts it by just pushing a button and the thing provides steady even heat for more than twelve hours before she even has to walk back to it again, she will be sold.

 

[branchburner]

Welcome to the forums. Question: which stove does your mother prefer, or doesn't she have a strong preference? Since she sounds like a work-horse and a low-tech person that already uses and enjoys a fireplace, I'm guessing she wood prefer wood. I'd get what suits her best now, and makes her happiest now, since it is hard to say what the future holds You can always change stoves down the road if need be.

My dad burned wood 'til he passed at 82, and if my mom hadn't passed away earlier she would still be hauling wood in her 80s, too. And I have no doubt my inlaws will keep on burning wood even as they soon enter their 80s, good Lord willing. Nice thing also about wood over pellets is you get heat even if the power is out for days on end. But one thing you'd want to be sure of if going with wood: that you set your mom up with a good wood guy who brings her dry, truly SEASONED wood (<20% MC) even if it costs a bit more. Otherwise, don't bother.

There is of course a bit of a learning curve in using any new appliance. But if mother already builds fires regularly in the fireplace, she should get the hang of a stove in short order. If it were my mom, I expect she'd prefer the Jotul... I also expect I'd leave the final say to her (as I did with my dad when he refused to upgrade to an EPA-stove after repeated badgering, stubborn old coot!).

 

[Big papa]

She could also find easier ways to move pellets I have a container for my wife she fills it with a feed scoop and as need from container to stove with feed scoop. I'm here to tell ya that the 52i will be so much easier on her. I burnt wood since I was old enough to carry wood the pellet stove makes burning much more enjoyable

 

[BrotherBart]

Sorry, but learning how to operate a EPA wood stove is too far away from burning in a fireplace to start learning at 74. Closing in on 70 myself. If not pellets in this case, a mini-split heat pump is the answer. Pellet bags can be opened and a manageable amount at a time scooped.

 

[1kzwoman]

Upgrade windows , zone insulate areas used or accept hypothermia is a killer

 

[weatherguy]

I go pellet, I doubt you can get enough seasoned wood to run the stove properly this year unless you already have it, then she would need 3-4 cords already drying for next year. If a bag of pellets is too heavy she can always scoop some from the bag into a smaller container and load the stove that way. She can be nice and warm and save a ton on oil.

 

[Big papa]

I'm not sure how the 52i would b more maintenance u scrape burn pot daily and a 1 hour weekly cleaning otherwise just put pellets in every 12 hours and enjoy

 

[Portis]

I’ve inherited an unfortunate trait from my mother. Indecisiveness. We both agonize over decisions, big or small. Part of the choice here is based on aesthetics. Because her fireplace is so big we would need to have the shield around an insert custom cut to a larger size so there’s no gap. Her big beautiful fireplace might then look like a prison door with a small glass window in the middle. We’ve always enjoyed an occasional fire in the fireplace and that would be history with the insert. Thank you for the comment about buying what works for her now whether that’s wood or pellet. You can’t predict everything in life and this is one of those things. My mother would definitely prefer the look of a wood stove but at the end of the day this comes down to her being warm. She would have to sacrifice the look and feel of logs burning for sensible heat, and there lies the question. I was told that a pellet insert uses very little electricity. Is that your experience? I’m still leaning slightly towards wood for her but I can be persuaded otherwise!

 

[BrotherBart]

What about the room says that it has to go into the fireplace? Pellet stoves can be vented right out the wall behind them. Then she could still have her fireplace open. Bad for heat loss as that is.

 

[Big papa]

Not sure of the price because my electric bill goes down in the winter because the stove uses less than my air conditioning but I'm guessing around $25 a month running 24/7. I'm sure someone will chime in here giving you the exact amount of power the stove uses and you will be able to figure out how much it will cost with how much ur electric costs

 

[Phoenix Hatchling]

Don't mean to be a spectre of biofuels, but honestly at her age and questionable ability, I think she may be best off with propane or oil. At that age, comfort and SAFETY are paramount. To learn a new skill, and be asked to physically tend to maintenance both of the fire/pellet hopper, is a lot to ask of our seniors. While it would be wonderful for them to enjoy the choices we have made for ourselves, we can not push it on them. My father is now 87, and I would not ask him to take on this task. I make certain he knows he can always turn the thermostat up and let the oil do its thing, rather than ask him to fill the pellet hopper or attempt reloads in my woodstove.

 

[BruceNorEast]

You may get more heat if the stove is mounted outside of the fireplace, in front of it.

 

[pen]

All I can say is that my grandmother burned wood into her early 80's and I supplied her the wood, cleaned the chimney, etc, and since she was willing, I didn't think much of it. She wanted to do it, and refuses to drive if a snowflake is in the air, and so I reasoned it kept her busy and active in the winter....

I started to cut the wood to her liking (much smaller than my papa (grandpa) )in recent years but figured she was aging and smaller wood would be better, so didn't thing much of it..... Until I realized that by cutting wood down to a size she could handle easily, when she was burning the stove she was sleeping next to it in an easy chair so she could load it in the night! She was taught once the stove was lit, had had to keep going, and with the smaller splits, a night load wasn't going to happen.

My point is, the transition from this being an issue to non-issue happens quick at this age. I suggest a pellet stove.

In the case of my grandmother, we ended up putting a good sized gas unit in the area of her wood stove and can nearly handle the load of the wood stove with that. She's started on using the propane, although she doesn't like to admit to it.

In the end, there are a few stairs involved here which is partly why she was sleeping in the chair and partly why we were so concerned. I still am keeping her with a supply of wood which keeps her mind at ease even though the propane unit does the job of the wood stove anymore.

It was just a few years ago when her main furnace for the house went out and she heated the place entirely with wood for 30 days before the parts arrived to be able to fix it in the middle of winter.... She didn't tell anyone that there was a problem, as she didn't want anyone to worry!

I feel for you, this is tough, but I wish I had talked my grandmother into a pellet stove when she was still in her 70's. I honestly think the would love to take the pellets to the stove in a few trips, a pitcher full at a time, and maintain some of that wood burning characteristic..... At this point however, the wood stove is still there, and she can use it in an emergency, but we have asked her to call us up to make use of it.......This stuff is tough.... Good luck!

pen

 

[branchburner]

Sorry, but learning how to operate a EPA wood stove is too far away from burning in a fireplace to start learning at 74.

Depends on the person. Feel free to sell yourself short, but there is no reason to generalize without knowing the individual. If a certain 91-year old can take flying lessons successfully, I have no doubt a certain 74-year old can take wood-burning lessons successfully.

From what I've seen (as well as from what I've read), as people grow old those who decide to keep learning often decide to keep living. My own plan for growing old is to do more work, not less, as I age... even if it kills me.

 

[branchburner]

Because her fireplace is so big we would need to have the shield around an insert custom cut to a larger size so there’s no gap. Her big beautiful fireplace might then look like a prison door with a small glass window in the middle.

You don't need to do this. Although you mentioned a pellet insert, why have you limited yourself to that option? A pellet stove could be vented through a wall, and not in the fireplace. A free-standing wood stove would be vented through the fireplace, as you indicated... but no need for an insert or surround to ruin the fireplace aesthetic for burning either pellets OR wood.

So with a pellet stove, you would not have to sacrifice the fireplace at all. And with a wood stove that sat in the hearth, you could still use the stove AS a fireplace, since models like the F500 come with a screen option for open-door burning (not efficient, but enjoyable).

Whichever way you go, you should convince your mother that she needn't be fully dependent on either pellets or wood for heat. If she uses them when convenient to supplement the oil, whatever savings she realizes from their use should justify being a little less stingy with the oil, and keeping the house a bit warmer when the oil IS in use. That's how my Yankee mind works, anyway.

 

[dafattkidd]

Welcome to the forum. Your mom seems like a real tough lady. God bless her. And you are a good man for looking out for her. Honestly dude, this may sound crappy but as much as I love wood stoves, I don't think this is the best solution here. My advice is skip the cost of the installation of the wood stove, have her set her thermo stats at 68-72, and just give her $1,000-$1,500 to pay for the extra fuel consumption. If she won't take the money prepay the fuel company for the deliveries. Wood and pellet stoves are awesome, but they are time consuming and labor intensive. Good luck dude. Again I commend you on looking out for your mom.

 

[Poindexter]

I have an idea that someday I am going to have to bolt a bicycle basket to my walker so I can hobble back and forth between the stove and shed. Plan to have enough wood in that shed to keep my kids in agony for at least as many years I waited for them to become safe and prudent drivers. Maybe longer if the Good Lord is willing.

I do have a couple questions: If the electricity is out can she run her oil furnace while the pellet stove is idle? Is she limber enough to get down on the floor and do the regular cleaning I read over and over that pellet stoves require?

I agree with above, many kudos for even thinking about this on her behalf.

 

[peakbagger]

Unless the goal is to keep her occupied, you may want to reconsider and invest in a mini split heat pump for the area of the house she normally occupies. This is quite popular in Maine where the cost to winterize the entire house is not viable. If she does like to keep the house quite cold, you may want to consider installing a timer on the circulator pumps to prevent any freezing in cold spots.

 

[Woody Stover]

which stove does your mother prefer, or doesn't she have a strong preference? Since she sounds like a work-horse and a low-tech person that already uses and enjoys a fireplace, I'm guessing she wood prefer wood. I'd get what suits her best now, and makes her happiest now, since it is hard to say what the future holds You can always change stoves down the road if need be.

Depends on the person. Feel free to sell yourself short, but there is no reason to generalize without knowing the individual. If a certain 91-year old can take flying lessons successfully, I have no doubt a certain 74-year old can take wood-burning lessons successfully.

Yeah, old man BB...his race is just about run. This ain't the pellet forum, I say give her a stove (will work in a power outage as well.) She likes to work, and if she's got anything on the ball mentally she will learn the stove easily. She's gonna sit in the stove room, old ladies like heat. Who wants to sit in there and listen to a noisy pellet stove?
I too have the Realistic clock radio, probably identical to hers, and I learned to run a wood stove...a cat, even. Disclaimer: My wife uses the Radio Shack alarm; I use my phone.
BTW, is it like my MIL's house? Bedroom and everything downstairs, upstairs is basically storage.