Nubie on the fence

[Grecoaudio]

Hello all, My names Chris and I am debating on whether to supplement my forced hot air gas fired furnace with a pellet stove. I live in Yonkers, NY which is about a 1/2 north of NYC. My house is roughly 1750 sq feet and its a split level with a basement/shop thats on a slab and a family room on the slab as well. My current furnace sits in my laundry room which is off the family room. The basement/shop is 5 steps down. Both rooms have heat but the vents are above head level because the ducting also feeds the above floors through the ceiling of the fam room and floors of the upper levels if that makes sense. So in the winter these rooms are pretty uncomfortable as the slab stays cool and the heat stays high.We keep the temp at 68ish during the winter and the upper floors of the house are comfortable. My Gas/Elec bill in the winter hovers at $400 worst case scenario in the winter. Just installed a vinyl snap together floor over the slab this summer in the family room. Hoping that gives me an insulating layer from the cold. I really want to turn the family room into a usable place in the winter. Couple of questions:

1) Should I consider supplementing the lower floors with a wood burner of sorts, will it be effective on a vinyl covered slab?

2) I am thinking of locating the burner below the ductwork in the fam room, is there a way to get the heat from the family room to inject into the ductwork so that it heats the rest of the house?

3) Should I consider putting the wood burner in the basement so that it is in the lowest place in the house?

4) I tend to get busy with work in the winter and want my wife comfortable with the care and feeding of the wood burner, which makes me think a pellet stove would be the way to go, thoughts?


I am pretty handy, so I should be able to tackle the installation with a contractor friend or two.

Fire away!

 

[blades]

Got any where to stack and store wood splits? If not then maybe the pellet units are the better option. Course if you lose electric power they do not work, except for the wise way unit- no power needed. You are also going to be looking at somewhere over a grand for the flue in addition to the stove price either way. Did you put anything under the vinyl floor system to act as a thermal barrier? Vinyl by itself isn't much of an insulator.

 

[Grecoaudio]

Got any where to stack and store wood splits? If not then maybe the pellet units are the better option. Course if you lose electric power they do not work, except for the wise way unit- no power needed. You are also going to be looking at somewhere over a grand for the flue in addition to the stove price either way. Did you put anything under the vinyl floor system to act as a thermal barrier? Vinyl by itself isn't much of an insulator.

I do have space to stack wood, just thought the pellet would be a bit easier from an auto-feed scenario. I was thinking also about the power issue as I was with out heat for 10 days during Sandy. Padding under the floor.

 

[railfanron]

With natural gas being very cheap I would think of ways to insulate and tighten up your home versus buying a wood burner or pellet stove. The money you spend on a pellet stove and pellets to fire it will most likely never be recovered in savings. Insulation on the other hand can be recovered in savings very quickly. My house is 2250 sq ft on a slab with concrete block walls and very well insulated with good windows and heated with propane and propane and electric runs me 240 per month average and never more than 280. Natural gas is much cheaper than propane which would bring me into the 200 per month average or less. I keep my thermostat at 72 degrees.
JMHO
Ron

 

[MadMax31]

If I had Nat Gas again, I wouldnt consider pellets or cord wood... 2-4000$ is better spent on insulation or a new high efficiency furnace...

You say you get busy in the winter, do you want your Wife moving wood or bags of pellets, scooping ash or vacuuming out a pellet stove?

 

[bogieb]

If I had Nat Gas again, I wouldnt consider pellets or cord wood... 2-4000$ is better spent on insulation or a new high efficiency furnace...

You say you get busy in the winter, does your Wife mind moving wood or bags of pellets, scooping ash or vacuuming out a pellet stove?

There, fixed it for you.

 

[Lake Girl]

Keep them on their toes bogieb! There are times when I get tired of moving pellets and cleaning the stove but ... it is easier than the work I did when we had the outdoor wood boiler. Either option is better than the cost of electric heat!

Edit: If you are concerned about another bad storm, invest in either a generator to keep things running or a source of heat that does not require electricity.

 

[Lake Girl]

Failed to mention that I would likely stick with the natural gas and invest in weather-proofing my home. Good stoves are not cheap (venting can be a big cost of the stove depending on what is needed) and heating from the basement can be difficult. With a split level, heat may not get to farther reaches of the house. Best way to get a good convection loop is to push/move cold air to the stove room (some have fans pushing cold air down their stairs). Stove should go in the room where you spend most of your time ... living room or rec room?

 

[Wilbur Feral]

Failed to mention that I would likely stick with the natural gas and invest in weather-proofing my home. Good stoves are not cheap (venting can be a big cost of the stove depending on what is needed) and heating from the basement can be difficult. With a split level, heat may not get to farther reaches of the house. Best way to get a good convection loop is to push/move cold air to the stove room (some have fans pushing cold air down their stairs). Stove should go in the room where you spend most of your time ... living room or rec room?

Well, here's my first reply of the season: "What Lake Girl said".

Natural gas is simply much cheaper as a heat source compared to pellets, and money spent on keeping heat (insulating, air sealing) is generally the FIRST investment to make. I have two pellet stoves, including one in a basement fireplace. But if I had NG available I would have none.