Ready, Set What to Burn? Pellet or Wood

[robnjit]

I have been leaning heavily on going with a wood stove, and may pull the trigger this weekend.

Here are my thoughts I found online (opinions needed)
1. Less likely to break down when compared to pellet stove.
2. Wood is easily available and sometime for free(find a friend with wood, work with a landscaper, go to a farm, etc)
3. Prices for wood are steady since no manufacturing is needed like Pellets.
4. (Dealer stated). What if you run out of pellets in January? Pellets will be hard to find.
5. (Dealer stated). disappointment are usually from customers who are too lazy to get the wood outside to place in the stove, but pellets may be in the house, closer and lighter to refill
6. (Dealer stated) if you purchase or pickup wood in the same year you plan on burning it then you will be fine against termites since they will not have time to populate
7. Lastly, Pellet prices are going higher and higher where in the future it may not be a viable option.

Secondly. To Insert or not to insert (Not looking for product info, just general info)
I have a 2500 square foot home. All bedrooms on the second floor. Can anyone tell me if inserts sounds like a good way to go. I also have Natural Gas and feel that if I can get the wood for free that this will be able to pay for itself in no time!.

The dealer stated I should go with a large wood stove to cover my home.
EST costs: $3500-4000 installed in North New Jersey.

Here is a picture of a house that looks just like mine, I am in a community complex. Its a home.

Thank you for your time and comments.

 

[Risser09]

Another thing to consider is that you will need a good place to pile the wood. A bunch of pros and cons can be thrown around regarding the pile ad nauseam.

 

[Vic99]

Welcome to the site and wood burning!

I considered both types of stove, but went cord wood. I like the lifestyle of processing my own wood, having a 24/7 wood fire in the living room, etc. It is a LOT of work, but I love it.

#3) Price of cord wood is not steady. It is connected to the costs of other fuels because of demand, cost of running saws, vehicles to transport, etc. If you harvest your own wood, then the monetary price will only go up a bit.

#4) Of course you could buy and stockpile pellets ahead of time

#6) You should season wood for a minimum of 6 months. One year is solid, some prefer to season very dense wood like oaks for 1.5 to 2 years. The drier the wood, the more efficient the stove will be and the less creosote build up. Insects, like carpenter ants, can easily enter the wood pile in this time frame. Many recommend stacking wood at least 20 feet from the home for this reason.

"Secondly . . . "

Inserts vs. freestanding. Lots of opinions here. Both are good.

I initially estimated with harvesting my own wood, that my break even point with the stove would be 4 years. With the jump in fuel prices it now looks like 2.5 to 3 years total. Don't forget to calculate installation costs, liner costs, any modifications to a chimney, added insulation.

I have gotten all of my own wood, most of it not from my own property. Availability depends on where you live, but it is a LOT of paying attention and work for it to be "free". Some of us are into that, other feel the time cost is too high, do not like it, etc.

Realize that if you have not burned before, you will be inefficient in your first month +. (Go through too much wood, not circulate warm air ideally, get less heat, etc. This is normal).

Also, start getting your wood NOW. If you pay for seasoned wood, assume that it is not seasoned. Different sellers have different definitions of "seasoned", so buy now and stack it so you know it is at least partly seasoned.

Good luck.

 

[savageactor7]

Got any friends/co-workers that burn wood? Good idea to check with them and get the heads up ...it'll be a big help in making your decision.

 

[Jags]

Pellets = dealers or suppliers. I don't like that.
Pellets = No electricity, no heat unless a backup is available
Pellets = motor driven, control board run mechanics. More stuff to break.
Pellets = less work than wood.
Pellets = More cost than wood.
Pellets = easy storage when compared to wood
Pellets = thermostatically controlled heat.

Insert v.s. freestanding wood stove: Typically if comparing apples to apples when it comes to stoves, the free standing stove has more surface area to radiate heat to the room = more heat than the insert. This doesn't mean that you can't heat the area with an insert, just a size for size comparison.

You may want to approach this from a personal review of yourself. Do you want to deal with wood and all that it takes? Do you want a skid of pellets delivered to your garage and dump a couple of buckets a day into the stove and fugitaboutit? Is this 24/7 heat? (lots of wood or pellets). Is this night time recreation (want as little work as possible involved). Review what kind of energy (your energy) that you want to apply to your heat source. Review cost of fuel on both sides. Is one a deal breaker over the other.

 

[Adios Pantalones]

2500 sq ft is a decent sized house, IMO! If you have an open downstairs floorplan, then a good sized stove will be a big benefit. I have an insert- they are less efficient than a freestanding stove, but give a good fireplace feel, and take up less space. If you want a big insert- then you need to have a big fireplace to set it in, and many prefab fireplaces may not allow this. That cost probably includes a full liner- which is not a bad idea.

It sounds like the dealer was pretty thorough on the big pros and cons. As Clownkisser stated- it can become a lifestyle. You will need a place to put wood- but it can actually be an attractive feature of the yard (albeit at a lot of work)- see the pictures forum for ideas.

I will be canceling my gym membership soon. I've been heating with wood for years, but have been somewhat lax in my duties. It is incredibly satisfying to put in an honest day's labor, take a much needed shower, and inspect the day's work with beer in hand.

Pellets are a hot comodity lately, and price as well as availability are getting worse with the price of oil. Something to think about longer term- I'm sure this will bring pellet makers into the industry and it will regulate itself, but it will always fluctuate. Buying wood will as well, to some degree (prices are way up here- but still a bargain compared to oil).

 

[Patapsco Mike]

If you have reasonable access to high quality firewood (which you should since you are in the Northeast), a place to store it, and are comfortable with an axe and chain saw, it's an easy decision. Wood.

If you have a small yard, don't have a good place to keep 8-10 cords of wood, or if you don't like messing around with wood, get a pellet stove.

 

[Jags]

As Clownkisser stated-

Baaahaha...Clownkisser

Hey, wait a minute, thats kinda creepy <shiver> hh:

 

[Adios Pantalones]

I've called him much worse to his face over the past 20+ yrs I've known him

 

[billb3]

I'm supposed to be making this decision this Summer, too.

It's coming down to time.
Even as I am cutting stacking wood I'm contemplating a pellet stove.

I'm just not finding/making the time to built a good stock of wood any more.

 

[olddaddy]

I would go with burning wood. I have been burning since the first oil crisis in the early seventies(hence the name oldburner). At first it is time consuming but once you get it down, it becomes a life style. I find great satisfaction in cutting , splitting and then stacking the wood. Then in the winter months you reap the rewards of a warm home. It also keeps you in shape.

 

[Risser09]

The biggest reason I made the switch to wood, was the off-the-grid mentality that I am now consumed with. Having to deal with contracts, lock-ins, inflating prices, incorrect billing, phone calls, erratic delivery, slow maintenance, slow response time, and overall incompetent human beings makes OIL THE WORST WAY TO HEAT YOUR HOME. I want to be at the opposite end of the spectrum and pellets aren't far enough away from what I described.

Wood Is Good

 

[begreen]

This is a very common question. Do a search on pellet vs wood and you will find an overwhelming number of posts. Each has it's advantages and disadvantages.

I've owned and enjoyed both. At one point our house ran both wood and pellet. Something to consider in a large house if you have a busy lifestyle. Each has it's advantages and disadvantages. What I liked about having the combo was that the pellet stove ran in many ways, like a heat pump. It was on a digital thermostat and had the house warmed up by the time we awoke. It required minimal maintenance and was good for heating the house down to about freezing, which is the bulk of our winter days. When the temps were below 40 we often burned night and weekend fires, but if we didn't the propane furnace still didn't come on.

The sales pitch is not really that accurate. You could run out of dry burnable wood just as easily as pellets if you haven't purchased enough to last through the winter. And at least locally, cord wood is going for about $25/cord more than last year. Sign of the times with inflation running about 10-15%.

Where were you intending to put the stove in this house? How open is the first floor plan? If there is a bedroom over the garage, it may be hard to heat. If so, you might consider having a safe, electric heater in this room.

 

[robnjit]

Wow. I can't believe all the responses. THANK YOU very much!

I love the responses. I have Natural gas but like another poster, I want to build a "off the grid" lifestyle.


Thank you, THank you, Thank you. I know we are making the right decision and love to have a forum of like minded individuals.


Thanx

Rob

 

[gibson]

There is another underestimated factor that drives many of us on this board. It is the whole realm of starting building and watching a fire. We are drawn to it. That is why we like campfires, bonfires, fireplaces, woodstoves, etc. I got my insert because I have a centrally located fireplace and didnt want to pay to oil man anymore. Secondarily, I thought about those couple of days a year where we get a big snowstorm, school is cancelled and the kids have been sledding and I have been clearing the driveway and the paths. The whole family, by the fire, hot chocolate, etc. You don't get those times back. It's good stuff, no TV or video games, just chillin' as a family by the fire. When the kids are grown, I figure that'll be some good stuff to look back upon. I didn't get that same vibe from a pellet stove. Call me sentimental, I guess...

 

[RedRanger]

Do the wood= simple math, age 30+ makes you wundar bar man. 60+ keeps you alive and something to keep you motivated. Add it all up and you get wood= self reliance, self esteem, sense of self worth, and nice and cozy home which = happy wife and better sex life --no matter what your age. Just do the wood!!

 

[begreen]

Hey, weren't you just complaining about only having soft wood? How's that make the wife happy?

 

[robnjit]

There is another underestimated factor that drives many of us on this board. It is the whole realm of starting building and watching a fire. We are drawn to it. That is why we like campfires, bonfires, fireplaces, woodstoves, etc. I got my insert because I have a centrally located fireplace and didnt want to pay to oil man anymore. Secondarily, I thought about those couple of days a year where we get a big snowstorm, school is cancelled and the kids have been sledding and I have been clearing the driveway and the paths. The whole family, by the fire, hot chocolate, etc. You don't get those times back. It's good stuff, no TV or video games, just chillin' as a family by the fire. When the kids are grown, I figure that'll be some good stuff to look back upon. I didn't get that same vibe from a pellet stove. Call me sentimental, I guess...

I never saw it from this point of view.

Thanx for the comment. My wife and I plan on having kids soon and it would be great to have that hot chocolate type of moment.

On a side note: I just came back from the dealer, I basically told him of my goals of effiency and price.

We are down to two models:
Dutchwest Large Non-Cataytic Wood Stove (55btu, 10 burn) =$1,900
and
Morso 3610 (60K btu, 10 hour burn, front and side loader) <<- this is the one I will likely get.

Installation is $475.00 flat rate
Permit Required.

EST costs: 3K-3200

 

[Highbeam]

I would rather get the Morso than any product associated with VC (the DUtchwest) due to their financial issues. Plus, that Morso looks real nice.

I've run both types of stove but only owned a woodstove. My little kids will both curl up and fall asleep on the floor in front of the nice and warm soapstone stove. It is silent and wonderful to watch burn. The kids visited a home with a pellet stove and got warm but it was whiel listening to those motors rumble and it wasn't a radiant heat. Just like a furnace.

On edit: Yes, the woodstove is great but is a lot of work. I would like both for the simple reason that I can set the pellet to run on a thermostat. It will run when I am asleep, away from home, sick in bed, or busy doing something else.

 

[michiganwinters]

Woodstoves are work. But you most of us have come to love the process. Finding wood to cut up and take home is like finding dollar bills laying in the forest I have owned both pellet and a woodstove. We had the pellet first and it was ok. It was easier. But.....I got so sick of the fan. I didnt even realize how much I hated the noise of the pellet stove until the first night we sat in front of our woodstove. Just something about it being 0 outside, with big ol snowflakes and sitting by the woodstove with a cup of coffee and a book....and of course my cat on my lap. My husband and I choose to cut our own wood (much better than the local woodguys) and we enjoy it. We wheel it out of the woods on a hand cart or carry 3' legnths. In fact just this weekend there was a big white oak, 2' diameter, that fell during a storm. We had it all loaded in just over an hour.....1 cord. I must admit that I too visit my woodshed several times throughout the summer just to look at it, smell it...............AND IM A GIRL!

Just a question......would you be better off with something more suited for 3000 sqft since your home is so large??? I went with one 97,000 btu's, 3000 sqft, and my home is only 1520sqft....so glad I went bigger....10-14hr burns.

 

[Ken45]

A wood stove, especially a free standing one, gives you radiant heat. Nice, quiet, warm, even when the power is out. Even a wood insert will give you more radiant heat than a pellet stove. There is something almost magical about the way a wood stove just sits there and quietly radiates heat on a cold night

Pellet stoves don't give off much radiant heat at all, it all comes out via the blower. I have actually felt cold sitting six feet from the pellet stove due to the draft the blower causes. Personally, I don't like the noise of blowers.

My experience: we heated with a wood stove in the 70's. We have a wood furnace in the basement in this house (6 years). It warms the house nicely, but has zero ambiance. We added a pellet stove last year. It's been a disappointment. We are now installing a new wood stove in the dining room. Of course, with 90 acres of woods and being retired, wood heat is a lot cheaper than pellets. The pellet stove will be used for mild days or if we are ill.

Ken