Replcing wood stove with pellet stove---questions

[whiskeyrichard]

I have two wood stoves, one on each floor of my house. The upstairs stove has been replaced with a nice new country stove. The downstairs stove is an old stove that needs to be replaced.

90 % of our heating comes from the downstairs stove. The upstairs stove is used mainly for "pleasure" and real real cold nights.

Because I am going to be selling the house in the next year, I am going to replace the downstairs stove with a pellet stove. If I were staying, it woiuld be replaced with a wood burner, but I think for resale, it would be nice to have both.

I will be running the new pellet stove into my existing masonry chimney which from the lower level is about 20+ feet tall.

Here are my questions about the pellet stove

Are there the same draft considerations with a pellet stove as there are with a wood burner?
Will the right pellet stove provide as much heat (to heat upstairs and downstairs) as the wood burner?
Do I need a dedicated circuit for the pellet stove or can I just plug in into the outlet that is right near the stove?
Assuming the existing chimney is in good shape, can I run the pipe from the pellet stove just to the entry point to my masonry chimney, or do I need to reline with pipe all the way up to the roof?
I was looking at the enviro line of stoves at my local dealer. Is this a good brand?

I know I could ask these questions at the store, but it is real nice to get these questions answered from people who are not trying to sell me something!!

Thanks again,
Russ

 

[Homefire]

Follow the manufactor's directions for venting ang electric supply.
Most pellet stoves have a power vent so draft is not a real issue.
As for power supply most use less than a few amps.
Enjoy your stove as it looks pellet prices are falling to
back down to $180 a ton.

 

[begreen]

Installing the pellet stove with a continous stainless flex liner to the top of the chimney will give you better draft in case of power outages and will be a much easier system to keep clean. The 3-4" flex is not that expensive and lightweight. I installed mine in a couple hours with a similar setup. No dedicated circuit is needed for the stove.

I'm partial to the Quadrafires for their low maintenance and ease of use. But Shane or Rod should be able to give you more info on the Enviro line.