Talk me into or out of a pellet stove to supplement NG forced air

[scoob8000]

I have a co-worker who is forever hyping up pellet stoves. I happened across a bit of a deal at the local Tractor Supply so I bit on it. Before I hook it up, I'm having second thoughts thinking about returning it.

I have a 1500ish sqft home with natural gas heat. My main reasoning for the pellet stove was reduce the gas bill while keeping the unfinished basement/attached garage a little bit warmer.

My plan was to install it in the basement, nearly under a cold air return and cut in a vent into the return, using the whole house fan to circulate the heat.

After bringing it home I almost immediately ran into a bit of a snag with my proposed install location with proper clearances. Then while doing some research I came to the conclusion that NG would be cheaper in the long run.

Is it worth keeping my now $1100 investment as secondary/supplement heat source or would I be better off putting that money into other home improvements?


For what it's worth, local prices are anywhere from 210-250 a ton and the highest gas bill I've ever seen in the 4 years here was $128 for the month. That's last month with a few sub-zero days too.

 

[IHATEPROPANE]

I have a co-worker who is forever hyping up pellet stoves. I happened across a bit of a deal at the local Tractor Supply so I bit on it. Before I hook it up, I'm having second thoughts thinking about returning it.

I have a 1500ish sqft home with natural gas heat. My main reasoning for the pellet stove was reduce the gas bill while keeping the unfinished basement/attached garage a little bit warmer.

My plan was to install it in the basement, nearly under a cold air return and cut in a vent into the return, using the whole house fan to circulate the heat.

After bringing it home I almost immediately ran into a bit of a snag with my proposed install location with proper clearances. Then while doing some research I came to the conclusion that NG would be cheaper in the long run.

Is it worth keeping my now $1100 investment as secondary/supplement heat source or would I be better off putting that money into other home improvements?


For what it's worth, local prices are anywhere from 210-250 a ton and the highest gas bill I've ever seen in the 4 years here was $128 for the month. That's last month with a few sub-zero days too.

Probably best to stick with NG. Unless you want to use the pellet stove for ambiance here and there. But at the current NG rate you will not save any money going with pellets.

 

[moey]

Money would be better spend insulating your basement and putting in a new duct in the basement.

 

[Lake Girl]

What stove is it? If it is a US Stove, they seem to have more than their share of issues. Invest in other household upgrades and stick with the NG...

 

[chken]

I vote for saving your money for other projects.

 

[hyfire]

Invest in roxul insulation.......great stuff. Pellets will cost you x2 NG, but you don;t have the cozy feeling near the the NG furnace....

 

[stratocaster1422]

If you want a stove, get a wood stove as a non-powered back up for when the power goes out....other than that you're crazy to put in a pellet stove with the price of NG. My parents have NG and heat their 2k sf home to almost 80 and it is still cheaper than pellets.

 

[hyfire]

Pellets are for people who are in a remote location and have no NG, since oil and propane or electricity are too costly. Or people who just like something different..

 

[mithesaint]

Return the stove, and use that money to insulate your basement.

 

[Dr.Faustus]

I hate to say it because i love my stove so much but return it. At those NG prices, its not worth it. Pellets will cost you more in the long run, plus factor in your time. the stacking of pellets, filling the hopper and cleaning the stove. plus the initial investment of the stove and its exhaust.
I guess NG is is just that cheap.... dont have NG here in the sticks.

 

[BrotherBart]

Stick with NG. I have a lot of Exxon stock.

 

[Madcodger]

This is not a hard decision unless you have localized areas that need supplemental heat. NG is far less expensive. Google might be your friend here. These prices are collected and monitored and published.

 

[alternativeheat]

I have a co-worker who is forever hyping up pellet stoves. I happened across a bit of a deal at the local Tractor Supply so I bit on it. Before I hook it up, I'm having second thoughts thinking about returning it.

I have a 1500ish sqft home with natural gas heat. My main reasoning for the pellet stove was reduce the gas bill while keeping the unfinished basement/attached garage a little bit warmer.

My plan was to install it in the basement, nearly under a cold air return and cut in a vent into the return, using the whole house fan to circulate the heat.

After bringing it home I almost immediately ran into a bit of a snag with my proposed install location with proper clearances. Then while doing some research I came to the conclusion that NG would be cheaper in the long run.

Is it worth keeping my now $1100 investment as secondary/supplement heat source or would I be better off putting that money into other home improvements?


For what it's worth, local prices are anywhere from 210-250 a ton and the highest gas bill I've ever seen in the 4 years here was $128 for the month. That's last month with a few sub-zero days too.

My son heats with NG, very inexpensive compared with say, OIL ! Your call but I probably wouldn't do it unless i just wanted a stove going. I doubt it would be a Tractor Supply unit though. Good luck what ever you do.

 

[JustWood]

If I could heat my place for $128/month,,,, my wood furnace would be hauled out and sold.
I'd keep my stove for backup but the main heat maker wood be gone!

 

[BigJohnfromCT]

If I could get NG I'd consider putting my stove on eBay tomorrow. With the money you'll save on pellets, buy a generator if you're in an area prone to power outages.

 

[scoob8000]

Well that's a pretty unanimous decision there. I'm going to attempt to return it tonight. Hopefully they don't give me any grief since it was a floor model.

alternativeheat, That too. After looking this unit over real good at home, I'm seeing some poor workmanship. Bad welds, welding wire hanging from a couple beads, sloppy wiring in the back, etc.

Thanks for the input everyone!

 

[tjnamtiw]

http://www.buildinggreen.com/calc/fuel_cost.cfm
Plug in your numbers and talk YOURSELF out of a pellet stove since you have NG!

 

[JoeS]

Take it from me, I purchased a pellet stove in 2007 after we moved into our present home which has (2) gas furnaces. At the time they were run by propane and we just didn't see the sense in throwing away money purchasing this expensive gas. We installed the stove and with the exception of extremely cold days were able to heat the house primarily with the pellets.

To my surprise a few years later I was delighted to find that NG was available to me. We had the NG run to the house and converted the furnaces from propane to NG.

If I had it all to do over and I knew NG was available I would not have purchased a pellet stove. NG is the way to go and the price comparisons aren't even close.

Now the crazy part of this is we still run the pellet stove every day! It is an obsession that really doesn't make any sense. I know it costs us more but run it anyway!

Maybe one day I'll sell the stove and buy a gas insert but until then I'll keep burning pellets, it is a sickness I guess!

 

[PoopieBritches]

Definitely agree that NG is the cheapest, most convenient way to heat. However unlikely it may be, there is a possibility that your gas supply could be interrupted, or that you could have problems with the furnace. Leaving you with no heat. I'm surprised that no one else has pointed out the practicality, or importance of having a back up plan.
You've already spent the money for the stove, why not use it for a back up?
I doubt that it will really heat your home from the basement, but then again, replacing pipes that freeze and possibly burst as a result would surely be costly.(and a major inconvenience)
Just my thoughts...

 

[moey]

Take it from me, I purchased a pellet stove in 2007 after we moved into our present home which has (2) gas furnaces. At the time they were run by propane and we just didn't see the sense in throwing away money purchasing this expensive gas. We installed the stove and with the exception of extremely cold days were able to heat the house primarily with the pellets.

To my surprise a few years later I was delighted to find that NG was available to me. We had the NG run to the house and converted the furnaces from propane to NG.

If I had it all to do over and I knew NG was available I would not have purchased a pellet stove. NG is
the way to go and the price comparisons aren't even close.

Now the crazy part of this is we still run the pellet stove every day! It is an obsession that really doesn't make any sense. I know it costs us more but run it anyway!

Maybe one day I'll sell the stove and buy a gas insert but until then I'll keep burning pellets, it is a sickness I guess!

hee hee, kinda funny I still run my pellet stove although we had a geothermal system installed which is cheaper to operate. Although I do have a need for it in case I lose electricity.

 

[Dustin]

Definitely agree that NG is the cheapest, most convenient way to heat. However unlikely it may be, there is a possibility that your gas supply could be interrupted, or that you could have problems with the furnace. Leaving you with no heat. I'm surprised that no one else has pointed out the practicality, or importance of having a back up plan.
You've already spent the money for the stove, why not use it for a back up?
I doubt that it will really heat your home from the basement, but then again, replacing pipes that freeze and possibly burst as a result would surely be costly.(and a major inconvenience)
Just my thoughts...

I agree with that.. Do you spend any time in the basement? Work shop down there?

For 1100 bucks, it might be nice to keep a few bags of pellets around, and use the stove when you're tooling around in the basement

 

[mik_kane]

If I can get NG I would sell my stove and rip out all my electric base board heaters and replace them with hot water base board heaters. Pretty easy to run now that you can use plastic tubing to connect the heaters.

 

[jigger47]

New to the forum first post. Been looking at getting a pellet. I currently have NG furnace and old Elmira wood stove. Looking at pellet for clearance issues with wood stove. (Renos in basement ). Unsure of new pellet or new high efficient wood stove (Blaz king ). Will continue to read on

 

[wsar10]

I personally think you should bring as many sources of heat into your home as posible........We have the (oil) boiler that came in the house, I installed a Fujitsu Mini split, two electric fireplaces and we keep an eden pure around for spot use. We just now bought a Pellet stove pretty much for back up......
The mini split system is by far our best investment. NG is not yet an option for us, I have to pay for the city's main extension THAN plumb it into my house and through out.
We made some key purchase before spending on a pellet stove, insulated attic floor (upstairs ceiling) new windows and doors most importantly.
last year we burned 100 gal of fuel oil in all ! we were able to run the heat pump most of the winter.

 

[TonyVideo]

For me NG was slightly less to Pellet pricing as it has gone up. I felt it will continue to go up as well. The 2 pellet stoves I recently installed allow me to heat a portion of my house that the NG furnace always struggled with supplying sufficient heat when it got below 25 degrees in an old 1880's home. I could never get it to the farthest distance from the furnace. I don't have a lot of options with duct work in this old home. The stoves allow even heat throught the home which we never have had. Also my furnace is old and will need replacing so I decided to go with pellets and use it as my backup for now. I was using a kerosene heater in the colder part of the home and that was very expensive. I wanted an option for when and if power goes out as well. I have a Honda EU2000 generator I pull out every so often during ice storms as usually power will go out. In the past I fired up a 2nd kerosene heater for emergencies but it never was enough to elevate the temps but just to keep things at around 60 depending on outside temps. Two stoves allowed me to put them where needed to heat the whole house evenly. Each home is different along with each of our needs.