Wood Burner going Pellet I think

[Rcneal22]

Been burning wood as a supplement for years but think I really want to go to pellets. Until recently I was determined to burn down the woodpile and make the switch. But I saw an internet add for woodbricks and am having second thoughts. I'm still leaning to pellets but if someone with real world experience wants to drop a few thoughts I'd appreciate it.

Also I genereally understand you get what you pay for but am wondering if the premium price you pay for a Harmon or say Regency is worth it. I've looked at those along with Englander and it's variants.

Again of someone has experience with a couple of the above I'd love to hear your thoughts..

Russ
Milton NH
Russo Wood Stove

PS we live in a 1500 SF Ranch style Log Cabin

 

[unbidden]

I have a friend that went from wood to Envi Blocks + Bio Bricks. He loves them; I'd say buy a small amount and give them a shot. If you like the result then decide on the pellet stove in spring or summer.

 

[kniffin50]

I've been a wood burner all my life,still have one stove in upstairs fireplace.With plenty of good oak to still burn, but I got tired of feeding two stoves,the one in the basement had to go.Replaced it with a Harman p43 and glad I did.Even the wife loves it! No more lugging wood into the basement all winter,now just stack up the bags of pellets,traded the chainsaw for a pair of scissors to open the bags with.When I run out of wood the wood stove upstairs will go to and a pellet insert will replace it.No regrets,I loved the wood but the pellets make my life more enjoyable. Rusty

 

[Chrisnow86]

I've been a wood burner for a long time and was sick of spending every weekend dropping trees and spitting wood.. Fire wood was my only source of heat.. So I went to pellets I bought a englander 25 pdv and love it... Kicks out good heat easy to fix myself if somthing goes wrong just a nice stove.. I first looked at harmans but I couldn't find myself spending 4 grand on a stove. Had a few friends with englanders and the all loved them so I got one for myself.. Glad I made the switch. So much less work... One thing I miss is the glow from the wood stove, pellet stove are a bright white flame and flicker really fast not the slow roll like a wood stove..

 

[chken]

Been burning wood as a supplement for years but think I really want to go to pellets. Until recently I was determined to burn down the woodpile and make the switch. But I saw an internet add for woodbricks and am having second thoughts. I'm still leaning to pellets but if someone with real world experience wants to drop a few thoughts I'd appreciate it.

Also I genereally understand you get what you pay for but am wondering if the premium price you pay for a Harmon or say Regency is worth it. I've looked at those along with Englander and it's variants.

Again of someone has experience with a couple of the above I'd love to hear your thoughts..

Russ
Milton NH
Russo Wood Stove

PS we live in a 1500 SF Ranch style Log Cabin

Since you're an experienced hand at burning wood, you know enough to make buying a less-expensive stove like an Englander, worth while.

 

[SKOAL MAN]

A pellet stove is nothing like a wood stove! They are noisy, require much more maintanance, take forever to heat up a house from cold, and don't throw off nearly as much heat as a good wood stove! Not to mention that the price of pellets keep going up, if you can even find them! If my back wasn't broke and everyone that sold wood wasn't a crook, I would still burn wood! In saying that, the good thing about a pellet stove is, my wife and kids can keep it going, and even if it goes out, she's smart enough(barely) to give the pot a scrape, put in more pellets and hit ON. Once the house gets up to temp it does a good job keeping it there.

 

[Chrisnow86]

If you take the hours and days to splitting and cutting fire wood and the time loading the stove, waking up at 3 am to load the stove so the house was warm in the morning... No way does a pellet stove require more time of my life than a wood stove

 

[bcarton]

Well when Liberty Utilities here in NH decided to skyrocket their prices this year, I knew I had to get off the electric heat. I had no wood, so I started burning Eco-Bricks from Tractor Supply. They burn different than cordwood, there's a little learning curve to them but man it is cleaner, easier to manage in every way and to me it was still way less than electric heat. If I'd had a good stove and a good chimney, I would have gone through the winter with those. But I decided to learn more about stoves, chimneys etc. and it was all bad news: I had 7" stove going through a 6" thimble into a masonry chimney that was too short, didn't draft worth a damn and could generate creosote very effectively. Cost to upgrade both the stove and chimney was well over $3000 counting a used stove at less than $1000. So, I threw in the towel and went with an old $800 pellet stove, and did the venting up right with 4" pipe and liner all the way to the top of that dangerous old creosote generating chimney. I'm heating 1500 sq feet out of 2100 (keeping 3 unused bedrooms closed off) and the whole house is warm with a 34K BTU stove.

I do miss the dancing flames of the wood stove, but I don't miss always worrying about a chimney fire before hitting the end of the year. I've spent about $3200 for the stove, the venting, and 3 tons of pellets, enough for the rest of this year. I can sleep through the night without getting up - not too much of a big deal, as I'm fairly insomniac anyways. But, if I could have got into a nice wood stove, safe chimney and 3 tons of Eco-Bricks for the same price, I absolutely woulda done it. No regrets though, this little pellet stove throws more heat than we need and I know we're safe. Next year, I'm seriously thinking of doing a wood fireplace insert at the other end of the house, something that offers quiet, radiant heat.

As others have said, you got experience that will pay if you do convert. You do want to look at old and new stoves, whether you want thermostat, digital etc. Me personally I went with old, no thermo and all analog. I've worked with digital equipment for almost 40 years, and really like the simplicity and reliability of motors, rheotstats, and switches. But, I can see the value to all the fancy controls, just not convinced yet that they all belong in something that burns wood at high temperatures.

If you have a good stove, good chimney, and you want to save bucks you could get a ton of bricks somewhere and not be in a hurry. You can take your time and read through these forums, visit stove shops, and talk to folks. Stoves and pellets are always cheaper in the spring and summer, when no one needs them. I was under pressure, because for example last year in December I used a little over 4000 kWh in electric, and this year the price for that would be almost $900. That's not your situation. But if you're itchin' for a pellet stove, you won't go wrong with the advice you get here.

 

[Husky]

Just did the switch myself after 20+ years of wood burning. Very happy with my decision. I bought the harman after many months of research. The amount of physical labor that wood takes compared to pellets is not comparable. If you are buying wood it is about a wash to buying pellets. The heat from a good wood stove is definitely better than a pellet stove but a pellet stove can produce a constant pretty warm fire for as long as you want it too, without having to bank it up every 4-6 hours like a wood stove. Fill the hopper and set it on high and your good for at least 12-16 hours (65 lbs). You do have to perform general cleaning about every week, which takes maybe 10 minutes and then a thorough cleaning after about a ton of pellets, which takes me about 20-30 minutes.

 

[Big papa]

Been burning wood as a supplement for years but think I really want to go to pellets. Until recently I was determined to burn down the woodpile and make the switch. But I saw an internet add for woodbricks and am having second thoughts. I'm still leaning to pellets but if someone with real world experience wants to drop a few thoughts I'd appreciate it.

Also I genereally understand you get what you pay for but am wondering if the premium price you pay for a Harmon or say Regency is worth it. I've looked at those along with Englander and it's variants.

Again of someone has experience with a couple of the above I'd love to hear your thoughts..

Russ
Milton NH
Russo Wood Stove

PS we live in a 1500 SF Ranch style Log Cabin

I've burnt wood since I could carry a log,this June my wife and I had our pellet sove installed we both love it I said to her why didn't we look into it years ago.by the time I could put my boots and warm clothes on to go out to the wood pile,in that time I could have my pellet stove set and ready for a 12 hour or more burn I will never go back to a wood stove. I'm not sure what stove skoal man has but my new stove brings the house temp up much faster with its hefty blowers much faster than my wood stove did.

 

[SKOAL MAN]

If you take the hours and days to splitting and cutting fire wood and the time loading the stove, waking up at 3 am to load the stove so the house was warm in the morning... No way does a pellet stove require more time of my life than a wood stove

If you have your wood cut split and delivered, and have a good wood stove, you only have to load it once or twice a day!

 

[CenterTree]

Just remember, pellet stoves do need maintenance and cleaning, they and have moving parts that require replacement.

A pellet stove is not going to be any good during a power outage also.
Pellet stove is noisier.

I have both and enjoy both. I just favor the wood stove. (my wood is free though)
I am not a fan of the HIGH priced bags of compressed sawdust. (pellets)

Pellet stove does require a lot less baby-sitting while it's running though.

 

[joed2323]

Pellet stoves for the record as long as you keep her clean and take care of her.

Much less work, no worries of coming home to your house in gulfed in flames from a chimney fire either

 

[SKOAL MAN]

Pellet stoves for the record as long as you keep her clean and take care of her.

Much less work, no worries of coming home to your house in gulfed in flames from a chimney fire either

I am a volunteer fire fighter. 11 out of 13 chimney fires I went to last year were pellet stoves! So that is a load of crap!! A pellet stove is just as dangerous as a wood stove if not properly maintained, just ask your insurance company!

 

[Rcneal22]

Just did the switch myself after 20+ years of wood burning. Very happy with my decision. I bought the harman after many months of research. The amount of physical labor that wood takes compared to pellets is not comparable. If you are buying wood it is about a wash to buying pellets. The heat from a good wood stove is definitely better than a pellet stove but a pellet stove can produce a constant pretty warm fire for as long as you want it too, without having to bank it up every 4-6 hours like a wood stove. Fill the hopper and set it on high and your good for at least 12-16 hours (65 lbs). You do have to perform general cleaning about every week, which takes maybe 10 minutes and then a thorough cleaning after about a ton of pellets, which takes me about 20-30 minutes.

That is kind of my thinking and with the price of seasoned cord wood here pellets a cheaper per BTU. and I think the more but not completely automatic nature of a pellet stove will result in less oil being burned. I also like the idea of being able to control it better. No 90 F in the living room with the door to the porch open so it cools down to 85.

I am interested in the amount of cleaning time required in an Englander 25EP and a Harmon P43

 

[Jason845845]

That is kind of my thinking and with the price of seasoned cord wood here pellets a cheaper per BTU. and I think the more but not completely automatic nature of a pellet stove will result in less oil being burned. I also like the idea of being able to control it better. No 90 F in the living room with the door to the porch open so it cools down to 85.

I am interested in the amount of cleaning time required in an Englander 25EP and a Harmon P43

My daily cleaning for 25-ep is about 5 minutes. I do shut the stove down for it though. There is a heat exchanger cleaning rod that needs to be pulled a couple times, then I have an ash vac hooked up right next to the stove, so I quickly clean the ash, scrape the burn pot with a painter's tool thingy, and clean the glass. Dump vac in yard. I fill the hopper in the morning and have a coal hod full of pellets with a scoop so my wife can top off if needed. I feel I can skip my daily cleaning though. Total time per day: 10 minutes.

Weekly clean is everything I do for daily clean, but I remove the firebrick so I can remove the baffle and get to the heat exchanger tubes with the vac. There are two access plates behind the ash pan that need to be removed to get to where there is a slight ash bulid up. After this, I beat the crap out of the back of the firebox to knock loose any more ash. Total time: 20 minutes.

I have not done a full deep clean yet, such as pulling the blowers.

 

[Wilbur Feral]

I am a volunteer fire fighter. 11 out of 13 chimney fires I went to last year were pellet stoves! So that is a load of crap!! A pellet stove is just as dangerous as a wood stove if not properly maintained, just ask your insurance company!

Having read your posts, It seems your experience defies the norm in a number of ways, including this debate. Pellet stoves are not without risk and must be properly installed and maintained, but have safety features not found on wood stoves while also being less prone to the production of creosote. Risks can be determined by the OP and otther readers with that information in mind. Perhaps they only call you out for some of the fires, and let others tackle the rest...

To the OP re: convenience, there is no comparison. One of my stoves requires only dumping in more pellets as needed (about 1 bag per day in winter) and a weekly 2 minute vacuuming along with a monthly cleaning of 30 min or less. It operates on a thermostat and keeps the temp consistently confortable without overheating the room. The other requires a 30 second vacuuming each day and the same monthly cleaning, but is old and has fewer conveniences such as a thermostat. You will not have those challenges with a newer stove, and even without a stat the room rarely becomes too warm.

My neighbor has a wood stove and burns wood bricks. Definitely cleaner / easier than wood, but take a look at each of our chimneys on any given day and watch what comes out. Says much about efficiency. Only advantage of wood stove if burning wood bricks occurs in power outages. We have solved that with a generator we want to have anyway, and battery backup for the stove (ours will run a good 24 hours on battery, and we recharge battery off generator. Have endured 5 or more days without power and kept house at 70).

 

[unbidden]

I am a volunteer fire fighter. 11 out of 13 chimney fires I went to last year were pellet stoves! So that is a load of crap!! A pellet stove is just as dangerous as a wood stove if not properly maintained, just ask your insurance company!

Yes, maintenance is the key. However, if your insurance company is aware you are burning wood and you switch to pellet, your insurance will go down due to it being a safer alternative. The problem with pellet is that many people are purchasing them, a large number that wouldn't entertain the thought of using a wood stove, too much work. They're under the impression that pellets are maintenance free; we here know that is not the case.

 

[bags]

I have burned wood for a long time. You can have at it. Tons of work and I have done it both ways with stoves and a boiler. Went with a Woodmaster 5500 OWB ten years ago because I wanted to load it once or twice a day instead of a non-stop around the clock wood chucking operation required with wood stoves. I have many friends that also burn wood with many different stoves. Same non-stop wood processing and wood chucking around the clock.

Burning with an indoor stove is not a load it once or twice a day proposition. No way in hell. I'd like to see that magical stove! Did it come with a unicorn? Pellet stoves are also safer than wood stoves in many ways. 1. They have built in limit safety features. 2. No possibility of big hot coals falling out. Wood burners don't throttle down when the door is opened 3. No broken backs and herniated tweeked nut sacks handling trees and cord wood. If you can't handle a 40 lb bag you need to be looking for the thermostat switch to click left or right. 4. There is without a doubt a much reduced risk of chimney fires and house fires if installed correctly. Idiots will be idiots no matter what. Look a drivers on the road. There are many more points as to why they are safer and easier to deal with.

There is in no way a comparison of wood stoves to pellet stoves for the amount of work involved all said and done cleaning and all. There is no such thing as free wood either. Time, fuel, oil, moving it with trucks, wood splitter fuel, chains and bars, on & on, etc; People like to over look those costs to make the ass beating they take from wood acquisition and processing and to feel a little better about it. No such thing as a "free puppy" either. How much did that puppy cost after the first vet visit for all the shots and stuff? OK, Now add in the stop to the pet store for toys and stuff. Free puppies are not so free.

I still burn wood and will continue that until I can't walk. It is a good tried and true heat source with a bunch of slave labor involved. Even if you buy your cord wood you pay money and still have to hump it around non-stop.

I have switched to a pellet stove as of this Oct. I should have done that years ago. I like it so much and it is so much easier I bought another pellet stove within a month. Now as for the heat out put my P68 throws more than a wood stove AND it throws a lot of RADIANT heat also. Another reason I chose this model Harman. Many pellet stoves DO NOT do that. This stove works just like a free standing wood stove in that regard. As for cleaning it takes me about 15 seconds a day while it is running. No shut down needed at all. Realistically the pot doesn't need to be scraped daily either.

It was a no brainer and a back saver here. Not to mention how much time it has freed up. Read up a bunch and research as to which stove and price point works best for you. I am very happy with my choices.

 

[tjnamtiw]

I am a volunteer fire fighter. 11 out of 13 chimney fires I went to last year were pellet stoves! So that is a load of crap!! A pellet stove is just as dangerous as a wood stove if not properly maintained, just ask your insurance company!

WHAT??????????????? I would love to see a break down of what exactly caused those 11 chimney fires for my own information and safety as far as what to look for. Or do you mean improper installation such as lack of a proper penetration through a combustible wall or combustibles too close to the stove/piping or the exhaust too close to the ground or vegetation? 11 out of 13 CHIMNEY fires??????

 

[bags]

BTW, Welcome! This forum is an invaluable resource if you use it. Why reinvent the wheel anyway? I haven't touched a piece of wood and doubt I do other than to operate the OWB and stoves just because and to keep them trucking. I don't like to moth ball stuff.

 

[bags]

WHAT??????????????? I would love to see a break down of what exactly caused those 11 chimney fires for my own information and safety as far as what to look for. Or do you mean improper installation such as lack of a proper penetration through a combustible wall or combustibles too close to the stove/piping or the exhaust too close to the ground or vegetation? 11 out of 13 CHIMNEY fires??????

Probably vented right into them without cleaning a decades worth of creosote out from the wood burner they yanked out.

 

[bags]

That or there is an arsonist on the loose. That's a bunch of chimney fires. Must have a blind building inspector too. Dunno.......

 

[tjnamtiw]

To the OP, having cut/split/hauled/loaded/unloaded wood for 40 + years before my pellet stoves, when you get to the point of looking at it as work instead of recreation or a chance to drink a few with a buddy, it's time to move on.
IMHO there are a lot of choices for stoves out there before plunking down twice what you have to to become a Harman cult member. If you have cut trees, maintained chainsaws and chains, operated a log splitter, and kept your pickup running, you have the basic skill set to maintain and troubleshoot a pellet stove. The Englanders and Quads offer many alternatives to the undoubtedly better Harmans although you will still see a constant stream of pleas for help on here from Harman owners too. It's just a question of how you want to spend your hard earned money.

 

[tjnamtiw]

Probably vented right into them without cleaning a decades worth of creosote out from the wood burner they yanked out.

Precisely, bags! I would venture to guess all 11 were stupid installation/operation mistakes. Heaven knows there are a lot of people out there who should NOT be running pellet stoves! Or ANYTHING mechanical.