Wood Insert vs Pellet Insert Question by Newbie

[geoffelse]

Trying to decide on the best route here given my situation. Burning through oil this winter was not fun. I've got almost 3000sqft. I'd like to heat my 1st floor (about 1800sqft) so I am looking for a fireplace insert.

Wife is home with our son so she would be tending the fire. I am looking out 7-8 years if we have another child and my wife begins working during the week. Can we rely on a wood burn to keep the house warm while we are out? Obviously pellet takes care of itself but the fuel costs of wood more economical and desirable.

I've got room for the wood or the pellets and the wife says she doesn't mind tending the fire. I just don't want to have to back to a frigid house after a day of work.

Anyone care to way in before I ask the pellet fans?

 

[Wood Heat Stoves]

It depends on how long the interval would be before you can reload the stove, along with some other factors. Wood is more economical and doesn't require power to work, as in when and if you have power outages. If no one is there to tend the fire for 8-10 hours, though, you are probably going to come home to a relatively cold house and spend the next couple of hours chilly reheating it. Been there, done that. While you may be OK with that, usually a wife and kids aren't. I would lean towards recommending the pellet stove for that reason.

 

[certified106]

What about a Blaze King Princess insert?
https://www.blazeking.com/EN/wood-princess-insert.html

 

[begreen]

Welcome to the forums Geoff. The wood insert will make a dent in the heating bills. How well will depend on how well insulated the house, the stove location and the layout of the house. Tell us a bit more about the place. How well will the heat remain on the first floor? Is there a large open stairwell or loft area where the heat can easily convect upstairs. Also, are there areas with very high ceilings?

The length of burn time will depend on how large an insert can be put in and the species and dryness of the wood burned. Some stoves will go 8-10 hrs between reloads. Is this a masonry or prefab fireplace? Can you provide the full measurements of the fireplace cavity?

FWIW, in that size house you may be going through 2 bags a day of pellets, just trying to heat downstairs.

 

[Wood Heat Stoves]

I've never really been a fan of Blaze King. I don't have any real reasons, but over time you just seem to have favorites either from personal experience or customer input. Some brands I like are Lopi and Avalon (both from Travis Ind.), Regency, Hearthstone, and Country (now from Lennox). These are all well built, efficient brands.

 

[jeff_t]

Be aware that burning pellets involves more than just emptying bags. Almost all of them require some kind of regular, some daily, maintenance. There's also some pretty sophisticated controls that are susceptible to power surges. There are a lot of moving parts, and something will give you trouble at some time, usually at the worst possible. If you are handy and can troubleshoot and fix things, it makes owning a pellet stove much more enjoyable. Or maybe you can afford to pay someone to fix it, and don't mind being at the mercy of someone else's schedule.
This is not saying that a wood burning appliance will be trouble free. If you are gathering your own wood, it definitely requires a lot of time and dedication, but you are in control of your own fuel bill.
Pros and cons to each. I've been looking into a pellet insert myself, then I'd have best of both worlds.

 

[geoffelse]

I have a two story center hall colonial. Fairly open floor plan on my first floor despite a 34 year old home. I'd love to cut the sqft down by putting a door back up to our "in-law" suite off the kitchen but thats my little guys playroom at the moment. I don't have any extra high ceilings, vaulting, etc.

Masonry fireplace measuring:
34"wide front
23.5"wide rear
19" deep top
22"deep bottom
29"Height opening

I appreciate the feedback guys. 1.5-2 bags of pellets during the coldest days might cost me $10-12 but the oil could cost me 18-20.

I am open to anything. Just trying look out for costs next year and possibly save a couple bucks on a high quality stove this late in the season.

 

[geoffelse]

Growing up we had a mammoth wood burning stove that would have our large 30x20 family room cooking at 80 plus. Not that I experienced it, but I saw the wood deliveries, the stacking, bringing it in during snowy days. I also saw the maintenance and cleaning. More recently, my father had a Whitfield Pellet stove in their current house which I had experience with until I moved out. I was familiar with cleaning it in addition to loading the pellets. I can tinker and troubleshoot but these newer pellet models have crazy circuit boards etc. And I don't have the time with the little man and my businesses. I'm willing to spend the hour cleaning it every weekend. I'll have to rely on someone else for repairs and sweeping unless its fairly easy to do.

 

[begreen]

Unless there's a reasonably close and reliable source of pellets that sells them for a much better price, say $200 a ton, I would go for wood. Trucking costs for pellets is going to go up if fuel costs stay high.

You can put a large insert in that fireplace. If you want a catalytic, I would consider the big Buck 91. I'm not a big fan of bay windows, but I do like its capacity for long burns. I believe it's also sold as a non-cat as the Buck 94.

Moving up a little, I would look at the Pacific Energy Summit insert or the Lopi Freedom. If you want a bit more window dressing, maybe the Jotul C550? There is an installation cost advantage with these stoves in that they take a 6" liner instead of an 8".

 

[rottiman]

go directly to the wood insert, don't even think about wasting your time with a pellet insert. They are @ best a room heater with alot of work and expense on a on going basis (daily). I tried it and it was a total failure as a source of 24/7 heat.

 

[geoffelse]

Thanks, guys.

200 is cheap! I was quoted 275 delivered by one guy who wouldn't even let me look at a wood insert.

I know wood varies but is there any way to compare costs? Like a cord generally equals 3/4 ton or something?

PE Summit wouldn't fit according to dealer. Less than an inch to small in the opening.

I am scoping out the all your suggestions.

Thanks again.

 

[granpajohn]

Quick comparing....(was just looking at this)
Use gallons of oil as your equiv. (You are already familiar with it. More than you wish, I'll bet)
Ton of pellets is about 120 gals oil.
Cord of hardwood is about 170 depending.

Rough numbers, because other variables such as appliance efficiencies, make it a rough comparison.
I'm sure someone will be along to disagree with me soon.

 

[DanCorcoran]

I had a Whitfield pellet stove for 4 years, an older Quadrafire for 6 years in my shop, and then a new Quad to replace the Whitfield for another 2 years. When they work, they are great. When they begin to have problems, they can be a royal pain. At least with a woodstove, they're pretty consistent and sweeping the chimney annually is pretty low tech. I'd prefer a wood insert, if you could find a way to deal with the "can't reload while at work" issue.

 

[orionrogue]

Thanks, guys.

200 is cheap! I was quoted 275 delivered by one guy who wouldn't even let me look at a wood insert.

I know wood varies but is there any way to compare costs? Like a cord generally equals 3/4 ton or something?

PE Summit wouldn't fit according to dealer. Less than an inch to small in the opening.

I am scoping out the all your suggestions.

Thanks again.

Wow, that shocks me that someone wouldn't even show you something that you're interested in, and that THEY SELL. Then again, maybe they're trying to rope you into the repeat pellet business. You can't find bags of pellets on the side of the road or in your backyard (usually).

 

[RNLA]

If you go with wood you need to remember it is like putting money in a savings account. You get your wood a year in advance, you work hard for your money and you will work hard for the warmth of the fire. I think the thing I do not like is the constant requirement of " doing wood", cut, split, stack. To get a system down that will keep your wood dry, clean and usable will take some serious effort. I have been burning for 15 yrs. and it was not till this year when I came to this forum and moved into our new home that I was able to get a true year in advance on my wood. It seems that the best I could do was 8-9 months of seasoning. Depending on what stove you get it is very important to have truly seasoned wood, the stove by design prefers 18-20% moisture content. By the time you figure the purchase, install, and your time it can be a long time before you get that super comfy warmth.