Need a Recommendation

If you lose power that often and for long period's
then you are better off with a wood stove .
A pellet stove needs power to run . The battery
back up is used to shut the stove down when power goes out
If you plan on getting a generator then a small stove
like the small Enviro mini and others would work for you
in that space .
Welcome to the forum

Just an fyi.. electric heat in the Northeast is stupid expensive.... you maybe using the pellet stove more than you think. Average kw costs $.20 around here last I checked.

If you are planning for power outages, I would get a wood stove. Also, if you think hauling wood might be difficult for a "little old lady", then what about lugging 40# bags of pellets and lifting them up to shoulder height to dump into the hopper? My thought is wood would be easier (although messier). Also, where would you store pellets in a 400 sq/ft house. You would need a covered place outside (or garage). If you are going to need to store the fuel outside anyway, then once again I think wood would be the way to go.

Don't get me wrong, I love my pellet stoves, but I have a way to keep 3 tons inside and am a strong, middle-aged lady. If you are committed to a pellet stove, you might think about installing a generator that runs off propane instead of battery back up (and make sure they are compatible)..

I don't know how one insulates a log-cabin, but make sure your builder knows how. 400 sq ft won't be hard to keep warm for cheap if its well-insulated.

I tend to agree with bogieb. If power outages are frequent, wood heat would be better if you can get wood delivered split in the area where the cabin will be. You would need to get the wood drying so moisture content on a fresh split is 20% or less... a least a year ahead of burning. Lots of info in the wood stoves section of hearth.com!

Either kind of stove, you'll need the smallest you can find, otherwise they'll overheat the small place! I have just about double that area and my pellet stove is running at idle most of the time in the winter (I'm in Canada).

Pine log/timber have about R-1.5 per inch of thickness. Here, my 8 inches walls have R12. Not very high by current standards, but the mass of the wall has a kind of averaging effect on outside temperature variations, so it's very comfortable.

If electric is an issue, wood is the way to go. My pellet stove heats a 975 Sq.Ft. ranch quite well and minimal electric outages to worry about. I do have the breaker box setup for generator inlet when needed, but that would be Hurricane Sandy again!

Do you have generator hookup and a generator?
If yes, automatic or manual transfer switch?

Bill

bill3rail said:

Do you have generator hookup and a generator?
If yes, automatic or manual transfer switch?

Bill

Click to expand...

I believe she is still in the planning stages - cabin isn't built yet.