Best choice for power outage heating

[criswaller]

We are looking for the best choice for an installation to heat the main floor of our house (approx 1200 SF- one large living/family room, a bedroom and a kitchen) during a power outage. Extended outages are becoming more common in our area. Winter low temps are not likely to drop much below 20, mid-to-low 30s would be more typical.

We have an existing masonry fireplace that is about 39" wide, 29" tall and 24" deep.

We have been looking at the Breckwell Traverse pellet stove and now also want to consider inserts and possibly a freestanding stove. I know inserts may be less efficient, but they certainly do take up less space.

What do you think would be the most effective and cost-efficient solution for us?

 

[bholler]

We are looking for the best choice for an installation to heat the main floor of our house (approx 1200 SF- one large living/family room, a bedroom and a kitchen) during a power outage. Extended outages are becoming more common in our area. Winter low temps are not likely to drop much below 20, mid-to-low 30s would be more typical.

We have an existing masonry fireplace that is about 39" wide, 29" tall and 24" deep.

We have been looking at the Breckwell Traverse pellet stove and now also want to consider inserts and possibly a freestanding stove. I know inserts may be less efficient, but they certainly do take up less space.

What do you think would be the most effective and cost-efficient solution for us?

A pellet stove won't do much for you during a power outage they need power to work

 

[kennyp2339]

Inserts wont throw as much heat into the room when the power is out due to needing a blower that runs on electric
Best is a free standing stove that is not installed directly in the fireplace, you want open air so natural convection can occur due the radiant nature of the stove, some members also added a thermo fan that runs off the heat of the stove top to help move air without electric, some claim they work well, other have stated that they are more of a cool novelty item.

 

[Dataman]

I use Pellet Stove (Harmon XXV) along with AIMS 1250 Inverter/Charger and Two 100AH Battery for Power Outage. Gives me 12 hours of run time. If it goes longer (10 years longest power outages was 10 hours) than 12 hours I have 7kw Generator for charging batteries. I plan on small Inverter Generator in the Future and Extension Cord run thru OAK.

 

[Rob_Red]

I'd consider a free standing small stove like a Morsoe or a Jotul 602.

Both are modern classics that have beautiful design and are conversation pieces, both have a nice view of the fire. Also they are small enough with close clearances to combustibles so they don't dominate the room and should kick off enough heat to keep your place livable through a power outage.

 

[bholler]

I use Pellet Stove (Harmon XXV) along with AIMS 1250 Inverter/Charger and Two 100AH Battery for Power Outage. Gives me 12 hours of run time. If it goes longer (10 years longest power outages was 10 hours) than 12 hours I have 7kw Generator for charging batteries. I plan on small Inverter Generator in the Future and Extension Cord run thru OAK.

And how much does all of that addition equipment cost ontop of an already expensive stove and expensive fuel? To me gas makes more sense if not going with wood. The fuel.gosts about the same there is almost no maintenance. And most work without power

 

[Highbeam]

And how much does all of that addition equipment cost ontop of an already expensive stove and expensive fuel? To me gas makes more sense if not going with wood. The fuel.gosts about the same there is almost no maintenance. And most work without power

And the noise! Pellet stoves are loud. Gas and wood are silent. Zero visible emissions with gas so you can be stealth.

 

[Diabel]

Propane fireplace that starts using batteries will easily heat 1200sqf

 

[EbS-P]

most effective and cost-efficient solution for us?

I think you need to decide if you want to mess with firewood. It doesn’t make much since to spends 3-5000$ on a system that is just used during power outages. I can tell you after two years of thinking and pricing out different options Drolet 1800i insert from Costco was the cheapest. I saw the 1500i listed recently.
Any system you install you need to plan on regular use and maintenance. Wood Stoves/inserts are lower maintenance than pellets. Pellets are convenient. Could easily be run on a small inverter generator. Pellets need to be stored inside. Wood needs to be planned well ahead of burning season.

Just some thoughts

 

[coaly]

I supplement 3 rental homes with vent free propane. One has an oil furnace, one oil fired boiler for baseboard, and one has heat pump.

I installed a gas log in one, a radiant wall heater in one, and a freestanding fireplace like a stove with logs in one. That one is 40,000 BTU and more heat than necessary.

I keep a 20 lb. bbq grill cylinder on them for emergency use. I tell them if they like the moist heat during cold dry winter months, they can supplement their heat with them but explain for every gallon of propane burned you are putting about 1 gallon of water vapor into the building. So if they continue to use them with larger cylinders, they must monitor humidity and use a dehumidifier as necessary.

I was an installer with my own LP service co. for 25 years and many customers with one already installed wanted to add more to their homes. Many were installed in fully electric homes with resistance type electric baseboard that is more expensive to run than necessary. One is usually not an issue, free air space is calculated for each appliance, and damp moist basements are not the place for unvented heaters. They have their use, and emergency heating is an excellent choice.

 

[bholler]

I supplement 3 rental homes with vent free propane. One has an oil furnace, one oil fired boiler for baseboard, and one has heat pump.

I installed a gas log in one, a radiant wall heater in one, and a freestanding fireplace like a stove with logs in one. That one is 40,000 BTU and more heat than necessary.

I keep a 20 lb. bbq grill cylinder on them for emergency use. I tell them if they like the moist heat during cold dry winter months, they can supplement their heat with them but explain for every gallon of propane burned you are putting about 1 gallon of water vapor into the building. So if they continue to use them with larger cylinders, they must monitor humidity and use a dehumidifier as necessary.

I was an installer with my own LP service co. for 25 years and many customers with one already installed wanted to add more to their homes. Many were installed in fully electric homes with resistance type electric baseboard that is more expensive to run than necessary. One is usually not an issue, free air space is calculated for each appliance, and damp moist basements are not the place for unvented heaters. They have their use, and emergency heating is an excellent choice.

I normally would never recommend ventless but for emergency backup it would be an option

 

[Rob_Red]

I normally would never recommend ventless but for emergency backup it would be an option

why don't you like vent-less? I had an apartment in my 20's that was heated solely with a ventless wall mount natural gas heater. Kicked out a ton of heat, hopefully it didn't kill to many brain cells

 

[begreen]

The more a wood insert or stove projects out of the fireplace the better it will radiate heat into the room, regardless of technology.
Each fuel type comes with its own pros and cons. Pellet stoves require power, have heavy bags to be toted, pellets must be kept dry, pellet stoves need frequent maintenance, they are expensive, complex and repairs are costly. Essentially they are a small wood furnace in one's living or family room. Wood stoves need greater clearances, more expensive infrastructure, dry wood stored, and annual cleaning. Wood heating can be messier. If one has natural gas available it can be the easiest solution with the caveat that it will need battery backup or a standing pilot and it is an nonrenewable fossil fuel unless there is a biodigester on property creating usable methane gas. A natural gas insert may have the same caveats as a wood or pellet insert.

Regency made a stove they called the Hearth Heater Hi2100 that was a good choice in the past. The suggestion of a small box stove like a Jotul 602, Morso 2b, VC Aspen C3, is a good one if it can extend out onto the hearth and there is a block-off plate installed in the damper area. If looking at inserts, look at those that extend 3-6" out onto the fireplace hearth.

 

[criswaller]

Thank you all! Loots of good info here.

 

[criswaller]

A pellet stove won't do much for you during a power outage they need power to work

The Traverse is non-electric which is why we were looking at it.

 

[bholler]

why don't you like vent-less? I had an apartment in my 20's that was heated solely with a ventless wall mount natural gas heater. Kicked out a ton of heat, hopefully it didn't kill to many brain cells

Because they aren't ventless they are room vented. And they all have warnings about length of useage ventilation etc.

 

[bholler]

The Traverse is non-electric which is why we were looking at it.

Sorry I should have checked. In that case it should work

 

[begreen]

The Traverse is non-electric which is why we were looking at it.

That looks too tall to fit the fireplace. Would it be installed in another location? Check for reviews and posts about the Traverse in the pellet forum.

Breckwell Traverse: A new non-electric pellet stove/wiseway alternative?

Hi folks, Wow, it seems there's a new alternative to the wiseway! Does anyone have experience with one of these? One of the other interesting advertised features is a 6" flue, to hook up to a existing wood-burning chimney. If this had existed 2 years ago I certainly would have looked into...

www.hearth.com

 

[criswaller]

That looks too tall to fit the fireplace. Would it be installed in another location? Check for reviews and posts about the Traverse in the pellet forum.

Breckwell Traverse: A new non-electric pellet stove/wiseway alternative?

Hi folks, Wow, it seems there's a new alternative to the wiseway! Does anyone have experience with one of these? One of the other interesting advertised features is a 6" flue, to hook up to a existing wood-burning chimney. If this had existed 2 years ago I certainly would have looked into...

www.hearth.com

Yes, it is too tall, which is one of the main disadvantages that started us on the road looking at inserts/stoves.

 

[peakbagger]

My traditional caveat, a wood stove is useless without dry wood unless you buy biobricks (compressed sawdust) and have a dry place to store them . Modern EPA stoves just do not run with green wood. Dry wood is very difficult to buy on the open market. Your odds of getting truly dry wood from a ad or Facebook is slim to none. Therefore you need to buy green wood now and if cut split and dried properly you are covered for the winter of 22/23, its too late for this winter.

 

[velvetfoot]

How about something like this for a power outage? I think we have one in the basement. If you're gonna buy fuel anyway, might as well buy gasoline and power up your central heating with a generator-no kero smell.

 

[NoGoodAtScreenNames]

I wouldn’t cross inserts off the list by any means. A lot heat perfectly fine without the blower. For me, the fan controls whether the heat comes out the front from the fan or between the top between surround and the brick.

As was said before, ones that poke out a little more are better and usually allow for a bigger firebox / longer peak burn times. But more importantly, add a block off plate and insulate on top of the plate and between the insert and the masonry walls. Once you do that, you don’t really have an insert, you just plopped a wood stove into a masonry alcove.

Would a free stander be more efficient? Probably - but inserts look better in most non- hearth member’s opinions in the 50 weeks out of the year you aren’t using it for emergency heat. In the two weeks without power your house may be 73F instead of 75F with a freestanding stove. Big deal - your neighbors house is 45F and they are staying in a hotel.

 

[lefties]

love my old sierra freestanding insert