Sick of propane bills..Nearly $3/gallon around here.. Would like to completely eliminate it and sell my furnace. 100K BTU, just bought 2 years ago. It's too big for the house and short cycles. We kept the T-stat at 58-63* and it was still costing us a fortune.
The house is a 70s split level ranch. Stairs and walls every time you turn around.. Windows, insulation are pretty terrible.
I would need to tie into the duct work to heat everything. Or, I think I'd have to run a pellet stove upstairs, and down stairs to heat the entire home. We never use the downstairs, so we would only need to run it on the coldest of days.
The other option would be to get a smaller 72K btu furnace (would fit the house better), and just run a pellet stove upstairs. Only needing to kick the furnace on once in a while on the coldest days to keep the lower level from freezing. But then I have the joy of opening surprise propane bills. And I think if I don't burn at least an entire tank each year - they can charge a rental fee.
Is there a fairly affordable pellet furnace that can do all of this? Would it be dependable enough as a sole source of heat? The ones I see look to be very expensive. Would be quite an investment that would take a few years to recoop..
Are 2 pellet stoves a good / bad idea? At least if one were to act up/break - the other one could still run and keep the place from freezing. Thinking a 1500 sq/ft unit on each level would be enough.
Also, what brand of stove to look for? I've mainly been looking on Craigslist - since you can save so much versus a new unit.. Are the typical Home Depot / Lowes brands decent.
Sorry for all the questions.. Been pondering this for years and am very close to making a decision this year. Determined to stay warm this winter!
The house is a 70s split level ranch. Stairs and walls every time you turn around.. Windows, insulation are pretty terrible.
I would need to tie into the duct work to heat everything. Or, I think I'd have to run a pellet stove upstairs, and down stairs to heat the entire home. We never use the downstairs, so we would only need to run it on the coldest of days.
The other option would be to get a smaller 72K btu furnace (would fit the house better), and just run a pellet stove upstairs. Only needing to kick the furnace on once in a while on the coldest days to keep the lower level from freezing. But then I have the joy of opening surprise propane bills. And I think if I don't burn at least an entire tank each year - they can charge a rental fee.
Is there a fairly affordable pellet furnace that can do all of this? Would it be dependable enough as a sole source of heat? The ones I see look to be very expensive. Would be quite an investment that would take a few years to recoop..
Are 2 pellet stoves a good / bad idea? At least if one were to act up/break - the other one could still run and keep the place from freezing. Thinking a 1500 sq/ft unit on each level would be enough.
Also, what brand of stove to look for? I've mainly been looking on Craigslist - since you can save so much versus a new unit.. Are the typical Home Depot / Lowes brands decent.
Sorry for all the questions.. Been pondering this for years and am very close to making a decision this year. Determined to stay warm this winter!