Classic Question...Wood Stove or Pellet Stove for a small room/house

[MJS6781]

I recently posted asking which pellet stove to get...but wanted to expand a bit.

I have a SE PA split level home, recently purchased, built in 1956. Says its 2000 square feet, but that is very deceiving. The ground floor has a 255 sq. ft. family room, five steps down to a basement, up seven steps to 600 sq. ft. living space, kitchen and living room, up seven steps to three bedrooms and bath, then up seven to the attic bedroom. Its like 5 levels stacked neatly side by side, but all very small levels. I have a brand new oil furnace which is fairly efficient, but I want to offset the heating costs, because as you may have guessed, the house is cold (especially the family room).

So here's the problem...i want a stove in the family room, but don't know if its the proper location or if the heat will get upstairs without burning out that room. There is some room on the main floor for a small stove as well. (I am considering taking out the garage wall and doubling the size of the family room, but then i need another shed and thats for another forum.)

What to do... small wood stove, small pellet stove??? One on each level? Ugh. Should have held out for a bigger house. Haha.

Thoughts? Recommendations?

P.S. I love the house, but we bought the area and the school district, not the house!

 

[Ctwoodtick]

That’s a tough one to answer. One of the big factors I would imagine would be if you or whoever else you live with likes It’s a little bit toasty in the family room. I have medium sized wood insert in my family room, which is about the same as yours, and it probably gets into the high 70s in there. When it’s cold outside I can deal with that and my wife certainly likes the higher temperatures like that. As you would imagine,
A woodstove or a pellet stove act as a space heater, so the closer you are to it the warmer you are. I would think a big factor in your decision would also be the size of the wood or pellet stove, as that can make a big difference in heat output.
Another big factor in relation to your question is whether or not you’ll anticipate having a good dry supply of firewood every year. A lot of people rely on buying wood each year, but this can be deceiving as a lot of times the wood is not dry. Pellet stove’s appear to have a little bit less daily upkeep to think about than woodstoves, in my experience. However they can be a big pain if they’re not working right and then trying to troubleshoot that in the middle of winter. There’s also the advantage to woodstoves, in which they can be run without any sort of electricity whatsoever, which could be a big advantage if the power goes out.

 

[MJS6781]

That’s a tough one to answer. One of the big factors I would imagine would be if you or whoever else you live with likes It’s a little bit toasty in the family room. I have medium sized wood insert in my family room, which is about the same as yours, and it probably gets into the high 70s in there. When it’s cold outside I can deal with that and my wife certainly likes the higher temperatures like that. As you would imagine,
A woodstove or a pellet stove act as a space heater, so the closer you are to it the warmer you are. I would think a big factor in your decision would also be the size of the wood or pellet stove, as that can make a big difference in heat output.
Another big factor in relation to your question is whether or not you’ll anticipate having a good dry supply of firewood every year. A lot of people rely on buying wood each year, but this can be deceiving as a lot of times the wood is not dry. Pellet stove’s appear to have a little bit less daily upkeep to think about than woodstoves, in my experience. However they can be a big pain if they’re not working right and then trying to troubleshoot that in the middle of winter. There’s also the advantage to woodstoves, in which they can be run without any sort of electricity whatsoever, which could be a big advantage if the power goes out.

Thanks for your response. I don't think the heat will be too bad, my family are always cold and walk around wrapped in blankets. I am really leaning toward a pellet stove, but the problems they all seem to have scare me. However, at night, i can safely run the pellet stove and potentially cut pass-though vents in the ceiling to let the heat rise to the bedrooms....hmmmm.

 

[coaly]

Heat radiates in all directions, hot air rises. Cooler air flows down stairs like a waterfall. The heated air will rise away from that room fast, and a small fan at floor level moving air down the steps moves heavy dense air, much easier than trying to move lighter, expanded heated air. Always move cold into hot, or toward the stove.

Turn the home upside down in your head. Think of any heat source as a faucet with water pouring out of it. The water would fill the ceiling and fall away to the next "lower" level. Fill that ceiling area, and fall to the next. That is where the heat is going to go, like it is water filling the upside-down home up.

Moving air the way it naturally moves is much easier than fighting the gravity flow.
Also remember, any room you move heat into has to have a way to allow the cooled air as it drops to return to the heat source to be reheated. Floor vents into a room won't allow good flow if a door is closed preventing the cooled air to move out and down from the room.

BTU output of a wood stove goes by the surface temperature of each square inch of radiating surface area. The top and front radiate much more than sides and back with large temp differences, plus the fire size, fuel, and air adjustment vary widely, so unlike a pellet or oil burning appliance with a constant BTU rating, wood stoves can vary greatly. The BTU ratings given for new stoves are not real world outputs. They are a given fuel load with the same air adjustment for comparison only.

Pellet vs. wood is a lifestyle decision as well as practical fuel availability. Here in NE PA, I have enough acreage for removing dead and storm damage each year to heat my home. Our power has gone down with ice storms many times for 3 to 5 days or more. I balance between wood and coal. Over 25 years since building my home myself, and never hooked up an oil tank to furnace yet. And I was in the Propane business until retiring, what does that tell you!

 

[MJS6781]

Heat radiates in all directions, hot air rises. Cooler air flows down stairs like a waterfall. The heated air will rise away from that room fast, and a small fan at floor level moving air down the steps moves heavy dense air, much easier than trying to move lighter, expanded heated air. Always move cold into hot, or toward the stove.

Turn the home upside down in your head. Think of any heat source as a faucet with water pouring out of it. The water would fill the ceiling and fall away to the next "lower" level. Fill that ceiling area, and fall to the next. That is where the heat is going to go, like it is water filling the upside-down home up.

Moving air the way it naturally moves is much easier than fighting the gravity flow.
Also remember, any room you move heat into has to have a way to allow the cooled air as it drops to return to the heat source to be reheated. Floor vents into a room won't allow good flow if a door is closed preventing the cooled air to move out and down from the room.

BTU output of a wood stove goes by the surface temperature of each square inch of radiating surface area. The top and front radiate much more than sides and back with large temp differences, plus the fire size, fuel, and air adjustment vary widely, so unlike a pellet or oil burning appliance with a constant BTU rating, wood stoves can vary greatly. The BTU ratings given for new stoves are not real world outputs. They are a given fuel load with the same air adjustment for comparison only.

Pellet vs. wood is a lifestyle decision as well as practical fuel availability. Here in NE PA, I have enough acreage for removing dead and storm damage each year to heat my home. Our power has gone down with ice storms many times for 3 to 5 days or more. I balance between wood and coal. Over 25 years since building my home myself, and never hooked up an oil tank to furnace yet. And I was in the Propane business until retiring, what does that tell you!

So, are you saying that pass-through vents is not a good idea? I'm not being smart, I'm really asking. I have a pretty decent background in carpentry/plumbing/hr but not heating/ac. The analogy you used for the waterfall is perfect and an easy visual, and I do get that part. I truly just wanna make the right decision...both for practicality purposes and financially.

On another note, our winters aren't quite as bad as yours up in NE PA...I'm just west of Philadelphia, about 10 miles, but we lose power enough here for it to be a concern. 10 miles from my old house in the city sometimes feels like a world away, it is crazy the differences.

Thanks so much for your help. Much appreciated!

 

[coaly]

Floor vents are fine, legally require automatic closing fire dampers.... depending on circulation, if they go into a room above the stove, and you close the door to that room, it only allows heat to rise into it. If there is no return air, as in a way for the cooled air to drop back down a return path (steps) circulation can slow to a stop. With heating, what goes in must come out. Picture rising heated air in the room above the stove dropping as it cools. It should move through the house as it cools, dropping back to the stove. Good circulation like that may or may not need help with mechanical fans. A fan on the floor in doorway of the coldest room will pull the cold air out allowing the hotter air at ceiling to move into that room. Many times people try to blow hot air into the coldest room which is like pushing light, expanded air into cold heavy, dense air. It doesn’t work. It’s even worse if there is no way for the cold air to get out. That’s why a hot air furnace has to have a return air duct from every area heated air is forced into. You don’t want to pressurize a room with hot air. It not only won’t go in, but higher pressure leaks outside anywhere it can.

 

[moresnow]

However, at night, i can safely run the pellet stove

A great many members here safely run wood stoves 24/7 year after year. Without electricity when it's out as well. Something to consider as far as reliability is concerned. Have fun with your research.

 

[blades]

The thermal currents in your current home are going to be killers regardless of heat source- cold air tumbling down the stairways. Cold air running across floor towards the appliance just the nature of the home design.

 

[MJS6781]

The thermal currents in your current home are going to be killers regardless of heat source- cold air tumbling down the stairways. Cold air running across floor towards the appliance just the nature of the home design.

What do you mean? No matter what I do, it'll be cold on the lower level? Just want to make sure I'm tracking you right...Thanks.

 

[Ctwoodtick]

What do you mean? No matter what I do, it'll be cold on the lower level? Just want to make sure I'm tracking you right...Thanks.

I have the same question. That doesn’t sound quite right.

 

[begreen]

It sounds like a stove in the family room will heat the floors above it. How well will depend on how large the passageway/staircase is between floors. The wider it is, the better heat will convect upward. If the stove is in the family room, no heat will go down to the basement. if that is a small and occasionally used space then an electric heater there may suffice.

 

[blades]

Cold air sinks- hot rises- as hot rise , cold flows in to replace. now lets take a split ranch single floor heating appliance on main floor. the same scenario although not as bad as multiple levels heat rise flows to colder areas cold flows back to fill what heat has evacuated. Compounded by the combustion air draw. There isn't a stove out there that is totally sealed combustion. At least I never found one from a commercial source. Even with an outside air source for combustion there is still internal draw. I been around wood heat all my life. Back in the day - 2-story homes always had a door at the bottom or top of the stairs to the second level just because of that cold air flow regardless of heat source and a lot of those homes did not have forced air heat either but gravitational. Tell you what do an experiment all you need is 2 temperature gauges set one at the foot of the stairs and the other about six foot up inline with the other give them about 1/2 hr to stabilize and see what read. There will be a différance which will become more pronounced as the weather cools down

 

[Highbeam]

Cold air sinks- hot rises- as hot rise , cold flows in to replace. now lets take a split ranch single floor heating appliance on main floor. the same scenario although not as bad as multiple levels heat rise flows to colder areas cold flows back to fill what heat has evacuated. Compounded by the combustion air draw. There isn't a stove out there that is totally sealed combustion. At least I never found one from a commercial source. Even with an outside air source for combustion there is still internal draw. I been around wood heat all my life. Back in the day - 2-story homes always had a door at the bottom or top of the stairs to the second level just because of that cold air flow regardless of heat source and a lot of those homes did not have forced air heat either but gravitational. Tell you what do an experiment all you need is 2 temperature gauges set one at the foot of the stairs and the other about six foot up inline with the other give them about 1/2 hr to stabilize and see what read. There will be a différance which will become more pronounced as the weather cools down

My last two stoves are sealed combustion. The bk and hearthstone heritage took 100% of combustion air from a the 3” pipe stub on the back. Nowhere else.

Other stoves do it differently though. It’s something to look for.

 

[blades]

i had a stove advertised as sealed combustion- no it wasn't, there was at least one air intake uncontrolled some where on it. nc 30 has three uncontrolled intakes besides the main controlled intake- 1 secondary air and 2 air wash ( the air wash intakes are behind the front legs- or inside the pedestall if set up that way). Bk I do not know maybe someone who has one can chime in. I would think if a unit has a totally sealed combustion then the air of the intake should match the area of exhaust like a conventional gas furnace- could be in left field on that though.

 

[SidecarFlip]

I base my stove on what I burn and where I get the fuel and the cost. In my case the fuel (shelled field corn) is extremely cheap so I use it. Everyone's scenario is different. Like I said, I base my decision completely on fuel availability. All do the same thing, make heat. What fuel makes that heat and how economical it is will determine the choice of heating appliance.