Gas Stove vs Pellet Stove

[DoosanMan]

We are remodeling and going to replace our old St. Croix Auburn stove. I was planning on replacing with a Harman pellet stove, but now am wondering about a gas stove. We have propane, not natural gas. What kind of gas stoves are there that look nice and compare to a pellet stove?

Thanks!

 

[DAKSY]

Well, BTUs are BTUs & there are a couple of gas stoves around that are 40K BTU units.
Jotul GF 600 is a really nice looking stove, IMHO, if you like the woodstove look.
It's a lot easier to operate & maintain than a pellet burner, & you CAN install it in a bedroom.
What you will have to gamble on is the fuel costs. How much is LP vs the price you pay for your
pellet fuel NOW & what will happen to those prices in the future?

 

[Highbeam]

Gas stove will be silent in operation, smoke free, thermostatic nonstop heat for as long as your LPG supply holds out, can be burnt during a burn ban, near zero maintenance, no reloading the actual stove, no wood dust or ash dust.

A lot to be said for a gas stove. When looking at fuel costs you must realize that you are delivering all of the heat to the room with no duct losses, so burning the propane stove is like burning propane in an ultra efficient ducted furnace.

 

[DoosanMan]

Gas stove will be silent in operation, smoke free, thermostatic nonstop heat for as long as your LPG supply holds out, can be burnt during a burn ban, near zero maintenance, no reloading the actual stove, no wood dust or ash dust.

A lot to be said for a gas stove. When looking at fuel costs you must realize that you are delivering all of the heat to the room with no duct losses, so burning the propane stove is like burning propane in an ultra efficient ducted furnace.

do you have a brand or make you could recommend?

 

[Highbeam]

do you have a brand or make you could recommend?

No, I am in the same position as you with regards to realizing that pellet stoves are more effort than they're worth with the current low cost of gas fuels. I like the cast iron, freestanding, stove options that use significant radiant and convective heat transfer methods so that they "feel" like woodstoves. In a stove dealership with one of these running, you will actually feel the heat. I have seen the jotul stoves in action and was impressed.

One more advantage that beats the central furnace guys and the pellet stove guys is that these things work with no electricity.

 

[DoosanMan]

Anyone tried a Lopi Greenfield?

 

[DoosanMan]

I guess I am leaning back towards a pellet stove.......I keep hearing it is just not as warm of heat. Is there anyone here that has had both?

 

[DAKSY]

I STILL have both. A gas fireplace, a gas fireplace insert & a pellet stove. The insert doesn't get used too much, but the pellet stove will run 24/7 thru the winter. The gas fireplace is the only heat I have on on the main floor of our home, & is on a T-stat remote.

 

[DoosanMan]

I STILL have both. A gas fireplace, a gas fireplace insert & a pellet stove. The insert doesn't get used too much, but the pellet stove will run 24/7 thru the winter. The gas fireplace is the only heat I have on on the main floor of our home, & is on a T-stat remote.

Can you tell a noticeable difference in the way the pellet heat feels compared to the gas heat?

We have a foursquare two story home. It has an older central heating system that works fairly well. We have been mostly heating with pellet stove and then when it gets colder kicking on central heat. Will a 40,000 BTU gas stove function the same way for me as a pellet stove?

 

[DoosanMan]

I have another question in all of this I would like an answer to:

I pulled out a St. Croix Auburn. I believe it is a 38,000 BTU stove. We have an older two story home that has semi modern central heat system. We have used the Auburn for our main heat just turning on the central heat when it gets really cold. If I replace the Auburn with a gas free standing stove like a Lopi or Jotul, do I need to buy the 30,000 or 40,000 BTU? I was thinking 40,000 BTU but was told that was the mistake many make, they buy too big of one. Thanks!

 

[49er]

I have another question in all of this I would like an answer to:

I pulled out a St. Croix Auburn. I believe it is a 38,000 BTU stove. We have an older two story home that has semi modern central heat system. We have used the Auburn for our main heat just turning on the central heat when it gets really cold. If I replace the Auburn with a gas free standing stove like a Lopi or Jotul, do I need to buy the 30,000 or 40,000 BTU? I was thinking 40,000 BTU but was told that was the mistake many make, they buy too big of one. Thanks!

We purchased a lp fueled Jotul Sebago a few years ago to replace a wood stove and have been happy with it though I don't think the heat compares to the wood stove. The driving factor for us was the no burn days in our area but the convenience of gas is really nice as we get older.
I think the Sebago is around 30,000 btu and our dealer recommended a smaller unit for our space also but with the insulation we have it has been just about perfect and I can always turn the gas control down a bit if I want to.

 

[DoosanMan]

Are you using it as your main heat source?

 

[49er]

I don't know that I would call it our main heat source. We have a 50,000 btu Williams wall furnace that heats the living room and a bedroom while the Jotul heats the kitchen and dining room. We use both through out the day during the winter.

 

[Highbeam]

What would be the problem with oversizing the stove? It turns on and off to satisfy the thermostat, I believe that the burn rate can be adjusted when on as well.

I suppose the problem could be that if you really want a fire to burn for the next three hours you could overheat the space with an oversized stove but in real life I think you would just let it cycle as needed.

 

[DoosanMan]

The other problem I have is I like how the Berkshire looks over the Greenfield and it is 1,000 cheaper also........

 

[Mainely Saws]

I heated 1000 sq ft of space with a wood stove for many years ( only source of heat ) and 2 years ago switched over to a Lopi Berkshire stove along with a Rinnai LP heater in the opposite end of the house . I love it but it is different from wood heat ( i don't have a pellet stove ) in that it doesn't have that " warm you to the bone " feel about it . I also miss the view of the fire in the wood stove for hours on end versus a very nice looking flame that cycles on & off with the thermostat . Still , I am glad that I switched & everything has trade offs ........

 

[joe_pinehill]

Purdue published an energy cost calculator, it may help in your trade and decision.

(broken link removed to https://ag.purdue.edu/extension/renewable-energy/Documents/ON-Farm/heatcalc.xls)

LP is more convenient than pellets, but in our area cost more as a fuel.

 

[FanMan]

Can you tell a noticeable difference in the way the pellet heat feels compared to the gas heat?

Heat is heat, regardless of how it's produced. That said, a pellet stove (or any solid fuel stove) is basically "on" until it burns down, so it'll be quite warm right next to the stove while it's burning, even if the rest of the house is warm enough. A gas stove on a thermostat will switch on and off according to the room temperature; it'll be nice and warm next to the stove when it's on, then the heat goes away until the thermostat calls for heat again.

One more advantage that beats the central furnace guys and the pellet stove guys is that these things work with no electricity.

^^^^This^^^^ When the power in my area went out for a week after a big storm, I had no worries about heat.

My house had an aging oil furnace. I put a [used] 30KBTU Osburn gas fireplace in the living room as my primary heat source. I also have two 7500 BTU direct vent gas wall heaters in the back bedrooms. After one winter I removed the oil furnace.