Just closed on a new house - Pellet Stove ?

[xcongrp]

It has a pellet stove with a fan and temp controlled auger, but the primary heating system for the house is Gas FA Furnace. The stove is mounted as an insert to the traditional wood fireplace in the main living area. Previous owners said it works fine and they even fired it up for us one time. My question is...

My previous boss has two pellet stoves in his house ( 3490 sq ft ) and they are his PRIMARY source of heat. He had the house built in 1980. But he says pellets have become soo expensive since the late 90's that he hates the whole system and uses is less and less every year. Instead he uses electric heaters in each room.

Should I look at this pellet stove the same way ? Don't bother buying any pellets for it ? Is it pretty much a dinosaur ? If we aren't going to use it should I shut the damper so it doesn't bleed off heat ?

What is a price for Pellets that makes them compete with Natural Gas ?

 

[jtakeman]

It's always good to have options. One day the pellets will be the lowest again or close anyways. I don't have an option its pellets or multifuel for me. Electric here is far too expensive. But I still have a wood stove. Just in case.

And as for it being a dinosaur it would be good to post the Make and Model of the stove. There are several folks with early 90's stove's that still operate just fine. Many places have fuel caculators. You need to know your price for the NG.

 

[seige101]

Heh i am in the exact opposite situation. House built in 81/82 for electric heat. We have used a woodstove then for the last 4 years a pellet stove.

3 Tons a year costs us from 675-800 ish for those 3 tons. Compared to electric we are saving a bunch of money and the house is warmer!

 

[Bkins]

It has a pellet stove with a fan and temp controlled auger, but the primary heating system for the house is Gas FA Furnace. The stove is mounted as an insert to the traditional wood fireplace in the main living area. Previous owners said it works fine and they even fired it up for us one time. My question is...

My previous boss has two pellet stoves in his house ( 3490 sq ft ) and they are his PRIMARY source of heat. He had the house built in 1980. But he says pellets have become soo expensive since the late 90's that he hates the whole system and uses is less and less every year. Instead he uses electric heaters in each room.

Should I look at this pellet stove the same way ? Don't bother buying any pellets for it ? Is it pretty much a dinosaur ? If we aren't going to use it should I shut the damper so it doesn't bleed off heat ?

What is a price for Pellets that makes them compete with Natural Gas ?

As jtakeman said it really depends on the cost of your gas and the cost of whatever else you may use for heat, such as a electric heater. In my neck of the woods electric is by far the most expensive way to heat. You can go to the Harman stove website and look around for a fuel calculator. You will need to know your costs before you can make a decision. Where do you spend your time in the house? If its close to the pellet stove the stove will get you toasty. Keep in mind that pellet stoves are basically room heaters and it depends on the house layout if you will get a benefit in some of the other areas in the house. It would be helpful to know what stove you have. Keep in mind that these stoves need to be cleaned regularly during the burning season with a couple of major cleanings during the year. This cleaning schedule has a lot of varibles such as the brand and model of stove, how often you burn it and the type/branmd of pellets that are available in your area.

Bkins

 

[krooser]

It's unlikely the insert will heat the entire house. If it's an open floor plan it will do much better but pellet stoves are space heaters. They WILL do a great job in the room they are installed in...

I DO use mine for my primary source of heat. I live in a 100+ year old home with a poorly designed forced air NG heating system so my house is far more comfortable with pellets than NG.

I pay $197.00/ton for the pellets I buy at my local dealer... you have a good source of quality softwood pellets in the NW so you are at somewhat of an advantage price wise.

The main thing about a pellet stove is to keep it clean... you need to do a complete cleaning after every ton and regular cleanings several times per week.. not very tuff but required if you want the stove to do it's job.

Sound's like the PO was used to $90.00/ton pellet prices... they are now about twice as much but still a good deal (cuz i like to be warm!).

 

[imacman]

.....But he says pellets have become soo expensive since the late 90's that he hates the whole system and uses is less and less every year. Instead he uses electric heaters in each room.

Should I look at this pellet stove the same way ? .........What is a price for Pellets that makes them compete with Natural Gas ?

xcongrp, input your prices for electric, natural gas, and pellets in this fuel price calculator, and it will give you the cost per million btu's for each. Then you'll know what's cheapest in your area.

(broken link removed to http://www.pelletheat.org/3/residential/compareFuel.cfm)

 

[xcongrp]

I now I see the issue more clearly, we actually have pretty low prices for electric heat, but gas is the cheapest. Maybe keeping the pellet stove is a good idea. Its a two story house, with two halls that allow heat to bleed upstairs, so if the cost of pellets competes well with gas, and it still does for me, then maybe keeping the pellet stove around as backup is a good idea. I also found out there is an international shortage of pellets because people in Europe have started using pellet stoves a lot more in the last 5 years. To me that means pellet supply / demand will smooth out and this pellet stove will remain a viable alternative for a long time.

Where is the best source to learn how to keep the stove clean ? It sounds like that regular maintenance is critical.

 

[jtakeman]

Where is the best source to learn how to keep the stove clean ? It sounds like that regular maintenance is critical.

The owners manual and the sticky pages on the top of this forum. Rod has done some awesome leg work for us. Once you get into the routine, It really isn't a big deal. Plus you will have something to due during the winter months to keep you busy and Never bored! That's why we hang out here too!

 

[imacman]

Where is the best source to learn how to keep the stove clean ? It sounds like that regular maintenance is critical.

The owners manual and the sticky pages on the top of this forum. Rod has done some awesome leg work for us. Once you get into the routine, It really isn't a big deal. Plus you will have something to due during the winter months to keep you busy and Never bored! That's why we hang out here too!

Yep, what Jay said...stickies at the top of the forum page are your friend:

www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/13413/

 

[teetah222]

For cleaning, if you know the manufacturer, I'd look them up online and see if they have a manual for your stove. Englander has files for all their stoves online, free. I also got a great "how to" video with the stove.

 

[imacman]

For cleaning, if you know the manufacturer, I'd look them up online and see if they have a manual for your stove. Englander has files for all their stoves online, free. I also got a great "how to" video with the stove.

Correct Ms Fix it, and I think that 95% of the stove manufacturers have their manuals available for download online.....very handy if the original gets misplaced.