stove for basement propane or pellet

[natureboy]

our basement is not used as a living area but my wife does cut hair down there 4 days a week and we have used electric heaters / baseboard when needed. 2 yrs ago I did a 20 x 22 extension on the main floor and put in a propane fireplace. The fireplace is the only heat source for that room. Love it. Wish I had nat gas avail as propane pretty pricy. My original thought was to add a propane stove in the basement as it would surely heat the basement and also rise up into the main floor as we keep basement door open for the cats. The install price I'm sure would be similar be it pellet or propane with the exception of having plumber tap into propane line and extend into basement ( approx a 25 - 25 ft run then into house ) I'm guessing that would be about $ 200 - 300. What is making me think about getting a pellett stove vs propane, is the cost of propane and the fact that the damn pilot is always burning. Last year I was turning the pilot on and off as needed in the fireplace up stairs. HUGE difference in my propane bill as compared with the prior year. From what I have read in the forums, pellet is less costly to run compared to propane. What, if any, are the negatives to pellet? What about dust / mess ? Is storege a problem ( do not know what a 50# bag of pellets looks like and how much room it would take up to store enough where as I get a good discount rate rather then buy a bag at a time. Much appreciated and I love this site.
Rich

 

[imacman]

.....From what I have read in the forums, pellet is less costly to run compared to propane. What, if any, are the negatives to pellet? What about dust / mess ? Is storege a problem ( do not know what a 50# bag of pellets looks like and how much room it would take up to store enough where as I get a good discount rate rather then buy a bag at a time. Much appreciated and I love this site.
Rich

Well, pellets are definately cheaper to run than propane, but the downsides are these: carrying bags of pellets in (they are 40lb., BTW), cleaning the stove (good shop vacuum w/ HEPA or sheetrock sanding filter), and the room needed to store 1 ton (50 bags...only way you get a discount, if anything) is approx 4' x 4 1/2' x 5' high....the amount of tons needed depends on the area to be heated, and how hot you want to keep it.

So, you will save $, but running it is more labor intensive.

BTW, welcome to the site :coolsmile:

 

[natureboy]

thank you for the reply. I do have the room for pellets and 40 lb bags not an issue currently as I would store in garage and its only 4 steps down to basement. Today I contacted National Grid to see if converting my propane fireplace and getting a nat gas stove could be an option for me. Of course not... the main is 800 ft away. So I am back to propane vs pellet. Pellet stoves here on long island ( and maybe throughout the country ) seem to be hard to get as demand is so high. Harmons come in and it's as if they are on presold. I did see a pellet stove I could get but I really have not heard of the mfr before. BOSCA. The rep was very straight forward telling me that they are currently in the process of debugging the optional thermostadt feature. Anyone that has heard pros / cons please let me know and I will be surfing the web today to learn more as well I also have a call into a pellet supplier to check out inventory status as I hear that it is pretty tight as well. 8-/
I plan to be up in New Hampshire soon so I will se whats avail up there as well. If I can fit it into my suv I may bring one home as no tax would help save $$$ too.

Thanks and I appreciate the education. :coolsmile:

 

[imacman]

Pellet stoves here on long island ( and maybe throughout the country ) seem to be hard to get as demand is so high. Harmons come in and it's as if they are on presold. I did see a pellet stove I could get but I really have not heard of the mfr before. BOSCA. The rep was very straight forward telling me that they are currently in the process of debugging the optional thermostadt feature. Anyone that has heard pros / cons please let me know and I will be surfing the web today to learn more as well I also have a call into a pellet supplier to check out inventory status as I hear that it is pretty tight as well.

Yes, the demand for both stoves and pellets is high, although the pellets seem easier to locate if you keep your ears and eyes working. And you did wait a little too long to start looking, no less buying.

Harmons are a nice stove, but don't get stuck on the name....there a lot of nice stoves out there.

And as for the Bosca, looks like a nice unit, but the BIG issue I would have would be the availability of REPLACEMENT PARTS....stove is no good to you if it can't be fixed in a reasonable amt. of time.

 

[rap69ri]

I agree with macman. If you can't get parts for the stove in less than a week then I would steer clear of it. The Bosca is a nice looking stove, and the burnpot and grate remind me of the old Whitfield Prodigy stoves.