Wood Stove vs Pellet Stove?

[sparrowhawk]

I just moved into a aprox 2400 square foot rancher (this includes the basement). We have a fireplace in our living room and we are trying to figure out whether we should put in a wood burning fireplace insert, pellet stove insert, or a pellet stove in the basement. We have a return in our living room and I am leaning towards a wood burning fireplace insert and leaving the blower on on my heat pump to help circulate. Thoughts?? I am not going to use it as my primary heat, just to help supplement. What would you recommend? I have been to people's houses with pellet stoves and they never seem to really heat that well.

Thanks

 

[begreen]

Welcome sparrowhawk. Do you really mean one vs the other? I would think this should be Wood stove or pellet stove? There is an identical thread already running with the vs title.

True, a pellet stove is unlikely to heat 2400 sq ft in New England unless the house is very well insulated. Though it can and has been done. Putting the stove in the basement is another strike against it. The stove is primarilly a room heater, sometimes open floor plans and a little assistance can turn a properly size stove can heat a whole large house, epecially if one is not expecting even heat throughout the house. Ranches are usually more difficult due to their horizontal layout.

 

[Martin Strand III]

I like wood stoves better'n pellet stoves in most applications except if

* I could not have a chimney
* I didn't need a LOT of heat
* I was hard of hearing (they're noisey)
* I could fix anything (they require maintenance and repairs)
* I never had a power outage in winter (no power, no pellet stove heat)
* I could tell a good burning pellet from a bad burning pellet by looking at it or biting it (?? quality control on pellets)
* Pellets grew naturally, didn't need to be mfg'd and I could get'em free like my wood

Aye,
Marty

 

[TMonter]

Pellet stoves can produce as much heat as a wood stove, but typically the rated outputs on most of them is lower than a big wood stove.

I find the biggest drawback is that during a power outage, they can't be run without a generator, and you have the fan noise to contend with.

 

[drizler]

Where you at anyways? Price of pellets can be extremely high depending on where you live. Of course how much that means to you is likelyl mitigated by how much you intend to use and how often against how much you want to deal with hauling wood cutting stacking and all that good stuff. Pellets are around $5/bag if you can get them that cheap. If you are in the corn belt a corn stove can be a great thing but again on the coasts the price can get plum stupid too. Pellets used to cost 3 years back here cost only about 107 / ton by going into Canada to buy them with the then big exchange rate. Pellets that year cost $2.69 at Wallyworld. Now if you can get them for $5 its a deal. I used to pay 100/ton for corn and now its hard to buy it for less than $180 if they are willing to sell it by the tiny little ton I can put in my truck. Methanol plants saw to that. Still in the midwest its nearly the same price I used to pay for it here rather than the $70/ton they enjoyed a few years back which isn't really all that bad at all. Ain't nothin cheap no mo pal. They have us coming and going. Of course you can keep the prices down a lot by buying all you need in the summer same as oil. Sort of depends on what your intent is.
Take a look at whats involved in running a flue up a chimney as well, it can get pricy as opposed to just knocking a hole in the wall to vent outside which is the true beauty of the pellet types. Maby you could even do both and reap the benefits of both. If you are looking into picking a pellets type up they happen to be on sale all over the place rather cheap right about now due to the change of season. Ah, decisions decisions, what to do..............................................................

 

[Kenny1]

How about one of each? ;-)

Why are you considering wood? What do you like about it? What do you not like about it?

Why are you considering pellets? What do you like about it? What do you not like about it?

How do you plan on using it? What are your heating options? Fuel prices in your area?

Take your time, and select the right solution for your application.


Have fun!

 

[Gooserider]

I just moved into a aprox 2400 square foot rancher (this includes the basement). We have a fireplace in our living room and we are trying to figure out whether we should put in a wood burning fireplace insert, pellet stove insert, or a pellet stove in the basement. We have a return in our living room and I am leaning towards a wood burning fireplace insert and leaving the blower on on my heat pump to help circulate. Thoughts?? I am not going to use it as my primary heat, just to help supplement. What would you recommend? I have been to people's houses with pellet stoves and they never seem to really heat that well.

Thanks

A couple of minor points to consider...

1. There are code restrictions on how close a stove can be to an HVAC system return - IIRC they cant be less than 10' apart. Not sure if this applies to inserts, wood or pellet. I know the Europeans make some inserts that can be tied into an HVAC system, but I'm not sure if you can get a similar setup in the US or not.

2. Many HVAC ductwork setups have a very high rate of heat loss, this makes them problematic when trying to use the HVAC blower to move the heat around.

3. The decision about burning cordwood vs. pellets is a "religious argument" that you will largely have to decide for yourself. Pellets are convenient and easy, but expensive to purchase, the stoves take more maintainance and service, etc... Cordwood is cheaper, but messier and more work, the fires are more "real" and don't quit when the power goes out, but are harder to manage. You will have plenty of folks telling you about the good and bad points of both, but there is no "right" answer, you have to evaluate your own priorities and lifestyle needs and make your own choice.

Gooserider