Wood vs pellet

[nmaho]

Which would you prefer or change to? Seems like pellets,are,already in a shortage,and season has not yet begun. I have at least 8 cords,seasoned and ready to burn with a lot,full,of trees to replenish. Would,youmswitchmto,wood,if,you have a chance or do you like the convince of hitting start and pellet stove,starts,up? Pellet,stove seems like,a,lot,more,maintance with all the electronics involved. Seems like both pellit and wood have their pluses what would you do ?

 

[bigbarf48]

Not sure I understand the post, but if it says what I think, Id stick with wood, its more fun

 

[BEConklin]

$10 says the OP was written on an Android tablet. I recognize the inadvertant substitutions of m and , for spaces.

 

[tsquini]

I like wood. With a wood stove you don't need electricity to start it.

 

[Wormyone]

I think Tsquini has a great point about needing power to start the stove. Besides that from what I have read and what almost everybody says pellet stoves require a lot more servicing. And to quote Bigbarf84 it is a lot more fun... Good luck with your choice

 

[blades]

Pellet stove- if the power goes out you got no heat ( with the exception of the Wiseway stove and possibly one other) Purchasing pellets or wood splits horse apiece ( pellets are always? dry though) lots more maintenace on pellet stove - wood stove clean flue once a year. burn pot ash vs wood stove ash horse apiece ( lot faster just shovel out ash on wood stove) Each to his own.

 

[Clyde S. Dale]

Wood is my preference although I am thinking about a smaller pellet stove for my basement.

 

[Beer Belly]

Never seen free Pellets on the side of the road

 

[firefighterjake]

Wood . . . for now.

Maybe when I'm older and not so ready, able and willing to process wood . . . pellets.

 

[m159267]

I have both stove types. Harman P38 (manual light) pellet stove in the basement and a Valcourt FP10 fireplace (EPA) in upstairs great room.
I have 20 acres that contains present and future firewood.
Neither stove is my primary source of heat but are used a lot in really cold temps.
Here are my observations...
Pellet stove:
. Dump a sack, manual light (propane torch), set the temp and forget. Refill as needed. Probably uses on average a sack (40 lbs) a day (a little more in extreme cold).
. I will scrape the burn pot once a day (15-20 seconds).
. Depending on pellet quality, perform a thorough cleaning every 2-3 weeks. Requires cool stove. Takes about 1 hour to cool down and 30 minutes to clean. I do this on a sunny day so solar heat gain will negate the shutdown.
. Clean vent each spring (Soot Eater).
. No problem finding pellets here (199 - 230/ton - 50 sacks). But quality can vary greatly. Less quality pellets won't burn as hot and produce more ash and clinkers.
. A pellet stove is really a space heater. Heat can be distributed but is usually not as efficient as a whole house heater like a wood stove.
. Requires electricity. Has moving parts that can fail although my Harman has had no problems since 2008. It pays to get a quality pellet stove.
Wood stove:
. No moving parts, less maintenance, requires no electricity (although my FP10 requires a fan for top efficiency).
. A better whole house heater.
. Burn times dependent on stove size, stove type (catalytic/non-catalytic) & wood quality.
. Clean ash & vent as needed.
. Wood source (free or purchased?).
. May have to cut, split and season wood (consider future aging joints).

In my situation if I HAD to choose only one - the wood stove (because of free wood access).
Although I'm 67 I have no problem cutting and splitting.
However I absolutely love the pellet stove.
If I ever build another house (on wooded acreage of course), I would have both stove types.

BTW - I have a Honda 2000i generator that powers both the pellet stove & fireplace fan (among other things) via a transfer switch. The house will stay warm during any cold weather power outage.

 

[Lumber-Jack]

Which would you prefer or change to? Seems like pellets,are,already in a shortage,and season has not yet begun. I have at least 8 cords,seasoned and ready to burn with a lot,full,of trees to replenish. Would,youmswitchmto,wood,if,you have a chance or do you like the convince of hitting start and pellet stove,starts,up? Pellet,stove seems like,a,lot,more,maintance with all the electronics involved. Seems like both pellit and wood have their pluses what would you do ?

Let's see. You are having a hard time getting pellets because they are in short supply, and you already have 8 cords of wood seasoned and ready to burn, and lots of trees to replenish that wood as you use it up,,,,????
Which to choose,,,, Pellet stove? or wood stove? That's a tough choice.

That's like the sounds like one of my wife's dilemmas, she can't find any blueberries anywhere, and has a big box of ripe strawberries in the kitchen, yet she still can't decide whether to make blueberry jam or strawberry jam? I try to stay out of those hard decisions.

 

[Lockpicker]

Not sure why power outage is such a big deal for lots of folks. Almost e everyone I know has a generator. Can easy handle a pellet stove

 

[Silenced38]

The power outage last winter, at my house lasted 7 days. Who wants to listen to a generator blaring 24/7 for 7 days. Not to mention the cost of gas. Its nice to be able to shut down the generator at night. And still stay warm.

 

[Bigg_Redd]

Wood = lots of work, messy (inside and out), free (for those who cut their own)

Pellets = clean, way less work, never get ripped off by the firewood guy, not free

 

[BrotherBart]

You can't bust up the coffee table and burn it in a pellet stove...

 

[prezes13]

I choose wood because of all pros you guy mentioned. Even if I couldn't get a free wood which is a big plus for a wood stove I can buy compressed wood bricks and still run the stove. I remember last year by the end of February people around here had tough time getting pellets. Local supplier was selling only 5 or 8 bags per person can't remember exactly, but I got a ton of bricks no problem. And i think a ton of bricks and ton of pellets are pretty much the same price.

 

[Applesister]

You can't bust up the coffee table and burn it in a pellet stove...

LOL thats so true.
I have this argument over and over with a guy friend that owns so much land it should be illegal. I pick on him about all the rotting wood in his hedgerows. He picks on me about all the work I do. I tell him he needs some exercise...back and forth it goes. The never ending story.

 

[7acres]

I like the dependability and simplicity of a wood stove. My wood stove has 3 moving parts. Air lever, door and door latch. All of those could break and the stove would still work. But none are likely to ever break.

 

[johneh]

I have both
12 year old pellet stove in back kitchen
will heat hole house spring and fall .
fill it, light it, set temp, forget it.
add a bag a day ,clean on sat morning.
Full tear down and clean fist of summer.
Only ever had to replace bearings in combustion fan.

Summer air wood /oil combination (the beast)
Eats oil and wood in equally great quantity's not air tight
5 cubic cords sugar maple and oak
3 years curing 5 cord oak maple for next year 5 cord csp for the year after .
now cutting Elm maple and oak for the year after
Don't care about loss of power have whole house gen.
My wood comes from my 300 hector bush lot
At 65 years old if I had to chose one it wood be pellets
never had a shortage around here much cleaner
more constant heat , and a hole hell of a lot less work

 

[WiscWoody]

My wood is free, well... Almost. I have around $3500 into wood racks and tarps, two pro saws, meters, hookeroon, 22 ton splitter etc. but I think it's more enjoyable to do the work with your tools than go to the store and shell out for the pellets every year.

 

[JP11]

Got just about 70 acres. I've walked most of it. Still haven't run across one of them pellet trees.

I've decided to reduce risk of injury and wear and tear on equipment. I have a real logger fell, limb, and yard the trees. I take it from there.

JP

 

[jdinspector]

I like the dependability and simplicity of a wood stove. My wood stove has 3 moving parts. Air lever, door and door latch. All of those could break and the stove would still work. But none are likely to ever break.

I feel so high tech. My stove has 4 moving parts! All of yours AND a catalytic lever. I remember when Dennis (Backwoods Savage) was defending his "complicated" stove that people were ragging on. He had to go into great detail about how a catalytic and air control are not that difficult to operate.

Where is Dennis anyways? Did I miss something?

 

[WiscWoody]

I feel so high tech. My stove has 4 moving parts! All of yours AND a catalytic lever. I remember when Dennis (Backwoods Savage) was defending his "complicated" stove that people were ragging on. He had to go into great detail about how a catalytic and air control are not that difficult to operate.

Where is Dennis anyways? Did I miss something?

He was here last spring. Maybe he only comes out when the days are short and the nights are bitter cold.

 

[BSH1F]

I would have to say woodstove for me over pellet. My reason, the cheapest, most reliable, oldest, way to heat your house. I always look at it as homesteading when it comes to no electric. I want to be able to be self sufficient, even when their is no electric for days in the winter. You Can't make gas for a generator as easily as you can make firewood to keep your house going off the grid for a few days or weeks in extreme cold.
Keep Calm And Burn On

 

[woodsman416]

I'm no rocket scientist but if your asking that question in "The Wood Shed" I would imagine everyone (myself included) will say "wood". If you ask the same question in "The Pellet Mill" you might get a different answer.