WOOD VS PELLET
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It's really closer to 1600 sq. ft. I never ran the measurments until I decided to sell the house. It is all on one level, it has an open floor plan with a ceiling fan above the stove, the stove is in the middle of the house. I do not run my ceiling fan in reverse, the only result that is noticable is a dirty ceiling. It does not have a blower ( don't want to listen to it)drtnshtr said:Im not real familiar with that stove but will do some research and compare it to my ACD24 to see how mine would stack up to it. Is your 1400 sq ft all one floor? if not what do you do to heat 2nd floor? does it have a blower?webby3650 said:I had a pellet stove, and I thought it was the best thing ever made! When the cost of pellets kept creeping up and they got hard to find I had to make a change! At that time they were $3 a bag, gas was about $3 a day, It was a wash... Now I have a Jotul 500 and with half a load it puts out more heat than a pellet stove ever thought about throwingWith the economy the way it is they could stop producing pellets any time. I can always go pick up limbs off the ground if I had to. ( or furniture if it came to it) HaHA
drtnshtr said:
Assuming the fuel is free the only advantage to wood is that it still works when the power is out.
We had a pellet insert in our prefab fireplace in our previous home. Loved it. Back then we paid $165 a ton delivered for pellets. We'd go thru a bit over 2 tons a year, and the stove replaced electric heat. BIG savings.
When we moved however, we did not entertain thoughts of another pellet stove due to the increasing cost of the pellets.
We now have a Regency insert in our fireplace.
If I didn't have to pay for the fuel, I'd opt again for a pellet stove, hands down. They are more consistent in their heat output and you can pretty much depend on a full hopper going all night or all day while you are at work. The convenience of grabbing a bag of pellets far outweighs the trip out to the woodpile.
We used to heat pretty much our entire cape cod with the pellet stove and were satisfied with the output. However, we CAN get more heat out of the Regency with a hot fire. Our house is laid out a bit differently so we don't get as much heat to the far rooms as we did in our old house.
There are always opportunities to scarf up free wood, but I don't think one will find free pellets sitting at the end of someone's driveway.
When we moved however, we did not entertain thoughts of another pellet stove due to the increasing cost of the pellets.
We now have a Regency insert in our fireplace.
If I didn't have to pay for the fuel, I'd opt again for a pellet stove, hands down. They are more consistent in their heat output and you can pretty much depend on a full hopper going all night or all day while you are at work. The convenience of grabbing a bag of pellets far outweighs the trip out to the woodpile.
We used to heat pretty much our entire cape cod with the pellet stove and were satisfied with the output. However, we CAN get more heat out of the Regency with a hot fire. Our house is laid out a bit differently so we don't get as much heat to the far rooms as we did in our old house.
There are always opportunities to scarf up free wood, but I don't think one will find free pellets sitting at the end of someone's driveway.
i think now having both pellet and wood stoves,i would go pellet for the insert and wood in the cellar.
Screwindaman said:i went through the same dilemma 3 months ago and ended up with a englander 13.I took into consideration the price of pellets (on the rise)and the prce of a cord of wood(225). Plus I already had all of the 6 inch stove pipe in storage. I chose wood because: 1. no electric , no rise in electric bill, still heats. 2. I dont like relying on THE MAN to if and when im gonna get my fuel (pellets) and rising cost. 3. I like the look of a real fire dammit!! :coolgrin: 4. wood stove just looks and feels old fashion homey( especially on holidays, ie. thanksgiving , christmas). Well thats my thoughts in a nutshell. ;-)
Screwind... author : "Before I forget: 5. noisey auger and blower on pellet stove. 6. More parts, more maintence, more chance of failure when you really need it with a pellet stove. "
DITTO and DITTO.
Can you imagine : "it's a dark and stormy night". You and your sweetie are ready. Then the pellet auger begins incessantly grinding. The end.
Rats, I thought this was going to be a good story. Now I read it's just the auger that was grinding incessantly.
hh: 
Wood Stove. I can heat the entire 1700 sq. ft. Pellet stove, maybe a couple rooms. I move the heat of the wood stove to other rooms via separate duct work and commercial inline fans.
But the real kicker is this. I can burn pellets in my wood stove and get the stove top and flu just as hot as if burning wood. I usually use pellets in the warmer weather. I like the nice, clean, blue flame I can get with the pellets. Currently using Natures Heat Pellets by Pennington in a Napoleon 1400.
Pellet basket is ok in my stove but dirties glass up the way the air flows in the fire box. Just piling them up in the box = fail. So, I use a 12" wide outdoor grill grate set on top of 4 small pieces of fire bricks at the corners. The grate is about 16" long. I set it all the way back in the fire box and then place same size 1/2" expanded metal on top. Pile the pellets on it, light, and away we go. Reloading is simple. Toss some pellets on the grate or , and this is my favorite way, fill the large paper lunch bags with pellets and staple shut. Just place one on top of the coal bed(I do this with wood fires too). I advise against adding too much on reloads. It causes most the pellets to start gassing resulting in a lot of soot. The grill grate and expanded steel warp from the heat+weight of pellets.
Preferred fuel is still wood but that is mainly because of the soot issue with pellet reloads.
Pellets also burn really well when tossed on top of my wood fires coal bead or mixed in with wood loads. I like to toss a scoop of pellets in when starting or re-fueling an all wood fire.
With the Emerald Ash Borer quarantines, having the ability to burn pellets is a plus. At $6.00 a bag though, Natural Gas is cheaper for me at the moment.
But the real kicker is this. I can burn pellets in my wood stove and get the stove top and flu just as hot as if burning wood. I usually use pellets in the warmer weather. I like the nice, clean, blue flame I can get with the pellets. Currently using Natures Heat Pellets by Pennington in a Napoleon 1400.
Pellet basket is ok in my stove but dirties glass up the way the air flows in the fire box. Just piling them up in the box = fail. So, I use a 12" wide outdoor grill grate set on top of 4 small pieces of fire bricks at the corners. The grate is about 16" long. I set it all the way back in the fire box and then place same size 1/2" expanded metal on top. Pile the pellets on it, light, and away we go. Reloading is simple. Toss some pellets on the grate or , and this is my favorite way, fill the large paper lunch bags with pellets and staple shut. Just place one on top of the coal bed(I do this with wood fires too). I advise against adding too much on reloads. It causes most the pellets to start gassing resulting in a lot of soot. The grill grate and expanded steel warp from the heat+weight of pellets.
Preferred fuel is still wood but that is mainly because of the soot issue with pellet reloads.
Pellets also burn really well when tossed on top of my wood fires coal bead or mixed in with wood loads. I like to toss a scoop of pellets in when starting or re-fueling an all wood fire.
With the Emerald Ash Borer quarantines, having the ability to burn pellets is a plus. At $6.00 a bag though, Natural Gas is cheaper for me at the moment.
I kind of like both.
Wood stove for REAL heat and the pellet stove for mild days and for kicking in during the night or when we are gone for the day and the wood stove needs more wood.
But I have not been happy trying to heat with just the pellet stove in winter. I could feel cold sitting five feet away from it and I don't like the constant blower noise.
On the pellet stove side, that's what we relied on when we left for a four day campout this past weekend. Couldn't expect a wood stove to run four days.
Ken
Wood stove for REAL heat and the pellet stove for mild days and for kicking in during the night or when we are gone for the day and the wood stove needs more wood.
But I have not been happy trying to heat with just the pellet stove in winter. I could feel cold sitting five feet away from it and I don't like the constant blower noise.
On the pellet stove side, that's what we relied on when we left for a four day campout this past weekend. Couldn't expect a wood stove to run four days.
Ken
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