Tell me about your pellet stoves

[silkiechicken]

So do you like them? Make model, and your review of how you feel it works heating wise would be nice. Figured out how they work, but on a human feeling level, is it something you like in your home and find it useful, something that is just expensive and not really needed, or something that is essential to keeping warm.

Just curious!

 

[debilorrah]

I wish I had a pellet stove. I SO WISH!!!!

 

[birdnutz]

Here's my feelings on this. Get one that will burn BOTH pellets and corn. Before the house fire we heated 1500+ sq ft with just corn. Pellets don't give the same BTU's as corn. We replaced with a straight pellet stove. I really wish I had paid the extra for the other. But then again our winters are more extreme then yours. Plus pellets seem to get scarce around here in the spring. But corn can be bought in bulk.

 

[Imp]

My neighbors removed their pellet stove, saying that it was too expensive. They replaced it with a woodstove. They are a strange bunch so I don't know the truth of it.
Imp/Russ

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Quote:
I've heard the pellet stoves are expensive to run, although I have heard more about burning corn in the past year, usually from people who grow their own.

Since this thread was brought up I was reading some cost comparisons on the web. The one calculator I brought up showed hardwood at about $10 per million BTUs, pellets and corn at $20, and oil and electric at $35. You could punch in your own cost for each fuel, but the default costs looked to be about the going rate for each.

 

[silkiechicken]

That's interesting.

Do you have a link on the calculator?

I know lots heat with electricity in this area despite the expense, since most our electricity is hydroelectricity, resulting in the price being 10 cents a KWH (before service fees), while other areas are 2x.

 

[EllyMae]

Quote:
I've heard the pellet stoves are expensive to run, although I have heard more about burning corn in the past year, usually from people who grow their own.

Since this thread was brought up I was reading some cost comparisons on the web. The one calculator I brought up showed hardwood at about $10 per million BTUs, pellets and corn at $20, and oil and electric at $35. You could punch in your own cost for each fuel, but the default costs looked to be about the going rate for each.

My Dad and I were have this same conversation. I had been looking at pellet stoves but his advice was to stick with my woodstove. He did some calculations and said the same thing...woodstove was the cheapest. Yes there are advantages/disadvantages to both. He also took in consideration the climate here. I just use the woodstove for backup (i have a heatpump) when the temp drops below 30.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Quote:
http://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/fuel_cost_comparison_calculator/

 

[adoptedbyachicken]

We put a pellet stove insert in our fireplace in the old house, and replaced a wood stove in another room. We loved them, really easy and the warmth they create is cosntant but still that same wood heat feeling. They run on a thermostat, self light and regulate how hard they burn or how high the fan runs, and shut down when not needed, so in that way they are way better than a wood stove. They also are rated the same for safety as the natural gas stoves so you don't increase your insurance like you do with a wood stove, and venting and stacks are easier to install and change if needed. They have a hopper, even the small ones only need filling once a day, one of ours could go a couple days even in the cold. Pellets are clean, no bringing in a bunch of mess and spiders with you several times a day.

The downsides are the cost of the unit is higher than the wood stove if you get the automatic functions I mentioned, and wood pellets did get scarce one spring. As we had a garage we never put the car in and I hate having to get stuff in all the time we hooked up the horse trailer in the fall and got 2 tons on pallets, borrowed a pallet jack and unloaded them in a minute. Done for the year. You get a huge discount if you buy them in tons rather than bags and spring shortage/price hike was never our issue again. The pellets cost something though and for those that have 'free' wood on thier own place it's still tempting to use that. If your paying for wood I'd go pellet for sure. Pellets are way eaisier but some enjoy splitting wood, so ask yourself if day to day you want the ease or the 'fun'.

Honestly if I had it to do again in the old house I think we would have one of each, have one fully automatic pellet and a wood stove for manual and fun. Anyway the way we did it even working in the cost of the units over 4 years we saved big time in heating costs on that old house.

 

[silkiechicken]

Quote:
LOL

Now that I am back up in the morning, I realize how useless a calculator is if I don't know the numbers other than electric to punch in. Hahaha