Wood Stove vs. Pellet Stove

[bluemoonluck]

I'm thinking about putting either a wood or pellet stove in my new house. Because my property has no trees on it, I will either have to buy wood or buy pellets, so one is not a clear winner over the other from a financial aspect.

I know that you cannot burn wood in a pellet stove, or pellets in a wood stove, so I have to choose one. Anyone have anything to share that might help nudge me one way or the other?

[Mistyf]

I would go with a wood stove, only because a pellet stove won't work if the power goes out.

[pheasantplucker]

Two of my family members both have corn stoves...Similar to pellet stoves. I thought about a corn stove but you have to have electricity in order to run the auger that feeds them. Also I don't want to be at anyone's mercy when it comes to any kind of pellet as fuel. I burn regular old firewood. Once in a while you get a big free windfall, like after the big storm that blew through (Ike) last year. I've got probably close to eight cords of wood in supply. I didn't pay one nickle for any of it. How many dollars in pellets would I have spent to get the same no. of BTU's? I'd say go with regular wood stove. Good luck.

[Jennifer L.]

A wood stove is low tech, as far as what you do when the electricity goes out. Yes, you can get battery back ups for pellet stoves, but it's an additional expense.

The noise of the auger on a pellet stove may bother you. They aren't that loud, but it's another sound in your house that you may not like.

A pellet stove is a lot cleaner. Not a big ash problem. If you are a clean freak this could be important to you.

You can cook on many wood stoves. Don't under estimate the benefit of that.


Jennifer

[PhilJohnson]

My vote is for the wood stove. Not only is it not dependent on the grid but free fuel is everywhere if you know where to look. I have cut down dead trees on other people's property that they didn't want, burned pallets, and an old shed I tore down. It is pretty hard scrounging for free pellets.

[Ross]

There was a shortage of pellets locally here. Not sure why, but my neighbor had to go to Quebec to get some. I asked him why he didn't just go cut down a few pellet trees. I like heating with wood, I don't get the same satifaction filling a hopper!!

[ET1 SS]

We have a wood stove.

We burn wood, peat, coal. Lots of things. We have burned pellets too.

I collect WVO from a local restaurant and soak it into pellets. A local hardware store has problems from time to time when their pellets are exposed to rain water, so I get the expanded pellets free.

[where I want to]

I have one of each.
The pellet stove advantage is: In the morning I walk by the thermostat and flip it on. The pellets are easy to store and a bag will keep the stove going all day. I do stock up on pellets during the summer because they can occasionally be hard to find in the middle of winter. I can leave the house and set the pellet stove on low to keep the house warm without worry. It is noisier than I would prefer. Very efficient. And neat. I have done all the repairs to my pellet stove myself but it try to have part that might fail at a bad time on hand- I have extra circuit board and snap switches. Much less cleaning of stove pipe.
The wood stove advantage is: doesn't need power, can cook on it and the heat and flames make it a cozy thing to sit near on a co-o-o-old night. But it is messy and needs tending (at least for me) to keep heat up or down- the wood is heavy and awkward for those of us not blessed with great muscles. And you need to make arrangements with a reliable wood supplier as the definition of a cord (and for that matter, hardwood) can vary with some.It needs to be seasoned and dry- which means in our area, you better have the winter's supply under cover before October. Also I sometimes have trouble getting the wood stove up to go heat but that is most likely me- but I swear that sometimes there is a gremlin in the stove pipe who blows out the flames if I turn my back.

[SunRiverMan]

Next time it is a pellet stove for me. By the time I use my gas and find trees to cut I wonder what the heck? Now I had to have shoulder surgery and will probably buy firewood.

I like the buy pellets all summer idea. If you power goes out get a battery and converter. SRM

[texican]

You couldn't give me a pellet stove.

You may not have a single tree on your place. I see you're in Virginia. Last time I drove through, the state had quite a bit of timber on it.

Even if you had trees on your place, I'd recommend you never cut it... cut someone else's. Look out for fallen trees on neighbors, on roadside clearing projects, timber contract cutting areas, national forests.

I recommend never ever cutting your own timber, unless you own hundreds of acres of woodland, and even then, Why? Each year around here, someone's getting their timber thinned. I know of two 'cord plus' oaks on the ground right now. Last summer, a several thousand cords of straight topped oak was let to rot.

My point... you can scrounge firewood for free... I've yet to ever see a years supply of wood pellets laying on the ground. Even if you end up having to buy firewood, you still have the option of getting free wood. Craigslist has free wood offers daily. Small sawmills around here beg people to haul the oak slabs off... saves them from having to burn them.

Oh, and you need electricity for pellet stoves. Get a freaky little icestorm, no electricity for a week... which would you rather have? something that depends on something that isn't available? or something that only depends upon the laws of physics to operate? I'll take simple anyday.

[Tegerian]

I'd go wood stove, been eyeing one of those Soapstone wood stoves myself but not sure if they're worth the cost.

[foxtrapper]

A lot depends on you. If you really love "flip a switch" convenience, then a pellet stove is for you. If you're more into rustic more labor intensive methods, than the conventional woodstove would more suit.

[Windy in Kansas]

Stoves--wood, pellet, & corn have all been mentioned and compared. I'll toss out another kind since you may have to buy fuel for any of the three aforementioned stoves.

What about a grain burning stove. They are a little different than a corn burning stove in that they can burn cereal or small grains. Much easier to grow cereal grains in quantity if you live in a lower rainfall area. Having the right equipment and grain storage might be a drawback. On the other hand buying grain directly from a nearby farmer might pare the grain cost to near production input and the farmer might deliver directly into a grain bin. The grain would have to be at the proper moisture level or it could develop problems.

Like some of the others they do need electricity. One of the earlier ones I looked at used quite a bit of electricity to power a blower to aid combustion. I believe they have been greatly improved since then. Might be worth another look.

At least you have been given quite a few options to investigate and a lot of opinions, many of value.

[clovis]

If your luck is anything like mine, if I bought a pellet stove, there would be enough free firewood offered to me to last a life time.

If I bought a wood stove, I wouldn't be able to find the first stick of firewood anywhere. Right now, I have seen folks in town stack firewood, cut to length, out by the street free for the taking. It wouldn't be the case if I owned a wood stove. If I bought a wood stove, a pellet manufacturing company would move to town, and offer pellets by the dump truck load for $50.

Clove

[bluemoonluck]

Originally Posted by texican

You may not have a single tree on your place. I see you're in Virginia. Last time I drove through, the state had quite a bit of timber on it.

I'm actually moving to Utah, so I'd need to find a source of firewood there. Here in VA finding firewood isn't a problem, but I have no idea how hard it will be in Utah!

[bluemoonluck]

Thanks everyone! I had NO idea that pellet stoves required electricity, so that makes it an easy no-brainer for me. Wood stove it is!!

[Oxankle]

The advantages of wood have been adequately covered, but I would add that keeping one going is not at all so difficult as some seem to think.

This house had a big fireplace that was essentially useless because the fire was either huge or non existent. I installed a cast iron fireplace insert that is really no more than a big cast iron stove.

Like all wood stoves it takes tending. I have to carry out ashes, clean the glass occasionally (Ok, I should do it more often) and cut and carry wood.

On the other hand, If I want a fire I start it once and that is it. Unless the fire is out for a couple of days I can usually find a couple of embers, put on some small kindling and in minutes have a fire. If I do not let it burn down and go away (more than the couple of days) all I have to do is add wood.

I agree that storing wood and carrying it thru the house is messy; I have to sweep the hearth, keep wood dry, cut wood when I can, but it sure cuts the power bill (in an all-electric house) and it works as well in an ice storm as it does in calm weather. I do not like having to store wood in the barn, nor do I like having to keep a week's supply in the garage in winter, but it sure beats going cold.

Since living here we had two separate incidents of icy weather where power was out for several days. During the last of these my wife was terminally ill and only the wood stove allowed me to keep her warm and comfortable. Without the stove I would have had to call an ambulance and move her.
Ox

[Michael Kawalek]

Originally Posted by bluemoonluck

I'm actually moving to Utah, so I'd need to find a source of firewood there. Here in VA finding firewood isn't a problem, but I have no idea how hard it will be in Utah!

Once you get there, check with your local national forest about getting a cutting permit. Last time I got a permit, I payed 20$ to help myself to 10 cords of wood. The Forest Service will give you maps to areas that were recently cut and wood is laying on the ground ready for the taking. All you'll need is a truck and a chainsaw to cut it into your desired lengths.

You'll need to adapt yourself to western wood species. I'd guess you'd find lots of Ponderosa pine at the lower elevations, but that isn't the best firewood. Look for Douglas fir. It burns longer and has higher heat output than pine.

Are you relocating to your new homestead? Will you be shopping for land once you get there? Sounds like an exciting move!
Michael

[Sandhills]

I've used both a wood stove and a pellet/corn stove to heat our house. We are currently using corn in the pellet/corn stove. The corn burns hotter than the pellets and currently are cheaper to use. But we still were spending $100-$150 a month to heat our house. A bag of pellets is currently costing between $5-$7.
We are seriously talking about changing over to a wood stove. The pellet stove is very noisy and when the wind blows it often blows out. Also since we have been burning corn, ash builds up in the exhaust pipe and has to be cleaned out every few days or the fire won't burn. When we were burning pellets this fall, we would get sawdust build up in the auger. Then the stove would have to be shut down and the hopper emptied. Then we would have to remove the auger and vacuum everything out. We are definitely not happy with the pellet/corn stove.

[Saffy]

Originally Posted by PhilJohnson

My vote is for the wood stove. Not only is it not dependent on the grid but free fuel is everywhere if you know where to look. I have cut down dead trees on other people's property that they didn't want, burned pallets, and an old shed I tore down. It is pretty hard scrounging for free pellets.

I totally agree. You can always find stuff to burn on the side of the road; free pallets, etc.... Also I was told that the pellet stove uses quite a bit of electricity to run.