Pellet stove input

HappyYooper · #1 03/21/15, 07:31 AM

For those that use a Pellet stove to heat your home I have a few questions if you would be so kind to answer I would so appreciate it!
We will be in the market for one soon.
Our living space will be 1,000-1,200 sq. ft. one story.
What brand of stove do you have?
Is it noisy?
Is it durable?
Do you have a dual burning stove? I'm not sure what you would call it but one that burns either corn, wood pellets, etc.
And most important are YOU happy with it?
Thank you!

HermitJohn · #2 03/21/15, 08:50 AM

I dont have nor have I ever used a pellet or corn stove. However I have been looking for options. My health isnt wonderful and I cant get propane delivery. Electric can be off days or weeks at a time. Happened to run across this stove that is for smaller spaces like yours and got good feedback: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00FQR70VY/...I2OHTAM44F9XV2

Meaning if I were in a bind and needed alternative to regular wood stove, I would gamble on it.

Most pellet stoves seem sized for bigger spaces and lot junk out there. You get an orphan and you better be good at adapting.

I just wish they were designed with ways to manually adjust needed settings. I dont like any appliance that uses digital input panel. MOst of them get to where screen gets very faded, hard to read, and hard to push button/touchpad and get response.

Riverdale · #3 03/21/15, 08:53 AM

Middle of the mitten here. I have a Pelpro multifuel (as does a neighbor who is also a co-worker)

We have used ours as sole heat for the past year and a half. Adjusting your feed trim and getting your draft correct is important for a good burn.

I use only hardwood pellets, rye or cherry pits. The last two in a 50-50 mix with the pellets.

Pelpro has a hit or miss reputation (USSG is better) but I have had no problem with our stove.

Drop me a pm and I can call yoou about it

BlackFeather · #4 03/21/15, 09:58 AM

I have neither corn or pellet. Where my wife works it is the same every year the store runs out of pellets in early February. From that time onward it is hit and miss whether they will get anymore. So if you misguess on how much you need or the weather is colder than you planned you could be in a situation where you may not get anymore. Secondly, if economic hard times hit, what are the chances that either stores will be able to afford getting any or that you will be able to afford what they sell? Thus a stove that can burn both pellets/corn and regular wood/coal, that may be available locally, might be worth consideration. I know my wife is very down on pellet only stoves because of this reason. We have even burned charcoal, books, cardboard, and paper on occasion in our wood stove as well. I have just recently thought of running limbs through a chipper and trying to burn them as well. If we had buffalo chips I'd try to burn them.

I guess what I'm trying to say is don't limit your heating options.

Rustaholic · #5 03/21/15, 05:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackFeather

I have neither corn or pellet. Where my wife works it is the same every year the store runs out of pellets in early February. From that time onward it is hit and miss whether they will get anymore. So if you misguess on how much you need or the weather is colder than you planned you could be in a situation where you may not get anymore. Secondly, if economic hard times hit, what are the chances that either stores will be able to afford getting any or that you will be able to afford what they sell? Thus a stove that can burn both pellets/corn and regular wood/coal, that may be available locally, might be worth consideration. I know my wife is very down on pellet only stoves because of this reason. We have even burned charcoal, books, cardboard, and paper on occasion in our wood stove as well. I have just recently thought of running limbs through a chipper and trying to burn them as well. If we had buffalo chips I'd try to burn them.

I guess what I'm trying to say is don't limit your heating options.

I completely agree.
And the price of that one linked to on Amazon, WOW that is expensive.
Beside it comes with a chain to wrap around your leg tying you to some pellet seller. In about 1988 or 89 I paid $100 for the wood stove I am still heating this house with it. If someone gave me a ton of pellets I would only need to buy or make a simple pellet basket to burn them very well in my $100 stove.

HermitJohn · #6 03/21/15, 06:22 PM

Everything is expensive compared to a rusty discarded barrel stove off the Craigslist free section that you patch with some sheetmetal scavenged off an old refregerator, then vented with stovepipe out a broken window and burning "buffalo chips" and "twigs" you gather yourself while wandering alongside the hiway.

I assume the original poster has a reason he wants a pellet stove so just accept that. It wouldnt be my first choice either, but if you are no longer able to cut and process your own wood, it really isnt much more expensive than buying quality seasoned hardwood delivered. And firewood needs to be bought a year ahead, as I have never seen seller have truly dry seasoned firewood for sale unless its left over from previous winter that he didnt sell. And if it takes a feeble old person couple hours to use a coffee can to fill bin with pellets out of bag, well at least it happens. That feeble person maybe not be able to sling around firewood or walk out to the woodpile safely. But can keep couple weeks worth of pellets inside the house without mess and bugs and such.

I am amazed how young healthy people on this forum want to find fault with those that are not maybe so young and healthy and dont have a support system of friends and family to do it for them. Believe me you will at least be guaranteed of aging, whether your health fails before you die or not.

I suspect if you naysayers actually price new pellet stoves that have a GOOD REPUTATION, you will find that one on amazon pretty cheap. Matter of fact if you go price good quality firewood stoves that meet EPA standards and that your insurance company approves, they are pretty expensive too.

At current average price for pellets, that amazon stove can heat smallish house or trailer for around $150 a month. REally super duper cold month, maybe twice that with stove on maximum burn. Thats cheaper than propane. And if you have to, you can buy bags of pellets from place like Lowes year round as needed. Never heard anybody mention them running out. course at times better brands of pellets might not always be in abundance. Quality of pellets can vary widely depending on manufacturer.

You are never locked into buying from only one supplier of pellets. Now lot rural areas, there may only be one supplier of propane or fuel oil that delivers to where you live. Or like me, they wont deliver at all. You cant go get your own propane unless you want to pay through nose to get 100# or smaller tanks filled, then change them out frequently.

There is some company that does make a stainless steel basket to let you burn pellets in regular wood stove, but betting they dont come close to burning as efficiently as they do in a pellet stove. Regular firewood stove only burns 40% to maybe 50% efficientl

Alaska · #7 03/21/15, 07:04 PM

Have been around a few pellet stoves and was not impressed by either. Invest in a quality wood stove build a nice woodshed and find a good wood supplier. Should be plenty of firewood suppliers in the UP eh.

Skandi · #8 03/21/15, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HermitJohn

You are never locked into buying from only one supplier of pellets. Now lot rural areas, there may only be one supplier of propane or fuel oil that delivers to where you live. Or like me, they wont deliver at all.

I don't know what it's like in the US but where I live is very rural, and there is one supplier of pelets.. and they don't deliver! Whereas I can get split dried wood delivered. We do not have a pellet stove for just that reason but family did have one. They liked it, but getting fuel was too hit and miss, come jan/feb places stop stocking it (in their area) The main supplier had it all year but was a two hour drive, or a huge delivery charge. They now have a straw burner, that takes a lot of barn space to store a years worth of straw in.

Of course that all applies to all fuels, we can't buy our prefered compressed sawdust blocks after feb either.

To answer your questions, their house is a little bigger and two stories, no idea if it was noisy it was in a outbuilding. and it didn't break in the 3 years they kept it. But the feed did jam up on occasion.

kkbinco · #9 03/21/15, 08:42 PM

I have a 2005 Quadra-Fire "Santa Fe" heating a 900 sq. ft. single story home. This is about the max space this stove can heat. In the ten years I've owned it I've had to replace the glass door gasket and the igniter.

I power it through a battery backup, same kind as you would use with a computer. The stove draws 500w during ignition(about 5 minutes). Once running it draws about 100w on High, 80w on Med, and 60w on Low.

I'm in zone 5 at 5300ft and use a little under two tons of pellets per year.

The blowers do make noticeable noise but nothing you can't talk over.

It works for me.

lemonthyme7 · #10 03/21/15, 08:44 PM

We have heated with a pellet stove for about 7 years now. Our house is 1,700 sq ft. If it is really cold we shut the upstairs off to keep heat in the main living area. We bought ours at Tractor Supply Company and it is made by United States Stove Company. It is a multi fuel and we have burned corn in addition to wood pellets. Corn burns hotter but produces more ash. My brother is a farmer so we burned corn a lot for a couple years but then the price went up and it was just easier to burn pellets as they were more convenient. The price on corn is back down this year so we have burned some again this year. Our stove has been very reliable. We have replaced a motor for the auger once and the stirrer in the fire box once (being in the constant heat it does wear out). I like the design of our because it has a stirrer rod in the firepot that keeps the pellets burning well. Burning just pellets it can run for a week before needing cleaned. It would easily heat 1,200 sq ft with no problem. My in laws have a Whitfield pellet stove and are very happy with theirs. I do prefer the multifuel as there are more options.
I will say that BlackFeather is right in that around February every year there seems to be a problem in getting pellets. That is where the multifuel has been nice. We do mix a few pellets with the corn especially when starting as the heater starts best on straight wood pellets.
Overall, we are very happy with our pellet stove. Ours does have noise from the fan running but we get used to it and don't notice. We live in an old house that has lots of drafts. If we had to heat with something that ran on a thermostat it would run us a lot of money. The pellet stove keeps us warm and cozy all winter. I hope this has helped a little.

Riverdale · #11 03/22/15, 07:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackFeather

I have neither corn or pellet. Where my wife works it is the same every year the store runs out of pellets in early February. From that time onward it is hit and miss whether they will get anymore. So if you misguess on how much you need or the weather is colder than you planned you could be in a situation where you may not get anymore. Secondly, if economic hard times hit, what are the chances that either stores will be able to afford getting any or that you will be able to afford what they sell? Thus a stove that can burn both pellets/corn and regular wood/coal, that may be available locally, might be worth consideration. I know my wife is very down on pellet only stoves because of this reason. We have even burned charcoal, books, cardboard, and paper on occasion in our wood stove as well. I have just recently thought of running limbs through a chipper and trying to burn them as well. If we had buffalo chips I'd try to burn them.

I guess what I'm trying to say is don't limit your heating options.

I know several people (who have farms/work for farms) that burn straight rye,, leftover from planting cover crops very little waste.
I burn cherry pits, again little waste. Going to try olive pits Using a waste product for heat.

Riverdale · #12 03/22/15, 07:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alaska

Have been around a few pellet stoves and was not impressed by either. Invest in a quality wood stove build a nice woodshed and find a good wood supplier. Should be plenty of firewood suppliers in the UP eh.

I don't have bark, dirt and bugs in my house, and the bagsare easier and cleaner to store.

Peace n Quiet · #13 03/22/15, 08:19 AM

We had a woodstove in our first house. Can't beat the heat from one, but my husband's back is very bad so cutting/splitting firewood was becoming difficult.

In 2000 DH wanted to purchase a pellet stove for our new home. I was absolutely against it... we compromised by buying a cheaper pellet stove just to try it out - figuring we could sell it after one season if we didn't like it. We bought an Englander pdvc-25 from Lowes.
15 years later it is still going strong. We use it as our primary heat for a 1300 sq ft drafty farmhouse and it does a great job.

The pros: pellets are clean - no bark, bugs, and very little ash
Bags of pellets are only 40 lbs which my 10 yr old son can easily carry. 9 yr old daughter can also fill the stove using a coffee can.
Stove requires less clearance area so it fits into my small house much better than a woodstove could.

Cons: requires electricity to operate. As someone else mentioned it could hook up to a battery backup but we've never done that because our electric is pretty stable. A few times we have resorted to using a kerosene heater when the power was done for a day.
Our unit is on the first floor, and we have a small cellar which is made of laid up stone... very cold in the NEPA winter. Without heat in the cellar, our floors get very cold!
Cleaning our stove is somewhat of a chore.
We actually shut our stove down during most weekdays for a few hours and vacuum it out before starting it up again. We also chip out any buildup around the burn pot as needed.
I think that has helped extend the life of our stove.

Over the years, DH has replaced a blower motor, an auger motor, and of course the window gasket a few times.
Not too bad for our temporary stove!
Oh and on average we burn 4 ton of high quality wood pellets a year @$275/ton which we typically buy over the summer and store in our pole barn.
Our backup heat is oil - forced hot air, we fill a 250 gallon tank about every 3-4 years.

For us, the pellet stove was a great decision. I realize that it's not for everyone but I would definitely do it again.
In fact, we recently shopped around for a newer pellet stove - one that is more efficient and would require less cleaning. Every dealer we visited recommended a Harman P-43 or P-68 for our house.
Not sure yet if we'll upgrade or not but when the time comes to replace our stove it will be with another pellet stove.

Jim-mi · #14 03/22/15, 09:43 AM

Maybe 5 years or so ago I looked at pellet heaters at a newly opened store near by...
I was turned off by the fact the stove was either full on ----or off .. . . . And every time it fired up the 500 watt glo-bar heater was needed.........What good would that be if the grid was down ??
Got to believe that the controls are much better now . . so one can throttle the burn way back and not need the 500watt glow-bar constantly.........

I would reconsider buying a pellet if I can find a unit with much better control of the heat--Hi-Low--

Agree with Hermit that I am not the young buck that in the past cut and split many many cords of wood . . . . . . . Today handling a 40 lb. bag is much more practical.

HappyYooper · #15 03/22/15, 12:20 PM

My husband & I have been burning wood for many years...we would buy a firewood permit from the DNR so we could cut downfalls on State land...there's not much out there anymore. Last fall we bought firewood from hubby's boss. He owns his own logging business and truck which my hubby, John operates. We did get a great deal on the wood..free. But we have decided to check into the pellet stoves. It took a long time for John to talk me into it because I enjoy cooking on the wood stove and if the electric goes out that was a concern of mine but John said not to worry about that. And we rarely have power outages here...as far as running short of the pellets we are only 30 miles from the plant to produces them and we can buy direct from there and there is a farmer about the same distance that sells corn should we decide to burn that. The reasons why we want to go with a pellet stove is just as Riverdale said...no dirt, no bark, no bugs and less dust. And as much as I hate to admit it..we are getting older. I forgot TS sold stoves! When I get to town I'll have to check them out. Thank you!

karenp · #16 03/22/15, 04:55 PM

I didn't read all the responses, so this may repeat some information. We have a pellet stove. It was less expensive to install because it needs less chimney. It also can be put closer to the wall so it takes up less room. We have been in the house 22 years and it is the second one we have had. The first one still worked, but we finished the upstairs of the house and needed a bigger stove. We purchase our pellets by the ton in April (when they are the cheapest), we have never had a problem with needing them when they were hard to get, but you have to have somewhere dry to store them. We have a small generator, so if the power goes out DH just runs an extension cord out the window and stuffs a towel in the crack. I wish it got warm enough to cook on, but then we wouldn't be able to put it so close to the wall.

texican · #17 03/22/15, 04:57 PM

only one weakness with pellet stoves.... the need for store bought fuel (hard to break up a wooden chair, or throw tree limbs in a pellet stove), and the need for electric power for the blowers....