pellet stoves?? love them/hate them??

moeh1 · #21 01/09/14, 07:50 PM

we've got a Farenheit furnace 50000 BTU with the freestanding setup and the hopper extension. It runs 4 or 5 days before reloading and cleans the firepot automatically. Not a beaty to look at but its in the basement. It is supposed to burn pellets grain corn or cherry pits, but I've only burned corn and now that corn went way up all pellets. I like it, but it does need annual maintenance. I did have issues with one brand of pellets that were too long to feed well, so I stay with the kind that works well for me.
Barnyardgal, you should be able to get the one you have running well enough t keep your temp home warm this year or until you can rebuild and IMO a pellet stove can be a good heat source option, but not all stoves are equal...

Vosey · #22 01/09/14, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moeh1

we've got a Farenheit furnace 50000 BTU with the freestanding setup and the hopper extension. It runs 4 or 5 days before reloading and cleans the firepot automatically. Not a beaty to look at but its in the basement. It is supposed to burn pellets grain corn or cherry pits, but I've only burned corn and now that corn went way up all pellets. I like it, but it does need annual maintenance. I did have issues with one brand of pellets that were too long to feed well, so I stay with the kind that works well for me.
Barnyardgal, you should be able to get the one you have running well enough t keep your temp home warm this year or until you can rebuild and IMO a pellet stove can be a good heat source option, but not all stoves are equal...

Nice. I've heard about these as, good to hear they work as well as described. And I agree about not all stoves being equal.

Bret · #23 01/10/14, 02:12 PM

Another subject. Sorry.

Bret · #24 01/10/14, 02:14 PM

Editing to reintroduce in the right spot and now have created a double post.

**highlands** · #25 01/10/14, 04:05 PM

I love pellet stoves.
I don't have one.
But I grow the trees that get turned into pellets.

I love pellet stoves.
I have a traditional wood stove.
Big hunkin' chucks of wood.
Easy. Simple. Free.

TheMartianChick · #26 01/10/14, 04:08 PM

I always thought that it would be nice to have a woodburner and a pellet stove in a larger house. Burn wood while you're still young and switch to burning pellets as you age. You can always keep some wood around to act as a backup if the power goes out. Most larger homes are not well served by a single heat source...especially if the home is old.

TxMex · #27 01/10/14, 04:23 PM

I had one that came with my last house. It did a dandy job of heating. Problem was that it was no cheaper than using propane or electricity and I suspect it may have been more expensive. Had to clean it daily which was no picnic. The pellets made quite a bit of dust. As mentioned, no electricity, no heat.

I would not buy another one.

**Tiempo** · #28 01/10/14, 04:32 PM

We have a St.Croix and love it, wood is not an option for us because even though we are not elderly (43 an 49), we both have chronic injuries that make chopping and hauling wood not feasible.

Our house is an old 932sf brick single story and it heats the whole house well, we didn't turn on our furnace for 5 Michigan winters in a row (since we bought this place), but then this winter we ended up having to buy propane because we needed a working furnace for a refi inspection (to get a VA loan and pay off our land contract balloon). We ended up using the furnace a bit to supplement the heat during this week's extreme cold, but even without, the stove would have kept us warm enough, just maybe not as warm as we like, but that was at 15 below.

We use "Pro pellets" brand which are made in Michigan and burn very well, we're paying $3.98 a bag this year, down from $5.00 a bag a couple of years ago.

TheMartianChick · #29 01/11/14, 06:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tiempo

We have a St.Croix and love it, wood is not an option for us because even though we are not elderly (43 an 49), we both have chronic injuries that make chopping and hauling wood not feasible.

Our house is an old 932sf brick single story and it heats the whole house well, we didn't turn on our furnace for 5 Michigan winters in a row (since we bought this place), but then this winter we ended up having to buy propane because we needed a working furnace for a refi inspection (to get a VA loan and pay off our land contract balloon). We ended up using the furnace a bit to supplement the heat during this week's extreme cold, but even without, the stove would have kept us warm enough, just maybe not as warm as we like, but that was at 15 below.

We use "Pro pellets" brand which are made in Michigan and burn very well, we're paying $3.98 a bag this year, down from $5.00 a bag a couple of years ago.

How long does a bag of pellets last?

pheasantplucker · #30 01/13/14, 05:13 AM

My brother in law had one and loved it. I considered getting one, but the more I thought about it I decided to go the wood stove route. I have plenty of free firewood, and a pellet stove requires electricity. In the event of a power outage, I want to be able to still heat without firing up the generator.

trulytricia · #31 01/13/14, 10:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMartianChick

I always thought that it would be nice to have a woodburner and a pellet stove in a larger house. Burn wood while you're still young and switch to burning pellets as you age. You can always keep some wood around to act as a backup if the power goes out. Most larger homes are not well served by a single heat source...especially if the home is old.

I have a poor left knee. Moving those 40lbs bags of pellets was a problem. They have to be stored somewhere and carried. Easier for me to pick up small amounts of firewood.

If I had to choose a stove to invest in it would still be a woodstove.

mrs whodunit · #32 01/13/14, 10:46 AM

When we bought this house it came with a large pellet stove. It had a 6" pipe. Of course when the power went out.... we got cold.

Anyway, it heated the basement and then a Toyo heated the ground floor. The second floor was unheated.

We bought a serious wood stove and now the entire house is heated with one source.

Cutting wood ourselves is so much cheaper than buying tons of pellets. Even buying wood was cheaper than pellets and we had a warmer house to boot.

karenp · #33 01/13/14, 05:10 PM

We have heated with a pellet stove for over 20 years. We buy pellets by the ton in April to get the best price, we definitely spend less on heat than we would with conventional heat. We have a small house, the pellet stove needs less clearance. A wood stove would be in the middle of the room. We have found the type of pellets really makes a difference, we don't buy from a big box store. In a perfect world I would rather have a wood stove, as it is more self-sufficient, but we all make compromises.