Wood or pellet stove?

stimpy17 · Nov 19, 2017

Hi all! We're thinking about either a wood or pellet stove as a back-up heat source.

1000 ft. single story home w/new doors and windows. Well insulated. This would be a free standing stove either way.

2 older people and we're about 1/4 mi. from DC lake and in reality I won't be around forever so I just worry about my other half.

Concerned about power outages with the pellet stove so I've been looking at the gravity feed one (wise way 1949) but it looks like a PITA to maintain. OTOH, having had a wood burner in another home I know a little about it takes to run and maintain one.

Would like to hear from someone who has an opinion about other pellet or wood stoves as far as cost of fuel, installation and codes, what is required as far as EPA standards and of course cost of the unit. What works and what didn't.

As always, thank-you.

smokedog · Nov 19, 2017

If you are worried about your other half go with the pellet stove. Pellets are easier to store and load into stove. I love my woodstove but it is a pain when dealing with wood if you don't like it. I still enjoy cutting splitting so I'm good.
Pricing is all about options, I have looked at the battery back up pellet stoves for when the power goes out. If I remember correctly the batteries will only last about 12 hrs maybe. So a generator to run the pellet stove would be my choice.
You will be out a few grand either way so do your research and decide what works for you.

Mr. Ed · Nov 19, 2017

smokedog said:
If you are worried about your other half go with the pellet stove. Pellets are easier to store and load into stove. I love my woodstove but it is a pain when dealing with wood if you don't like it. I still enjoy cutting splitting so I'm good.
Pricing is all about options, I have looked at the battery back up pellet stoves for when the power goes out. If I remember correctly the batteries will only last about 12 hrs maybe. So a generator to run the pellet stove would be my choice.
You will be out a few grand either way so do your research and decide what works for you.

+1 for a pellet stove. You can buy a small generator for $400 or less that will run it and a bit more, so you'll be handled in power outages. Cleaner, easier, less creosote buildup in the chimney... you'll be glad you made the choice.

Chris · Nov 19, 2017

Pellet stove is the way to go. Easy to get fuel to stove, easy clean and much less mess. One could run on generator if power goes out or there are a few on the market that run on 110V converted to 12volt just hook up a battery and off to the races you go. Chris

Devonian · Nov 19, 2017

Are you on natural gas? A natural gas or propane stove might be as cost effective as a pellet stove and it will not require power or much maintenance.

jaybee · Nov 19, 2017

all wood stoves smell and put out some soot and are dirty

pellet stoves can have a thermostat, burn clean, rarely smell, only a little electricity - enough for a small generator to handle

both you will be carrying 50 pounds everyday and having to store wood/pellets

another option for a small house backup - propane furnace - free standing / wall / vented / unvented

uses very to no electricity, has no smell, no dirt, very little maintence - gotta put in a propane tank but you don't have to feed it every day and carry a lot of weight as you get older

something to check out

kalister1 · Nov 19, 2017

A Pellet stove can vent through the wall with a drier vent (LOOKING) device. Depending on location, this could save you BIG$$$$ over a traditional wood burner.
I burn mine overnight and not during the day unless it's really cold. On the low setting I get 24 hours of burn time on a 40 lb bag of pellets. One ton (50) bags is about $250.00 depending on where and when you buy. Forklift the pallet into my 1/2 ton pickup.

welder516 · Nov 19, 2017

I had a pellet stove for many years and loved it , but the older you get you just want to hit a switch and have heat . I have natural gas heat now and love it , unless I had a small cabin I would never want the extra work with pellets or wood .

TLL · Nov 19, 2017

My take is, it is too much work for elderly to use wood or pellets. Gas is the way to go, just flip a switch.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

4570inMD · Nov 19, 2017

After researching pellet, word-burner, gas-stove, & remote wood-burner systems, I choose the vented propane-stove like this one to solve my heating during electric power outages:

Thompson Gas takes good care of me:

17863 Garrett Highway
Oakland, MD 21550
301.387.2400

Open Monday - Friday 8am-5pm

4570inMD

j8064 · Nov 19, 2017

Although I have a wood stove and plenty of available wood for fuel I agree with 4570. Propane is much cleaner, easier and maybe cheaper to use out here in Garrett County.

stimpy17: you say you live about 1/4 mi. from DC lake. That's Hooligan country. You should think about joining us at the range some Sunday morning...

PapiBarcelona · Nov 19, 2017

Wood stove is a time involved hobby with some decent functional fitness with the number of times (if you choose to process wood yourself) you handle wood before the end result of heat.

I guess pellet stoves are cleaner and you still have to handle bags of pellets and storage somewhere dry, it's never really an issue with burning wood for me except careful handling of the ash.

I'd say neither in your case too, gas of some sort instead.

on_the_rox · Nov 19, 2017

I love my pellet stove. Quadrafire Castile freestanding. I use it for ambiance and it is really a great backup to my regular heat. It will heat my entire open floored well insulated 4000sqft home by itself on the coldest day if need be. Bags of pellets are easier and cleaner than firewood. It runs of a thermostat. My wife can easily handle it. The install for exhaust should be much cheaper and simpler. You can get a generator or battery system for power outage. I love wood stoves but I am glad I went pellet for a backup system.

Mightydog · Nov 19, 2017

Switched about 18 years ago from a Vermont Castings wood stove vented thru my flue thru the chimney. Got concerned with all the chimney fires people were having, plus the PITA of cleaning out that I went to a Vermont Castings Radiance vent free propane stove. After the initial burn off has very little smell. Actually has a catalytic filter on top to scrub fumes. Puts out a ton of heat. Have a Canadian made Ecofan sitting on it that spins when stove is burning and pushes hot air into room. Have to do maintenance yearly to prevent buildup on pilot light. Nothing electric.

jaybee · Nov 19, 2017

don't get me wrong

I really like pellet stoves - they work great and are great for young folks

but in really cold weather ya gotta carry 50 pounds per day to feed the stove

that is the down side, plus storing a ton of pellets

stimpy17 · Nov 19, 2017

j8064 said:
Although I have a wood stove and plenty of available wood for fuel I agree with 4570. Propane is much cleaner, easier and maybe cheaper to use out here in Garrett County.

stimpy17: you say you live about 1/4 mi. from DC lake. That's Hooligan country. You should think about joining us at the range some Sunday morning...

Yep! As soon as we move from PA to MD we'll need some where to shoot, that is after I figure out what I'm ALLOWED to have as far as firearms.

John from MD · Nov 19, 2017

stimpy17 said:
Yep! As soon as we move from PA to MD we'll need some where to shoot, that is after I figure out what I'm ALLOWED to have as far as firearms.

As far as I recall, you lost most of them duck hunting on the Susky so that won't be a problem. :innocent0

stimpy17 · Nov 20, 2017

John from MD said:
As far as I recall, you lost most of them duck hunting on the Susky so that won't be a problem.

Biggfoot44 · Nov 20, 2017

Pellet stove will use less total weight of pellets, than a woodstove would of wood , albeit 40 or 50lb at a time instead of a cpl chunks of wood at a time.

Long term outage, or total off grid situation , advantage wood . Routine heating when grid is usually up, advantage Pellet .

My question to pose is how much will it be used as routine heat source vs standing by in case of emergency?

j8064 · Nov 20, 2017

John from MD said:
As far as I recall, you lost most of them duck hunting on the Susky so that won't be a problem.

Geez, John, you heard about the hunting trip stimpy was on that turned nasty too? My, how word gets around. It was so sad. Stimpy is lucky to be alive!

stimpy17 said:
Yep! As soon as we move from PA to MD we'll need some where to shoot, that is after I figure out what I'm ALLOWED to have as far as firearms.

Stimpy, don't hesitate to send me a PM as you get settled into the Deep Creek area. It's a great place to live. The Hooligans are your new neighbors. And we will do what we can to get you connected.

Hooli the Goat is still in charge of "approving" new inductees into the Hooligan group. But he's so old now he'd just lick your hand and say "welcome"...

:thumbsup:

Wood or pellet stove?

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