pellet vs. wood insert

[Freyja]

We moved into a house and have a small fireplace that we would like to convert to our main source of heat. We've been looking into getting an insert, either pellet or wood, but we don't know which one to get. The house is almost 2000 sq ft and the only inserts that will fit output enough heat for approx. 1500 sq ft (wood) or 2000 sq ft (pellet).

Now, it seems that the pellet would be the way to go considering the house size but we were wondering if anyone on here has some first-hand experience using one or the other and, if so, what have been the results? I know that results will vary depending on the heat loss of the house, insulation etc. but any general ideas will suffice. Thanks.

[inuit]

I would like to hear from someone who has a pellet stove too. What have you heard about hazardous fumes? I heard that somewhere. Are they any good when the power goes out?

[Freyja]

Nah they arent any good for when the power goes out because one drawback is they need electricity to operate. However, if you live in the city or its outskirts, the chances of the power going out for an extended period of time is pretty slim since we have our own dedicated power company and all. I actually haven't heard anything about hazardous fumes--what did you hear about that?

[Infinitrium]

Tremec mentioned hazardous gas unless you use good quality pellets on another post last week but he did not elaborate on it and I can't find anything about it . The other post was entitled " best way to heat your home" I have to use quotation marks because I don't know how to make links lol. If you find any info on pellet stoves, could you let me know or where you found it? Thanks

[Freyja]

maybe one of us should PM him to get more info on that. I did see the best way to heat your home post ill have to look at it again here in a min. the best way to get info is probably to visit Squires and/or Alternatives, those little independent stores in the city that sell pellet, gas and wood stoves and inserts. Im not finding out much online...

[kaj27]

I have never heard of this dangerous gas. I sold pellet stoves over the summer.

[Freyja]

yeah it doesnt make sense to me that a home heating unit would produce dangerous fumes. :rolleyes:

[kaj27]

yeah it doesnt make sense to me that a home heating unit would produce dangerous fumes. :rolleyes:

If you read the previous topic. The fumes or gas was suppose to be generated only when lower quality pellets were used.

Which is nonsense.

Great addition though.

[Freyja]

If you read the previous topic. The fumes or gas was suppose to be generated only when lower quality pellets were used.

Which is nonsense.

Great addition though.

yes I did come across that same info when researching online last nite but it wasn't on what I would take as a reputable site

[inuit]

The only site I was able to find was one talking about regulations for installing wood burning stoves.

[icedragon]

I've seen a few posts about pellet fuel stoves and I just thought I would share my experiences from owning and installing pellet fuel stoves over the years in NS.

Well first, Pellets are fuel. As with all fuels prices will vary. Usually having to do with supply and demand. No one wants pellets in the summer so that is when you should be buying them. Prices will be lower. In Halifax Shaw pellets are frequently on sale for 2$ a bag. (mostly in summer)So far I have noticed up here you can't get them for less that 4$ a bag. Big difference.
You have to figure a bag a day throughout the heating season, Now in the fall and spring of course you will not use that much. But figure a bag a day and you won't run out. A bag a day is also a good way to figure out how your current heating system compares to a pellet stove.

Power, Yes they do use power. There is a fan and an auger that both use power. My battery backup could run my stove for 3 days. A small generator of course will run it as long as you want. You do not need a large generator for it, the small ones that cost a couple of hundred dollars are more than enough to run it. Or get a battery back up.

Noise. Remember they also make noise. There is a fan always running and the feed auger makes noise. You do get used to it but keep in mind they make noise.

The fire code and building codes are much more relaxed for pellet stoves than they are for wood stoves. The exhaust for a pellet stoves is 3 inch pipe and can run straight out any exterior wall. There is also an insert you can buy to run inside an existing exhaust making it possible to install a pellet stove almost anywhere in your home without making more holes in your roof.

The biggest drawback aside from power and noise is price. They are expensive to purchase.

Cleaning. You are suppose to clean them. I neglected to clean mine for 3 years. When I sold the house I finally cleaned it and the exhaust was still shiney (spelling?)

Back to pellets. There are different brands to choose from. I have found they all are pretty much the same. Some brands produce more ash then others but I ALWAYS bought the cheapest ones and never had any problems. Sometimes I had to empty the ash bin once every 2 weeks instead of once every 3 weeks. The pellets are in bags, you can store them anywhere. There is no mess, no bugs, no wood to haul in.

No matter what heating source you have, It's the efficiency of your house that is going to dictate how much you spend on heating. I found pellet stoves threw more heat than my wood stoves but I know nothing of burning wood. I guess different types of wood throws different heat but my pellet stove always threw more heat than my wood stove. In the end I got rid of my wood and stayed with pellet.

[Freyja]

wow thank you Icedragon for taking the time to type all of that out. that was a lot of useful information and i think after reading that we will go with the pellet!

[icedragon]

When you really think about it there are not many available second hand so people are keeping them. there must be a reason. I heated my house with pellet for less than 400$ a year. Keep in mind the lower prices for pellets I was paying but my heat was always on to hot also. 6 months of the year it was on. some days in the winter I had to keep windows open. After I installed a thermostat on my main floor to control my stove I noticed it was not on half as much as before.

[inuit]

Wow, thank you icedragon. The info was great and like Freja, I too will go with pellet stove. I had considered wood stove but was concerned about all the lugging and messing with wood.

[kaj27]

The bags of pellets are heavy, but much easier to handle than one would think. People normally buy them by the pallet, for a small fee most home improvment stores can drop them off to your door.

[puppyluv]

Well, after spending a frickin fortune in oil so far this winter, we (I) have been researching these. It is true, simple to install, the pellets, well many watch for a sale to go on...
My only question is, where to install it, main or lower floor. We currently use oil/how water baseboards..I would prefer it out of the way downstairs, but taht being said, heating vents are an issue right now.

[Kristen]

has anyone thought of propane?????

[puppyluv]

i am not too crazy about the cost of it for installing the system etc.

[inuit]

Does anyone know the cost of installing propane?

[puppyluv]

I would imagine irving or whoever else sells and installs could giv eyou an idea. FYI, many companies wont provide the propane if they dont install the product.

[kaj27]

The cost of propane keeps rising like home heating oil and gasoline. I wouldn't recommend it for anyone.

[Freyja]

has anyone thought of propane?????

I have a little propane stove in one part of my house, enough to heat like one 10th of it. It cost 285$ to fill a small tank. It burns about a litre an hr so if i had a big one to heat my whole house that would not be very cost effective or efficient either.

One of the major downsides of this pellet business is that it will cost almost 5 grand to buy it and have it installed which is pretty crazy. I might as well put some of that money towards some solar panels! Anyone know anything about those? lol

[kaj27]

I have a little propane stove in one part of my house, enough to heat like one 10th of it. It cost 285$ to fill a small tank. It burns about a litre an hr so if i had a big one to heat my whole house that would not be very cost effective or efficient either.

One of the major downsides of this pellet business is that it will cost almost 5 grand to buy it and have it installed which is pretty crazy. I might as well put some of that money towards some solar panels! Anyone know anything about those? lol

Some decent solar panels will cost you a lot more than $5k. That's not including the install.

Solar panels are a great assisting power, but then you need batteries, a DC inverter and finally loads of electronics.

:)

[icedragon]

Well, after spending a frickin fortune in oil so far this winter, we (I) have been researching these. It is true, simple to install, the pellets, well many watch for a sale to go on...
My only question is, where to install it, main or lower floor. We currently use oil/how water baseboards..I would prefer it out of the way downstairs, but taht being said, heating vents are an issue right now.

Heat will rise and it will heat the floor above it but with no vents it will take much longer. The lower floor will always be much hotter than the floor above. You will be burning many more pellets by not having vents.
You can help yourself a little by making sure there is no insulation/gyproc on the ceiling of the lower floor. This will allow the heat to rise to the main floor quicker. You can keep the door open leading to to lower floor. This will also help the heat rise to the second floor.

As far as placement goes, You can get a liner to run inside your existing exhaust for your furnace(i'm assuming your furnace is in the center of your house) or if you are putting it in a corner or against an exterior wall the exhaust can run straight outside. No need for a chimney to run past your roof.
Just make sure it's higher than the snow level or you will have more shoveling to do in the winter.
As with every form of heating system (not electric baseboard) The center or your house is the best. The heat will dissipate in all directions. Sometimes that is near impossible to do. If you put it in a corner or against one wall it will take longer to heat the rest of the house and there will always be a temperature difference from one end to the other. It won't be a drastic difference but it will be noticeable.

[puppyluv]

Pellet stove, we checked into it Saturday, to have it installed in our existing fireplace, would be between 3200-4000..product & installation ( with stell liner chimney in fireplace fromt hem as well)
If we look at a bag a day for heat, which is aprox 4$, and then multiply that by the month, that is a dang cry shprter than our $500 a month we are doing right now..
Plus, we plan on getting things evaluated so we will also get a rebate for efficeincy NB.

[icedragon]

has anyone thought of propane?????

Propane is far to costly to heat your home. You have to rent tanks that can only be filled by the people your are renting them from. This is due to certifications required as well as the liability. Propane is a very volatile nasty liquid(only the gas is burned) that has a flashpoint of -156 f (-104c)
This means that if the temperature is -156f propane will still burn.(gas and oil won't)
It will cause frostbite upon contact with tissue. Vapor can also burn your skin.

[icedragon]

I have a little propane stove in one part of my house, enough to heat like one 10th of it. It cost 285$ to fill a small tank. It burns about a litre an hr so if i had a big one to heat my whole house that would not be very cost effective or efficient either.

One of the major downsides of this pellet business is that it will cost almost 5 grand to buy it and have it installed which is pretty crazy. I might as well put some of that money towards some solar panels! Anyone know anything about those? lol


If you got a price of 5 grand you better shop around a lot more. The last one I priced was 2100$ for a large stove, 600$ for an insert(300$ for a normal exhaust) and 600$ for install (which I would save by doing it myself)
You don't need a fancy showpiece for a stove. The only thing anyone should be looking at is square footage to be heated.

[nbnewfie]

I have a Pellet Stove and love it!! No woodsy smell in the house, the noise is minimal, you get used to it. The Pellets go on sale at least twice a year. I wouldn't go any other way.

[Freyja]

If you got a price of 5 grand you better shop around a lot more. The last one I priced was 2100$ for a large stove, 600$ for an insert(300$ for a normal exhaust) and 600$ for install (which I would save by doing it myself)
You don't need a fancy showpiece for a stove. The only thing anyone should be looking at is square footage to be heated.

well the only place i know where to buy them is squires or alternatives and the one i want is thermostatically controlled and supposedly the quietest u can buy-- it is about $2100$ just for the insert, not counting install and the other stuff for inside the chimney and junk. It will heat 2000 sq ft which is what i need. It will be in my formal sitting rm so it needs to be a bit fancy sort of tho i dont really like the looks of any of the pellet stoves or inserts lol Um where did u price yours? And i know there is no way we could install that ourselves. we should both be on Canada's Worst Handyman, imo LOL

[Freyja]

Pellet stove, we checked into it Saturday, to have it installed in our existing fireplace, would be between 3200-4000..product & installation ( with stell liner chimney in fireplace fromt hem as well)
If we look at a bag a day for heat, which is aprox 4$, and then multiply that by the month, that is a dang cry shprter than our $500 a month we are doing right now..
Plus, we plan on getting things evaluated so we will also get a rebate for efficeincy NB.

yeah my mthly power bill is like 400$ bucks and theres only two of us mind u we work on diff schedules so the electric heat's on all the time. i know that doesnt help.

[Freyja]

Some decent solar panels will cost you a lot more than $5k. That's not including the install.

Solar panels are a great assisting power, but then you need batteries, a DC inverter and finally loads of electronics.

:)

i know but i can dream cant i? LOL

[Kristen]

Actually that is not true, anyone will rent or sell you a tank and supply the propane. cost of the install is around 500 dollars. Not too bad considering you get the certificate of saftey for the insurance company. The nice thing about propanr is that there is no mess, clean burning, no chimney and just a hole for the vent to go through to the outside. Excellent. If you were to purchace one of these you would have to make sure to get the one that has the button to turn the pilot light off cause to run it, it costs about 1 dollar per day so that is 30 dollars per month just for pilot. Hope this helps

[icedragon]

well the only place i know where to buy them is squires or alternatives and the one i want is thermostatically controlled and supposedly the quietest u can buy-- it is about $2100$ just for the insert, not counting install and the other stuff for inside the chimney and junk. It will heat 2000 sq ft which is what i need. It will be in my formal sitting rm so it needs to be a bit fancy sort of tho i dont really like the looks of any of the pellet stoves or inserts lol Um where did u price yours? And i know there is no way we could install that ourselves. we should both be on Canada's Worst Handyman, imo LOL

I have never dealt with inserts. Just stoves.
I went to a place on rosthesay(spelling ?) Ave. Not sure what it is called but it is between the esso and the highway on the same side of the road as halifax seed.
Every stove I have ever installed could be controlled with a thermostat.
If you know someone who travels to halifax and might have room in a truck it might be worth while to check prices there too. They used to be cheaper there than they would be here. But with gas prices.........

There is also a place almost across the road from the fore mentioned place. Not sure what it is called but there is a sign saying pellet stoves. Home depo also sells them.

[icedragon]

Actually that is not true, anyone will rent or sell you a tank and supply the propane. cost of the install is around 500 dollars. Not too bad considering you get the certificate of saftey for the insurance company. The nice thing about propanr is that there is no mess, clean burning, no chimney and just a hole for the vent to go through to the outside. Excellent. If you were to purchace one of these you would have to make sure to get the one that has the button to turn the pilot light off cause to run it, it costs about 1 dollar per day so that is 30 dollars per month just for pilot. Hope this helps

The company who installs it will fill it. If you buy a tank from Superior Propane, Irving will not fill it. (companies used as an example only)
If you take your cppi exams you will see why.

[puppyluv]

Looked around at some more today. Although I am looking for an insert ( hey the gov even rebates $500. for an insert!) I am NOT eager to have the front shield all around the front ..not a snug fit on the angel stone, so i either get a new front or do something else..