Pellet Stoves? Asking for input.

[supernova]

I found a couple of old threads about them and thought I'd revive the conversation.

Usually, there are a couple of times during the winter that my power goes out, due to ice and snow. Right now, the house runs completely on electricity. But I would like a backup source and have thought about a pellet stove with a battery back up. I do have a chimney flue that I can vent it with, so that's not a problem. I also want to be able to save on electricity, since heat in the winter costs way more than a/c in the summer.

Ideas? Opinions? Do you have one and like it or don't?

[lizziegrace]

1. Others can speak about having a pellet stove

I am an accountant and there's a tax credit if you decide to go this route. Just remember to tell your tax preparer and save the sales documents. Last year the credit was $300.00 Not sure if it's going to change.

[InternalDialogue]

2. I've had a pellet stove for about six or seven years.

My stove runs on the house electricity, but when I bought the stove there was an option to buy a battery backup. Since then, when I've thought about the possibility of losing power in the winter, I've realized I have a marine battery in the house and a charger -- it would be simple enough to hook it to an inverter and keep that charged and handy each winter.

As far as costs go, I spend about half as much heating my house as I did when I used my gas-forced-air furnace (which I have disconnected completely now). Cleanup on my model is simple -- quick check of the burn pot about twice a week to make sure it's burning completely and not filling with clinkers -- and cleaning out the ash from the receptacle beneath the stove twice a season. Then once a year I'll push a brush through my flu (which vents up for six feet and then horizontally out the side of my house) and that's about it.

I'm glad I got my stove. The first two concerns of mine were lowering my heating costs and moving to a more eco-friendly and independent system. As far as costs go, I spend about $250 on pellets each winter, but I save around $80 a month on what my furnace cost (my winter electric/gas bill is exactly what it is during the summer). So my full winter's heating expense is equal to what three months would have cost with the old heater. Turns out when the stove is running each winter, I've grown very accustomed to its hum and its warmth. It's not quite the same as having a good slow fire going with a log on the grate, but it's the same kind of heat. And since the exterior/top of the stove gets warm but not hot to the touch, the cat loves to nap on it, nearly 24/7.

One of the annoyances I've discovered is finding a good brand of pellets to use and then finding a supplier who stocks them regularly. When I first bought the stove, the seller (who also sold just one brand of pellets) gave me a deal on the first ton of pellets. It turns out that was a bad brand for me -- they left a lot more ash than brands I used later, and they didn't seem to burn as hot. I tried several brands until I found the one that worked best for me. Luckily, Lowe's stocks them and offers a discount when I buy a full pallet of them at one time. But there have been times, especially leading into the start of the cold season and sometimes during a particularly cold streak in the middle of winter, when they won't have them on hand. I've arranged to have a ton always on hand at a location (relative's storage building) I can get to anytime I need to get more bags to my house. Then when Lowe's is back in stock, I get another pallet and load them into the storage building.

[old mark]

3. We had ours installed by the dealer last year. We used the gas furnace a total of 2 days

all winter. Our electricity use for the pellet stove was way less than for the gas furnace, and fuel costs were maybe 1/3 of the gas. We will have to shop around for pellets this year, but there are about a dozen places nearby selling them, and it's not much of a problem. We have an outside storage shed, and I bring in maybe 5 bags at a time so we are ready in case of snow or ice storms - we use under a bag - 40 pounds - per day on average - under $6.

The heat from the stove is very pleasant and comforting, and we have both noticed fewer sinus problems than with the gas furnace.
It heats our 3 story house as well as the furnace did, and actually is more consistant.
We have a Canadian-made Enviro Empress, black enamel - I recommend them.

We don't have a battery back-up, but I may get one installed this winter just in case - we haven't had a power outage in several years that lasted more than a few minutes, but you never know.....

We love it.

mark

[lizziegrace]

4. Did you put in vents to allow the heated air to move

to the upper floors? If I owned this house, the chimneys would be inspected and a stove would be installed. Since I don't, I have to rely on heating oil.

[old mark]

5. NO! the air moves on its own - the bedroom is actually the warmest room

in the house, but even the attic and basement are warmet than we ever expected. It really heats the entire house, especially since we got new windows and really sealed the place over the summer. We spend $5.95 a day on pellets-1 40 pound bag-per day. I just updated my post from '08, and I really recommend you have a pro install the pellet stove - it requires a much simpler chimney than any cut wood stove.

I'm writing this in my living room, wearing a tee shirt, and very comfortambe despite 28 degees and blowing snow outside.

mark

[lizziegrace]

7. Thanks for the information

While they aren't visible from the first floor ceilings, there are covered vents in the floors above. Given your experience, it wouldn't be necessary to open them up again.

[old mark]

6. I just posted an update to my '08 post on our pellet stove - we love it !!!

I really recommend them over anything else. We have had experiences with oil and gas furnaces, old coal furnaces (when I was a kid) and a wood and coal burning stove. This is the best we have ever had, by far, and I believe it is very much more environmentally friendly than anything else we have used.
We ran the gas furnace for a few hours to make sure it was working well, and have not used it at all since then.

mark

[pipi_k]

8. I've had pellet stoves for nearly ten years

Started first with the non-adjustable (Jamestown "Baby Bear") kind, then went with the kind attached to a thermostat and auto turn on/shut down (Harmon).

We love them.

Had marine battery backup until January of last year when we got hit with an ice storm that knocked out power for three days and we discovered that the battery was worn out. Uh...oh...

And the generator wouldn't work. Double uh...oh....

Had to hook the pellet stove up to some kind of power inverter thingy and then run it on the car battery which ran in the driveway for three days.

Anyway, one is in the living room and heats that room and the open kitchen area, and the hot air rising up the stairs to the second bedroom is captured by an air fan which pumps it through the attic and blows it into the master bathroom, warming it up.

The other pellet stove is in the rec room below the master bedroom which is open and has a spiral staircase. That one warms the basement/rec room area and rises up the stairs to help heat the bedroom but it only runs an hour or two each day during the very cold weather.

The house is well insulated, so we can turn the thermostat up to 75 and it's way cheaper than oil heat, and we're never cold.

Anyway, as you can tell, I really love my pellet stoves and would recommend them to anyone.

:)

[old mark]

9. We had our stove/chimney professionally cleaned out this August - they

recommend we have this done every yeara in the off season - it will keep the efficiency up and save money on fuel. It is ready for Fall right now, except I have to turn on the pilot for the gas furnace to make sure we have our back up ready.

It was in the mid 90's three days ago, went down to the low 50's last night...here we go again.

mark

[supernova]

10. Hi mark,

Thanks for kicking this thread.

I'm still thinking of getting one. It would provide backup for power outages and help out in the dead of winter.

Same here for temps.

Good sleeping with the windows open for the next month or so, though. :D

[old mark]

11. Check carefully - most have a fan that is required for to recirculate the gasses

for complete combustion and great efficiency...they can be had with battery backup in event of power failure, but it's best to have it all installed at the same time, so mention that when you talk to the installers.

Not a 90 in sight for the next week, maybe not till summer.

Good luck!

mark

[old mark]

12. Supernova, here's Enviro's website - they have some very good

looking stoves as you can see, and the multi-fuel stoves interest me, too - burning dried corn?

Link: http://www.enviro.com/fireplace-products/pellet/freestanding-fireplace.html

We have the Empress, in black enamel...In the summer we just put plants and stuff on it - it looks great, and has a very pleasant flame showing through the glass front door in the winter.


mark

[supernova]

13. Thanks Mark!

I'll certainly look into it.

There's so much I want to do and I'm really hurting financially right now. *sigh*

[Kennah]

14. By Electric Do You Mean Baseboard Electric Heat?

Our house is entirely electric, and we have baseboard electric heat. The units are cheap and easy to install, but very expensive to operate. If you have baseboard electric heat and those idiotic dial thermostats, keep reading.

Consider replacing your thermostats with line voltage programmable thermostats. I replaced mine with Honeywell RLV430A line voltage programmable thermostats.

http://yourhome.honeywell.com/home/Products/Thermostats/5-2-Day-Programmable/RLV430A.htm

Made a big difference simply because the dumb assed dial thermostats would just kinda randomly kick on and kick off at times.

I got the Honeywell RLV430A units from Home Despot, but one can certainly find these and other units elsewhere. The RLV430A handles a load between 2 amps and 14.6 amps and between 500 and 3500 watts (at 240 VAC). They run about $40 to $50 each, but they pay off over time.

Be sure it's a line voltage thermostat. Most thermostats only have about 20 volts running through them. Baseboard electric runs at either 120 VAC or 240 VAC. That's real live electricity. Know what you are doing. These ain't doorbells or phones.

If you can find the breaker box, switch off the circuit, and test the circuit before you touch the wires, then it's a pretty simple, easy and safe DIY operation.

[supernova]

15. Hey, I have a heat pump

so it's already as efficient as it can be. I am looking for something to use when the power goes out.

[Kennah]

16. Then I'm jealous of you