How much do they run? I have a decent bonus this year.

No idea what current prices are. I paid about $2200 for my QuadraFire insert almost 15 years ago. Smaller standalone are much less expensive.

We've found that they start at around $1200 and go up from there.

How much do they run? I have a decent bonus this year.

We love our pellet stove but you might consider doing some serious math.
We find the pellets to be quite costly.

Funny you should ask.... My in-laws have one they are getting ready to try and sell.

I'm not trying to solicit a sale, but I wanted to ask a question to all those who have the pellet stove.

My in-laws have had theirs for about five years now and right from the beginning they have complained that the pellets cost more then they are worth and the stove doesn't heat as well as the wood stove they took out.

Is that really the case????

Funny you should ask.... My in-laws have one they are getting ready to try and sell.

I'm not trying to solicit a sale, but I wanted to ask a question to all those who have the pellet stove.

My in-laws have had theirs for about five years now and right from the beginning they have complained that the pellets cost more then they are worth and the stove doesn't heat as well as the wood stove they took out.

Is that really the case????

Can you PM me their info? We're looking at buying one IF we can find one used and affordable.

I'm hoping to put in an insert into our fireplace. We looked into it a year or so ago, but we replaced the heat pump instead. We still have no "backup" other than the heat pump emergency heat (which is pretty much a great big space heater at that point).

My bonus and cash on hand puts me somewhere around 3-4000, and a buddy of mine says he'll install it for the price of a good meal with his family at our house.

The only place I know of in the area is American Hardware. I have no idea what their prices are like. The only brand name I really know much of is QuadraFire, but the MSRP's on their site probably don't resemble what I'd see locally.

Funny you should ask.... My in-laws have one they are getting ready to try and sell.

I'm not trying to solicit a sale, but I wanted to ask a question to all those who have the pellet stove.

My in-laws have had theirs for about five years now and right from the beginning they have complained that the pellets cost more then they are worth and the stove doesn't heat as well as the wood stove they took out.

Is that really the case????

Our stove is in a fireplace so the stove provides us with better heat. Never had a wood stove there. We don't think the pellets are any less costly then oil. However our pellet stove generates its heat in a place that provides us more comfort. Also mental as it might sound, seeing a warm fire just makes you feel warmer. You still have to clean it, you still have some mess but it is much less trouble then a fireplace or wood stove.

The only place I know of in the area is American Hardware. I have no idea what their prices are like. The only brand name I really know much of is QuadraFire, but the MSRP's on their site probably don't resemble what I'd see locally.

I know Lowes carries some brands. Tractor Supply Company also sells them. I'm sure there are used ones on Craigslist also.

I'm hoping to put in an insert into our fireplace. We looked into it a year or so ago, but we replaced the heat pump instead. We still have no "backup" other than the heat pump emergency heat (which is pretty much a great big space heater at that point).

My bonus and cash on hand puts me somewhere around 3-4000, and a buddy of mine says he'll install it for the price of a good meal with his family at our house.

The only place I know of in the area is American Hardware. I have no idea what their prices are like. The only brand name I really know much of is QuadraFire, but the MSRP's on their site probably don't resemble what I'd see locally.

Backup??? They require electricity to operate. Ours is a Breckwell. They use to sell pellets stoves at a place in Waldorf called Hearth and Patio or something close to that name. Not sure if they are still there.

Funny you should ask.... My in-laws have one they are getting ready to try and sell.

I'm not trying to solicit a sale, but I wanted to ask a question to all those who have the pellet stove.

My in-laws have had theirs for about five years now and right from the beginning they have complained that the pellets cost more then they are worth and the stove doesn't heat as well as the wood stove they took out.

Is that really the case????

Check out some of the recent posts in the Home and Garden section. There were some specific discussions on wood vs pellet.

I prefer the heat of a real wood stove, but the convenience of the pellet far outweighs. A year or two ago, it was cheaper to buy pellets than fuel oil to stay warm. Prices on fuel oil have dropped somewhat, so that's not as big an issue. I got 3 tons of pellets in for the season, should last me until spring. Cost was about $800-850. You could spend that much one one oil tank fill up, and you might need to do that 2 or 3 times a season. I went for 3 years without buying any oil at all. Didn't use any fossil fuel, used leftover sawdust to heat.

Backup??? They require electricity to operate. Ours is a Breckwell. They use to sell pellets stoves at a place in Waldorf called Hearth and Patio or something close to that name. Not sure if they are still there.

Backup in that, once it gets below *freezing*, you're running almost entirely on electrical heat.

I didn't mean it in the sense of heat in the event of power failure. If that happens for any length of time, I won't be staying in my house.

I'd heard that Tri-County Hearth and Patio prices were ridiculous. I know my wife went to both them and American Hardware some time back and found that they beat their price on absolutely everything.

Backup??? They require electricity to operate. Ours is a Breckwell. They use to sell pellets stoves at a place in Waldorf called Hearth and Patio or something close to that name. Not sure if they are still there.
The auger and blower on a pellet stove take a LOT less electricity than your furnace/heat pump. You can easilly run the pellet stove off a generator in a power outage, whereas a furnace/heat pump will take a MUCH larger generator.

The auger and blower on a pellet stove take a LOT less electricity than your furnace/heat pump. You can easilly run the pellet stove off a generator in a power outage, whereas a furnace/heat pump will take a MUCH larger generator.

Because we use the woodstove in the basement our pellet vs oil costs are more like back-ups. GWGuy was right about the cost of pellet vs oil if you use only one or the other. Plus his way of doing math makes me happier because I like the pellet stove but need the furnace if I want to go away for any length of time. :o)

For those of you WITH wood stoves already -

Would you ever let it run when you are not home?

$2500 to $$3500 installed; call and speak with Chris Plater at American Hardware and Hearth on 301 in Waldorf. 301-645-2700

They sell Quadrafire's and they are really great stoves. We are on our 5th year and not a problem.

For those of you WITH wood stoves already -

Would you ever let it run when you are not home?

Yes, both the wood stove and the pellet stove.

For those of you WITH wood stoves already -

Would you ever let it run when you are not home?

I would rather have a woodstove and we are looking at that for the future. And having had a woodstove in the past, yes, I would let it run when I'm not home, as long as your flue/chimney had been properly serviced there should be no issues.

I would rather have a woodstove ...

Rather, as opposed to pellet stoves?

I'm not crazy about pellets, but I don't think there's ever likely to be a shortage of stuff to burn for them, since they burn just about anything.

What I don't like about wood stoves is, there's no easy way to keep the area soot free and clean all the time. Our fireplace is right in our family room, and it's hard enough to keep it clean. Plus, I hate having to keep the fire going.

For those of you WITH wood stoves already -

Would you ever let it run when you are not home?

I used to have a wood stove. After seeing what can happen, I never left it for more than a half hour at a time.

For those of you WITH wood stoves already -

Would you ever let it run when you are not home?

Mine runs all winter long. In the basement of a 3 story cape cod home. Heats the whole house. 2000sqft. Cooler upstairs then the basement obviously.

Wood costs vary. You can buy slab wood much cheaper than split wood. I have been able to take some of my own trees down over the years also bought slab and have friends bring logs over. I know a tree guy who will bring me logs when I need them.

This year I spent 50 on the tree guys logs. Probably got a cord or so after i split them. I prob will go thru 3-4 cords a year.

CONS:
1)SOOT Soot in the basement. I just started using a filter, see what happens.

2) Harder to control temp.

3) Stove burns out after 8-10 hrs. Practicing loading and air vents helps slow down the burn. On a long cold winter night I may go to heat pump at 3-4 in morn.

I have wondered if pellet stove would work better for me. Less dust more consistent heat. Less stacking and loading of wood.

Mine runs all winter long. In the basement of a 3 story cape cod home. Heats the whole house. 2000sqft. Cooler upstairs then the basement obviously.

How do you distribute heat? Does it just waft up the stairs?

How do you distribute heat? Does it just waft up the stairs?

just convection. I have tried to use the fan from the air handler in the house but I think that would just increase my heating costs more than I want.

The basement is HOT. Upstairs can be 75 or so and up-up stairs can be about 65. depends on how cold it is outside.

just convection. I have tried to use the fan from the air handler in the house but I think that would just increase my heating costs more than I want.

The basement is HOT. Upstairs can be 75 or so and up-up stairs can be about 65. depends on how cold it is outside.

I think that's what I wanted to do - try to distribute the air by turnining on the fan in the furnace. It never worked much with our wood stove, but when it was being used, I was never, ever able to get it burning very hot. At best it was cozy downstairs, and no evidence upstairs that it was on at all.

I found I often had to open it and restoke the logs, because they'd burn unevenly and I'd have to push 'em around to keep them lit. Over time, the downstairs smelled like soot and the area around the stove was always, always dirty.

I'm guessing that with a pellet stove, you have some control over how hot it gets.

I think that's what I wanted to do - try to distribute the air by turnining on the fan in the furnace. It never worked much with our wood stove, but when it was being used, I was never, ever able to get it burning very hot. At best it was cozy downstairs, and no evidence upstairs that it was on at all.

I found I often had to open it and restoke the logs, because they'd burn unevenly and I'd have to push 'em around to keep them lit. Over time, the downstairs smelled like soot and the area around the stove was always, always dirty.

I'm guessing that with a pellet stove, you have some control over how hot it gets.

My stove gets very HOT. You dont want to be in my basement. It can be 90 down there.

I wonder why yours does not get hot. You may want to have the chim cleaned. Make sure your burning hard wood. I cant think of any other reason.

I'm guessing that with a pellet stove, you have some control over how hot it gets.

It has a standard thermostat. You can even put a programmable on if you desire. Set it, forget it.