ISO Information Pellet v.s. wood stove

steppinthrax

Active Member
I'm planning to put one in the basement. We have an existing fireplace that really puts out little heat. I've been up on the roof and know I have a 12 x 12" square flu with around a 30' length. I will need to put in a liner. I've been looking at wood stoves and pellet stoves. I have some woods on my property, but not a lot. I have dropped several trees this season and chopped the wood.

I see the pellet stoves, I like the idea that they use a much smaller flue (3" only) which would make the re-line kit cheaper. I could use rigid double walled liner. My wife would be operating the stove a lot in the winter and I like the concept that you simply drop in pellets and it just runs by itself more/less. But my understanding is the cost to operate is much more due to the pellet fuel.

I see wood stoves, the issue is going through my woods and cutting down old trees, chopping wood. At some point I'm not going to have any more trees to cut. But I imagine there are a lot of "free wood" in various areas (side the road etc). But I heard the newer wood stoves burn wood so efficiently that you are not filling it up every few mins like a fireplace? Not sure.

We are talking a 1000 sq foot basement, partially finished.

What do you guys think? Based in this area Calvert county.
 

Chris0nllyn

Well-Known Member
Pellet Stove. You literally dump a bag in and let it go. Hook up a t-stat to it and let it do its thing. No worry of storing, chopping, splitting wood but you would need somewhere dry to store a few tons of pellets.

That small of a basement won't need much but the radiant heat from the basement will work its way up to the floor above. The down side is the need for power. If you were to lose power for an extended amount of time and don't have a generator, a wood stove will keep your house warm enough, and allow you to cook on it. As you mentioned, the 3" (or 4" if you have a tall chimney) liner kit is fairly cheap (a couple hundred bucks) and very easy to install. I did mine in a few hours start to finish.

New wood stoves, I'd stay away from. I'm pretty sure they have a sort of catalyst material that helps cut down on emissions from the stove but doesn't burn as hot, not to mention more expensive.

A few more notes:
- Noise. A pellet stove will be much noisier than a wood stove due to the number of motors/moving parts. A wood stove can have a blower which adds noise though. It may not be an issue being in the basement.
- Cleaning. You'll need to clean out the pellet stove at least every week to remove the soot, and a deeper cleaning every few weeks, then a major cleaning at the end/or beginning of each season.
 
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frequentflier

happy to be living
I'm planning to put one in the basement. We have an existing fireplace that really puts out little heat. I've been up on the roof and know I have a 12 x 12" square flu with around a 30' length. I will need to put in a liner. I've been looking at wood stoves and pellet stoves. I have some woods on my property, but not a lot. I have dropped several trees this season and chopped the wood.

I see the pellet stoves, I like the idea that they use a much smaller flue (3" only) which would make the re-line kit cheaper. I could use rigid double walled liner. My wife would be operating the stove a lot in the winter and I like the concept that you simply drop in pellets and it just runs by itself more/less. But my understanding is the cost to operate is much more due to the pellet fuel.

I see wood stoves, the issue is going through my woods and cutting down old trees, chopping wood. At some point I'm not going to have any more trees to cut. But I imagine there are a lot of "free wood" in various areas (side the road etc). But I heard the newer wood stoves burn wood so efficiently that you are not filling it up every few mins like a fireplace? Not sure.

We are talking a 1000 sq foot basement, partially finished.

What do you guys think? Based in this area Calvert county.

We heat our home with wood. When we moved in 3+ years ago, there was a huge "wood hog" stove and it was not efficient. We purchased a new one through Chesapeake Chimney and they not only gave us a great deal, the hauled off the huge old one. There was a $500 rebate through the state. The stove company had a deal where we received a free blower.
The first year here, we followed the penn line (SMECO contractor) guys through the neighborhood and picked up every piece of wood we could handle. Yes, we picked up wood from the side of the road! We also have two acres of mostly woods and most of the older oaks have been in decline and have had several 120' trees taken down. We also purchased a log splitter. With this efficient stove, we can heat our house for a few of years with the stock pile we have. BTW, we have wood on racks in the basement, a covered wood rick outside and we have a shed full of wood. (so we have plenty of places to store it)

I love the "organic" feel and smell of wood and love splitting it (even though my body disagrees)
 

frequentflier

happy to be living
Pellet Stove. You literally dump a bag in and let it go. Hook up a t-stat to it and let it do its thing. No worry of storing, chopping, splitting wood but you would need somewhere dry to store a few tons of pellets.

That small of a basement won't need much but the radiant heat from the basement will work its way up to the floor above. The down side is the need for power. If you were to lose power for an extended amount of time and don't have a generator, a wood stove will keep your house warm enough, and allow you to cook on it. As you mentioned, the 3" (or 4" if you have a tall chimney) liner kit is fairly cheap (a couple hundred bucks) and very easy to install. I did mine in a few hours start to finish.

New wood stoves, I'd stay away from. I'm pretty sure they have a sort of catalyst material that helps cut down on emissions from the stove but doesn't burn as hot, not to mention more expensive.

Despite that, it keeps our entire house plenty warm. We do run the fan to circulate the air.
 

Midnightrider

Well-Known Member
You will likely be carrying about the same weight in each day and you need somewhere dry to store pellets. When I heated with pellets it took 4 bags a day to heat the house. That cost more than it did running the furnace.

I went back to wood and never looked back. I prefer the quite constant and FREE heat from wood. If you run out of wood you can always buy it. I got about 3 cords of slabs delevired for under $200 last year.

Good luck
 

steppinthrax

Active Member
Thanks,

I read somewhere that "you can throw 2 sticks of wood in a wood stove and it will heat for 8 hours". I know this was based on a customer review and mileage may vary, but do wood stoves require constant refill throughout the day?

The new wood stoves burn more efficiently though, use less wood. I'm not too concerned about the heat output. I imagine it would output enough considering I'm going to put the biggest I can put in there and with a blower. I'm looking at wood stoves that are rated for 1200 to 2000 sq feet.

You said the liner kit is cheap. I'd like to know what kit you used, or maybe I'm overthinking this. I see liner kits (flexible) for around 700 - 1000. Rigid is even more expensive. Are you using just "black pipe"?
 

steppinthrax

Active Member
We heat our home with wood. When we moved in 3+ years ago, there was a huge "wood hog" stove and it was not efficient. We purchased a new one through Chesapeake Chimney and they not only gave us a great deal, the hauled off the huge old one. There was a $500 rebate through the state. The stove company had a deal where we received a free blower.
The first year here, we followed the penn line (SMECO contractor) guys through the neighborhood and picked up every piece of wood we could handle. Yes, we picked up wood from the side of the road! We also have two acres of mostly woods and most of the older oaks have been in decline and have had several 120' trees taken down. We also purchased a log splitter. With this efficient stove, we can heat our house for a few of years with the stock pile we have. BTW, we have wood on racks in the basement, a covered wood rick outside and we have a shed full of wood. (so we have plenty of places to store it)

I love the "organic" feel and smell of wood and love splitting it (even though my body disagrees)

Thanks,

I was concerned I would be attacked by indicating that you can pick wood off the side of the road. :)

$500.00 rebate, is that though SMECO or State of Maryland?
 

steppinthrax

Active Member
You will likely be carrying about the same weight in each day and you need somewhere dry to store pellets. When I heated with pellets it took 4 bags a day to heat the house. That cost more than it did running the furnace.

I went back to wood and never looked back. I prefer the quite constant and FREE heat from wood. If you run out of wood you can always buy it. I got about 3 cords of slabs delevired for under $200 last year.

Good luck

Yep, Thanks.
 

frequentflier

happy to be living
Thanks,

I was concerned I would be attacked by indicating that you can pick wood off the side of the road. :)

$500.00 rebate, is that though SMECO or State of Maryland?

Not too proud to admit I have picked many things up on the side of the road :)

Rebate through the State. It took some work to get, though! We had to send before and after pics to prove we replaced the old stove with a new stove.

Brand name Regency. We like the window to watch it burn, too. It doesn't require filling as much as the old one and it is easy to adjust the temperature. It helps that our home is well insulated. I only wish we could pipe the heat into our attached in law apt.
We have a (fun) system for loading wood in basement (we have racks from a grocery store with high sides on both ends- perfect!) Husband gets mower and trailer, fills with wood and we put a tarp on basement floor. Open basement door and he flings them down to tarp and I stack.
Like I said, we enjoy heating with wood!
 

Chris0nllyn

Well-Known Member
You said the liner kit is cheap. I'd like to know what kit you used, or maybe I'm overthinking this. I see liner kits (flexible) for around 700 - 1000. Rigid is even more expensive. Are you using just "black pipe"?

I got a 3" flex stainless kit from Rockford Chimney Supply online. Depending on how long you need (mine was 25') and any options you want (like insulation), it can be upwards of $500.
https://www.rockfordchimneysupply.com/round-flexible-custom-kits.php

I think with shipping, my kit was about $450 but it's been a few years.
 
Had a wood stove. There is nothing like the infrared radiant heat that one gives off, the quiet crackle and the smell of an oak log burning.

That said, the constant worry of a flue fire from creosote buildup, flue pipe tear down for a good cleaning, the mess that wood logs leave behind and all thru the house, the critters that take up residence in the wood pile, splitting wood........ switched to pellets.

I dump a 40 lb bag of pellets in and it will last most of a 24 hour day. It has a fan, so the heat is forced thru the house. Cleaning is opening the front door and a 30 second vacuum job, deep cleaning once a year. The pile of pellets stacks in the garage with no mess whatever (unless the bag rips....). No critters. Never have to clean the flue pipe, only dry soot produced, so no fire hazards. 20,000 BTU, hardly ever have to run the furnace. It's worth the cost of the pellets to me for the convenience and cleanliness.

I got a flexible 3" pipe and ran it from the stove all the way out the top of the chimney (insert stove, not standalone), cost was under $100.

Should add that my pellet stove is about 25 years old with only a fan replacement in all that time.
 
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General Lee

Well-Known Member
Thanks,

I read somewhere that "you can throw 2 sticks of wood in a wood stove and it will heat for 8 hours". I know this was based on a customer review and mileage may vary, but do wood stoves require constant refill throughout the day?

The new wood stoves burn more efficiently though, use less wood. I'm not too concerned about the heat output. I imagine it would output enough considering I'm going to put the biggest I can put in there and with a blower. I'm looking at wood stoves that are rated for 1200 to 2000 sq feet.

You said the liner kit is cheap. I'd like to know what kit you used, or maybe I'm overthinking this. I see liner kits (flexible) for around 700 - 1000. Rigid is even more expensive. Are you using just "black pipe"?

With today's wood stoves, depending on the fire box size, you may only need to fill it a few times a day. Also depends on the type and condition of wood. If it is well seasoned (cut, split and dry for at least a year, I recommend 2 years) it will burn hotter and longer. If its green wood you will need to keep your air damper open more to burn it and it will burn faster and not put out its rated BTU's. There is a learning curve with wood stoves. Also the less seasoned your wood is the more creosote will build up in your chimney which increases your risk for a chimney fire.

If you go with wood, get a moisture meter. Whatever your wood source is, split a piece and check the freshly split side for its moisture content. 15-20% moisture reading is ideal. With today's modern stoves , they hate non seasoned wood.
 
So you're shooting down someone's comment above that it takes 4 bags a day?

:shrug: That's what I use. Might go to 2 bags if it's really cold out.

Ah... I also have a real thermostat on mine. It shuts off if the temps are satisfied. You get longer times on a bag that way.
 

steppinthrax

Active Member
So you're shooting down someone's comment above that it takes 4 bags a day?

I guess there are so many factors, such as stove size, sq ft, temp, insulation. I imagine it can be even less than 1 bag a day if you are talking a tiny basement/living area with high insulation and a properly sized stove.
 

steppinthrax

Active Member
Not too proud to admit I have picked many things up on the side of the road :)

Rebate through the State. It took some work to get, though! We had to send before and after pics to prove we replaced the old stove with a new stove.

Brand name Regency. We like the window to watch it burn, too. It doesn't require filling as much as the old one and it is easy to adjust the temperature. It helps that our home is well insulated. I only wish we could pipe the heat into our attached in law apt.
We have a (fun) system for loading wood in basement (we have racks from a grocery store with high sides on both ends- perfect!) Husband gets mower and trailer, fills with wood and we put a tarp on basement floor. Open basement door and he flings them down to tarp and I stack.
Like I said, we enjoy heating with wood!

Thanks,

I've been spending my time on this site now.

http://energy.maryland.gov/Residential/Pages/incentives/woodstoves.aspx

I've been looking at tractor supply for a wood stove. Based on the list there are no wood burning stoves that satisfy the 3.0 gph req. Now the pellet stove that I could find is around 1190. meaning I would pay that much more for pellet which wouldn't really make that much difference after the grant. What model wood stove did you use. I imagine your stove to be in the 1000 - 2000 price range.
 

Midnightrider

Well-Known Member
:shrug: That's what I use. Might go to 2 bags if it's really cold out.

Ah... I also have a real thermostat on mine. It shuts off if the temps are satisfied. You get longer times on a bag that way.

It’s going to vary by stove, set up, design of home and insulation factors. Admittedly the house I was using those two setups in was an old cabin. However, the wood stove was able to heat it better and for less generally speaking.

You can usually find burn rates for pellet stoves. Mine was rated for 5 bags/24 hours.


One thing to remember, a pellet stove puts off hot air and a tiny amount of radiant heat. A wood stove does the opposite. Also, most pellet stoves require electricity to work
 

Kinnakeet

Well-Known Member
Not too proud to admit I have picked many things up on the side of the road :)

Rebate through the State. It took some work to get, though! We had to send before and after pics to prove we replaced the old stove with a new stove.

Brand name Regency. We like the window to watch it burn, too. It doesn't require filling as much as the old one and it is easy to adjust the temperature. It helps that our home is well insulated. I only wish we could pipe the heat into our attached in law apt.
We have a (fun) system for loading wood in basement (we have racks from a grocery store with high sides on both ends- perfect!) Husband gets mower and trailer, fills with wood and we put a tarp on basement floor. Open basement door and he flings them down to tarp and I stack.
Like I said, we enjoy heating with wood!

By bringing wood in the house (do you store it inside) have you had any problems with termites or carpenter ants
 

MR47930

Member
I bought a pellet stove to replace an old inefficient gas fireplace. I would love a wood stove but it wasn’t in the cards as I don’t have a masonry chimney and the pellet stove can vent straight back.
Our stove uses 2 bags a day on the coldest of days to keep ~2400sq ft at a comfortable 73ish degrees. I clean it every week and it takes about 30 minutes with all the right tools. You will have to have a nice dry place to store the pellets though. I have an extended garage so I keep 5 tons on hand for the start of winter. They have moving parts though so something is bound to break eventually.

If you go pellet stove though I truly believe you get what you pay for. We opted for a high end brand (Harman) and have had 0 issues in the last 4 winters.
 
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