Wood pellet stoves

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Wood pellet stoves; Any experience with them?
Topic Started: Oct 21 2015, 03:38 AM (520 Views)
heatseeker	Oct 21 2015, 03:38 AM Post #1
Veteran Member Posts: 10,320 Group: Member Member #713 Joined: March 30, 2010	We just had our new wood pellet stove installed here in South Lancaster Ontario, and are getting to know its ways. It is certainly a big improvement over our wood stove alone, which does an admirable job of heating a side room but not much else. Ever heated with one or know someone who does?



Darcie	Oct 21 2015, 03:52 AM Post #2
Skeptic Posts: 31,154 Group: Member Member #714 Joined: March 30, 2010	My youngest daughter's mother in law had one in their house in the Laurentians. They lived there full time and they felt it was a great improvement over their oil fired furnace. Every time I went there it was warm and cozy.



Durgan	Oct 21 2015, 05:42 AM Post #3
Veteran Member Posts: 13,273 Group: Gardening Guru Member #720 Joined: March 31, 2010	I installed a wood burning stove in the living room when I lived in Brampton. I bought a cord of good maple wood which lasted me a couple years. I had an overhang in which to install the pile of wood. The stove was purchased second hand and met all the fire regulations. I loved the thing, particularly if slightly sick, since the heat seems to be totally different from the typical home hot air system and soothed and healed or so I thought. I could heat the house more than adequately. I had a friend who has a pellet system. I considered it rather artificial, without character. But I was raised with an airtight heater and wood cook stove, and wood stove at school. Some times simply 45 gallon drums welded together at school. Later at school we got combination wood coal furnace on the one floor, since Alberta coal was cheap at the time. I was the janitor for 14 dollars a month, of which I got one dollar a week. Also had to clean the barn stalls four times a year, and supply one pail of drinking water daily. and sweep the school at night. Northern Saskatchewan.



heatseeker	Oct 21 2015, 08:43 AM Post #4
Veteran Member Posts: 10,320 Group: Member Member #713 Joined: March 30, 2010	We also have a wood stove, but it mainly heats a big side room. Won't heat the whole house. Love being able to dump a sack of pellets in the new stove and have it burn day and night.



Kahu	Oct 21 2015, 11:12 AM Post #5
Posts: 31,109 Group: Administration Member #150 Joined: December 14, 2005	I did look at investing in one several years ago now, but the cost of the stove and fuel pellets simply was too high. I can't remember actual the price off hand, but I opted to install a traditional wood burner stove needing seasoned manuka, or macrocarpa firewood ... which proved perfect for us as a family at the time. Since then I've replaced the domestic hot water system from electric to natural gas and it made sense to replace the wood burner with a natural gas fire system. That saved me the labour of stacking and drying firewood ... but now if the electricity fails, it cuts out all the options.



heatseeker	Oct 21 2015, 11:56 AM Post #6
Veteran Member Posts: 10,320 Group: Member Member #713 Joined: March 30, 2010	We have no shortage of wood waste in Canada to make into pellets. I'm guessing that burning pellets at the current price (about $5.50 for a 40-pound bag) is competitive with natural gas, less than propane and far, far less than electrical heat.



wildie	Oct 21 2015, 11:56 AM Post #7
Veteran Member Posts: 12,173 Group: Member Member #442 Joined: October 11, 2006	heatseeker Oct 21 2015, 03:38 AM We just had our new wood pellet stove installed here in South Lancaster Ontario, and are getting to know its ways. It is certainly a big improvement over our wood stove alone, which does an admirable job of heating a side room but not much else. Ever heated with one or know someone who does? My son, who lives near Ottawa heated his place last winter with one. His house (1600 sq.ft.) was heated electrically. His heating cost with pellets was 1/3 of what it was was previously. While I visited there last week, I was able see it in operation and it was impressive. The pellets are shipped to his home in bags, which he stores in his garage. The draw-back, to my mind was that a disabled person wouldn't be able to manage the loading. And of course, the fire isn't as visually comforting as a log burning. I'm given to understand that corn can be burned in this stove also! The problem with corn is the storage. Corn attracts rats and mice!



wildie	Oct 21 2015, 12:10 PM Post #8
Veteran Member Posts: 12,173 Group: Member Member #442 Joined: October 11, 2006	Durgan Oct 21 2015, 05:42 AM I installed a wood burning stove in the living room when I lived in Brampton. I bought a cord of good maple wood which lasted me a couple years. I had an overhang in which to install the pile of wood. The stove was purchased second hand and met all the fire regulations. I loved the thing, particularly if slightly sick, since the heat seems to be totally different from the typical home hot air system and soothed and healed or so I thought. I could heat the house more than adequately. I had a friend who has a pellet system. I considered it rather artificial, without character. But I was raised with an airtight heater and wood cook stove, and wood stove at school. Some times simply 45 gallon drums welded together at school. Later at school we got combination wood coal furnace on the one floor, since Alberta coal was cheap at the time. I was the janitor for 14 dollars a month, of which I got one dollar a week. Also had to clean the barn stalls four times a year, and supply one pail of drinking water daily. and sweep the school at night. Northern Saskatchewan. At my place at the lake, I have an air-tight wood stove. Made by Elmira! I also have a gas fired, forced air furnace. Above the stove I installed a hood with a duct leading into the cold air return of the heating system. By running the furnace fan continuously, heat from the stove is distributed through out the building. And if the stove should happen to go out during the night, the gas furnace will pick up the heating load. One year, after an ice storm, power was off for almost two weeks and the stove kept us comfortable for the whole time.



haili	Oct 21 2015, 11:45 PM Post #9
Gold Star Member Posts: 7,083 Group: Member Member #387 Joined: September 15, 2006	My son has a furnace that burns wood pellets and seems to like it.



goldengal	Oct 22 2015, 12:08 AM Post #10
Mistress, House of Dogs Posts: 11,674 Group: Member Member #715 Joined: March 31, 2010	wildie Oct 21 2015, 11:56 AM The draw-back, to my mind was that a disabled person wouldn't be able to manage the loading. And of course, the fire isn't as visually comforting as a log burning. There was one at Kim's place at Bobcaygeon, and I always had to scoop out quite a lot before I could empty the bag into the hopper. Now it was an older stove as they bought the house 16 years ago, and I do not know how long the stove had been there before that time. I remember it as being noisy, but perhaps newer ones are not. It was situated in a corner of the large living/dining room, and as I recall did not adequately heat the bedrooms which were far away from that area and all on one floor. Take care, Pat



wildie	Oct 22 2015, 11:28 AM Post #11
Veteran Member Posts: 12,173 Group: Member Member #442 Joined: October 11, 2006	goldengal Oct 22 2015, 12:08 AM wildie Oct 21 2015, 11:56 AM The draw-back, to my mind was that a disabled person wouldn't be able to manage the loading. And of course, the fire isn't as visually comforting as a log burning. There was one at Kim's place at Bobcaygeon, and I always had to scoop out quite a lot before I could empty the bag into the hopper. Now it was an older stove as they bought the house 16 years ago, and I do not know how long the stove had been there before that time. I remember it as being noisy, but perhaps newer ones are not. It was situated in a corner of the large living/dining room, and as I recall did not adequately heat the bedrooms which were far away from that area and all on one floor. Take care, Pat I remember it as being noisy, but perhaps newer ones are not. It was situated in a corner of the large living/dining room, and as I recall did not adequately heat the bedrooms which were far away from that area and all on one floor. My son's stove does have some fan noise, but its not objectionable! At my place the further reaches were hard to heat with a stove, but using the forced air distribution resolved that problem.



Trotsky	Oct 24 2015, 02:22 AM Post #12
Big City Boy Posts: 38,319 Group: Member Member #79 Joined: September 8, 2005	Do wood pellets leave any smaller a carbon footprint than coal? Or fuel oil? Edited by Trotsky, Oct 24 2015, 02:22 AM.



heatseeker	Oct 24 2015, 05:09 AM Post #13
Veteran Member Posts: 10,320 Group: Member Member #713 Joined: March 30, 2010	I would think so, yes. They are made from wood waste, and burn so clean that they can be vented directly outside,. What comes out is mostly water vapor.



wildie	Oct 24 2015, 05:51 AM Post #14
Veteran Member Posts: 12,173 Group: Member Member #442 Joined: October 11, 2006	Trotsky Oct 24 2015, 02:22 AM Do wood pellets leave any smaller a carbon footprint than coal? Or fuel oil? I think so! But, perhaps I'm wrong? I have read that there is a major problem of air pollution from wood burning stoves and that some sort of catalytic converter should be required for wood stoves. Pellets are made from wood and are very likely to produce the same by-product as does natural wood. I have noticed that pellets don't produce as much waste ash as does natural wood, so what this indicates as far as its carbon foot-print is concerned, I'm unsure?



Darcie	Oct 24 2015, 05:59 AM Post #15
Skeptic Posts: 31,154 Group: Member Member #714 Joined: March 30, 2010	This is a link to various fuels. http://www.forever-fuels.com/content/carbon-footprint-wood-pellets http://www.volker-quaschning.de/datserv/CO2-spez/index_e.php Edited by Darcie, Oct 24 2015, 06:02 AM.



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