We have a fireplace in the family room but find it to be a waste with all of the heat going up through the chimmney. It's only good for asthetics.

Anyone know what a pellet stove insert for the fireplace would go for with a blower on it to get the heat in the room as apposed to up the chimmney?

We also have Natural Gas so that is an option as well but that won't reduce the heating bill and we like the look of a natural fire.

Haven't really researched them yet but thought I'd start here for input.

Price could range from $2000-$4000 depending on the stove and the options. I've had both and for a living room I would go with gas hands down. Pellet stoves are very noisey and have to be filled and cleaned alot which means lots of dust. Pellet stoves also require elctricity so they will not work when power goes out.

Why not get a regular insert and burn wood?

Mark

Why not get a regular insert and burn wood?

Mark

I agree, pellet fires don't look to natural to me...Maybe Dreamweaver might chime in, Steve sells all kinds of stoves....

I had a wood burning insert installed and the total cost was ~ $3,500. Remember there is a 30% tax credit.

We had a wood insert installed mid September and so far I love it. I looked at pellet but decided against it because we lose power just about every winter. We paid about 3k for our Avalon Rainier model installed w/ free blower, legs and installation materials. So far I haven't needed the gas heat but suspect at some point I'll turn the furnace on to supplement times that I'm not there to keep the house warm with wood. That 30% tax credit is really going to help this unit pay for itself faster. Good luck.

There was a nice tax break here, on pellet stoves. Add the tax break with other dealers incentives, the pellet stove looked good. We checked them out and Carmen and I didnt like them from the get go. No ambience, a little loud, and operate on electricity (another utility). There were some pros as well, no cutting and storing wood, you can start them up remotely via cell phone, they give out good heat as well.

We passed and bought a wood burning stove. This thing has a small oven as well. We make pizza's, pasta dishes, small roasts etc. on this oven. And the fact that it will heat the whole bottom floor. And Jaeger likes the stove as well.

We have a Vermont Castings Winterwarm insert (already installed when we bought the house) and love it. It has a catalyst reburn mode that really throws the heat, and they are not very expensive. Plus, you can remove the glass and replace it with a screen, and it is just like an open fireplace (can't use the cat reburn mode with the screen, but it is still cool).

http://www.vermontcastings.com/content/products/productdetails.cfm?id=91

One thing to think about with pellet stoves. Last fall there wasn't a pellet to be found around this area after September until late winter. I use one to heat a cabin, but since there was no waste wood to make the pellets due to the slowdown in the economy, they were hard to find. Stock up in late summer.

Hmmmm..... I need to venture out of OT more often.... I just stumbled across this thread because I got bored in there.

There's a LOT to consider when thinking about which type of stove to buy. I've been selling them for about 20 years and here's just a few:

First and foremost, the #1 thing is WHO you buy from. DON'T buy one on the internet... if you do, you are rolling the dice. These are electrical / mechanical appliances and they can and will have problems, even if it is later on down the road. Even if you are a "techie" and like to tinker with things yourself, there are a ton of model specific, manufacturer concentric components that, if you can't rely on the company that you bought it from, you could be asking for it. I have customers coming in my store ALL the time who bought stuff over the internet, froma delaer who is no longer there, or a dealer who screwed them and they can't get any service out of. Many times I can help them, but many times I can't... they end up going to someone else in another town that sells the same brand.

OK - got that off my chest..... where were we? Oh yeah, pellet stoves. Almost all of what is available today is a combination of electro/mechanical and digital circuitry. There are still a few out there that are all electro.mechanical, but they are almost a thing of the past. As such, one of the primary considerations is the stability / reputation of the manufacturer. After the quality of the local dealer you are doing business with --- and it pays to buy locally with this product --- the second most important criteria should be the manufacturer(s) they represent. I am VERY picky in the brands of pellet stoves I sell. I used to try to be all things to all people in my business, selling high, low, fancy and simple. At one time I had 9 different manufacturers I represented in my showroom. Now, I have two. If the manufacturer can’t (or won’t0 support me, I can’t support my customers, and that’s bad for everyone. The “Model / style” you choose should be last… You can find small ones, medium ones, big ones, cast iron, steel, contemporary, euro, etc. all over the place. Shop around first, find a store you feel comfortable, and then ask them about the service factor on the units they sell…. That should narrow it down a little.

Points of consideration for you to ponder (in no particular order):

· When you go shopping go with a turkey thermometer. While you are looking at different units you can put the thermometer at the heat outlet / heat exchanger and see for yourself what they are putting out. They will all FEEL nice and hot, but the thermometer isn’t emotional. Test them on low / medium / high. “Heat Output” on a brochure means squat… what matters is how it stacks up to others you look at.
· Who will be doing the installation? If it’s you, pm me and I will go over it with you… there are some specific “Do’s” and “Don’t’s”. If the dealer is doing the install then make sure you run a full “reline” --- pipe all the way up the chimney. Many dealers do a “short connect”, only running a pipe 5’ up the chimney, doing a block-off at the damper, and calling it a day… terrible way to install a pellet stove, EXPECIALLY in a cold climate. I can explain if you want in another post.
· What kind of fuel do you plan on using? There are “premium” pellets, and then there is “biomass” fuel --- “not-so-premium” pellets, corn, wheat grass, etc. Be sure you know what fuel is available in your area before you buy a pellet insert or stove.
· Know in advance that there IS maintenance to be done on a regular basis with a pellet insert. While you do not have nearly the ash content as with a wood stove, you still have ashes, you need to clean out the “clunkers” (even with premium pellet fuel), clean the glass, vacuum the baffles and hopper occasionally, clean the pipe, etc. Many people think a pellet stove is like a self-cleaning over that almost needs maintenance… wrong. Plan for it and you will be fine.
· Do you want a remote function on your pellet insert --- thermostat, remote on/off, remote thermostat? If so, DON’T go with a “programmable one… you will be sorry.
· How “convenient” do you want it to be? Check the hopper capacities… some will only hold 35 or 40 pounds of fuel, Some will hold as much as 80 lbs or more.
· How tall is your chimney? If it’s over 20’, even if the pellet insert you choose has a 3” outlet, I would recommend increasing to 4” vent… check with your dealer to get his recommendations.
· What are the current / proposed local Air District restrictions, if any, on burning solid fuel appliances? I have no idea what they are back there but, around here, they treat pellet inserts the same as EPA wood and open fireplaces. “Burn Restrictions” mean you can’t use your stove when you want to.

There’s more to it than just plunking down some cash and getting toasty in the living room. Be smart and do your homework. If you have any questions let me know and I will be glad to help. You can check out my website (www.valleyspadoctor.com (http://www.valleyspadoctor.com/) ) and there’s some info on there that might help you out. I haven’t gotten around to finishing off the pellet insert side yet, but you might find some of the info useful. Good luck in your quest for keeping warm this winter.

The Keeper of the Flame :hurray:

Hmmmm..... I need to venture out of OT more often.... I just stumbled across this thread because I got bored in there.


Whew! For a brief second I thought you were lost and on the road to reform.:thumbsup:

Why not get a regular insert and burn wood? Mark

Wood is good, but wood is work. Even with a high efficiency E.P.A. stove or insert there's still a lot of ash, trips to the woodpile, cleaning, etc. For many it makes total sense --- I live in an area where there's a ton of almond and walnut orchards, and wood is available everywhere. 90 minutes west of me the price is at LEAST double. Older people move to an "easier" system (pellet or gas), but for some there's "nothing like a real wood fire". Different strokes for different folks but, in most respects, the biggest bang for the buck is still wood. Again, depends on where you live and what it costs for fuel.

Here's an energy calculator: http://www.pelletheat.org/3/residential/compareFuel.cfm

If you plunk in the cost for the different fuels in your area you will have a good idea. The defaults are "skewed" toward a pellet stove, so change them accordingly :)

.... Pellet stoves are very noisy ......... Pellet stoves also require electricity so they will not work when power goes out.

some pellet stoves are noisy, others are not so noisy. I have a pellet stove that is so dang quiet I can hardly hear it when running... on HIGH :). If power outages are a regular occurrence in an area I have found that most of those people have a generator on hand. Remember, if your power goes out, your central heater doesn't work either. Wood and gas stoves will stile keep you warm when the power goes out.


I agree, pellet fires don't look to natural to me.......

Pellet stoves are a miniature blast furnace. Minimum of 35.1 air to fuel ration is needed for complete combustion, so they tend to have a "vibrant" flame. You can add a ceramic log with most units and it not only tends to make it look more realistic, but it redistributes the flame so it takes away some of the flickering, "unnatural" effect.


I had a wood burning insert installed and the total cost was ~ $3,500. Remember there is a 30% tax credit.

Yes, wood and pellet stoves qualify for the tax credit. Make sure that:

A. You get a certificate from the seller that states the unit you purchased qualifies for the tax credit (not all do)
B. DO NOT take the credit on your taxes for the sales tax paid... it's only for the stove, pipe, "accessories" and installation.
C. You understand that you receive 30% for the CALENDAR YEAR of 2009 for ALL of the items allowed in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Tax Act of 2009 and that includes any other products and services you purchased during 2009 that qualify. The maximum credit allowed in 2009 is $1500, which means a maximum of $5000 of qualifying products and services is allowed.

We have a Vermont Castings Winterwarm insert (already installed when we bought the house) and love it. It has a catalyst reburn mode that really throws the heat, and they are not very expensive. Plus, you can remove the glass and replace it with a screen, and it is just like an open fireplace (can't use the cat reburn mode with the screen, but it is still cool).


Remember that the "cat" begins to degrade over time. It is made of palladium and will clog, thereby reducing efficiency. the best thing to do is take it out yearly (or more, depending on how gummed up it gets by what kind of wood you use), soak it in vinegar, and take some pipe cleaners and clean out all the honeycombs. Then rinse it outside to get all the residue and you're good to go... makes the cat last longer too.

One thing to think about with pellet stoves. Last fall there wasn't a pellet to be found around this area after September until late winter..... Stock up in late summer.

Depending on where you live, and what businesses sell the pellet fuel, this can be a problem. Once the Bog Box stores got into the game most of the "mom & pop" shops stopped selling pellets. I can go buy a ton of fuel, as I did last week, and pay less per bag/ton than I would if I bought an entire truckload (21-23 tons). The "Biggies" put together purchase contracts in the off season and tie up most of the manufacturing of the fuel. Then, when they have fulfilled their contract, they typically stop buying and move into spring seasonal items. If you have an independent in your area you can still probably get fuel, but supply / demand kicks in and you pay a premium price for it. YES - it is very important to plan ahead and buy more than you need to get you well into the warmer months.