Back in 08, I posted about how crappy our then new pellet stove was.
Pellet Stove Worth It?
I mentioned that I wanted to run another hose to pump outside air in, instead of recirculating. I read up on that a bit more, and found that the experts recommend against it. Apparently, the warm air in the house blowing out through cracks & crevices can cause mold and mildew. So I gave up on it.
One bit of fairly good news / bad news.
We had been using pellets from various suppliers. In addition to the store where the stove was purchased, we also bought them from Home Depot and a few other places. None were any better than those we bought from the stove store, and some much worse in terms of ash. Man do NOT buy cheap ass pellets, you will be cleaning the stove out every other day!
Then my dad heard that Agway had some good stuff. He bought a few bags of Hamer's Hot Ones and what a huge difference! These things are far superior to any other we've tried.
Now, the stove burns a little LESS than one bag a day at the lowest setting. At two bags a day, the basement area it's in is noticeably warmer. The stove can run for about a week before needing cleaning, as opposed to every two to three days with any other pellet.
The drawback? Well it's more expensive. I need to double check, as my dad's been buying them, but they are about $7/bag as we cannot buy them by the ton anymore (the truck we had is gone). I think we can get them for a buck or two less per bag if we could buy by the ton.
I've recently read that Agway's brand is made by Hamer and is the same thing for less. We'll try it.
Even with the superior pellets, it is still costing more to heat half the basement than it would the whole house by oil. BUT, we have been experiencing a vicious cold couple of weeks here, single digits F at night, and this is where the pellet stove shines. The baseboard heat simply would not keep the chill out of the basement area. But that pellet stove on two bags of Hamer's a day does drive that chill out and make it very comfortable.
So I guess the lesson is that a pellet stove, in our experience, is worthless except as an augment in extremely cold weather. Overall, it was a waste of money and time. But we are stuck with it now, as we can't afford to replace it with anything yet.
I am thinking of a coal stove, one without fans. But I don't relish the thought of the damn coal dust all over everything. It requires much more investigating. And saving up.
Pellet Stove Worth It?
I mentioned that I wanted to run another hose to pump outside air in, instead of recirculating. I read up on that a bit more, and found that the experts recommend against it. Apparently, the warm air in the house blowing out through cracks & crevices can cause mold and mildew. So I gave up on it.
One bit of fairly good news / bad news.
We had been using pellets from various suppliers. In addition to the store where the stove was purchased, we also bought them from Home Depot and a few other places. None were any better than those we bought from the stove store, and some much worse in terms of ash. Man do NOT buy cheap ass pellets, you will be cleaning the stove out every other day!
Then my dad heard that Agway had some good stuff. He bought a few bags of Hamer's Hot Ones and what a huge difference! These things are far superior to any other we've tried.
Now, the stove burns a little LESS than one bag a day at the lowest setting. At two bags a day, the basement area it's in is noticeably warmer. The stove can run for about a week before needing cleaning, as opposed to every two to three days with any other pellet.
The drawback? Well it's more expensive. I need to double check, as my dad's been buying them, but they are about $7/bag as we cannot buy them by the ton anymore (the truck we had is gone). I think we can get them for a buck or two less per bag if we could buy by the ton.
I've recently read that Agway's brand is made by Hamer and is the same thing for less. We'll try it.
Even with the superior pellets, it is still costing more to heat half the basement than it would the whole house by oil. BUT, we have been experiencing a vicious cold couple of weeks here, single digits F at night, and this is where the pellet stove shines. The baseboard heat simply would not keep the chill out of the basement area. But that pellet stove on two bags of Hamer's a day does drive that chill out and make it very comfortable.
So I guess the lesson is that a pellet stove, in our experience, is worthless except as an augment in extremely cold weather. Overall, it was a waste of money and time. But we are stuck with it now, as we can't afford to replace it with anything yet.
I am thinking of a coal stove, one without fans. But I don't relish the thought of the damn coal dust all over everything. It requires much more investigating. And saving up.
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