Wood vs Pellet heat ???

[Ken45101]

I have primarily heated with wood but this year, due to surgery and other issues, the woodshed is limited. I also have a pellet stove and an unvented propane heater. Yesterday was the first time the propane tank has been filled in 10 years.

Pellet heat has not been as satisfactory as wood. It just doesn't seem to heat the house well. However, this year I have been using it along with the wood stove and it does a good job of moderating the temperature swings from the wood stove.

Pellet prices and quality have been up and down over the years. This year, pellets (Summerset, a good brand) were only $150/ton. When we first bought the pellet stove, corn prices were very high due to the ethanol scam.

Even if you have your own woods, firewood isn't free when you include the cost of chain saws, log splitters (and engine maintenance), hauling and storing firewood. (Currently need to buy a new chainsaw, LOL.)

Propane is a good backup if all else fails, such as we are sick or unable to bring in wood or pellets. It stores well long term.

 

[ovrszd]

Even if you have your own woods, firewood isn't free when you include the cost of chain saws, log splitters (and engine maintenance), hauling and storing firewood. (Currently need to buy a new chainsaw, LOL.)

Very true.

I try to maintain my timber and clean up damaged or dead trees. That's how I get my wood supply.

I like the wood stove in my shop. It's a toasty 75 degrees in here now. But I don't burn wood because it's cheap, it's not. I have a LOT of money invested in the equipment I use to get my wood supply. A LOT.

 

[JerryK]

Very true.

I try to maintain my timber and clean up damaged or dead trees. That's how I get my wood supply.

I like the wood stove in my shop. It's a toasty 75 degrees in here now. But I don't burn wood because it's cheap, it's not. I have a LOT of money invested in the equipment I use to get my wood supply. A LOT.

Ditto, I have a hard time cutting/splitting/stacking just the trees I need to take out... let alone the ones I wish I could take out for extra trails/etc. I only burn about 6-8 face cord each winter in my barn and give away most of the crooked/odd sized hunks of trees I take down. Just stack the nice stuff. Heat a small 1200 sq' [ no basement ] well insulated home up here in Michigan with propane. $412 last winter for propane...

 

[Wakey]

I thought the thread title read "Wood vs, Pallet Heat"

Thanks TBN

 

[ruffdog]

Some people spend a bunch of money on gym memberships and the time traveling to them. I'm saving a whole lot by working out with my firewood equipment.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

I thought the thread title read "Wood vs, Pallet Heat"

Thanks TBN

Wood vs pellet, pallets is another thread.

Lots to be said for a good firewood workout. How i spent my winter saturday mornings growing up, either cutting firewood, mine props, or timber to sell.

 

[ovrszd]

Ditto, I have a hard time cutting/splitting/stacking just the trees I need to take out... let alone the ones I wish I could take out for extra trails/etc. I only burn about 6-8 face cord each winter in my barn and give away most of the crooked/odd sized hunks of trees I take down. Just stack the nice stuff. Heat a small 1200 sq' [ no basement ] well insulated home up here in Michigan with propane. $412 last winter for propane...

My Sons both have wood stoves in their shops. So my timber supplies enough wood for 3 stoves. It's been several years since I've cut a healthy tree. I keep a huge pile of blocked wood. Split it as needed. I'm trying to empty the pile now so I can block the dozen or so large trees that I've got poled and piled. We split 2 trailer loads yesterday. There's at least 3 more large loads left. My wood shed is full. I have 60 acres of timber.

 

[JerryK]

My Sons both have wood stoves in their shops. So my timber supplies enough wood for 3 stoves. It's been several years since I've cut a healthy tree. I keep a huge pile of blocked wood. Split it as needed. I'm trying to empty the pile now so I can block the dozen or so large trees that I've got poled and piled. We split 2 trailer loads yesterday. There's at least 3 more large loads left. My wood shed is full. I have 60 acres of timber.

Not much cutting or splitting being done up here right now... Pretty NASTY outside, even for us cold loving folks.....

 

[Egon]

Wood really splits easily when it is cold out!

 

[ovrszd]

By the time I split mine it's usually been blocked for two years. Little moisture left. Seems to not be bothered as much by temperature.

 

[goeduck]

I thought the thread title read "Wood vs, Pallet Heat"

Thanks TBN

When burning “ pallets “ watch out for the nails and staples.

Re: “ pellets “ yes and now it has branched out into exercise and methods of obtaining wood vs pellet heat and all things associated

 

[CalG]

I was talking with the neighbor the other evening while we both out moving snow. He put in a pellet stove about ten years ago after suffering a chimney fire with his wood stove (he has had a history of misadventure that way)
With insurance money to have the replacement pellet stove installed properly, he got a high end (quad fire?) and a lined chimney.
He likes the pellets well enough, and though he gets the dealer (reputable) to service the system every spring, he can't seem to keep ignitors in the thing. He is on his second one this season already. Plus the auto ignition is spotty at best.
He is at the point of cleaning the combustion basket every evening after coming home from work. The stove is shut down and allowed to cool, then it's a bristle brush and a hooked pick to get all the holes in the basket cleared out.
The ignitors are not costly, $30 IIRC, but installation is laborsome by his account.
The entire conversation has turned me against putting in a pellet burner to replace the 40 year old Fisher log wood stove that has served without fault. (Other than burning lots of wood! ;-)

 

[goeduck]

The entire conversation has turned me against putting in a pellet burner to replace the 40 year old Fisher log wood stove that has served without fault. (Other than burning lots of wood! ;-)

I spent many years with a Fisher Mama Bear, the house is still in the family and the old stove is still going strong. Good stoves, will last forever.

 

[Dftodd]

Which ever stove you decide on. My recommendation is for it to have an ash pan. Makes cleaning simpler and faster all around.

Or fire place insert does not have an ash pan. But in our case beggars can't be choosers since we had the stove given to us. I have to clean out the ash every couple of days. If it had a pan, it's just a matter of pulling it and dumping it out.

 

[Creamer]

Wood really splits easily when it is cold out!

My spitting maul disagrees with you. It was complaining big time last Thursday.

 

[goeduck]

My spitting maul disagrees with you. It was complaining big time last Thursday.

That will buff right out..

 

[4570Man]

That will buff right out..

I kinda doubt that, but it wouldn’t be hard to weld on another handle.

 

[Creamer]

I kinda doubt that, but it wouldn’t be hard to weld on another handle.

That's what I will have done but it was disappointing. I was working on some hard elm that I tried to split when I cut the standing dead tree last spring but it just went thud. So I waited until we had some good cold weather for easier splitting. Most of it was split when this happened while I was doing the largest round. Out came the saw.

 

[kco]

My spitting maul disagrees with you. It was complaining big time last Thursday.
View attachment 534854

I don't want to get us off topic but....This might be a good excuse to try the Fiskars maul:

Amazon.com : Fiskars Iso Core 8 lb Maul, 36 Inch : Garden & Outdoor

The person who supplies my gravel recommended it to me this fall. I got one and am impressed with it. There are several youtube videos comparing it to other mauls.

 

[Oaktree]

I spent many years with a Fisher Mama Bear, the house is still in the family and the old stove is still going strong. Good stoves, will last forever.

I had a Mama for ~30 years at my previous house. Wife thought it was ugly, so when we moved here we bought something else. Decent quality stove, though kind of a PITA to clean out since there's no ash pan. Still have it, it's in my workshop. Can be a little finicky until you get a good draft going, then it's OK.

SOME Harman stoves are easy to clean (I've been told). Others are a bear. I have heard of one person that replaced his Harman Advance with a different model Harman just because of the difficult cleaning.

My current woodstove is a Harman Oakwood. Very nice. Only complaint is that the ash pan is a bit shallow, and tends to warp slightly when hot making it difficult to remove.
Once you learn the tricks it isn't too hard to clean. There's a secondary combustion chamber on the back that some of the soot is cleaned from the top, the rest from inside the stove. Found that if you remove a couple firebricks it's pretty easy to get at what can be reached from the inside. Generally need to replace all the gaskets every couple years...the damper door gaskets are a bit of a PITA to get at.

As far as pellets vs wood, seems to be a matter of personal preference. To me pellets would be OK in a workshop or if the stove isn't in living space since the blowers are kind of noisy. Another concern of mine would be pricing/availabilty of pellets. Sure prices are fairly stable now, and availability is good, but as with any other produced product shortages and/or price spikes are possible. Firewood is easy to come by here. If I was a suburbanite I might think otherwise.
The fact that a pellet stove needs AC power to operate makes it less desirable in my book in that it's just a paperweight if there's a power outage.