Pellet vs Gas Stove

sidney r. bray

I did an earlier post on the mod-con vs cast iron replacement boiler..I'm also considering a free standing living room pellet stove or Ngas decorative stove as a back-up for any primary system downtime and to take the chill out of our living room (part crawl space) on the colder nights here in the U.P. of Michigan..any suggestions on what might be more efficient (pellets are running $4.50 for a 40# bag..ngas is currently $1.02/ccf)..how about cast iron vs steel, what would be better on either one? I know some wood type stoves pose allergy concerns also, but this would only be running sporadically thoughout the winter months.

sidney r. bray

Pellet vs Gas Stove

I did an earlier post on the mod-con vs cast iron replacement boiler..I'm also considering a free standing living room pellet stove or Ngas decorative stove as a back-up for any primary system downtime and to take the chill out of our living room (part crawl space) on the colder nights here in the U.P. of Michigan..any suggestions on what might be more efficient (pellets are running $4.50 for a 40# bag..ngas is currently $1.02/ccf)..how about cast iron vs steel, what would be better on either one? I know some wood type stoves pose allergy concerns also, but this would only be running sporadically thoughout the winter months.

S Ebels

Pros and cons to each

The pellet stove may be useful in trimming your fuel bills by keeping a room or two warm while you turn down the stat in the rest of the house. It will however be of no use if the power goes out and it will introduce a fair amount of dust and debris into the house. They also require maintenance on a more regular basis than the gas unit would.

The gas stove will run with no power provided you pick one with a millivolt operated valve. Very nice during a storm outage or if the boiler fails while you're gone. It too could save a little on fuel bills by warming a living area while keeping the rest of the house lower temp. Don't neglect maintenance on it either though. The pilot has to be cleaned and the thermocouple changed out with some regularity or you'll find it won't work when you need it.

Bob Harper

pellet stoves?

Sid, price the pellets by the TON--not by the bag. Usually runs around $200/ ton give or take a little.

Some brands, such as Quadrafire, can burn a mix of shelled corn and pellets. In fact, their new Advanced Energy platform will burn 9 different biomass fuels with capability to always add more. They have a smart wall control that automatically tells it when to shut down and clean itself based on what you're burning. It modulates the fire and convective fan to meet the heat call and remembers the last 20 functions. 7 day programmable T-stat, etc. etc.

Check out their new Mt. Vernon at www.fireplaces.com

HTH.

hr

pellet powered

would provide you with a second source of energy. Seems like pellets are being made with a lot of recycled products these days, paper, cotton, grain, grass, etc. I like that concept for a fuel.

True what Steve mentioned about a power outage, but not much heat output from a gas fired unit without a fan running to move some heat around. Basically you have a fireplace that gives some radiant heat if you sit in front of the fire side

If you are in an area of extended power outages a standdby generator may be a good investment. Purchase one with enough power to run your refer, some lights, and the heating system. Perhaps your well pump if you have one.

hot rod

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