If you already own a truck , utility trailer or a chainsaw it would be no contest I would definitely opt for wood. All of the disadvantages of a bigger mess it leaves in the yard and house are dwarfed if you have the option to be independent of relying upon a source of supply by scrounging for it and not at the mercy of probable price inflation of wood pellets.

I would also opt for a EPA approved appliance and choose a hearth mounted stove if the modifications for it are minimal (like providing a larger hearthpad) over an insert as you can get more usable heat out of the stove especially if there were a power or blower failure.

I agree completely with lakelifer, but in addition to that would be a log splitter. People are always discarding cut trees, at least around here anyway. Gee whiz Dudley! This is FREE fuel!! The amount of exercise and satisfaction you get out of it are additional benefits. So there is a little mess. Ashes and wood dust is clean and vacuums up very easily. Your initial expense for the equipment will pay for itself in a big hurry. I also agree that a free standing stove is more efficient. Just make sure you get a good sized one. The bigger the better. In addition to putting out more heat, you can put in larger pieces which cuts down on restoking intervals. You also want an ash drawer because you can take out the ashes during an active burn. Another nice feature my stove has is a side door as well as a front door. I find loading from the side easier. I installed a blower from a pin ball machine on my stove which is controlled by an old furnace blower switch I had laying around. It works great and adds to the amount of heat output from the stove. My stove is old. TodayÂs stoves come with these as an option.

One thing I don't believe in is cutting down good healthy trees just to get the firewood!

Jim

Just make sure you get a good sized one. The bigger the better. In addition to putting out more heat,
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This is a complete fallacy. Do NOT get too large a stove!!! If you do, you will have your windows open all the time. Or you will build small fires and that means "cool" fires and that leads to cerosote buildup. Get a stove that is sized to the area you want to heat. My home is 1350 sq gt and we have the smallest unit Regency makes. We put it in the living room. And it heats the living areas very nicely. Especially when it goes to 20 below outside. You don't want to heat the bedrooms as much so having the correct size stove is critical.

I've been using a woodstove for 25 years now and I have seen many people getting the biggest stove made only to hate it in two years. You're buying a woodstove, not a Hummer.

I agree with the last poster.

If you have a lot of free wood, that is the way to go. Free wood multiplied by inflation is STILL free.

And wood heat is SO warm. My house is heated by LP and feels kind of cool. When I fire up my small woodburner, it gets very comfy.

OK, I'll give you that, but he also said he lives in Canada in a bungalow which probably means itÂs older and not too well insulated. He also said that the main floor is 1500 sq. ft. Does that mean the entire house is 3K. I think it's all academic anyway because he wants a fireplace insert instead of a stove unless he changed his mind.

My stove is 20 yrs. old and has the catalytic combustor technology. The sales lady that sold it to me said this stove would fit my house. It did in the beginning, but as I added on, it's getting too small. It works great for temps above 25 degrees or so but when the temps drop below 20, the furnace turns on periodically. My house is fairly tight. It has 2x6 studs in the exterior walls with R19 insulation, R38 in the attic. It's a 2 story and is about 2600 sq. ft. It has many good quality windows. We live in southern Wisconsin. All these factors makes me wish I had a bigger stove!

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"This is a complete fallacy. Do NOT get too large a stove!!! If you do, you will have your windows open all the time"

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Don't forget, he lives in Canada! As far as building smaller fires in a bigger stove goes, sometimes it gets into the 30s & 40s around here in the middle of January which means that even the stove I have gets to be too much so all I do is just keep the fire alive and make sure the combustor temperature is at least 500 degrees or better to keep the creosote buildup to a minimum. It's 38 degrees here as I'm typing this and I just checked the stove and it's getting a little low right now and it's very comfortable in here so I just didn't feed it, but if I hear the furnace kick on, then I sure will!! An old fire has gotten rid of most of it's creosote building gasses so even if the combustor temperature does go below 500 degrees I don't worry about it. Any embers at all will restart the fire immediately with good draft. I always clean the chimney every fall and itÂs never that bad. IÂm actually considering doing it once every 2 years.

Theories are okay but they only provide the ground work! Only practical application will provide the best end result!

Jim

Mark Twain said given his druthers, he'd take heaven for climate but hell for company.

Personally, I'd take wood for ambiance, pellets for convenience. Either will give good heat. If you don't want to gather your own wood, or if you plan to burn it pretty constantly during the heating season, a pellet stove makes less mess, needs less frequent fueling.

I do know people who heat their whole houses with wood they chop themselves and burn in an open hearth fireplace. It's do-able and wonderful if your willing to make the effort. I'm not, anymore.

I've been using a woodstove for 25 years. And even when I first looked at stoves, the stove shop told me to fit the stove to the size of the home. Every professional I know says this. And I have followed their advice.

Yes, I know it gets cold in Canada. I live a couple hours from the border. It gets cold here in Vermont too. They're calling for minus 25 Saturday night and maybe 0 on Sunday.

And I haven't regretted getting a properly sized stove.