pellet insert vs wood insert - not able to decide

15 years ago

Hi, iÂm unable to decide on whether to buy pellet insert or wood insert to heat the my 1500 sqft upper level of my home. Wood goes for 170/cord and pellet is 265/ton. My primary concern is the cost. When I check with people, they say I may need 5 cords of wood or 2 tonnes of pellets. Considering the cost of wood and pellets, it would cost me $850 for wood and $530 for pellets. However, when I check the cost by comparing the cost of various fuels (e.g., http://hearth.com/econtent/index.php/articles/fuel_cost_comparison_calculator/) the cost of pellets are way higher than wood. Can someone tell me whether there are any hidden costs with pellets? Considering the cost of wood/pellets in my area, what would you suggest - just from the cost perspective alone.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (3)

nhyankee
15 years ago
I think, (from memory), that 1 ton of pellets equals the net heat value of 1.5 cords. On that basis your costs between the two are not far off, [1.5 cords x $170/cord = $255 pellet ton equivalent], which is pretty close to $265.

Although I can appreciate that cost is your main factor, you have to figure in your lifestyle as well. Pellet inserts may cost as much as 1.5 to 2 times the cost of a fireplace insert and while you generally can't make your own pellets you can probably find wood to put in a stove.

Pellets are more automatic, burn cleaner and need fewer cleanings than a wood stove but when burning they have all the romance of a blast furnace. I am biased toward wood stoves but would suggest that you should factor in some of the lifestyle issues as they can turn into hidden costs pretty quickly.
dayleann
15 years ago
Another consideration is the fact that pellet stoves and inserts depend on electricity and mechanicals. Some can be run for up to 8 hrs on a battery backup, so if you experience longer outages, you may not have heat. Mechanicals mean more maintenance.

In our area, pellets are getting hard to find due to demand, and are actually being imported from outside our area at higher cost for lower grade-- that may not apply in your area. Yet. I am putting in a wood stove because I can support small local woodlot industry, which is enjoying a much needed resurgence.

A stove rather than an insert might be a better option in terms of heat output and ease of maintenance, by the way. Have you given that any consideration? There is so much demand for pellet stove and inserts that in many cases people are having to wait until next year. I get my new stove this fall.

Dayle Ann
Related Discussions
Fireplace Insert: Pellet vs Wood
Q
Comments (7)
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! ******************* "This is a complete fallacy. Do NOT get too large a stove!!! If you do, you will have your windows open all the time" ******************* 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
...See More
Wood Burning , Gas Insert , Pellet Stove Which is best ?
Q
Comments (22)
As far as how much the stoves can go down in the "off-season" depends on many factors. If there is a discontinued model, it will go cheaper. On others, it just depends on how motivated the dealer is or maybe there is a stove in a particular color that they want to clear out. Mostly, the off-season is best for scheduling the installation and ordering any parts. That's probably where you will save the most money. Maybe they can even throw in installation for free if they don't discount the stove. There is more bargaining room on everything when they have more time. As far as the motor and boards on the Harman, I only ever replaced one board, but I am convinced the owner of the stove messed it up (there were other issues with this guy). I never replaced a motor or even a blower, even on my own stove. There is fan noise with all pellet stoves and I would always recommend to people that it not be put in the TV room. It seems to bother some people more than others. If you are sensitive to sounds it will bother you. It is kind of like a range hood fan on low all the time.
...See More
Insert vs Firebox vs Fireplace please help!!!!!!!
Q
Comments (13)
Decomposition of organic material envolves the binding of carbon atoms into other living organisms and eventually into - OIL! By your reasoning, the hydrocarbons from organic material that decayed millions of years ago would already have been released. However, we know we are now releasing those hydrocarbons through the burning of oil/gasoline. Burning wood now immediately releases the bound carbon combined with oxygen (CO2) into the atmosphere. By the way, CO2 accounts for approx. 3 to 5 percent of the green house gases in the atmosphere. H2O, water vapor, accounts for perhaps 80 to 90 percent of the green house effect. So, maybe the next administration will think about regulating the clouds! If the 250 million autos now on the road were all hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, they would all be putting out - WATER VAPOR!! - a green house GAS!! There IS no free lunch - but the dems. are determined to make it so.
...See More
Bosca wood pellet insert - opinion vs cost of new furnace
Q
Comments (2)
If you have access to free or cheap firewood, you should put a wood-burning insert in, not a pellet insert. If you really want to save money, you should look into Anthracite coal, it burns smoke and creosote free, is usually about HALF the $$ per BTU as wood pellets and the stoves designed to burn it are easier to maintain (no continual shutdown and cleaning) than pellet stoves/inserts. If you are going to be buying another fuel, and your goal is to have a whole-house heater while saving money over oil, coal is the way to go. Here is a link that might be useful: Website dealing with coal heating - excellent information
...See More
jerry_nj
15 years ago
I see on another forum an increasing number of problems getting delivery on Pellets. Wood seems to be available, albeit for high and higher cost. One will pay over $200 per cord for mixed hardwood in central NJ, maybe closer to $250 for a true full cord. Still if you have, as I do, a good bit of mixed hard/soft wood available on your own property, just cleaning up what the wind blows down, and doing some needed thinning provides some wood for sweat labor and some investment in equipment. If that's your situation, I'd strongly recommend wood over pellets. If you are a "white collar" person, then pellets is more compatible, I think.

pellet insert vs wood insert - not able to decide

Comments (3)

nhyankee

dayleann

Related Discussions

jerry_nj

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US