Wood vs. Corn/Pellet vs. Gas fireplaces; any one best for seconda

17 years ago

This seems to be a reoccuring topic, but I haven't found any that included gas as an option.

I'm 28 and I just moved into my first house (1400 sq. ft. ranch w/ basement) out in the country and I'm looking at installing a secondary heat source. I grew up with forced air furnace and 2 woodstoves for the weekends or power outages, but we had 20 acres of heavily wooded land. I have the problem of no trees on my lot, so wood needs to be delivered and I need to buy/maintain a chainsaw. I also need to install a chimney beyond purchasing the stove, so there is a fair amount of cost involved to do it correctly. I am younger and do want a chainsaw anyway (for cutting shooting lanes for deer hunting on my buddy's property) so the manual labor wouldn't be that bad.

Corn/pellet stoves are an interesting idea, but they seem to be pretty expensive unless you use them as a full-time heating option to get your return on investment. Install would be easy but they do not appear to work, or work very long, during a power outage. Is this correct? I also don't have the storage capacity to buy in bulk and the cost I've heard is $8/100# bag. I need to check into this more.

Probably the easiest option is a gas stove. I have propane, the pipe is T-ed off near where I would want it, I could do the rest of the pipe install (minus the hookup) myself, can install the vent myself, they work with the power out, light with a match and don't cost as much as the 2 options above. Propane will cost me between $1.44-1.69/gal. this winter but it's a petroleum product, mostly likely derived from the Middle East (not keen on this).

These are my priorities:

1. Can operate 2+ days w/ no electricity

2. Low overall cost

3. Efficient

It pains me to eliminate the corn/pellet stove as I like the idea of using a clean, renewable, non-Middle East derived product, but for something I just want there as a backup for when I'm working or entertaining in the basement, or when the power is out and I need to keep the house at a reasonable temp., the cost seems a bit much and may not suit my needs.

I'm thinking a gas stove is the way to go but is there something I'm not considering that should make me consider wood or corn/pellet more? Are their pellet/corn stoves that can operate without electricity?

Thanks!

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Comments (3)

richgvt
17 years ago
Hi Zuren, I have a pellet stove and it is my primary heat source now. I have a new oil boiler but when oil went uo last year I went with pellets. Paid about 200 a ton. Now there $219 a ton x 5 tons and $100 for delivery. $1200 will supply most of my heat for 2,600 sq ft house. Its still cheaper than oil for me. I really like the cleanliness of it and it renewable. Unless you have a generator or battery back up you are out of luck when the power goes out. You might want to see how long a battery back up system will last. I don't loose power too often for very long. The stove is expensive , about $3,000 installed but a wood stove and chimney is going to be expensive also. I like burning wood but just don't have time to cut it myself. I might get a log truck load next year and whittle away at it. I guess it depends on where you live and whats available - pellets, coal, gas or oil. I am very happy with the pellet stove but I am concerned with prices. I figured it will pay for itself after two years maybe three at the worst. Not sure if this helped you but its my 2cents worth. good luck.
zuren
Original Author
17 years ago
The power thing is what I'm most worried about. Take the power outage around Buffalo that is going on right now for example, some areas have been out for a week. If I went with pellet/corn, I would still need a generator or battery to continue to heat; probably another $1000-2000 in either case. I'll have to do more research to see exactly what the overall cost would be for install and operation of wood, corn/pellet and gas.

Thanks for the reply!
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richgvt
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I know the battery systems are not that expensive but I don't think they would last long. I used a portable gasoline powered generator once but we have not lost power for very long since 1987. that was an October storm and it was pretty mild temp wise. I have a separate woodstove for back up already along with the oil boiler. I can borrow my friends portable generator or just burn wood. You have a different situation if you think you will have long periods of power outages. maybe you should do the woodstove first. down the road you can add pellets or corn. Who knows what they will develop in a few years.

Wood vs. Corn/Pellet vs. Gas fireplaces; any one best for seconda

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zuren
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richgvt

zurenOriginal Author

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