Help With Wood Pellet Stoves/Inserts...

[carlschmarl2]

I have this in my house:

It's a little wood burning stove.

The Wife would like something that puts off a bit more heat, and something with a little more ambiance to it like a fireplace. Since we heat with propane, I'd like to stay away from a propane insert since propane is so damn expensive. I was thinking something along the lines of a pellet insert/stove that would serve both as an alternate heating source and as something nice to sit in front of during the colder months.

What are my options for removing this little wood burner and installing something else more practical?

Do the inserts have a fan/blower on them to distribute the heat? I understand that the initial room will obviously be warmer than the rest of the house, but will it move enough warm air to make it worth while to use in conjunction with our propane forced air heat?

Any other suggestions?

What are some good brands that I should be looking at?

 

[Ironworker]

That right there looks pretty good to me, IMO your not gonna get much more heat with a pellet stove, do some research and learn how to use that thing and you will not be disappointed.

 

[Ronaldo]

Is that a Vermont Castings stove? I agree that should put off some decent heat for you. Check the brand , model , and see what the specks are for it. Some folks heat all or most of their homes with stoves like that one.

Ron

 

[Henry and Wanda]

Hello,
Forget what the wife wants....if you like your current stove..keep it !!!!! Every time I listen to Wanda, she gets me in trouble LOL !!!!!



Henry and Wanda

 

[carlschmarl2]

Hello,
Forget what the wife wants....if you like your current stove..keep it !!!!! Every time I listen to Wanda, she gets me in trouble LOL !!!!!



Henry and Wanda

Ha.

I agree.

The stove itself isn't bad. The main problem is that it's fairly small, therefore you can't really load it up with that much wood and expect it to burn very long, even with good hardwoods like maple, ash, and cherry and with the damper closed down. Since our main source of heat is propane, I was looking to get a pellet stove/insert for the ease of keeping it fueled and burning longer.

My main problem(s) is finding time to cut/haul/split wood to use. Then there's the issue of where to store it. We have a two car attached garage in addition to a little pole barn garage, but there really isn't a good area to store stacks of wood to keep it out of the weather. I figured that with bags of pellets, I would be able to store those easier and not to take up too much room in my shop where I keep my truck, sleds, and garden tractor. And I won't be causing too big of a mess every time I bring a bag into the house versus an arm-full of wood like I do now.

 

[Henry and Wanda]

Hello,
Now this time I will get a little more serious in my comments....although Wanda always does get me in trouble !!!!! You were talking about getting a pellet stove....I think they are pretty cool also, but the main problem is in paying for the pellets. The companies that make the pellets have you by the short ones if they decide to make a large increase in price or even a small increase....you are at their mercy !!!! I don't know what your situation is in obtaining FREE firewood, but that is the way I roll. I've been burning wood since 1981 and never paid for a stick of wood.......I always seemed to find it or have friends need to get rid of some trees etc. About 1 and a half years ago I moved to a house with 18.5 acres, so I will never have a wood problem again !!!! Maybe you could get a large wood burning insert for your fireplace, with glass in the doors so your wife can see the fire!!!! A free-standing stove is always better for giving off heat, but inserts can give off good heat, especially when running the blower. Another thing about pellet stoves is that they are very expensive....along with the cost of the pellets. Just some of my thoughts....good luck !!!!!

Henry and Wanda

 

[sam-tip]

My pellet/corn insert does have a fan that blows heat. It looks very nice. Looks like a fancy fire place cover. I did not use it last year because of corn and pellet prices. Plus with adding a wood boiler to the house I don't need the heat. I think the insert is a country flame insert. It almost heated the entire house. The upstairs got a little cold but the down stairs was fine. I would run it 24/7 for 3 months a year. I would burn 2 5 gallon buckets of corn each day. Must be cleaner corn without stocks and cobs for best results.

Your wife would like the look of an insert more than a stove. Mine does. Then she tell her friends it burn corn and pellets.

 

[Snotrocket]

That is a Vermont Castings Resolute stove if I'm not mistaken.


Are you using the horizontal burn mode? How big and how well insulated is the house you're trying to heat?



I have that same stove and it heats my 2000 sq/ft house (very well insulated) extremely well.

 

[carlschmarl2]

That is a Vermont Castings Resolute stove if I'm not mistaken.


Are you using the horizontal burn mode? How big and how well insulated is the house you're trying to heat?



I have that same stove and it heats my 2000 sq/ft house (very well insulated) extremely well.

Horizontal.

~2300 sq/ft

 

[ft. churchill]

We installed a Kuma wood classic this October and we never turned on the propane heater all winter in our 1600 sq.ft. home. It's 4000 ft. in elevation here and most nights it was down around 5 degrees on average. We used about two to three cords of pinyon pine and were quite comfy all winter. We looked at alot of stoves and ruled out the pellet stoves as the electricity goes out here all the time. We liked the lennox, quadafire, and pacific energy stoves as well. They are all similar in design, airflow and construction.
Besides the wife and I enjoy a trip to the mountains to cut firewood.

 

[geoxman]

I responded to your thread over on hearth. That stove is going to more than likely need a complete rebuild and on VC stoves that can get very very pricey. The inner back plate is shot and I am sure a lot of other pieces need to be replaced. I would look into another stove IMHO as I can speak from experience having burned an Encore for over 20 years. good luck

 

[howellhandmade]

I reckon that's the same stove you just posted about the parts for. So, I reckon you haven't actually gotten it running yet. If you plan to fix it, I'd recommend trying it for heat before you decide it's not enough. Unless you have a very large house, I reckon it will cook you out of it, despite it seeming not to have a very big firebox. I have a Napoleon fireplace insert, and I agree that with a smaller firebox you have to load it more frequently, but if it had a big firebox I'd be damping it down ALL the time in order to stay in the house with it, and I'd have smoke and creosote problems. If whatever you have isn't sized to your space, you'll have problems. As it is I get overnight burns, which is mostly what I need.