Pellet Stove Owners
 

So how many of you are taking advantage of the Big Box stores price war on wood pellets this year? Both HD and Lowes are selling quality pellets for under $200/ton.

BT

We plan to pick-up two ton tomorrow at Lowe's in Gilford. Pellet heat is about the best deal going right now.

has anybody seen some good buys on Bio-Bricks?

I have to look at what they are selling. Last year I bought some of the Patriot Fuel or whatever it was that Home Depot was selling and it was horrible. Don't want to get stuck again with a ton of crappy pellets.

Last week Lowe's had three choices, two were: Greene Team which we have had good luck with in past years; and New England Pellet Green Supreme which we burned a sample bag of over this weekend and it was pretty good.

It was Freedom Fuel and yes, it was junk. This year they have Greene Team which is 100% hardwood and Green Supreme which is NEWP (exact same) in a different bag. I have used both in my Harman and have had great results. You can still go out and spend $240-$280 per ton at the stove shops if you want.

I'm still an old fashioned fuel oil user over here, but I've always wondered about the cost of pellets VS oil and other fuels.

I found this chart and thought it might be of interest. I can say that having burned coal many years ago for heat, it was MUCH less expensive than oil. I did not create this chart.

http://www.classeradio.com/heating_chart.jpg

Coal is still, by far, the cheapest way to go but not as readily available as it was years ago. I think we did this comparison last year but it's a new heating season, so what the heck. :D:D

If you click on the link and enter your current cost for whichever method you heat your home by you will see that pellets, wood, and Natural Gas (for now) are all within a couple of $$ per million btus in cost. Take the time to enter what you think all the costs are in your area to get a true picture, as the defaults are national averages.

http://pelletheat.org/pellets/compare-fuel-costs/

I'm not looking to throw fuel on the fire (pun intended) on what is the best/most efficient/cheapest way to heat any given home. I've already made my choice and it really works for me. I just wanted my fellow pellet burners to know that quality premium pellets that I have had experience with are available now at the big box stores.

BT

Steve,
The number I wish to see in these comparisons is a 15 seer heat pump with 30 or 40 degrees outside temp..

We brought home two ton from Lowe's today total cost $394.

Taking into consideration the efficiencies of our pellet stove and our oil burner being the same 83.5%, it would take about 240 gal of #2 oil to get the same heat output as the 2 ton of pellets. At today's $3.499/gal that would run $828, more than double the cost of the pellets.

I had a Harman in our last house, and when we moved into our present digs it had the same old *dangerous* Vermont Castings with an eight-inch pipe that we junked previously. I used it grudgingly for one year, then replaced it with another Harman. We use about 3-1/2 tons a year and keep the house at about 72 degrees.

Now if I could just run my car with pellets...

Stanley Steamer!

There are those who will say that a Harman isn't worth the extra $$$. I say its a "you get what you pay for" worthwhile expense.

BT

Happen to be thinking about getting one, actually.
 

Hartman get a thumbs up, I see. Could you tell me what model, Anybody else have other recommendations on other brands? I need one that would fit into my fireplace opening. Don't care if it sticks out a tad, Just going to use the fireplace flue. Looking for a used unit. Thx's.

We have an Enviro Empress that sits on the hearth and vents up the fireplace flue via a stainless steel liner. The stove height would allow it to be much further in however this is the freestanding unit and access is required to the hopper on the back of the unit. They do make fireplace insert units.

The stove performs very well, we run it on a programmable thermostat. I did have to replace the auger motor and the circulation fan after 4 years of use.

When I was thinking about putting in a pellet stove at my home, I did a LOT of research on the different brands and always came back to Harman as # 1.

FWIW;

Dan

Mine is a Harman P61A, 0-50,000 BTUs, Automatic start and thermostat controlled. Free standing, corner installed.

There are many options for the insert you are looking for.

BT

I installed an Accentra insert for a friend a couple of years back, and I think it is one of the most beautiful inserts there are - especially for pellet stoves. Mine's freestanding but if I had a fireplace that would be in it for sure.

By the way, good luck finding a Harman used. They're a hot commodity, pardon the pun.

Walmart in somersworth has pellets for $194/ton. I don't have a pellet stove so I can't speak to the quality.

I will only speak for myself but I know for a fact that NONE of my fellow pellet stove owners have ever bought pellets at WalMart.

BT

Cost of stove?
 

Are you also factoring in the cost of the stove and installation into the numbers? On many the savings doesn't start until after many years.
I'm with you, I burn wood here and in Maine but have also gotten hand me down stoves so I have no depreciation to factor in so for us it is all savings from the beginning.

The payback time for ours was about 3 1/2 years if compared to using only oil, we are now starting the 5th year of using the stove.

There are other benefits for us. We enjoy the ambiance of the stove running in the living room. For the prior 25 years that was from burning 5 cord of wood a year however we got to the point of no longer enjoying stacking that much wood. Also getting an oil delivery up our driveway in winter is almost impossible so with the pellet stove working in conjunction with the oil burner we are good for the winter.

We still have a wood stove in the basement for those January two stove days.

Actually I tried a bag there once, Pendleton brand. Never again!

Dont shoot the messenger, just passing along the price point. I dont even have a pellet stove.

Didn't mean to give that impression. If I did, I aplogize.

BT

Depending on what your heating fuel is, the faster the payback. If it's oil or propane, it can be just a couple of years. If it's NG or wood (especially free wood) it can take longer. Of course it all depends on what you paid for the stove initially.

BT

I would think that if none you have ever bought Walmart pellets then one would not know from experience what the quality is?:laugh:

Yep I concur with Harman being the best, but certainly not the cheapest. Unlike all you folks though I can't bring myself to burn pellets, there is just something about a real wood fire. I have a Harman wood burning stove and love it. Admittedly especially this time of year hand splitting and stacking 4 cords of wood is a lot of work, but I always seem to find ways to scrap free wood so my heat has been free for years now - so has the exercise :rolleye2:

One thing to keep in mind with those pellet stoves, my sister has the Harman 25th anniversary, burn good quality low ash hardwood pellets for best results. They do cost more, but she says there is a BIG difference in what her experience has been using various brands and types. She bulk buys through AGWAY every spring.

Agree in the big difference in brands.

My experience over several years is that the best pellets are premium grade softwood pellets. Had some NEP that were premium softwood from western Canada and some Cornith softwood pellets form Maine both about 4 years ago. Less ash and more heat than hardwood pellets (resin as well as cellulose to burn). However can't get either brand in 100% softwood pellets here any more.

Softwood pellets are normally not found around here as most consumers come from a wood burning background, as I did, and are used to burning only hardwood. Hence a natural bias against softwood. However a bag of premium pellets is 40 lbs of dried compressed cellulose that is burned efficiently at high temp. That is about 8200 btu per pound no matter hardwood or softwood.

BTW, the New England Pellets "hardwood blend" that burns really well is a blend of hardwood and other wood (that being softwood).

New to the pellet game
 

I just bought a Harman pellet insert (P35I), not as decorative as the Accentra, but very efficient and about $1200 less. I've heard in the past "get quality pellets and stay away from the big store pellets". What is the badness that turns everyone against the lower cost pellets? is it the increased frequency of cleaning due to the higher crud content? Is it heat output?

I'm not trying to cheap out, we got the stove for a lot of reasons, one of course is to reduce the oil bill, just trying to understand what constitutes "bad".

thanks.

As is typical with the big box stores, they are to some degree driven to provide goods at a certain price point and not necessarily concerned about the overall quality. I'm no pellet expert but am familiar enough helping my sister research them to know that the pellet dealers provide a wide variety of pellets which actually have BTU, ash and content (hard/soft) wood ratings. The price points for these pellets vary too. She's had the best luck with ultra low ash (>.5%) hardwood pellets.

Probably the best suggestion is to try various kinds and figure out which work best for you.

Pellet stove brands/design range in ability to handle lower quality pellets and Harman has a reputation for having an excellent design. You should have no problem with what Lowe's has now, NEP Green Supreme and Greene Team.

As pellets are made from a variety of formally waste wood products such as sawdust and chips, some raw materials are cleaner than others. Some wood species (hardwood) have more minerals than others. So as you speculate it is the "crud" content, like the fused material called clinkers, that calls for more frequent cleaning. That is an issue with lower quality pellets.

Your Harman has bottom pellet feed so the ash and clinkers are pushed out of the way and should be very tolerant of varying pellet quality. Our Enviro is top feed and is only moderately tolerant, I clean the burn pot every day however it would make it two days. Some newer pellet stove designs include an agitator to periodically get rid of the crud. My brother-in-law got a low-end stove at Tractor Supply that has a very small top feed burn pot. It will only run about 8 hours and then the pot is full of crud.

As MAXUM has suggested, try a bag or two prior to getting a ton or more.

We are looking to replace our propane insert with a pellet insert, can anyone recommend a local store to purchase. We would be looking for the whole service of having them install also...and we are located on an island.

Thanks, I appreciate anyones input.

Well with a quick search in the area looks like your best local bet is firesideliving in Laconia, their website indicates they carry most of the major brands too which is nice if you want to do side by side comparison shopping.

http://www.firesidelivingnh.com/hearth.php

Never done business with them, maybe somebody has. At least going there you can start to see what is on the market these days and compare features prices and options. All the places I talked to when I was buying my stove had a service department which included installation, however if you're not already setup to take an insert you may have to talk to somebody that is prepared and licensed to outfit you with the proper liner/vent. Also you may have to pull a permit and have the FD come inspect the job to ensure it's good to go. Code can vary from town to town. You'll no doubt have to help with the logistics of getting people and material out to the island.

Finally... don't forget once you figure out what you want to look online for any kind of deals or rebates. There is also still a 2011 tax credit good for 10% of the purchase price up to $300 bucks you can take advantage of IF the insert qualifies. For example I know Harman offers a $100 dollar off coupon online if you sign up for one and provides a list of their products that qualify for the tax rebate here: http://www.harmanstoves.com/taxcredi...edit-stove.asp

We have had our Harman Pellet insert for around six or seven years, we LOVE it!!! we dont buy pellets anywhere but from our local stove center, one time we used an "off" bag and it was horrific, never again!!