Wood stove vs Pellet

[NH.Solar]

With most pellet stoves if the power goes out, there too goes your heat. Do you have some sort of backup heat source?
I use a pilot lit propane space heater in the basement as my backup and it works admirably at all times. A lot of good woodstove companies, Woodstock included, make gas stoves that look and retain heat just like a woodstove, you could probably drop one right in place of the lovely old soapstone and never worry about lugging fuel again

[CaptT820]

As others have said it comes down to convenience and cost. For us, I end up with the same argument every time, I cannot cut down a pellet tree. Meaning I have to rely on others for part of the process. And... as others have said, you need electricity to properly run a pellet stove. Get our soapstone stove up to 600°F and let it radiate all day.
We also get most of our wood for free and process it ourselves.

[Biggd]

I hate cutting and splitting wood. I will buy it in the spring all cut and split. I don't mind stacking it and I have a tractor so it makes lugging it into the garage easy.
I have a friend of mine that has a pellet stove and when the electricity goes out so does his heat. Plus he loads up one stall of his garage with pellets as you get a better price buying in bulk. You have to have dry space to store pellets.
I'm not giving up my garage space for pellets. I can keep the wood outside covered up and just bring in what I need for a few days which doesn't take up too much space.
There are pros and cons to each so you have to weigh what's best for your situation.

[SAB1]

I've done both. I like cutting and splitting wood but man that takes a lot of time to which I don't always have. Overall I say the pellets are less work but they do create there own mess with dust just as a wood stove does as well hauling wood into the house. The nice thing about the pellets is you can toss a bag or two in the hopper and take off the day, even overnight if you have an hopper extension, and it takes care of itself. That is nice. You do need back up power though. Propane tends to be expensive so I save a bit in NH. I have natural gas in Mass and honestly for the price of pellets heating with natural gas isn't going to cost me much more now a days. Pellets can be stored outside but trudging out in the snow to get them isn't always fun. If you have a wood stove IMO I would stick with it. Pellet stoves are not cheap and then you would likely have to buy some piping etc to hook it up. On a cold morning when you step outside the door nothing smells as good as a wood stove............except the bacon your neighbor is frying...........

[Biggd]

Originally Posted by SAB1

I've done both. I like cutting and splitting wood but man that takes a lot of time to which I don't always have. Overall I say the pellets are less work but they do create there own mess with dust just as a wood stove does as well hauling wood into the house. The nice thing about the pellets is you can toss a bag or two in the hopper and take off the day, even overnight if you have an hopper extension, and it takes care of itself. That is nice. You do need back up power though. Propane tends to be expensive so I save a bit in NH. I have natural gas in Mass and honestly for the price of pellets heating with natural gas isn't going to cost me much more now a days. Pellets can be stored outside but trudging out in the snow to get them isn't always fun. If you have a wood stove IMO I would stick with it. Pellet stoves are not cheap and then you would likely have to buy some piping etc to hook it up. On a cold morning when you step outside the door nothing smells as good as a wood stove............except the bacon your neighbor is frying...........

You know what they say about wood, you get warm multiple times cutting, splitting, stacking, and burning.

[Poor Richard]

Concerning the question around the pellet stove during power outages, a small generator and a line conditioner solves that issue. The key is the line conditioner and when I say "small generator", I'm talking under under 2kv. Just something enough to run the heat element, kick the blower on and power the electronics.


Personally, I prefer a wood stove. There's a certain kind of heat that a pellet stove simply cannot offer....at least not the ones I've seen.

As already stated, the pros and cons must be weighed by each person for their unique scenario. To me, the processing of wood in order to heat my house is "worth" it.

[Hillcountry]

Originally Posted by Biggd

You know what they say about wood, you get warm multiple times cutting, splitting, stacking, and burning.

True enough!

[MAXUM]

Another thing to consider, a while back there was a major interruption in the pellet supply where a big producer had a factory fire and could not supply any product. As a result there was a run on inventory and prices for pellets went through the roof, if you could find some at that time.

I burn wood and while it is a lot of work the supply is always there and like everyone else I scrap most of mine for free. That said I do have a pretty good amount invested in a couple really good chain saws and a log splitter. Makes all the difference having the right tools.