New Stove Purchase
You will find a consensus here in re coal vs pellet heat:mahdeen wrote:.i am still considering a pellet stove as well...though I have heard the pellet price may be going up...i have been questioned as to whether coal is a "dirty burn"??? have you found it to burn clean??
1. Pellets only put out about half the heat (BTU's) as same amount of coal
2. Pellet stoves need electricity to run & will go out in a power failure
3. Pellet prices are much more volatile than coal prices
4. Pellets must be stored carefully & kept totally dry or they are garbage
Read a few threads that compare pellet vs coal.
- jpen1
- Member
- Posts: 614
- Joined: Sat. Nov. 04, 2006 4:46 pm
- Location: Bloomsburg, PA
- Stoker Coal Boiler: LL110
- Coal Size/Type: Rice/ Buck
What devil said on wood pellets plus the stoves put out less BTU's for the money and the make more of a mess than the coal ever will providing you use a washed coal like blaschack. Plus pellets carrry mold like any untreated wood and if any one in the house is allergic the will be miserable. After 4 years I ripped out my pellet stove and have never been happier. Also my pellet stove was greatt for the pellets bridgeing in the hopper and leaving you in the cold at least once or twice a month. I have had my stoker for 2 years and have never had it go out for any reason. Unless that dealer has keystokers already on order you won't get it until march at the earliest. From what I have heard Alaska is running late December as of last week.
I did the same thing with my pellet stove, after 3 years of burning, I ripped it out and gave it away. There were always "klinkers" jambing the grate and I always bought hardwood pellets. Once a week the stove needed to be completely shut down, cleaned,and ash pan emptied, and if it's in your living room there's a lot of dust from the ash pan. This will be my first year burning coal, just about finished with the boiler install and ready to fire her up any day nowjpen1 wrote:After 4 years I ripped out my pellet stove and have never been happier.
Dave
- Freddy
- Member
- Posts: 7292
- Joined: Fri. Apr. 11, 2008 2:54 pm
- Location: Orrington, Maine
- Stoker Coal Boiler: Axeman Anderson 130 (pea)
- Coal Size/Type: Pea size, Superior, deep mined
This year, don't count chickens before they hatch.
I almost bought a pellet stove last week for a seasonal cottage. The dealer was all "It'll be great for you". I phoned the factory tech and that kind gentleman suggested I find a different way to heat. He said to use one a few days every few weeks would be more work than a person would want. He told me if I left the pellets in the stove they'd pick up moisture and give problems. The drill would be to do once a year maintenance each time we left it. That is, completwly empty the stove of pellets and clean it. Then, try to devise a way to store those pellets so they did not collect moisture.
I almost bought a pellet stove last week for a seasonal cottage. The dealer was all "It'll be great for you". I phoned the factory tech and that kind gentleman suggested I find a different way to heat. He said to use one a few days every few weeks would be more work than a person would want. He told me if I left the pellets in the stove they'd pick up moisture and give problems. The drill would be to do once a year maintenance each time we left it. That is, completwly empty the stove of pellets and clean it. Then, try to devise a way to store those pellets so they did not collect moisture.