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Still can't post the intended reply. But I can post others?
Maybe it's too long but the gods of C-D choose to confuse us mere mortals by sending a message which sheds no light on the *real* problem. Somebody was trained at Microsoft?
You can have them! Any primary or secondary source of heat that needs electricity to run is just about useless in this state. Especially if you're not there to watch it constantly.
The great thing about them is that you *DON'T* have to be there to watch it constantly. It runs all by itself, maintaining the temperature(s) that you select...unlike my woodstove which tends to run out of wood while I am at work and not there to feed it.
This past week, because I have been spending so much time working the average temperature in my house has been between 45* and 55*. This is definitely *NOT* comfortable.
Many houses in this state use an oil-fired appliance as the primary heat source, subject, of course, to the same power requirements as a pellet stove.
You make it sound as though we are without power more than we have it. This is certainly not the case. There are 8,736 hours in a year. Even if you lost power an average of 4 times per year, for 3 days at a time, this would equal 288 hours...for a somewhat greater than 95% uptime. Even if you were to assume a 6 month heating season and factor in the total year power-out time into just that, it would *still* be better than a 90% uptime. This is a far cry from "just about useless." I have not lost power for anywhere near that much time over the last year.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maineah
They are more expensive to run too. After initial installation (which by the way is usually close to $1000 more than a comparable woodstove)...
*Shakes head* *Rolls eyes* Where did you pull that figure from? Assuming minimal competence with a power drill/hole saw and a screwdriver (and much less ability than cutting, hauling and splitting wood from your own wood lot...plus the cost of your chainsaw, fuel, bar oil, 2-cycle oil and other equipment needed to harvest your own wood), installation costs *ZERO*.
The thimble kit with all the pipe you need is about $280...and you'd need pretty much the same stuff to install a woodstove where none had been before, only bigger and more expensive...more so if you need someone to cut a hole in a masonry chimney.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maineah
...you have the added cost of pellets...
Many people do not own their own wood lot and have to *BUY* their wood- assuming 4-8 cords of green, 16ft logs ($165 per cord from Dysart's, 4 cord minimum) this is a cost of $660 to $1320. If you want already seasoned, cut and split figure as much as $300 per cord (from ads in last week's week-end BDN).
How's them figures stacking up so far?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maineah
...and the cost of electricity to run it.
I'd be willing to wager that the cost of the electricity to run it is considerably less than the cost of fuel and other consummables needed to harvest your own wood...as well as your powered log-splitter (unless you are "hard-core" and split all of it by hand, with a maul, like I generally do).
Not to mention some kind of battery back up or generator to keep it running during frequent power outages.
We've already covered the power-outage thing. A battery back-up unit is relatively inexpensive, compared to the cost of your wood-harvesting equipment. A decent battery back-up will cost you under a hundred bucks. How much does a good quality chainsaw cost? I paid about $500 for my Husqvarna. How much does a Stihl go for?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maineah
The noise from augers and blowers which btw is very noticeable in a quiet room.
How's the noise produced by your chainsaw and other quipment?
Yes, my cheap pellet stove is somewhat noisy, but you get what you pay for. I have friends with more expensive stoves that are hardly noticeable, and less obtrusive than many central-heating systems. (My furnace here feels and sounds like the space shuttle lifting off.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maineah
And yes maintenence is higher too....logically Mr. Spock there are auger motors to replace, igniters and blowers to replace which are all absent with a wood stove!
Absent in a woodstove, perhaps...but with your "free" wood from your woodlot you have your harvesting equipments initial cost, plus the cost of fuel and other consumables, maintainance on your power equipment, replacement of chains and bars, and, heaven forbid, the cost of repairing a blown motor on your saw or splitter. How much does a skidder go for anyway? Or do you cut the trees into carryable lengths and haul them out by hand?
My pellet stove is more than 4 years old now and has not needed a blower or auger motor replacement. The electric igniter is shot (last year, it's life expectancy was only one to two years, I got an extra year out of it) but it doesn't bother me enough to replace it. I understand that the newer models have longer lasting igniters.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maineah
How in he77 is that a better system than throwing wood in a stove every few hours???
Not all of us have the luxury of sitting at home with nothing to do but huck logs into the stove. Some of us have to actually *WORK* for a living, to support all of the millions on welfare, Social "Security" and the myriad of gov't employees with their generous retirement systems. It kind of sucks to come home to a 45* house after 12 hours of butt-busting in a frigid warehouse.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maineah
The only outlay for a woodstove is the initial cost to purchase it and the wood and that's it! If you own the wood lot the wood is free! Free fuel and no monthly electric charges...
Your "free" wood is most assuredly *NOT* "free", as we've seen...and we aren't even adding in the cost of the man-hours needed to harvest, transport and split it, as well as the space to season it for a year or two.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maineah
and no need for a back up electrical source
Many people already have generators to power other things they can't live without, like fridges, TVs, etc. and battery back-ups are relatively cheap.
or need to replace wearable parts equals cheaper overall running costs....simple, logical concept really.
I think we've covered the details sufficiently to show that your "free" concept has some minor flaws within the reality of the current time-space continuum, regardless of your desire to substitute your own. Oh yes, and let's not forget to add in the purchase price of the woodlot that supplies the "free" wood.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maineah
I have yet to talk to anyone who owns a pellet stove that raves about it. It's always ....yeah it's ok or it's great as long as the power stays on. That lack of enthusiasm will trickle down by word of mouth and pellet stoves will go the way of electric baseboard heating, especially if oil stays cheap for a few years. Ask the people who lost power for the last three days and shelled out $80.00 a night for motel rooms because their pellet stove runs on electricity how cost effective they are!
I own one, and *I* rave about it. I love it. It isn't quite the same ambience as a woodstove but the conveniences and costs far outweigh wood. I have a woodstove for back-up and because I like to cook on it. (And, except for my very first batch of mead, all of my meads, ales and wines have been brewed on it.)
Quote:
Originally Posted by wabanaki
wow! $ 500 the heat from Sept to May and keeping temp toasty warm.
got to look in to this, heating a house in Maine for less then $100 a month
Remember- that figure was for a small (1100 sq ft) house 200 miles south of my current location. Your mileage will definitely vary depending on house size, how well it is insulated, where exactly it is located (micro-climates and heating degree days can vary considerably throughout the state), and how warm you like it to be...also not factoring in this year's increased fuel cost due to increased "demand" (read, 'raking us over the coals, because they *can*'). (Pardon the pun.) You aren't going to heat a 3,000 sq ft house in Ft. Kent for the same cost as a 1100 sq ft house in Kittery.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maineah
There's one born every minute isn't there.... I guess you missed this line (this year might be different where they've jacked up the price)Double that now as the price of pellets has AT LEAST doubled since then!
It has *NOT* "doubled", the price increase has been about 20%.. I am finding it hard to believe that anyone sucks at math worse than I do. I can't figure out whether you were simply goading me into running the numbers for everyone, or whether you actually believed what you said.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Maineah
And you know this useful trivia because?????.....
Because my poor, twisted little mind seems to have an endless capacity for remembering things that are of no value whatsoever, at the expense of remembering slightly more important stuff, like paying the bills, people's names, my phone number, age, address and so forth.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Casper1212
Most of the houses we've been looking at have more than one source of heat, and I would like to have one with a wood or gas fireplace or wood stove for times when the power goes out. Not to mention a down comforter for the bed.
Down comforters rule. I'd have been *totally* miserable this past week without one. (Still fighting a losing battle with the flu, on top of the long, cold hours at work...and the cold house when I get home. Please, somebody offer me a pellet stove at a bargain price.)
There, breaking it into 3 parts worked. Why the heck couldn't they *SAY* it was too long, instead of some stupid garbage about a missing "security token"???????
There, breaking it into 3 parts worked. Why the heck couldn't they *SAY* it was too long, instead of some stupid garbage about a missing "security token"???????
Because 'they' thought you had stolen 'their' token. 'they' wanted it back.
No doubt it was circling within the token ethernet ring when it fell into the bit bucket, you may need to dig it out of the bit bucket, and put it back into the ring.
Another thought, you may have used too many capital letters. They use more storage space and packet bandwidth than lower-case letters do.
Punctuation is also a bandwidth hog, you bandwidth hog, you.
Last edited by Submariner; 12-15-2008 at 07:02 AM..
Reason: sp3lling
Not all of us have the luxury of sitting at home with nothing to do but huck logs into the stove. Some of us have to actually *WORK* for a living, to support all of the millions on welfare, Social "Security" and the myriad of gov't employees with their generous retirement systems. It kind of sucks to come home to a 45* house after 12 hours of butt-busting in a frigid warehouse. Boo Hoo! Sux 2 B U!
The old Maine saying....full of crap as a Christmas Goose comes to mind here. Someone needs to work out their frustrations on a pile of wood or something..... I think I'll have some more coffee and maybe put another log on the fire. A nice nap sounds good too!
as a kid I just chopped the wood, I never questioned what kind it was.
What should I NOT burn in my wood stove?
I'm thinking pine, because of the pitch, am I right?
Other than the scooping of the ashes, and the cleaning of the pipes, what else is required?
That is all I ever remember doing as a kid.
I'll start a NEW thread if anyone thinks I should....
Thanks again for your answers!
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I realize this is about pellet stoves....
