Wood/Pellet/Coal Stoves (fireplace, furnaces, air conditioning, heating)

[rockky]

I have a small home in southern DE. The heat pump is 20 years old, and it is not heating the house without the electric kicking in. This is creating huge electric bills.

There is a fireplace, but I think it is a kit sort of thing. I am considering removing the fireplace and installing a stove of some sort.

I am totally uneducated in this area. I'm concerned that the flue would not be adequate to handle a stove.

Any ideas, suggestions, insight would be really appreciated.....including the best type of heating unit of the three options.

Thanks!

[MikeJaquish]

Please, be very careful with adding a wood/pellet/coal stove.
You are wise to consider whether the flue is adequate.
You will also want an excellent connection to the flue, and if it is double- or triple-wall, stainless-lined prefab metal, that needs to be done by someone with experience.
And the flue has to be sized to the stove manufacturer's requirements, to have proper draft.
There are many etceteras that someone else can probably expound on better.

Folks burn homes down with DIY arrangements.
If I was going to heat my home with wood or coal, I would consider one of the outdoor furnaces so I didn't need to bring the fuel, or the fire and creosote, into my home.

It isn't directly to your question, but why not replace the heat pump? A new high efficiency heat pump cost would be very competitive with the cost of replacing a flue and adding a stove, I would think.
And at some point, you will need it anyway.

[rockky]

Thank you very much for your response, Mike.

I am just starting this process, and I'm considering all options. I'm not living here full-time myself, but my son is. Mothers tend to worry about their kids.

My son wanted to install the stove himself. No way! He's very talented and can do nearly anything, but I agree that a professional is required. This one wouldn't be a do over.

I have thought about replacing the heat pump itself. However, I'm wondering if southern, coastal Delaware is really a good location for a heat pump to begin with. It is fairly moderate here, but nights can get pretty chilly. It was fine for summers and air conditioning...and the occasional weekend in the winter. DE raised their electric rates over 50% a year or so ago. We are really taking a hit with this heating/air conditioning system.

You validated my concerns in your post. That's a good start for me.

Adding.....there are no gas lines here, so that's not an option. It would have to add tanks, etc. for other types of heating.

Thanks again!

[NVplumber]

I put a pellet stove in a few years back and we love it. I'm a plumbing and heating contractor so I knew what I was doing...but it was not that difficult and I had to cut a wall and the lid to accomodate the flue. Most of them are 3 or four inch max but you have to cut a much bigger hole to handle the penetration thimbles.The flue pipe is spendy too and will cost you about 1/4 of the entire installation. Nevertheless I can't say anything negative about pellet stoves. Way cleaner than wood, cost effective to operate and good heat output.

[rockky]

Thanks for your input, NVplumber.

We check with a local distributor/installer today, and heard that it would probably cost around $4,500.00 to get the stove and installation. I didn't expect it to be quite that expensive. Then they are saying there would be $600.00 to $900.00 a year in pellet cost.

Another question.....how does a pellet stove work if you lose power? It appeared that the blower is essential. One of the reasons I wanted it was to be insured of heat if power is lost.

[wanderintonc]

Pellet stoves don't work if you lose power. The hopper that feeds the pellets runs on electricity.

Have you priced out a small wood stove? I've seen some for less than $1500-that doesn't include installtion, however. Maybe you could have a chimney guy look at your current flue, to see how useable it is?

The regular wood stoves work without power (of course, the blower part doesn't, if you have a blower). I had one for years and am currently plannning to put one in a home we're buying.

I don't know much about coal stoves, some folks like them.

[rockky]

Thanks, wanderintonc. That's just the stuff I need to know!

I think a coal stove is not an option. Not a lot of coal in southern Delaware.

I think you have just changed my mind about a pellet stove. I should have asked the guy at the store today, but I didn't think of it until we left.

Now to research more about how to get a wood stove in this flue.

[thecoalman]

I think a coal stove is not an option. Not a lot of coal in southern Delaware

It's around, you can start by looking here. Reading Anthracite Dealers in Delaware - Reading Anthracite Company

Or post a message here: Need Coal? Post it here for Individuals - Anthracite Coal Discussion and News

Note you want anthracite coal which is expensive. You can use bituminous but it's really not suitable for home heating.

As far as cost goes depends on what you're paying but as an example 1 ton of pellets is going for $300 locally and as ton of coal is $160 delivered in bulk. You need 1.5 tons of pellets to equal a ton of coal so the cost is $450 compared to $160. Where you are at you can expect pay in the neighborhood of $300 per ton but you'll still be saving money... there's a fuel calculator here. you'll need to first find out what your local costs are:

FUEL COST CALCULATOR!!! - Anthracite Coal Discussion and News

Note the efficiency for the coal is incorrect and should be set to 80% at the least.

As far as safety goes coal is by far the safest thing you can use to heat your home, the only safety concern is CO gas which is true of anything that burns a solid, liquid or gas for fuel. There's no creosote so that is not an issue and the fuel needs a specific environment to burn... e.g you can take a can of gas and dump it on a pile of coal and the coal will not ignite. Don't try that at home kids.

I have lengthy post here that goes into detail and should answer any question you might have. If not just ask and I'll be happy to answer it. They have version similar to pellet stove or hand fired ones that require no electricity to operate or u to complete boiler systems like mine... but that's some $$$

http://www.city-data.com/forum/house...ers-guide.html


Is your face hot?

[rockky]

Hey, coalman!! Thanks so much for all the info! I think I've seen you hangin' around the NEPA forum from time to time. Right? If I could haul some of that coal from up there down here, I'd be set.

I'm gonna go check out the links you posted. I wanted to thank you first.

I've been painting and scrubbin' all day. As they say here in southern DE, "I'm tard."

[Cornerguy1]

Unless you've got a free or inexpensive source for firewood, a wood stove might cost you more than you think.

Ever consider a propane-fueled fireplace/free-standing stove? These units are usually direct vent which greatly simplfies installation, and are much less maintainence than a wood stove.