Wood pellet stoves, safe in terms of emmissions in the house? (alternatives, fireplaces)

[potatosoup]

I've read they are not as clean as a gas fireplace, but surely are much cleaner than wood fireplace. Any safety issues compared to a gas fireplace? They seem a lot cheaper to heat with than gas.

[akck]

Definitely dirtier than a gas fireplace, but cleaner than a wood fireplace. The only safety issue is if you lose power. Smoke can enter your room. The solution is to make sure you have pipe that runs up at least 5' to create a draft for the smoke/heat to follow.

[thecoalman]

CO is the only safety issue as it is with any heating unit that burns fuel whether it's coal, oil, gas..... I'm not really familiar with pellet stoves but assuming you have properly installed unit with natural draft this shouldn't be an issue at all for power failures.

If it has power vent that may cause some backup of smoke into the living space but since there is such a little amount of fuel burning it will quickly die out so there really isn't a safety problem.

I don't know how they compare to a wood stove for emissions. Emissions from a wood stove has a lot factors, most importantly the guy operating it assuming good dry wood. They are certainly much cleaner than a fireplace based on efficiency alone.

As far as cost... "depends". Current pellet prices are hovering right around what a gallon of fuel oil will get you. There's a fuel calculator here in Excel format that is quite comprehensive as it takes efficiency into consideration too.

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

You'll need excel or open office to work with it, just plug in the amounts you pay for the fuel and it will give you a comparison.

[M3 Mitch]

If you have a proper chimney that draws right you should not have any problem with a wood, pellet, coal, corn-burning, etc. solid fuel stove.

Gas fireplaces are more decorative than practical, if you are going to pay for gas, there are better ways to burn it for heat.

IMHO coal and wood are "he man" alternatives, the others...less so. Just IMHO.

[thecoalman]

Originally Posted by M3 Mitch

IMHO coal and wood are "he man" alternatives, the others...less so.

Have you ever had a coal stoker? They're automated. Most of the members of my forum that were former pellet/corn or whatever else is the latest gimmick would never consider going back.

A coal stoker is no different than a pellet stove. Put coal in one end. Take the ashes out of the other end. The pellet stoves have used some of the methods used in stokers for decades.

This is testing from a EFM base for a boiler that has been in production for a more than half a century (with some of them still going). This particular unit is burning bituminous coal which is why it's a test. Quite successfully used over this last winter in Wyoming. Coal is about $60 a ton there, need about 5 tons for an average 2000 sq. ft house. Total cost will be about $300 per year and that includes domestic hot water.


YouTube - Marks Supply Co. / EFM - Soft Coal Stoker - Video 3

Full unit looks like this:




Full Size Image


The anthracite typically used in these units ranges from $150 to $300+ per ton in the Northeast US but it can be burned anywhere including urban areas without any issues such as the neighbors getting angry.