Current Events > Anyone use a pellet stove or heat pump in their house?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Trying to decide between the two of these, I have a really small place with crappy electric baseboards

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Heat pump, for one major reason - heat pumps can also cool when it gets hot. Or just blow in air from outside without altering the temperature of said air (for ventilation purposes, or when you need mild cooling but not enough to kick them into actual cooling mode).

I've lived in houses with both (though only the heat pump one was my place).

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Njolk posted...

Trying to decide between the two of these, I have a really small place with crappy electric baseboards

Doesn't sound like something you'd want to install a pellet stove to, those can be a pain in the ass. I've had 2 wood stoves and 2 pellet stoves, I kind of prefer wood tbh.

blakenbl00 posted...

Doesn't sound like something you'd want to install a pellet stove to, those can be a pain in the ass. I've had 2 wood stoves and 2 pellet stoves, I kind of prefer wood tbh.

Why is it a pain? I just dont have a place to put truckloads of wood

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Trumble posted...

Heat pump, for one major reason - heat pumps can also cool when it gets hot. Or just blow in air from outside without altering the temperature of said air (for ventilation purposes, or when you need mild cooling but not enough to kick them into actual cooling mode).

I've lived in houses with both (though only the heat pump one was my place).

It's not very hot here, I just want heat. Is it cheap monthly?

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Njolk posted...

Why is it a pain? I just dont have a place to put truckloads of wood

Pellet Stove Installation in 23 Steps

1. Set a fireproof pad onto the floor at the desired installation location.
2. Place the pellet stove on top of the floor pad, making sure to maintain the proper clearances from combustible surfaces.
3. Temporarily attach the vent pipe to the stove, then bore a -inch pilot hole through the exterior house wall. Align the hole with the edge of the vent pipe.
4. Trace the vent pipe outline onto the wall, then remove the pipe from the stove.
5. Use large dividers to mark the diameter of the interior wall thimble onto the wall.
6. Place the divider in the middle of the vent-pipe outline, then scribe a circle onto the wall.
7. Cut along the large outer circle with a reciprocating saw.
8. Repeat Steps 5 and 6 to cut a matching hole through the exterior house wall.
9. Hold the exterior wall thimble in place and mark where it contacts the house siding.
10. Use a reciprocating saw to cut slots into the siding at each mark.
11. Wrap fireproof insulation around the pipe that passes through the thimble.
12. Press the exterior wall thimble against the wall, making sure it fits into the slots cut in the siding. Screw the thimble to the siding.
13. Attach the elbow and screen to the end of the vent pipe.
14. Bore a 2-inch hole through the exterior house wall for the fresh-air intake vent. Be sure to locate the hole at least 12 inches away from the exhaust vent pipe.
15. Drill a matching 2-inch hole through the interior wall.
16. Feed a 2-inch-diameter flexible aluminum intake vent through the exterior hole and into the room.
17. Screw the mounting flange on the flexible vent to the siding.
18. Apply a bead of silicone caulk around the 2-inch vent where it passes through the interior wall.
19. Slide the mounting plate flush against the wall, then secure it with four screws.
20. Use high-heat silicone caulk to seal all connections to the vent pipe. Connect the exhaust pipe to the rear of the stove.
21. Connect the intake vent to the rear of the stove. Tighten the hose-clamp connection using a nut driver.
22. Attach an elbow to the end of the exhaust vent, then connect it to the interior wall thimble. Screw the elbow to the vent pipe.
23. Plug in the stove's power cord, fill the stove's hopper with wood pellets and check then the stove's operation.

blakenbl00 posted...

Pellet Stove Installation in 23 Steps
1. Set a fireproof pad onto the floor at the desired installation location.
2. Place the pellet stove on top of the floor pad, making sure to maintain the proper clearances from combustible surfaces.
3. Temporarily attach the vent pipe to the stove, then bore a -inch pilot hole through the exterior house wall. Align the hole with the edge of the vent pipe.
4. Trace the vent pipe outline onto the wall, then remove the pipe from the stove.
5. Use large dividers to mark the diameter of the interior wall thimble onto the wall.
6. Place the divider in the middle of the vent-pipe outline, then scribe a circle onto the wall.
7. Cut along the large outer circle with a reciprocating saw.
8. Repeat Steps 5 and 6 to cut a matching hole through the exterior house wall.
9. Hold the exterior wall thimble in place and mark where it contacts the house siding.
10. Use a reciprocating saw to cut slots into the siding at each mark.
11. Wrap fireproof insulation around the pipe that passes through the thimble.
12. Press the exterior wall thimble against the wall, making sure it fits into the slots cut in the siding. Screw the thimble to the siding.
13. Attach the elbow and screen to the end of the vent pipe.
14. Bore a 2-inch hole through the exterior house wall for the fresh-air intake vent. Be sure to locate the hole at least 12 inches away from the exhaust vent pipe.
15. Drill a matching 2-inch hole through the interior wall.
16. Feed a 2-inch-diameter flexible aluminum intake vent through the exterior hole and into the room.
17. Screw the mounting flange on the flexible vent to the siding.
18. Apply a bead of silicone caulk around the 2-inch vent where it passes through the interior wall.
19. Slide the mounting plate flush against the wall, then secure it with four screws.
20. Use high-heat silicone caulk to seal all connections to the vent pipe. Connect the exhaust pipe to the rear of the stove.
21. Connect the intake vent to the rear of the stove. Tighten the hose-clamp connection using a nut driver.
22. Attach an elbow to the end of the exhaust vent, then connect it to the interior wall thimble. Screw the elbow to the vent pipe.
23. Plug in the stove's power cord, fill the stove's hopper with wood pellets and check then the stove's operation.

Oh it's just installation that's hard?

It's a moving in present from my parents, it'll be professionally installed into my fireplace for free (to me)

I just wonder if there's some reason it's better or worse than a heat pump or wood

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I had a heat pump in most of the houses where I lived. It gets the job done. Its not the warmest heat. Its not like propane or natural gas heat where it just feels good coming out of the vent. But it works fine.

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Njolk posted...

Oh it's just installation that's hard?

It's a moving in present from my parents, it'll be professionally installed into my fireplace for free (to me)

I just wonder if there's some reason it's better or worse than a heat pump or wood

Yeah, plus you gotta go get a truck full of pellets like once a month because you go through 15 of them no problem in the winter

What the fuck is a pellet stove? Like you have to go load it up like a coal stove from the 1800s? Why the fuck would anyone want that in their house as their main source of heat?

Just go buy a mini-split. Those seem to be all the rage now. No duct work to install.

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BeyondWalls posted...

What the fuck is a pellet stove? Like you have to go load it up like a coal stove from the 1800s? Why the fuck would anyone want that in their house as their main source of heat?

Just go buy a mini-split. Those seem to be all the rage now. No duct work to install.

Dude, it's just a bag of pellets, they look like rabbit poop. You dump part of the bag into a loader bin on the side of the pellet stove and just turn it on. The stove takes care of the rest (because it's electric) You simply have to go fill up the loader bin like once or twice a day as it will drain pellets (for warmth) throughout the day.

blakenbl00 posted...

Dude, it's just a bag of pellets, they look like rabbit poop. You dump part of the bag into a loader bin on the side of the pellet stove and just turn it on. The stove takes care of the rest (because it's electric) You simply have to go fill up the loader bin like once or twice a day as it will drain pellets (for warmth) throughout the day.

WTF.

So the question is, would you rather just set the thermostat or load pellets in a stove twice a day? How is this even a question?

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BeyondWalls posted...

What the fuck is a pellet stove? Like you have to go load it up like a coal stove from the 1800s? Why the fuck would anyone want that in their house as their main source of heat?

Just go buy a mini-split. Those seem to be all the rage now. No duct work to install.

HVAC guy said my condo's setup would make it tricky to impossible, so I may need a stove. A pellet stove is like a wood stove that can put out a ton of heat, but it also automatically dispenses wood chips so it can stay warm when you're gone

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BeyondWalls posted...

WTF.

So the question is, would you rather just set the thermostat or load pellets in a stove twice a day? How is this even a question?

It auto dispenses the pellets, you do set a thermostat

But yes you do have to pour in more wood pellets every other day.

benefits: The stove can be cheaper monthly than a heat pump, the stove can put out a lot of heat and you can sit in front of it like a fireplace

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Njolk posted...

HVAC guy said my condo's setup would make it tricky to impossible, so I may need a stove

The HVAC guy recommended a wood stove? Get a new HVAC guy.


The only thing you have to do to install a mini split is drill a 3in hole in the wall.

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Njolk posted...

It's not very hot here, I just want heat. Is it cheap monthly?

Definitely a lot cheaper than a conventional heater. Pretty much the only way you're getting heat cheaper would be a wood fireplace.

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BeyondWalls posted...

The HVAC guy recommended a wood stove? Get a new HVAC guy.


The only thing you have to do to install a mini split is drill a 3in hole in the wall.

I understand, but I live in a maze like condo complex on the side of a mountain and it snows so much here the outside unit has to be under the building. The only place to put it may be prohibitively far away, as well as there being an electrical issue I didn't understand

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pretty sure my parents put in a heat pump about 10 years ago. for a while it always seemed like there was something wrong with it, but i think they eventually got everything settled. it's definitely not a warm heat, though. so if you're like me and love to sit and feel it right by the vent, you might be disappointed.

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Njolk posted...

I understand, but I live in a maze like condo complex on the side of a mountain and it snows so much here the outside unit has to be under the building. The only place to put it may be prohibitively far away, as well as there being an electrical issue I didn't understand

Im not sure what the distance is for a mini split. But thats not like conventional duct work. Youre not losing heat through a long maze of ducts. Ive seen people mount the outside unit on the sides of walls, three stories up.

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