Coal/Pellet Comparison

coalkirk wrote: Just so that no one tries this, pellet stoves do not use a dryer vent. They use a pellet stove vent which is called type L. comes in 3" or 4".

Are you saying 4" convoluted plastic duct wouldn't provide a good draft for a pellet stove?

I too had a pellet insert at a previous residence. It was definitely convenient, but I had to jury rig a deep cycle car battery and DC/AC converter to power the auger when electricity went out. Unlike coal, which doesn't care if you leave it outside in bags or if it gets wet, if you get that bag of pellets wet you get a 40# bag of lumpy sawdust. I now burn coal and wood, about 2/3 vs 1/3. I like both. No more pellets though. Don't want to be stocking three different kinds of fuels.

Pellets are much easier to find/buy in my area than anthracite, but that is only part of the equation. Some people are content just keeping a few rooms warm with a pellet stove...not me, I want to heat the entire house and have unlimited domestic hot water. To my knowledge, there are no readily available pellet boilers that have that capacity. Maybe some of the European ones, but cost and availability puts those out of my reach. Service of the appliance is another. A friend of mine sells pellet stoves and heats part of his house with one. He has to shut it down and vacuum out the fines every 7-10 days to prevent problems with the ignition system. I give my EFM a quick brushing and vacuum in the fall, mid winter, and in the spring. I could get away with once per year, but I prefer to try and maximize the efficiency.

Rob R. wrote:Pellets are much easier to find/buy in my area than anthracite, but that is only part of the equation. Some people are content just keeping a few rooms warm with a pellet stove...not me, I want to heat the entire house and have unlimited domestic hot water. To my knowledge, there are no readily available pellet boilers that have that capacity. Maybe some of the European ones, but cost and availability puts those out of my reach. Service of the appliance is another. A friend of mine sells pellet stoves and heats part of his house with one. He has to shut it down and vacuum out the fines every 7-10 days to prevent problems with the ignition system. I give my EFM a quick brushing and vacuum in the fall, mid winter, and in the spring. I could get away with once per year, but I prefer to try and maximize the efficiency.

http://www.ecvt.net/assets/files/nbr-pellet-burner.pdf

Would this handle what you need?

As long as it can reliably run at 100k btu's/hr for hours at a time, then yes. What is the cost of that unit?

Rob R. wrote:As long as it can reliably run at 100k btu's/hr for hours at a time, then yes. What is the cost of that unit?

Not sure, it was just on my energy co-op's website over here on the other side of the lake.