Re: Question for everyone..

Ya, unfortunately those pesky wood stoves and pellet stove do require cleaning. As do the stove piping.

Before I went to a gas insert, and you are looking to heat a home, have you done things like weather-ized your home? You know, more insulation, eliminating drafts, etc... that would be the first place. Do you have a forced air heater? If you are in colder weather and your home is not well insulated, I bet it runs a lot yes?

Ok, if it is convenience you're going for, I'd look to making sure your home is well insulated first. Then gas insert would not be a bad thing. But you would need to mindful of air circulation. That is really the ultimate thing. Otherwise heat just gathers and stays in one spot.

I'd really shop around for an experienced shop that puts these things in too. Do your due diligence. One doesn't want to mess around with guesswork. I've heard more than a few stories about cutting corners with installations like this, meaning saving a few coins and ending up with Acme Heating Co that doesn't quite know what they are doing. Shop around would be the thing. Experience will solve all those things about stove piping, using an existing chimney, air flow, and so on.

You're still going to end up paying for fuel of course. If you wanted to consider an alternative, heating one's home with steam heat can be an excellent alternative imo. The initial cost is of course there, but in the long term, it can be more fuel efficient, heat dispersement is much better and it is a much more comfortable heat. My brother has one such heating solution and he still pays for fuel. I don't, my fuel is armstrong... as in strong arms to cut and split firewood, and my fuel bills are about $20/mo in the winter whereas his are $300+ which are about 1/3rd less than everyone else around here. And I get to be outside, the satisfaction, the exercise, blah blah blah. One either goes with baseboard pipes or a conventional radiator looking thing. Baseboard delivery systems do nicely. Steam heat, radiant heat... not a bad option for the convenience factor. And you would end up with much less concern for air flow. Very comfortable heat for lesser cost and no fuss once it all works.

But a gas insert would also not be a bad option. Just... shop for experienced installers, and air circulation to force that heat to the rest of the house. It can be as simple as a single powerful floor fan on a timer which can be a little ugly, or some decorative thing. But it makes a huge diff. Or ceiling fans. And don't be cautious about spending an extra $10-$20 in electricity to power a fan because the savings in heat overall is significant, meaning you would end up running your gas insert way more if air is not moving.

And agree that unless one is prepared for the labor of a wood stove, pellet less so but still requires... labor. To clean. If you go with a wood stove, then you are into wood types, sources, is it seasoned, how to load a stove for efficiency, etc.

Now having said that about wood stove, there is one stove that can make the work infinitely easier, and it pushes out a LOT of heat. Blaze King. And the Blaze King Princess. They are catalytic stoves. Extremely fuel efficient. While it still requires loading them and wood of course, once they are going, they BLAST. I have been around them and seen demos of people placing their hands over the exhaust flue after it is going and the thing is so efficient, they do not burn their hands. And they run for 24-30 hours, even longer, on a full load. And, produce very little ash. If I were looking for a wood stove or insert to produce amazing heat and little ash, Blaze King, period. I chose not to for our home because of the 1600 sq ft space and it was designed for gravity heat, and I thought a Blaze King would be too much for this place but hindsight says I should have gone for it and just opened the windows in the winter. I would choose this stove over a pellet stove any day because of its production. Blaze King is not a bad option if one does not mind doing some work, but the end results are probably more efficient than another other solution in a cold weather situation. Just an FYI.

Speaking of hot air, the above had a lot of it yes? Hopefully it helps a bit. Ask more.

How large is your home? Is it single or multi level? Spread out?
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