Gas or Pellet?

Brian Altop

Member
Messages
274
Location
Tacoma, WA
I currently have a wood stove to heat my shop. While it is illegal to use it in Tacoma, it is all I've got. I am tired to hauling wood and would like to change so I am thinking of a gas heater or a pellet stove. The gas heater would be ceiling mounted and would give me some more floor space but I already have a spot dedicated to a stove so could easily go with pellet.

Running the gas from the house to shop is easy so not a detractor of this option. I've been reading the shop heat poll and would like to hear some opinions on what you all would recommend.

The actual installation and purchase is about the same and the monthly cost to heat would be somewhere in the same ball park. I really like the idea of being able to keep a constant heat in the shop so finishes could dry quicker over night.

Also my shop is just over 500 sf and the ceilings are 10' high.

Thanks!
 
havnt got one but the pellet stoves do make use of a renewable resource scraps..so that would be better than using a fossil fuel that is at some point in time being diminished. and they can be filled up and ran continuos.
 
Having had both types of heating units, if each is pretty much even for you on cost and installation I would go with the gas unit. Pellet stoves are great and all... but they are pretty high maintenance (no matter what the sales people might tell you) and who wants to spend a couple hours every week babying their stove so it will work properly? Not to mention the fact that you have to let it go completely out to do said babying.
 
Having had both types of heating units, if each is pretty much even for you on cost and installation I would go with the gas unit. Pellet stoves are great and all... but they are pretty high maintenance (no matter what the sales people might tell you) and who wants to spend a couple hours every week babying their stove so it will work properly? Not to mention the fact that you have to let it go completely out to do said babying.

hey sounds like a reasonable reply,, like i said never had one and can see how there could be troubles in the auger sytem or the cleaning of one.. thanks kalea for stepping up and correcting me ..:thumb:
 
Brian here is a pic of mine. My shop is 17x21 interior wall to wall and 9ft high at the wall with a cathedral type ceiling above in the peak.

i bought this for several reasons

1) Its a sealed unit. So its solvent safe.
2) Its designed specifically for garages.
3) Its insurance approved for the purpose.
4) Its radiant heat so it heats the tools and machines and they radiate their heat which means once you get the critical mass heated its pretty efficient.
5) Runs off natural gas but can also be propane.
6)At the time it cost me around $900 more or less in Canadian with our 13% sales taxes and at a C$=.8 US$ Here is the company if you interested.
7) A pretty famous sensible woodworking in Canada had one in his shop i figured good enough for him good enough for me.
8) Pretty efficient and i keep it at lowest thermostat setting in winter. When i go into the shop in a matter of couple of minutes after changing the thermostat i have a nice toasty shop.
9) Its sized so i dont have to have it running all the time. Bit like trying to tow a heavy trailer with a 1600 engine instead of a V8.:rofl:
10)Installation was a breeze but i still had a gas guy do it. I dont like gas.
11)The minimum clearance under it is 7ft and it can be hung tilted from the side of the wall. I know another guy that has one mounted like this.

I have no condensation in my shop and my tools dont rust through winter and i have water in my cooling trough next to my grinder all the time.

BTW my shop is well insulated with 6 inch wall stud bays filled with R22 and double layered 5/8 drywall also engergy efficient windows properly sealed around the edges. Ceiling is also same as walls. So my shop is tight.

So far i have had it a good few years and its absolutely fine and reliable. If we do get a cold spell in the middle of the year for some reason i can turn it on with a switch in a second.

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We run a corn/pellet stove in the house. While it doesn't supply all our heat, it handles the vast majority of it. It is definitely more work than a gas furnace, but it only takes a few minutes each day to fill/maintain it. Once a week I clean it thoroughly and have that down to about 1/2 hour time. Bottom line is what do you want??

I heat my shop with wood and really appreciate "wood heat". It is a mess and a bunch of work to gather, cut, split, stack, and haul the wood. But I like wood heat over my propane furnace back up.

If a wood stove is illegal in Tacoma wouldn't a wood pellet stove also be illegal?????
 
A 'regular' wood stove or fireplace is pretty inefficient and kicks out a lot of particulate's into the air.

Pellet stoves and high efficiency fire places kick out way, way less.

When we have our pellet stove running, you can't see anything coming out of the chimney.
 
I'm currently using wood heat and will probably change to pellet next year. I'd need to either get a second meter or cut up my driveway to get gas up to my shop, so cost is a factor, but I think I'd rather have gas.

One thing to consider is the storage of pellets. I'm sure you're using some room for wood storage inside, but would give you some of that sqft back if you didn't have to store them.
 
For many years we used wood to heat. ( I cut and split the wood from the land we lived on at the time.) Ours was an air tight Vermont Castings stove. Very efficient. For wood heat I don't think it could be beat. But, as Father Time creeps closer I decided to equip our newly purchased abode (about seven years ago) with something requiring less work, maintenance and clean up. We got a small unvented propane gas stove that resembles a Ben Franklin fireplace.
Wise move. It works went the electric is out. Clean. Heats beautifully and is quite reasonable to operate. I can't comment on whether it is cheaper than pellets or not, just dunno.
And since Father Time has struck a couple blows, I couldn't lift the 50# pellet sacks if I needed to. e.g. my water softener needs salt right now. :eek:
Think ahead. Accidents happen. (right Vaughn?) And illness respects no person regardless of age.
 
Darrin,
When Vectren (actually Miller Pipeline) ran our gas lines they put about 30' under my drive without digging it up. That type installation might be worth investigating. I have no idea what the cost might be. Vectren paid for it when we signed up for natural gas.
 
I installed a ceiling unit made by Big Maxx, natural gas. It is 45,000 btu's and heats 750 sq. ft. It's a sealed unit so I don't have to worry about dust. I keep it set on 40 so my paints don't freeze at nite and it only takes minutes to bring the room up to 60 which is where I like it when i'm working. The unit cost 450.00 and added aprox. 15.00 to 20.00 to my monthly gas bill. I did not think that was bad due to the cold weather we get here in NY.
 
I only have electric heat and not much of that in my shop...and not a lot of room for a permanently installed heater... not sure I would want to do the labor involved in wood heat(see Franks statement about advancing age) and only way I could have gas would be propane... but if I had my druthers, I would opt for the gas heat... cleaner, more consistent and I think probably less expensive in the long run.
 
Chuck, and et al, here is what I did when installing our stove.
I shopped locally for an unvented heater that would look nice in our family/tv room. Most were in the $1,000.00 category without artificial logs. The log sets were around $400.00 to $500.00 more.
Knowing me :rolleyes: I shopped around. The Northern Tool catalog had (has) the stove we settled on. It came equipped with gas logs and was a total of $499.00. My copper tubing and fittings were about $50.00. Hired a guy with a Bobcat and mini backhoe to trench from where tank was going to house, that was $50.00. Setting the 250 gal. tank and filling was about $400.00. Or roughly a $1000.00 total. I did the piping and hook up. Gas company tested fittings for leaks free.
I consider it one of the best investments I have ever made. And that was proven when we had the terrible ice storm in 2009. Love it.
 

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If a wood stove is illegal in Tacoma wouldn't a wood pellet stove also be illegal?????

The wood stove supposedly is too 'dirty' for our clean state so says the Queen of Washington.:blah:
What ever... The pellet stoves do have an EPA rating that puts them as one of the cleanest burning machines out there. Almost nothing going out the vent.
So they are legal. When I burn my wood stove I burn it hot and there is no visible smoke, but still a pellet is cleaner. What ever. I actually like chopping wood and such, but when it is raining, the wind blew the tarp off your wood and it's all wet now and your trying to start a fire and keep it going over night so your finish hurries up and dries, well, I've had enough for now.:D
 
Rob,

I like your system, how much did it add to your monthly gas bill?
I was originally thinking about a unit like Sayer Fancher has, but several of our local orange big box stores have units like yours and they seam very effective.

For a little while I was using my forced air kerosene heater (125k btu) to heat the shop when I didn't want to mess with wood, but too expensive. It has a thermostat but still it's 1gal per hour burn and $5 a gallon on a 14 gal tank.:eek: Not to mention breathing the exhaust!

I really like your shop Rob, my shop is a square, If I put a unit like yours in the middle, would that be sufficient to heat the entire shop evenly, or would it cook the middle and leave the corners cold? I would have it positioned about 9' off the floor.
 
The wood stove supposedly is too 'dirty' for our clean state so says the Queen of Washington.:blah:
What ever... The pellet stoves do have an EPA rating that puts them as one of the cleanest burning machines out there. Almost nothing going out the vent.
So they are legal. When I burn my wood stove I burn it hot and there is no visible smoke, but still a pellet is cleaner. What ever. I actually like chopping wood and such, but when it is raining, the wind blew the tarp off your wood and it's all wet now and your trying to start a fire and keep it going over night so your finish hurries up and dries, well, I've had enough for now.:D

Wood stoves are not banned in Washington, they just must meet very strict requirements:

Fine particle emissions standards
Type of Device, Washington Limit, EPA Limit
Catalytic wood burning device, 2.5 grams per hour, 4.1 grams per hour
Non-catalytic wood burning devices, 4.5 grams per hour, 7.5 grams per hour
Factory-built fireplaces and masonry heaters, 7.3 grams per kilogram, Currently no limit




Any new wood burning device sold, offered for sale, or given away to Washington residents must meet Washington’s standards. Even devices that are exempt from EPA certification must meet Washington standards. Wood burning devices include:
  • wood stoves
  • pellet stoves
  • wood furnaces
  • manufactured fireplaces
 
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Brian to answer you questions on consumption it has not pushed it up much not enough for me to say :eek: so i really could not tell you. I leave it on and it sits at about 6 degrees celcius when i aint in the shop. But i think you gotta factor in my insulation and i am not in and out of the shop all the time. I generally go in and dont come out unless nature calls or i have to.

The unit dont come on much, even when i am in there i dont like it too warm. Try planning for while and you soon dont need heat. But i wanted to be able to work without a jacket or a vest and the older you get the more you feel the cold.

My biggest heat loss is through my windows But i have plans there too. I have three huge windows that are energy efficient but hey they still just glass.

My unit heats my whole shop. I have my workbench under it and it gets a little hot when its on full ball to heat the place initially, but after i cut it back it probably only comes on again because my missus came in to bring me tea and let the cold air blast in.

So its not over working i think thats the point i am trying to make.

My shop is rectangular and it covers the whole place and when i put my air scrubber spreader of dirt and dust on it circulates the air anyhow.

You can get them in a single length rather than a big u but it depends on your config.

Another thing is we tend to pay more for all the ancillary things on a gas bill than the gas itself. I think our family room fireplace heater with fake logs costs us more per season than anything else. Loml likes to sit in front of it even though we have central heat. :huh::dunno: Yeah dont ask me.:rofl:
 
Bill, 2 things -

1. I hope I didn't offend you or anyone else with my comment on 'Queen of Washington'. I didn't think before I posted.

2. You are right, they are not banned as I stated, but highly discouraged. This is what Tacoma has to say... they have frequent burn bans...

Stage 1. During a Stage 1 burn ban:

*

No burning is allowed in fireplaces and uncertified wood stoves, unless it is your only adequate source of heat. This includes the use of manufactured logs such as Duraflame or Javalogs.
*

You can use pellet stoves, EPA-certified wood stoves and natural gas or propane fireplaces.
* No visible smoke is allowed from any solid fuel burning devices, beyond a 20 minute start-up period.

Stage 2. During a Stage 2 burn ban:

*

No burning is allowed in any fireplace, pellet stove or wood stove (certified or not), unless it is your only adequate source of heat.
*

You can use natural gas or propane fireplaces.
* No visible smoke is allowed from any solid fuel burning device at any time.


And here is what happens if you don't follow the bans...


Violating an air quality burn ban can result in civil penalties starting at $1,000 per day.:eek:

To report a burn ban violation, e-mail our inspectors at: inspection@pscleanair.org. Please include the street address and the ZIP code of the violation to help us prioritize our enforcement activity.

I think I'll go with gas! :D
 
No problem Brian, I was not offended. I just wanted to correct the misunderstanding that they were banned.

Ahh, the good old days when there were not many of us up here and you could have a nice roaring fire in the old fireplace. Maybe it is time move elsewhere, I am starting to feel really crowded in.
 
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