Hello Tommy. This is a great question!

You know pellet technology has been around for a very long time but down south we have been afraid of things that depend on electricity to work. I always start with the same question;

- How long were you without power last winter?

Being in the downtown business district, I would bet your power is never off more than a couple of hours before it is restored. Now if you were at the end of a dirt road where only 5 other homes exist, you might hunker down without power for a few days in a blizzard.

You also have some other considerations and the extra cost of the stove is not the biggest. Choosing a pellet stove offers many advantages. Being downtown you have probably eliminated the most significant disadvantage, power requirement. Since you need a chimney for the wood stove, your total installed price may be very competitive with a pellet stove due to savings on chimney materials. I'll get more into that shortly.

Think of what you will spend for firewood. Unless you have some place you can store wood, you are going to be buying very small quantities. You may have to store your wood on the roof or risk bringing bugs into the house! How will you get all the wood up there? Buying bundles of wood just when you're in the mood adds up fast and you are deffinitely going to want to have more fires once you start. At first glance, I am going to bet a wood stove will almost be a washout for you as far as significantly reducing your gas consumption. I think it will end up being a novelty investment with no real value or achievement.

Back to the pellet stove. A lot of the cost in a pellet stove is technology and mechanicals. Think of it, these are basically fully automatic, thermostatically controlled, self lighting, self feeding wood stoves! That is quite an achievement in itself. All that technology costs something. Have you priced an exhausto fan for a wood chimney? They are about $1,000 +/-. Add that to your wood stove. A convection fan for a wood stove is about $300. Add that in. You see where I'm headed? The pellet stove incorporates those into design. You have fans for exhaust, combustion, and convection. The chimney is simpler too. You can vent a pellet stove out a wall and stop with a 3 inch pipe. The wood stove will be at least 6 inches and has to go above the roof. You may save $1,000 on a chimney system in your situation. Venting through the roof with a pellet stove will still cut your chimney expendature by 50% or more.

I think we have exposed that the cost is really not an issue. So what about convenience and environmental impact? Here are some considerations;

• The pelllet stove is much more efficient and clean-burning. 85% vs. 60-75%
• Fuel quality is consistent with pellets. Wood is always a gamble.
• Pellet fuel is a recycled harwood waste product. Firewood is a tree.
• Pellet fuel is clean
• pellet fuel is conveniently packaged in 40 pound bags.
• Pellets can be store inside cleanly and neatly. Keep a few bags in the linen closet.
• A pellet stove can operate up to 2 days on a single load of pellets.
• Maintenance is easier and less frequently required with a pellet stove.
• A pellet stove will automatically turn on and off as heat is needed; even while you are away at work or play.
• Even downtown you can enjoy your pellet stove full-time if you like. Eliminate that gas furnace.
• Fuel price of pellets is much more stable with little to no market fluctuation.

There we go Tommy. I hope I've helped you a bit on this. Really think it over, be honest and determine if a wood stove is going to get much use in your place. As a fellow lover of the wood stove I can vouch for the pellet option. It is real fire, real wood, and most of all, real convenience. You will love what you gain compared to what you give up.

Jack