Pellet stoves

[ian brodie]

 

I've decided to treat myself to one this summer. I know all the arguments against them, but I'm not getting any younger, and stacking and carrying 10-12 stere of wood each winter is proving onerous.

 

So, can anyone with experience of these recommend (or condemn) any particular stove or manufacturer? My main concern is the noise, especially of the fan. This is a very quiet house, and if I have to pay more for a quieter model, so be it. As I said, it's a treat.

 

Cheers

[Harnser]

I've not got a wood pellet stove/heater nor any plans to get one, but you should be aware of the variable cost of the pellets.

https://www.connexionfrance.com/article/French-news/If-you-heat-French-home-with-wood-pellets-now-may-be-good-time-to-buy

https://www.lemonde.fr/en/economy/article/2022/11/14/amid-europe-s-energy-crisis-france-s-wood-pellet-industry-is-feeling-the-heat_6004266_19.html

Pellet stoves got popular, now the supply side for pellets is getting tighter.

If you do get to using wood pellets be aware of the dangers of storing them - they can give off carbon monoxide and there have been fatalities involved. 

 

[alittlebitfrench]

If you have a Richard Le Droff showroom/shop near…..go pay them a visit.

Our one is excellent. They will recommend you the best one for your needs.

The thing you have to consider is serving because you have to trained on that particular brand. So it will be better to buy one from someone that also services them.

Now, we were thinking of a pellet burner for our rural house but decided against it.

Instead we bought a gas bottle powered stove that lights up like a log fire. It costs 400 euros and heats the room.

That allows us to run the open fire less…or when we just fancy a fire.

Cheeper option.

Edited February 15 by alittlebitfrench

[ssomon]

We have an 8.7kW Canadian made pellet stove which I bought on UK Ebay in 2008, and moved from our previous house in 2012. It is installed in the main living room in the centre of the house, the other rooms being adequately heated by normal air circulation. I have maintained it fairly easily at reasonable cost, using parts sourced from both France and Canada.

Our average consumption of pellets was 35 x 15kg bags per year.

We used it as our main heating source once the outside temperature dropped below about 7C, when the air/air heat pumps became less efficient, until the winter of 2022, when the price of pellets soared from around 4€50 to almost 10€ per bag.

We managed to get through the winter on 8 new bags plus 2 left from the previous winter by running the heat pumps longer and lowering the temperature in the house.

A quick calculation showed that pellets are no longer economical, besides needing more cleaning and maintenance, so I bought and installed new, larger and more efficient air/air heat pumps.

These have kept the house at 20C in the daytime, 18C at night, and we have only used about 1 1/2 bags of pellets when using the stove for a quick temperature boost on very cold evenings.

Our electricity bill is manageable at about 1600€ for the last year, we save over 200€ a year for pellets, and no longer have the weekly cleaning and hassle of the stove, and shopping around to find acceptable prices.

 

Edited February 15 by ssomon
correct typos

[alittlebitfrench]

Returning to this thread…..we just had a pellet burner installed a couple of days ago. 8k euros.

I know…I said they were crāp but I took a punt.

But strategically placed (in a corridor in our case) ours should heat 70 % of the house.

It does heat believe me. Very quickly as well.
 

Its not noisy and it looks good….it is not one of the horrible round ones. Its rectangle and is only 27 cms wide.  So it sits neatly without imposing.
 

We shall see. Next step is the water heater being replaced with one that gets heated from outside. Very eco and the cost of heating the water of a family of five will about 150 euros per year.

Then….we stop the gas. No more gas for us. Finished.

[Lehaut]

23 hours ago, alittlebitfrench said:

Then….we stop the gas. No more gas for us. Finished.

Same here.  Loved cooking on gas till I installed an induction hob.  All electric here, would dread to live in a complex with gas now.

 

23 hours ago, alittlebitfrench said:

Very eco and the cost of heating the water of a family of five will about 150 euros per year.

Very interesting.  Does this balance out over the expected life time of the system and its purchase/installation/maintenance costs?

[Lori]

28 minutes ago, Lehaut said:

Same here.  Loved cooking on gas till I installed an induction hob.  All electric here, would dread to live in a complex with gas now.

Same here.  Used to love gas, now adore induction.  If you have a really good induction cook top, the precision of heat control is amazing.  Would never go back.

 

 

[menthe]

Lehaut and Lori, I need to tell you that I STILL can't get to like my induction hob.

I agree about the heat control but I didn't like having to junk all my lovely pans and some years ago I was foolish enough to get rid of most of my le Creuset!  If I still had the le Creuset, I think I would get used to the weight!

I simply cannot get used to the pan sides and top taking forever to heat up and omelettes never seem to fluff up.  OTOH, I was glad that my poor husband no longer have to manhandle all those gas bottles and fiddle about with the fittings when the tubing is all stiff with the cold in winter.

It's a case of swings and roundabouts I suppose.  Having cooked with gas for most of life, I will always prefer it.  Also, there is nothing to beat a gas grill.

I love the easy to clean, unfussy lines of induction hobs but give me an old fashioned electric oven with gas hob and overhead grill and I would happily put up with the old-fashioned performance.

 

[Lori]

44 minutes ago, menthe said:

I was foolish enough to get rid of most of my le Creuset!

I hope you didn't get rid of them because of the induction thing.  They are okay on induction, you just have to be careful with their weight as the induction plaque is glass.  So, I'm always careful when I use them.  They are heavy as he** though.

I don't miss the gas canisters either.

I have used several different induction plaques and there can be a huge difference one to the next.  I invested in a really nice one when we redid this kitchen.  I've been very happy with it, thank God as it wasn't cheap.

We love our gas grill and have been extremely grateful for it when the power goes out (and it has MANY times since we've moved here).  Each time a storm is forecasted (like this evening), we now get out something to prepare for dinner, in advance of the storm.  Once the power goes out, the fridge and freezer are not opened for fear power will not be restored for a long time (once it was 17 hours ...).  So, if you didn't take something out, in advance, you'll be eating something from a can.  Having the grill is wonderful and having heavy cast iron skillets that can be used on the grill is great too. 

[Lehaut]

I installed an Ikea one which has worked fine for us.  One thing you cannot do with a gas hob is set a  independent timer for each one of the 4 (in our case) heating units.  Quite happily leave several pans  simmering with the timer on and just leave them alone.

I have several cast iron pans, enamelled and 'raw' black ones.  I usually heat them up slowly, turning them round to ensure even heat before using them.  I made the mistake of slapping my favourite small one on and turning the heat up to 9 straight away.  Two minutes later it cracked in two - quite a fright.

[alittlebitfrench]

On 17/06/2024 at 09:03, Lehaut said:

Same here.  Loved cooking on gas till I installed an induction hob.  All electric here, would dread to live in a complex with gas now.

 

Very interesting.  Does this balance out over the expected life time of the system and its purchase/installation/maintenance costs?

I can’t answer that question. But you have to pay an abandonment for gas before you start using it then tax on the gas that you use. Then you have the yearly increases in gas…..11% increase in July. Then you pay 120 euros to have boiler serviced.

So yeah, it’s more cost effective methinks. The installation costs I just write off. The money in the bank won’t make the money I save in energy costs in interest….if that makes sense.

We intend to install 3 solar panels on the roof of a shed that I built….which will easily offset our energy costs of heating water and the home.

[menthe]

2 hours ago, Lehaut said:

I installed an Ikea one which has worked fine for us.  One thing you cannot do with a gas hob is set a  independent timer for each one of the 4 (in our case) heating units.  Quite happily leave several pans  simmering with the timer on and just leave them alone.

I have several cast iron pans, enamelled and 'raw' black ones.  I usually heat them up slowly, turning them round to ensure even heat before using them.  I made the mistake of slapping my favourite small one on and turning the heat up to 9 straight away.  Two minutes later it cracked in two - quite a fright.

Thanks for the warning, Lehaut.  I'm sure going to remember that one!