What do you think about this idea?

IMO, the fireplace isn't a good option anyway for "back-up" heat....the great majority of the heat goes up the chimney, unlike a woodstove.

 

I would agree with Imac about the Fireplace...but its better than nothing in a pinch.

The pellet stove is going to be the best and easiest heat...WHILE THE POWER IS ON/
I am not a great lover of fire places, but when its cold and dark a warm fire in the hearth is very inviting....

IMHO
Think the options through well.... cost.. available heat in a bad situation...impact on a resale later.

As I posted earlier...I wish we had a fireplace to use in a pinch.

Like carpentry....measure twice...MAYBE THREE TIMES and cut once....

A lot of work to do and then undo, plus the costs involved if things change later on.

I vote for the Corner stove app. (Just sayin)

 

Good point Snowy. My daughter has a Honda inverter generator that is used for her furnace, 'fridge and a few lights. She's a good girl (growing up with a mechanic for a dad) and she runs the gen every month for 20 minutes. Depending where the stove goes, I will have to check to see if the outlet has power with the generator or not.

 

A great thing to have to run a pellet stove, with the electronics they have. A good surge protector should part of her stove set-up too, whether it's on main power, or genny.

 

That generator is perfect for a pellet stove.

 

I've been wondering what happened to you - guess all the free time you used to have D) got taken up by the 2nd job. Sorry to hear about your difficulties!

 

If the outlet doesn't have power run a good extension cord from the inverter or another outlet. Works fine for me.

 

The little Honda inverter is a sweet heart....it will do a great job....

We have a large "KLEEN POWER" Propane powered Genny...

 

it would work with 4" pipe, but might look "odd"......fireplace and stove. That said, theres other things to consider with an insert.....is the hearth adequate for an insert? Most pellet inserts require 6" of hearth in front of the glass....be sure the check that. Also know that most inserts wont hold as many pellets in the hopper as a freestanding stove, just the nature of the beast.
Inserts can be more difficult to properly service, as they typically need to be pulled out to access mechanicals. Also, nearly impossible to work on an insert while it runs, but with a freestander, easier.
I saw your other post where pricing is about $2000. Used units? Liner is fairly expensive, but if you do a self install, you can defray some of that cost.

 

Thanks Lousy. I have abandoned the idea of running the pipes to the side of the hearth. It will just look too weird. I will check the hearth for the 6 inches. Yes, we are doing used. Inserts seem to be more rare to find as well as more expensive. I have worked on a few inserts and I agree. They are a pain in the butt. Nothing is easy. I told my daughter that they hold fewer pellets and she was ok with that as she is not going to use it as a source of heat rather something to take the chill off on cold days. Now I wait to see what, if anything, she decides to do.

Thanks everyone for all your advice!

 

X2

 

Sorry,have been busy.I mentioned going through the firebrick/back of the fireplace,because it has been done many times. I would prefer to add the OAK up the chimney,next to the flu pipe,hard to imagine there would not be enough room,just more expensive.The pics look like to me,your biggest gain would be a free standing stove,so much more heat into the house.The massive amount of soot above the fireplace scares me! All the more reason you need OAK. Also,seems like(maybe because this is the pellet side) A lot of people do not realize newer wood stoves are set up for OAK, and highly recommended,and required,in lots of states. The amount of soot I see on the brick above the fireplace scares me,for a newer house. Scarey.

 

I think perhaps Wild posted in the wrong thread?

 

The gen topic was brought up earlier in this thread IIRC

 

You my lady need a bigger generator, not too much bigger if you only want to power your pellet stove!

 

almost,if not every generator out there,will run a pellet stove,"once it is running". Starting and stopping,lighting the igniter,is a different story. It also takes an inverter generator for proper backup. You can run a cheep generator,to keep a pellet stove running,but,because of the "dirty current' it stresses the motors,and the electronics. You can ruin many parts from using an improper generator. Anyway,glad to hear from you,and hope you and your family are well and happy.

 

I brought information, to this thread,what did you bring?

 

Dirty power will make the fan motors noisy but generally not hurt them....but the micro electronics are very fussy about dirty power and can be destroyed quickly depending on just how funky the power is..

The electronics on pellet stove control boards are not all that robust and will just go away if fed a diet of crappy power..

We used a small Coleman 1750 Gen set to run our Quadrafire 1000 back in 2008 during a big snow event.

The QUAD WAS NOISY but seemed to come through OK.

Key here is.....how much is too much when it comes to abuse of the electronics...