A word of warning on the newer (EPA certified) wood stoves:
They have a bad habit of building up coals without burning them down. Eventually, you get to the point where you don't have enough room to get sufficient wood in. Searching the internet, lots of people have this issue. Supposed fix is to rake coals to the front and burn a small log across the front to get the coals down.
I tried it last weekend. Not impressed. Better than not doing it but, damn, took a while and heating capacity went down. Other option is to shovel the coals out to make room. That seems a waste of heat.
Other issue is I've never met anyone that said their new stove would run all night. I've filled mine up, choked it down and best I've been able to get is about 3 am before the heat pump kicks on and I have to either go back to sleep and let the heat pump run or get up and add wood to the stove...or whatever I can get in with all the coals that are built up.
Basically, I love having a wood stove. Mine is in the garage. I open the garage door and put a fan blowing warm air into the living room. That will keep us warm and comfortable until we go to bed. It can't be relied on for all-night heat, though.
I would think a pellet stove would likely run all night if you filled the hopper up before going to bed.
P.S. I have a friend that hated his EPA stove so much he found an older wood stove and swapped it out. His EPA stove sits in his barn. Nobody wants to buy it.
