I don't have a pellet stove but my parents do. I drive to their house and fill it up every day because they are old. It is a very nice model from a specialty shop here in town. They have had to spend over $1000 having it cleaned and fixed over the last four years. The motherboard was just replaced and now the combustion fan will not shut off. The repair company will not warranty this particular malfunction.
Compared to my sister's modern wood burning stove, the pellet stove completely sucks. Even on the highest setting, the pellet stove can not put out half as much heat as a wood burner. Using pellets is less labor intensive than fire wood, and they take up less space, but I believe the cons outweigh the pros:
Con: You must buy the pellets, you can not go and gather your own. If there is a shortage in your area than you are SOL.
Con: Pellets prices are subject to market forces. The cost of pellets varies greatly with the season, availability in your area, and gas prices (transport costs).
Con: The pellet stove uses electricity. Most pellet stoves use two fans, a motor for the pellet auger, and power for the control board. The electricity cost can offset the savings versus using a conventional furnace if pellets are not dirt cheap.
Con: If the power goes out, so does your heat. This is not the case with a modern wood burning stove. Light a fire and let it go.
Con: The pellet stove will NEVER put off as much heat as a modern fully loaded wood burning stove. You can throw three pieces of pine in a wood burner and it will run you out of the house.
Con: Pellet stoves have electronics that break. My parents have had to repair their stove twice. Both times a skilled technician was needed, he is always busy during winter and they had to make an appointment 2-3 weeks away. Repairs are expensive.
Pro: The pellet stove does not need to be fed at 3:00am to stay running. BUT with my Sister's wood burner, you don't want it to be lit at 3:00am or it will be too hot in the house.
Pro: A fancy pellet stove can be set with a timer/thermostat so that it starts before you wake up and shuts off after you leave for work. BUT, so does a regular furnace.
Pro: Less work. You fill it with pellets and turn it on. No cutting, chopping, or splitting wood involved. BUT, you have to haul 40lbs bags of pellets around. Easy for us young folk, not so much for the elderly.
Pellet stoves may seem like they are a great choice for older people that don't want/can't to do a little work hauling firewood, but they aren't. This was the reasoning my parents used when they bought a pellet stove. They did not want to mess with a chain saw and log splitter. Pellets are sold in 40lbs bags. My mother has arthritis, and my father is recovering from a stroke. Neither of them can handle the 40lbs bags to fill the stove, so I do it. Both of them could easily throw a piece of split wood into a stove.
I would buy a modern wood burning stove. Gathering firewood is a big chore, but if you do it right it will only have to be done once or twice a year. You can also buy pre-split wood. A ton of wood pellets costs $240 in my area. We bought one last week. My parents will use a total of three tons this season. That comes out to $720. That does not include the electricity to run the stove or the repair costs. My sister cut her own firewood this winter and used about two cords to heat a similarly sized home. The permit for a cord is $30 not including gas and time spent. That is $60 plus maybe $100 for gas. You can buy split cords for about $130 here. The math favors the wood stove.