What Pellet stove appliance features should I look for?

Pellet stove designs come in different sizes,types and apperances these are the key areas when selecting. The choice may then include the considerations of:

Performance
Cost
Convenience.

Operational design convenience is affected by the number of features. Like hopper capacity which can range from 40 to 100 pounds will effect the number of times need fill the pellet stove. The hopper size should match the heating needs and have a reasonable loading cycle.

Manaual control pellet stoves require occasional adjustment of the inlet air dampers as the pellet fuel rate is changed. Pellet stoves appliances with more sophisticated controls are able to monitor burn conditions and make these adjustments automatically.

So depending if you want the ease of automated pellet stove or enjoy the interaction of a manual control pellet stove.

Cerain features the [...] Continue Reading...

What determines Pellet Stove Location?

The prefered location for a pellet stove installation is a major living area where family gathers and sends long hours and will provide heat flow for other areas too thus gaining maximum enjoyment and heating effectiveness. The professional pellet stove installer will considers the factors that determine whether the location meets the requirements set out by the home owner:

Venting. May be limited by factors like obstructions above vertical venting through the ceiling and roof or by the distance to an outside wall for horizontal venting.
Outside air for combustion, if needed. Must be drawn from an approved location.
Space requirements. Must meet minimum clearances between the stove and combustibles. More space than the minimum required may [...] Continue Reading...

Comparing Pellet Fuel Energy Costs

Before we look at the cost of the pellet fuel, we have a quick look at the prices for pellet stove appliances which can range from about $1,700 to $3,000 for the stove and from $150 to $400 for installation. When we start comparing prices of pellet stoves against those of wood stoves, we can remember that pellet stoves offer a substantial savings as they don't require installation of a full-height conventional chimney or flue, which is typically the most costly part of some fireplace and wood stove installations.

Now back to the pellet fuel cost we can compare the price to the cost of wood. Pellet fuel are more expensive, at $130 to $200 per ton, compared with firewood, which runs from $100 to $175 per cord. But we [...] Continue Reading...

What types of pellet appliances are available?

Pellet stoves designs come in a wide range of sizes, styles and finishes. Your first choice is the basic configuration of the applicance.

Free Standing Pellet stoves (figure 4)
floor protector can be installed in almost all living rooms, they are installed a specific distance away from. these have a great range of flexibility in the installation, supported by legs and sits on a non-conbustibleconbustible materials but still can be placed closer than typical wood cord burning appliances.

Fireplace inserts (Figure 5)

Firepalce inserts are installed in existing working firepalces, panels are added to fill up the void around the new pellet stove, certsian pellet stoves can only be used with masonary fireplaces, whereas others can be installed in apporved factory built metail firepalces.

Built-in appliances (Figure 6)

Built-in appliances are an excellent choice for [...] Continue Reading...

What does pellet Fuel cost?

The current cost of pellet fuel ranges anywhere from $120-200 per ton and averages $150, but of course this will vary by availablility, region and of course season, as do other heating fuels.

One good advantage with Pellet fuel is they can be stored aeasily as they come in bags, so many consumers will buy in the chea summer season rather than wait to the expense winter season.

The selling price, of course, is only a part of the overall cost. The primary issue is the cost of energy, which is measured in dollars per million British thermal units ($/MM Btu). Pellets purchased at the average $150 per ton and burned in a typical pellet stove cost about $11.50 per million Btu, a figure that is less than the cost of [...] Continue Reading...

Common characteristics of all pellet fuels?

Although the chemical constituents and moisture content of different biomass materials vary, the Pellet Fuel Institute has identified the common characteristics and developed the fuel standards.

These voluntary industry standards will assume as much uniformity in the pellet fuel as is possible for naturally grown materials. PFI graded fuel must meet tests for the following areas:

Density-consistent hardness and energy content (minimum 40 pounds/ cubic foot)
Dimensions-length (1 1/2" maximum) and diameter (1/4"or 5/16") to assure" predictable fuel amounts and to prevent fuel jamming
Fines-limited amount of sawdust from pellet breakdown to avoid dust while loading and problems with pellet flow during operation (amount of fines passing through 1/8" screen no more than .5% by weight)"
Chlorides-limited salt content (no more than 300 parts per million) to avoid stove or vent rusting
Ash-important factor in [...] Continue Reading...

What advantages do pellet fuel offer?

The first thing that attracts people to pellet fuel is their convenience. As a bag of pellet fuel can be stored and stacked easily, to store one ton of pellet fuel only requires a volume of 4ft x 4ft x 4ft which is approx half the space of wood. Bags of pellet fuel can be stoed in any small utility room, store, shed, or basement.

Another bag plus is that pellets can be easily loaded into the stove hopper, the small szie of the pellet fuel allows for precisely regulated fuel feed. which in turn allows the combustion air to be regulated easily for optimum burn efficiency since the amount of fuel in the burn pot is predictable and consistent. A high combustion efficiency is also due to the uniformly [...] Continue Reading...

How do pellet stoves work?

Pellet stove appliances have automate as many functions as there is possible. The most significant one is the fuel delivery. When the user sets the heat setting an auger or similar feed device will regulate the delivery of pellet fuel from the hopper to the fire (Figure 2).

By having automatic fuel delivery of the pellet fuel the user does not need attend to the frequent loading while at the same time providing clean burns and the desired comfort level. To get the desired combusion air is automated or with a slight manual adjustment.

In most pellet stove designs, a fan delivers air to the fire and will blow exhaust by-products out of a vent pipe, which is a smaller and cheaper version of a chimmey (Figure 3).

In most pellet stoves [...] Continue Reading...

Difference between standard and premium grade fuel?

All of the measurable characteristics defined by Pellet fuel Institute standards are basically the same except for ash content in both grades. Standard grade pellet fuel (up to 3% ash content) is typically derived from materials which result in more residual ash, such as sawdust containing tree bark (which contains more impurities) or agricultural residues like nut hulls.

Therefore standard pellets should only be used in stoves designated for their use whereas Premium grade pellet fuel (less than 1% ash content) is usually produced from soft or hardwood sawdust containing no tree bark. Ash content varies in premium fuels from about .3% for western softwoods to about .7% in eastern hardwoods.

95% of current production is made of Premium pellets fuel and can generally be burned in stoves calling for either [...] Continue Reading...

What is Pellet Fuel

Pellet fuel is a renewable, clean-burning and cost effective home heating alternative which is currently used throughout North America with approximate 800,000 homes in the U.S. using wood pellets for fuel for heat in free standing stoves, furnaces and fireplace inserts.

Pellet fuel for heating can also be found now in large environments such as schools and prisons. North American pellets are produced in manufacturing facilities in USA and Canada, Pellet fuels are available for purchase at building supply stores,nurseries, firelace dealers, feed and garden suppliers.

Pellet fuels are a way to divert millions of tonnes of waste which will end up on landfill sites and turn them to an energy source.

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