Wood Pellet Stoves: The Alternative to High Heating Costs
Original article printed at http://howtomakewoodpellets.com
Have you had enough of rising energy consumption bills due to use of electronic heating devices? Maybe its time you considered switching to wood pellet stoves. Wood pellets stoves refer to wood burning stoves that use wood pellets as a fuel. Wood pellets are very cost effective and are quite efficient as compared to the electronic devices used for the heating purposes.
Pellet stoves are effective home heaters. A pellet stove is just like any other wood stove; the only difference is that it is automated.
A wood pellet stove is quite simple to use. You are just required to add pellets to the hopper of the stove and thereby set the desired heat output. The stove will automatically determine the optimum amount of air for combustion. Most wood pellet stoves come with a fan to circulate air via heat exchanger. Some stoves rely on radiant heat delivery process.
What is Wood Pellet Fuel?
Pellets are biomass products, made-up of wood paste or sawdust. Pellets acts as a renewable and clean burning fuels. More than 600,000 thousand people in North America use wood pellets for heat. These pellets are used in fireplace inserts, furnaces and freestanding stoves. The pellet fuels turn waste materials into sources of energy.
How do Wood pellet stoves work?
Pellet stoves are basically electronic devices. These stoves automatically adjust and control combustion, blowers, fans and heating. You are required to insert pellets into the hopper located at the top of the stove. A hopper generally holds up to 80 pounds of wood pellets.
Most pellet stoves contain an auger. The purpose of the auger is to deliver pellets to the combustion chamber from the hopper. The movements of the auger can be set manually, but it's generally set automatically. Pellets are delivered at a rate of 1 pound per hour, in case of glowing fire, and 5 pounds per hour, for a blazing fire. The size of the fire depends on the amount of the feed.
The wood pellets are fed into the fire pot of the combustion chamber. To encourage super heated flame, combustion air is blown into the chamber. A fan, provided inside the stove, draws in the room air. The drawn air is heated at about 250 degrees in the heat exchanger. Then the warmed air is thrown back in the room. Pellet stoves rely on convective heat. This is the reason why pellet stoves are not hot when touched.
The combustion gases are vented outside the room via flue which exits on the top of the unit. Wood pellet stoves do not require chimneys.
Types of Pellet Stoves
Pellet stoves are available in various styles and size varieties. There are different types of pellet stoves available.
For great flexibility freestanding pellet stoves are available. These stoves are available with installation options. These stoves are supported by a pedestal. Freestanding pellet stoves are designed to be installed in any area of the house. However there is one limitation, they should never be installed in sleeping areas. These stoves are placed on a protector which is non-combustible in nature. Freestanding pellet stoves should always be installed at a safe distance away from combustible surfaces.
Fire place inserts are also a type of pellet stoves. These are installed in working fireplaces. The space between the fire place opening and insert is covered decoratively by a panel. These pellet inserts are typically installed in masonry fireplaces. These pellet stoves offer your home a look of fire place setting. These stoves are economical. You can apply bricks around and atop this type of stove to give it a look of fireplace. You would require a non-combustible floor protector to provide for air space under the unit.
Wood Pellet stoves, no doubt, provide you with low cost fuel and reduces your energy consumption bills drastically. Mother Nature provides yet another better fuel alternative to keep you warm and cozy.
Did you know you can make your own wood pellets at home and save even more? Click here for more details.
Have you had enough of rising energy consumption bills due to use of electronic heating devices? Maybe its time you considered switching to wood pellet stoves. Wood pellets stoves refer to wood burning stoves that use wood pellets as a fuel. Wood pellets are very cost effective and are quite efficient as compared to the electronic devices used for the heating purposes.
Pellet stoves are effective home heaters. A pellet stove is just like any other wood stove; the only difference is that it is automated.
A wood pellet stove is quite simple to use. You are just required to add pellets to the hopper of the stove and thereby set the desired heat output. The stove will automatically determine the optimum amount of air for combustion. Most wood pellet stoves come with a fan to circulate air via heat exchanger. Some stoves rely on radiant heat delivery process.
What is Wood Pellet Fuel?
Pellets are biomass products, made-up of wood paste or sawdust. Pellets acts as a renewable and clean burning fuels. More than 600,000 thousand people in North America use wood pellets for heat. These pellets are used in fireplace inserts, furnaces and freestanding stoves. The pellet fuels turn waste materials into sources of energy.
How do Wood pellet stoves work?
Pellet stoves are basically electronic devices. These stoves automatically adjust and control combustion, blowers, fans and heating. You are required to insert pellets into the hopper located at the top of the stove. A hopper generally holds up to 80 pounds of wood pellets.
Most pellet stoves contain an auger. The purpose of the auger is to deliver pellets to the combustion chamber from the hopper. The movements of the auger can be set manually, but it's generally set automatically. Pellets are delivered at a rate of 1 pound per hour, in case of glowing fire, and 5 pounds per hour, for a blazing fire. The size of the fire depends on the amount of the feed.
The wood pellets are fed into the fire pot of the combustion chamber. To encourage super heated flame, combustion air is blown into the chamber. A fan, provided inside the stove, draws in the room air. The drawn air is heated at about 250 degrees in the heat exchanger. Then the warmed air is thrown back in the room. Pellet stoves rely on convective heat. This is the reason why pellet stoves are not hot when touched.
The combustion gases are vented outside the room via flue which exits on the top of the unit. Wood pellet stoves do not require chimneys.
Types of Pellet Stoves
Pellet stoves are available in various styles and size varieties. There are different types of pellet stoves available.
For great flexibility freestanding pellet stoves are available. These stoves are available with installation options. These stoves are supported by a pedestal. Freestanding pellet stoves are designed to be installed in any area of the house. However there is one limitation, they should never be installed in sleeping areas. These stoves are placed on a protector which is non-combustible in nature. Freestanding pellet stoves should always be installed at a safe distance away from combustible surfaces.
Fire place inserts are also a type of pellet stoves. These are installed in working fireplaces. The space between the fire place opening and insert is covered decoratively by a panel. These pellet inserts are typically installed in masonry fireplaces. These pellet stoves offer your home a look of fire place setting. These stoves are economical. You can apply bricks around and atop this type of stove to give it a look of fireplace. You would require a non-combustible floor protector to provide for air space under the unit.
Wood Pellet stoves, no doubt, provide you with low cost fuel and reduces your energy consumption bills drastically. Mother Nature provides yet another better fuel alternative to keep you warm and cozy.
Did you know you can make your own wood pellets at home and save even more? Click here for more details.
How To Make Wood Pellets
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byHow to Clean Your Pellet Stove
Most of the time wood pellet stoves will run better and more efficient when they are clean. The air inside can move around better and this will allow the appropriate combustion in the firebox. You can clean your pellet stove yourself and it will not take much time or work at all. You will have to have a few simple tools in order to get a better clean and have an easier time as well.A few things that you will need to clean your pellet stove are a paintbrush, paper towels, cloths, shop vac and the scraping rod that usually comes along with your stove. When you place a new bag of pellets into the hopper of the stove, it is a good idea to clean the heat exchanger. When you are cleaning this it will allow the heat to move from the firebox to your area a lot easier. It is best to use a good quality pellet to avoid cleaning more often.
When you shut your pellet stove off, you can then use the paintbrush to clean the dust that the stove produces. You can use any other type of duster or brush for this job too. The brush will have the ability to get into the small cracks and spaces that the dust can fall into. You will then be able to vacuum the ash out of the collection pan easily.
Doing simple cleaning each month will make it easier to do a thorough cleaning every few months or so. You can use your brush or shop vac to clean the tough to see areas that are going to need cleaned. Each year you should get a professional furnace cleaner check your gaskets and motors to make sure that they are running freely. They will be able to get into the tough areas and see if there is anything that looks like it needs replaced or fixed. Also have the firepot cleaned well wand test your battery back up system if you have one equipped on your pellet stove.
When it is time to shut your pellet stove off for the summer, you should take out all of the pellets from the hopper. Pellets that are left inside over the summer may accumulate moisture and not need feed properly when you turn your stove back on in the fall. You will have to unplug your stove to protect in if there are any lightning strikes or even a power surge can harm your stove.
You should also check your owner's manual to see if there are any other recommended cleaning and safety tips to follow. It is always smart to use caution and common sense when you are using a pellet stove. When you follow the rules and the instructions, you will see that this is a great way to heat your home.
Read the Wood Pellet Guide Here
Wood Pellets on Amazon
Traeger Industries, Inc. PEL305 Wood Pellets
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Pennington Seed Inc P90001 Wood Pellet Fuel
Amazon Price: $6.29 (as of 12/31/2009)
Premium Pellet Fuel For Your Pellet-Burning Cooker
Amazon Price: $6.95 (as of 12/31/2009)
Wood Pellet vs Corn Stoves: The choice may be out of your hands
The most popular alternatives for whole house or supplemental heating are corn and wood pellet fueled stoves. These appliances are easy to operate and the initial capital outlay is significantly less than solar, wind or geothermal systems.
A vital question to ask before you start evaluating the merits of pellet vs corn stoves should be: "Which fuel, corn or wood pellets, is the most readily available in my locale and therefore the cheapest to burn?"
For instance, in Massachusetts corn for fuel is virtually non-existent. The closest Agway store I contacted (3/2/06) had only eleven, 50 pound bags in stock at aprice of $9 each or $360 a ton.
Over the course of a New England heating season, a stove will consume 3 tons of fuel. If you compare this to $260 a ton for wood pellets from a well stocked Connecticut supplier, the wood pellet stove becomes your only choice.
Likewise, if you live in Iowa, why would you buy a wood pellet stove?
In some regions of the country, such as Wisconsin and Minnesota there is usually an abundance of wood pellets and corn. The obvious benefit is the ability to switch between fuels when one of them becomes scarce.
A perfect example is this year's wood pellet shortage. Do you think Wisconsin pellet stove owners had to think real hard about where to get corn?
However, Nancy Koval, owner of Woodburning Warehouse in Watervliet, New York, warns that when burning corn in a wood pellet stove it is best to use a50/50 mixture of wood pellets and corn.
The problem is clinkers. When corn is burned it leaves behind a substance from the sugars it contains that when cooled is very hard and stays in the burner. The clinkers must be regularly cleaned out of the stove. Some special corn stoves are designed to automatically clear clinkers, Koval said.
Wood pellet and corn stoves have much in common. They are comparably priced at around $2000 for a unit large enough to heat 1200-1500 square feet, and share an efficiency rating of approximately 80%. Corn and wood pellets also produce an equal amount of heat per pound of fuel.
Please note: Since most house layouts do not allow the free movement of air through the house, a centrally located stove will not heat the whole house. If your home doesn't have an open floor plan, size the stove to heat the room where the stove is located.
Both types of stoves require electricity to run fans, controls, and the auger that feeds corn or wood pellets into the stove's firebox. Under normal usage, they consume about 100 kilowatt-hours (kWh) or about $9 worth of electricity per month. Unless the stove has a back-up power supply, the loss of electric power results in no heat and possibly some smoke in the house.
In addition to weekly ash disposal, both corn and wood pellet stoves have an annual maintenance regimen that must be followed to ensure your stove continues to operate as efficiently as the day you bought it.
The storage of corn, as opposed to wood pellets, can be problematic. Owners of corn burning systems who store corn inside their homes need to use tight storage containers, clean up corn spills immediately, and avoid storing corn for long periods of time to prevent problems with rodents and stored grain insects.
A third option to consider is a multi-fuel stove. Typically they are advertised as corn stoves that also burn wood pellets or vice versa.
Us Stove Corn/Pellet Stove with Legs Model 6041Hf
A vital question to ask before you start evaluating the merits of pellet vs corn stoves should be: "Which fuel, corn or wood pellets, is the most readily available in my locale and therefore the cheapest to burn?"
For instance, in Massachusetts corn for fuel is virtually non-existent. The closest Agway store I contacted (3/2/06) had only eleven, 50 pound bags in stock at aprice of $9 each or $360 a ton.
Over the course of a New England heating season, a stove will consume 3 tons of fuel. If you compare this to $260 a ton for wood pellets from a well stocked Connecticut supplier, the wood pellet stove becomes your only choice.
Likewise, if you live in Iowa, why would you buy a wood pellet stove?
In some regions of the country, such as Wisconsin and Minnesota there is usually an abundance of wood pellets and corn. The obvious benefit is the ability to switch between fuels when one of them becomes scarce.
A perfect example is this year's wood pellet shortage. Do you think Wisconsin pellet stove owners had to think real hard about where to get corn?
However, Nancy Koval, owner of Woodburning Warehouse in Watervliet, New York, warns that when burning corn in a wood pellet stove it is best to use a50/50 mixture of wood pellets and corn.
The problem is clinkers. When corn is burned it leaves behind a substance from the sugars it contains that when cooled is very hard and stays in the burner. The clinkers must be regularly cleaned out of the stove. Some special corn stoves are designed to automatically clear clinkers, Koval said.
Wood pellet and corn stoves have much in common. They are comparably priced at around $2000 for a unit large enough to heat 1200-1500 square feet, and share an efficiency rating of approximately 80%. Corn and wood pellets also produce an equal amount of heat per pound of fuel.
Please note: Since most house layouts do not allow the free movement of air through the house, a centrally located stove will not heat the whole house. If your home doesn't have an open floor plan, size the stove to heat the room where the stove is located.
Both types of stoves require electricity to run fans, controls, and the auger that feeds corn or wood pellets into the stove's firebox. Under normal usage, they consume about 100 kilowatt-hours (kWh) or about $9 worth of electricity per month. Unless the stove has a back-up power supply, the loss of electric power results in no heat and possibly some smoke in the house.
In addition to weekly ash disposal, both corn and wood pellet stoves have an annual maintenance regimen that must be followed to ensure your stove continues to operate as efficiently as the day you bought it.
The storage of corn, as opposed to wood pellets, can be problematic. Owners of corn burning systems who store corn inside their homes need to use tight storage containers, clean up corn spills immediately, and avoid storing corn for long periods of time to prevent problems with rodents and stored grain insects.
A third option to consider is a multi-fuel stove. Typically they are advertised as corn stoves that also burn wood pellets or vice versa.
Us Stove Corn/Pellet Stove with Legs Model 6041Hf
Pellet Stove Blog Posts from Google
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- When buying wood pellets for your pellet stove, there are several factors that have to be known, to be able to buy the best, plus correct energy at the top.
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