Intoduction to Wood Pellet Stoves

People are looking for economical ways to heat up their homes during the cold months. Because of increasing energy prices, traditional wood stoves have become very hard to maintain. As such, more and more people have discovered that using pellet stoves is cheaper and practical. This is mainly attributed to their high efficiency in burning fuel and in heating our homes.

Pellet stoves are fueled by pellets that are made up of tightly compressed renewable materials, such as sawdust, wood, corn, and peanut shells. They are composed of complicated machinery that feeds more pellets into the fire as needed in order to maintain the desired temperature range. What the user only needs to do is to load the pellets into the holding area called the hopper, and the automated feeding device called the auger moves them to the fire when more fuel is needed to be burnt.

In terms of labor, pellet stoves are efficient in that they don’t require much effort to be maintained. The pellet stove can provide heat intermittently for one to three days or even more, depending on the size of the hopper and temperature range selected. It is not much of hassle to maintain since unlike in a traditional wood stove, you don’t have to keep on feeding wood to it in order to maintain the heat and cold cycle and keep it burning. Furthermore, pellet stoves don’t produce a substantial amount of residue unlike wood stoves. A 40-pound bag of pellets creates only less than one cup of ashes. This makes the whole cleaning process a lot easier since you can manage without emptying the ash pan for several months.

The next efficiency is in the fuel itself. As mentioned above, pellets are made from byproducts of forestry activities that otherwise would not have had any other use. Instead of dumping them in landfills or incinerating them in the wood burners of wood processing facilities, they are recycled into something useful. These renewable materials are then compressed at high temperatures without the use of chemicals like glue. Thus pellets are inexpensive since they are made of low-priced materials plus their production process is not costly. Furthermore, these pellets store really easily. They usually come in packs of 40 pounds and they take up less storage space than wood that can churn out the same energy output.

Aside from labor, price, and storage, the main efficiency of pellet stoves lies in its ability to control the right amount of air and fuel in order to keep the fire and heat steady. Through convection heat produced by the heat exchanger of pellet stoves, the temperature is kept stable. Because of this state-of-the-art technology, the fuel-to-air ratio is maintained so an almost complete combustion of the fuel is promised. Almost all of the heat is extracted out of the pellets. Thus, the pellet stoves out in the market have an efficiency of 75 to 90 percent (most are in the mid-80s) and a heat output range of about 40,000 BTU or higher. Moreover, the heat produced is released farther than it would normally go because of the negative pressure system of pellet stoves that forcibly propels the hot air produced.

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Many people are resorting to buying a pellet stove in order to save money on heating bills. But if you think about it, spending money on an expensive brand new pellet stove defeats your purpose of saving. Why buy an unused stove where you can get one for a half the price? With these enormous savings, you can even afford to pay for one year’s worth of fuel.

Buying a second-hand item has pros and cons. It is easier because you have limited choices plus you can save more money. However, it is very difficult to assure the quality of what you’re buying since you’re not its first owner. Moreover, there are updated models already out in the market. But if you do decide to settle for a second-hand pellet stove, here are a few tips on how you can make an informed choice.

Do your research first. You can immediately narrow down your choices to several pellet stoves once you’ve determined the following factors: the heating features of your house (i.e. the materials it is made of and kind of insulation), layout and size of your house (refer to the floor plan that has the dimensions of the rooms), intended purpose (heating whole or merely part of the house), and desired temperature range for both daytime and nighttime. Also determine what fuel type you need. Some fuel types are not available in all states. They may also be more expensive in some areas than in others, depending on the supplier. This factor may highly affect the cost-effectiveness of your setup.

Once you’ve identified what kind of pellet stove that you need, you should start searching for the model that would be closest to your preferences and needs. You may check the newspaper classifieds for ads or you may go to retailers that carry used pellet stoves. But if you want a more convenient way of shopping, you may start your search online. Web classified and auctions such as Craigslist and eBay contain a lot of listings. You may narrow down your search based on the brand or model that you want, and your location, among other filters.

Finally, check for the sweet extras that used pellet stove sellers include in the package. These may include the hearth pad, log set, venting pipe, and any leftover pellets. Free shipping may also be included. These small things can add up to a lot of savings on your part.

In general, buying second-hand pellet stoves can save you more money depending on their original retail price. The observed trend is that the higher the original price tag, the more the stove depreciates. No buyer would want to purchase a used item for a high price. Thus, sellers whose stoves originally cost a lot are forced to price their items lower, usually at 50 to 70 percent off.

After you’ve made a deal with a seller, talk with him/her about the delivery setup – how it will be delivered, who will do it, and when. Furthermore, don’t hesitate to contact him/her regarding any questions that you may have about, say, installation and the warranty of the pellet stove.

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