Pellet Stove

September 2, 2002

Pellet stoves can be another alternative for those who are looking for alternative heat sources but want to avoid the labour of chopping firewood.

They come in a variety of designs, many looking just like woodstoves. Have a look here at some models from a Canadian manufacturer: www.pelletstovewholesale.com/

Below is a cutaway from the same website showing the blower, auger, pellet hopper and firebox:

Pellet stove, wood pellet stove cut away, pellet stove

Compared to woodstoves, pellet stoves differ in a few ways. First, you buy the pellets and it will cost you. Second, pellet stoves consume electricity, anywhere from 300-900 watts depending on their features. A automatic self-starting stove will use 900 watts to ignite the pellets if the stove has been turned off and around 300 for the auger motor and fan motor so they are not "free" like woodstoves.

However, many find the convenience of not having to chop wood, cleaner and easier to handle fuel requirements a big benefit.

If you are in the market for a woodstove you should really have a look at pellet stoves as the technology is much better than it was a few years ago. The new models often feature thermostatic control and can be turned on/off in a simple manor, in fact as easily as you walk to your wall-mount thermostat and turn on your gas furnace. All it takes is loading some pellets into the stove's hopper and plugging it into an electrical outlet.

Chimney exhaust hookup is similar to woodstoves. However, most pellet stoves are EPA exempt because they burn very clean, cleaner than the best-burning woodstoves.

The environmental benefit is that you are cleanly burning material which would otherwise be waste. Pellets are made from waste wood by-products.

For myself I chose a woodstove simply because I'm fit and young enough to chop firewood and I save on fuel costs that way. I might change my mind later in life though!

For more information visit: http://hearth.com/what/pelletstoves.html