pellet stove 101

[bazman]

New to site.
New to the idea of wood pellets. Saw New Englander on sale at home depot, and it piqued my interest.
Everything i have learned has been on this forum, so far.
i am looking into these stoves as an alternative to huge gas bills.
a few questions that people may help with (please be gentle if some of these are lame)
1) is there any installation requirements, besides a place on the floor to place the stove
2) is there a smoke / smell emitted from the stove
3) can normal wood be used.
4) if not can you take normal wood to a pellet store of some kind to turn regular wood into pellets.
5) i have a 19th century 1800 sq ft house that can cause ~$350 in the coldest Boston months. can a new englander 1500 or 2200 sq ft stove heat the house primarily independent of the gas heating.
6) What features are good value or a waste of $

all help would be much appreciated.

 

[Nyquil Junkie]

4) if not can you take normal wood to a pellet store of some kind to turn regular wood into pellets.

Why?

But the do make pellet mills to do that, you dump in sawdust and shavings and it spits out pellets.
They are pretty pricey but I'd kill to have one just to play with.

I've often wondered why they dont run marijuana through those little mills and just make bags of weed pellets.

I'd think they'd be easier to smuggle and cut/scale.

I was thinking of all the cool stuff you can make with a pellet mill..... bunny pellets, cat litter, fire pellets, beef jerky pellets..... the list goes on.

I know people with big wood pellet stoves, they do kick out a nice heat and need little attention but to full the hopper.

If someone gave me one, I'd install it in the back room just for those days when I dont wanna carry wood. I don;t know how durable they are, Ive seen a few for sale with broken augers or bad motors. You probably get the quality you pay for.

You can burn corn in them too, thats pretty neat. Some multi fuel stoves will burn pellets, corn, wheat, and other stuff.

You could run corn stalks though the pellet mill and make fuel from that too.
cardboard... newspaper.... Jehovahs witnesses.... almost anything burnable I bet you could make into pellets.

 

[North of 60]

This thread is gonna need more help than I can give. Me tinx Niquil has a fix on the electric lettuce right now. Poooook, time to joint/...join in. Good luck and WELCOME Bazman.

 

[begreen]

moved to the pellet forum for a more targeted response.

 

[Stentor]

New to site.
New to the idea of wood pellets. Saw New Englander on sale at home depot, and it piqued my interest.
Everything i have learned has been on this forum, so far.
i am looking into these stoves as an alternative to huge gas bills.
a few questions that people may help with (please be gentle if some of these are lame)
1) is there any installation requirements, besides a place on the floor to place the stove
2) is there a smoke / smell emitted from the stove
3) can normal wood be used.
4) if not can you take normal wood to a pellet store of some kind to turn regular wood into pellets.
5) i have a 19th century 1800 sq ft house that can cause ~$350 in the coldest Boston months. can a new englander 1500 or 2200 sq ft stove heat the house primarily independent of the gas heating.
6) What features are good value or a waste of $

all help would be much appreciated.

I have only one year of experience with pellet stoves but here are some answers.

1) Yes. A small platform for the stove to sit on and some place for an exhaust, an existing chimney or a small hole into the wall or roof.
2) No, not indoors. There is a small amount of smoke you can barely see and some gases but they get exhausted through the pipe up the chimney or outside.
3) No. Pellets are ground and compressed sawdust. Some stoves also burn other fuels like corn.
4) No. You buy pellets usually by the ton in lots of fifty 40lb bags. around boston, prices range from about $220 to $290 per ton most places this year around Boston.
5) Maybe. Depends on your house layout. I used to pay about your amount and did mine primarily with pellets last season for about 2/3 my previous cost.
6) Many answers. You can get some opinions here. I say get a good quality stove, the better quality pellets (I like Okanagan, Rocky Mountain, a few others) and above all a dealer with an established reputation.

Use the search box for names of stoves you might be interested in. You should also check the knowledge base of articles in this forum. And you can get a lot of information here from experts and interested amateurs who post here. But buyer beware. Most of the people who post here seem really OK and helpful, but a lot of them are in the business and while they won't likely deliberately do harm, they have their own perspectives and interests. Remember also that I can't give you technical answers. Visit a couple of dealers in your area.

If you are still interested, post more questions. (Also, remember that your town or city probably requires a building permit and safety inspection.)

All that said, I am really glad I bought a pellet stove. I'm getting payback over time and the house is extra warm and comfortable. Good luck.

 

[dac122]

1) is there any installation requirements, besides a place on the floor to place the stove

Yes each stove has unique requirements. I suggest you read the install manual cover to cover before buying and ask any questions.

2) is there a smoke / smell emitted from the stove

No. The forced air process requires the door be shut for relatively precise air control. Most units will shutdown if the door is opened as a safety feature.

3) can normal wood be used.

No, just pellets.

4) if not can you take normal wood to a pellet store of some kind to turn regular wood into pellets.

There are pellet mills you can buy but they are very expensive and I doubt worth your time. Once you buy a pellet stove you are at the mercy of pellet manufacturers and their distributors.

5) i have a 19th century 1800 sq ft house that can cause ~$350 in the coldest Boston months. can a new englander 1500 or 2200 sq ft stove heat the house primarily independent of the gas heating.

Without knowing what kind of heat loss your home has its hard to say as houses vary. I would say based on your sq ft you'd need a larger stove, but that's just a guess. You could use the BTU output of your current heat sources to give you a rough idea.

6) What features are good value or a waste of $

Electric start seems to be pretty popular. Ability to hook up external thermostat. If you shop around you'll like see some other features.