This photo will probably freak out some of you...

[krooser]

Having my pellet stash this close to the stove.

But I have to tell you the bags don't get very warm... just barely. I picked these up last week and just brought a couple into the house. The next morning my son came over and wanted to use my trailer... the one the pellets were sitting on. So we quickly unloaded them all into my porch... next to the stove. I usually have 20 or so there... not 50.

Here's a shot of a happy stove chugging along after the first cleaning of the season.

 

[imacman]

Krooser, I see you have a pot of coffee on....I'll have mine with 1 Splenda and a little cream please.

 

[krooser]

Krooser, I see you have a pot of coffee on....I'll have mine with 1 Splenda and a little cream please.

That's my redneck humidifier....

 

[mark d fellows]

Yeah, that freaks me out a little. I expected to make some smart comment like "That's totally freaking me out, man!" But seriously, that makes me nervous!

 

[krooser]

Yeah, that freaks me out a little. I expected to make some smart comment like "That's totally freaking me out, man!" But seriously, that makes me nervous!

The bags get about as warm as a cup of coffee... I been keeping a supply there for two seasons (this is my third)... I've always been kind of a rebel....

Really... I do quite a bit of welding and fabricating in my shop so I'm used to being around fire and sparks. The stove door never gets opened when it's running so the chance of a spark causing a problem is nil... you can touch the outside of the stove when it's running so that won't be a problem either.

As I mentioned, this is rare that I have this many in the house. BTW... look closely and you'll see another stack next to the door!

 

[shisits]

Another Uncle Jed's user. I love the heat they put out. I got 5 tons of Uncle Jed's just waiting to be burned except I only put about 4 bags at a time in near the stove.

 

[pellet burner]

Not to mention the tile "hearth pad" doesn't appear the have any grout between the tile. What if some hot ash got between the tiles?

 

[Doocrew]

Keep that redneck humidifier topped off with water. You can use it to extinguish the fire.

 

[woodsman23]

I think that whole setup is kinda "redneck" and should be looked into soon. It just all looks makeshift with tile just laying on the floor with cinder block raising the stove up and pellets stacked way to close for comfort in MHO. ASre there kids in the house?? and if so i would make things just a bit safer. Well i'd do it anyways.

 

[Wood Nugget]

80% of all stove problems are caused by dirty stoves…
the other 20%???

 

[littlesmokey]

Krooser:

Don't let them get to you. I would bet you are outside the distance to combustibles required by the manufacturer. To calm the terrorized down, throw a welding blanket over them, even a used one is more attractive than the plastic bags.

Frankly, I've been know to stack a few green wood boards next to mine to hasten the drying. If you flip them around every few days it helps.

 

[krooser]

Another Uncle Jed's user. I love the heat they put out. I got 5 tons of Uncle Jed's just waiting to be burned except I only put about 4 bags at a time in near the stove.

Wimp...hahaha

The Jed's are good...priced right, too.

Not to be a smart ass but I don't know how you guys can worry about "hot" ashes and such. I've never had a problem with my stove set-up. Yeah I know it ain't pretty but it works. I don't believe I've ever spilled any ashes. heck, my wife cleans the stove when I'm on the road and she's hasn't had any problems either.

My stove tech passed it.... he did the inspection after I installed my stove and complemented me by metioning me he'd never seen a stove that didn't register ANY carbon monoxide leaks on his meter... except for mine. Not bad since he's been installing and inspecting stoves for years. There's also a concrete floor under the blocks and tile.

With all due respect, you guys out east are so innudated with gov't rules, regulations, state taxes, city taxes, fees, tolls and the like that some guys have forgotten that this is still America where we are free to live as we chose whether it's a $10,000,000 mansion in Hyde park or a $500 double wide in Eastern Kentucky. Or, in my case, a drafty, worn out 120 year old two story in Cheeseland.

Maybe I'm being a little harsh....

"Live free or Die!"....

 

[Stentor]

Is it temporary? You said you and your son had to unload the trailer and bring a lot of bags into the house. If the idea is to use up the bags by the stove, and store others a little distance away, then you have a small risk over a short time. But when you have a small risk over a long period of time, the odds shift more against you.

That said, it's a matter of individual choice and the risk (if any) is up to you.

 

[daydreamer]

I just hope your house insurance company doesn't read this forum. It would be a bad thing if you had a fire and there was this picture of all those pellets sitting next to the stove.

 

[yknotcarpentry]

hey "live free or die" is New Hampshires licence plate motto so don't blame the entire eastern region....lol looks as if you meet clearances to combustables as long as nothing falls over

 

[defield]

Krooser,

Everyone seems to be focusing on the stack of pellets . . . . . .

Looks like a window behind the stove, what does your outside exhaust venting look like?

Just wondering . . . .

Ranger

 

[Xena]

Not freaking me out since it's not my house.

Ranger I believe krooser has a horizontal vent.
See pics here: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/29847/

 

[Sawduster]

Fire last night in Waterbury, VT caused by pellet stove - almost burned the house down. As more and more people get these things, and don't observe common sense precautions, there are going to be more fires!

 

[firewarrior820]

It's funny , somehow it doesn't bother me .

 

[Clay H]

Aint freakin me out but i wouldn't do it like that, to each his own but you don't get a second chance at safety most times. If the stack were even 6-8" further away, it would be alot better IMO.

 

[krooser]

Yeah, I've got a horizontal vent.... it sticks out far enough to meet code. I forget the # but the end of the vent had to be X number of inches from an opening window and it exceeds that dimension. I'd snap a photo of that but I'd start a whole new round of histeria 'cuz my wife plants are still alive and are under, and around, the vent.

I laid a thermometer next to the pellet stack last nite with the stove running on #2. It read 105 F. I guess there won't be any spontaneus combustion going on. The side of the stove is probably 130F... it's not like a wood stove where the outside temp is the same as inside the stove. I'm going to move some of those pellets so I can get in the side of my stove to clean it out.

I actually posted those pix to jazz you guys up a little... it seems to be working! It's kinda the anti- "what a beautiful stove and nice house " thread. Nothing against you if you have that perfect house with the professional install... I used to have the same thing when I had a new house and heated with a pretty neat wood stove back in the 70's. But I have a used stove in an old house. I bought the stove, used, because I couldn't afford a new stove.... and I couldn't afford my NG bill anymore. I installed it myself because I couldn't afford to have someone else do it. Pretty? No. But safe? yep...

I kinda got on you guys in the NE in my earlier post and I certainly didn't mean to "dis" anyone. I've spent a lot of windshield time in your part of the country since the early 70's. Met a lot of great folks and seen tons of great scenery. My point was that those of us in "flyover" country have it a little easier than you guys.

 

[Andy H]

Just like people that do their own electrical work in their homes, it's fine but you better do it right. Because god forbid you ever have a fire and you have a fire inspector and insurance agent come in and notice that you did something wrong.... say like using 20 amp breakers with 14 gauge wire you can bet the insurance agent is going to do everything they can think of to try and not pay you.

If you have a fire in your house even from another cause and they walk in and see that I'm guessing it's not going to be a good thing

just not worth the risk if you ask me

And it's fine if you want to "stir the pot" or whatever you're talking about I guess, but it just seems kinda silly if you ask me.

 

[krooser]

I remodeled my kitchen and bath in 1991 (?) and did all the work myself with some help from my sons and wife, of course. The city didn't require permits back then but I had all of my plumbing and electrical work checked by local guys in the respective fields and they gave me a thumbs up.

I also built my own pole building (1500 sq. ft)... rather I disassembled an existing building, trucked the material 25 miles, and reassembled it on my lot. I had to draw my own plans and get the load specs on the old roof trusses in order to get the building inspector to OK the permit. Again, I did my own electrical work and I installed my own heating (a few years later). No problems with the inspector at all. I wanted a shop to replace the aging 20X20 that was falling down but my budget was pretty small... my sweat equity was the only thing that made it happen. I have $5K in it....

These days I really don't like swinging a hammer or working at "honey-do" projects although sometimes I'm forced into it. The SECOND time we remodeled the kitchen I informed my bride that this was the last time I'd be doing any carpentry around the house. We have two young sons who are more than capable of taking care of her projects. I'm getting too darn old to be busting my butt on the road every week to come home and work another two days every week on some remodeling project... I told her I was willing to teach her to weld and fabricate and she could finish my latest hot rod project and I'd do her next remodel.

That idea was met with silence and "the look"....

I lke working out in my shop, playing with my old stuff out there.

Here's a pic of the pick-uo I built for my wife a few years ago. Someday i hope she'll learn to appreciate all the hard work and planning that went into it...

 

[slls]

As long as you pellets are at or beyond what the manufactures distance from the stove is, no problem. Mine on the side is 6 inches.

 

[krooser]

As long as you pellets are at or beyond what the manufactures distance from the stove is, no problem. Mine on the side is 6 inches.

Never thought of THAT arguement... thanks.