Turn Waste Wood into Home Heat: Buy a Pellet Stove
(Page 2 of 6)
February/March 2009
By Steve Maxwell
Filling the stove’s pellet hopper is a fairly easy job, although it takes a little practice to do it without causing dust to enter the room. Filling frequency depends on heat demand. At the minimum heat level, the stove might only burn 1 pound of pellets an hour. In cold weather when the load is high, and if you have a large space to heat, you might burn as much as 5 pounds per hour, meaning you will be adding a bag of fuel up to three times a day. Of course, the amount of fuel you need to use will depend on your climate zone, general energy efficiency of your house and the area being heated. Brad Leonard, a pellet heating expert with Renewable Energy in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, advises his customers to plan on using an average of one bag of fuel for each day of the heating season.
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Ash removal is another necessary task, although its frequency depends on fuel quality and the type of burn pot the stove model uses. For some models, ash removal is a daily job; others can run for several days without ash removal. The ash content of the fuel is another factor that affects the rate of buildup.
Ash also builds up downstream of the burn pot and ash pan. Tiny particles called fly ash are carried in the exhaust stream through the heat exchanger and into the exhaust fan housing and venting system. These areas need to be cleaned to keep the stove running properly. A buildup of fly ash can cause an exhaust flow restriction, which will trip a pressure-sensitive switch, shutting the stove down. You will either need a professional to service the stove frequently or learn where these important nooks and crannies are so you can clean them yourself.
The best way to remove fly ash is with a vacuum cleaner — either a special pellet stove vacuum or a shop vacuum with a drywall filter. The frequency of vacuuming depends on fuel ash content, stove design, venting configuration and how much fuel you use. You may need to clean the vent twice a year; but internal parts such as the fan housing, as often as every two weeks.
Cost of Pellets
How does the cost of pellet heating compare with other options? That’s a tricky question because of regional differences and because energy prices are volatile these days. Leonard says that pellet heating is currently about the same cost as natural gas and roughly half the cost of oil. In cities, pellets compare favorably with cut, split and delivered firewood, although firewood tends to be significantly cheaper in rural areas. That makes pellet heating one of the best buys for urban or suburban home heating. Leonard says that 50 bags, or 1 ton of pellets, is roughly equivalent in heating power to a full 4-foot-by-4-foot-by-8-foot cord of firewood. These are general guidelines, so when considering if pellet heating is suitable for your household, you should do your own research to confirm local pricing.
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