“Burning for a Cheaper Source of Heat? Part 2”

Craig Smith, Natural Resource Engineering Specialist

In many cases, people want the ambiance and heat provided by a fire without the hassles of cutting, storing and carrying firewood as well as disposing of the ashes. They also don’t want to be tied to their stove adding fuel every couple of hours. Add to that the expense of adding a chimney to an existing home (most folks don’t want a stove pipe running up the outside of their home), and a wood stove is no longer an option. Cheer up – there is another option. Pellet stoves were invented for just these reasons.

A wood pellet stove is a convenient-to-use, earth-friendly heating source. They are available as freestanding units or fireplace inserts. The freestanding units are simple to install because no chimney is required. An exhaust fan inside the heater blows the flue gases outdoors through a short double-walled vent pipe in the wall.

The efficiency and clean burning characteristics of a pellet stove are the result of burning the small pellets with a lot of combustion air. With the tremendous amount of surface area on the tiny pellets and the exhaust fan pulling the gases away, they burn completely creating no smoke and very little ash. The combustion chamber on most pellet stoves is only slightly larger than a softball.

Unlike most wood stoves, the heat output from a pellet stove is easy to adjust and can be controlled with a thermostat. A hopper on the back of the stove holds the pellets, which are dispensed into the fire pot by a small auger. When more heat is required, the speed of the auger is increased. An adjustable fan built into the stove circulates the room air through heat exchangers providing better heat dispersion.

For all its advantages, pellet stoves do have a couple of disadvantages. The circulating fan, exhaust fan and the pellet auger both require electricity to operate. Therefore when the power goes out, so does the heat from your pellet stove. Also, the pellets can be a little difficult to find in some locations. If you run out of pellets, your fire is also gone. The 40 pound bags of pellets must be kept dry and their large size makes it difficult for some people to handle.

Another type of stove that has become more prominent in the past few years is the corn stove. These stoves are an offshoot of the pellet stoves and burn shelled corn in place of the purchased pellets. In some cases, pellet stoves can be converted to burn corn. The operation and installation of the two stoves is virtually identical. The corn stove uses a 100% natural and renewable fuel that is readily available in our area.