Pellets

[JackK]

My landlord just let me know that she wants to install a pellet stove in my apartment. Considering it costs a fortune to heat it in oil (old and drafty) hopefully this will help.

Anyone have any suggestions on good pellet brands, and where to get them north of Boston? I don't mind driving a bit to pick them up if need be. Figure I should try and get them ASAP rather than waiting until it starts getting crazy cold.

[ProfessorM]

I luv my Harman. Well made and been in the market for quite a while.
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[The Dad Fisherman]

The Building supply where my wife works gets pellets for the winter...I can price out for you if you are interested.

[trevier]

you should tell your landlord to have an energy audit done. What's the sense of using a pellet stove if the house is drafty? Fix the drafts then install the stove imo,

[JackK]

I agree Matt- I'm in the queue for new windows. The main house got them this summer, but she didn't have enough cash for my side. She's planning on moving the pellet stove that was in the main over to my side, so the only expense I have is pellets. If it costs me a pallet (or less) to heat my small two room apartment for the winter I'm still coming out ahead.

[iamskippy]

Originally Posted by ProfessorM

I luv my Harman. Well made and been in the market for quite a while.
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Agreed! I get my Pellets from pellets direct, if you know what stove you have you can google for the best pellets, tons of youtube vid's out there with independents doing tests.
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[ProfessorM]

sorry I thought you were asking about stoves. As far as pellets go some my stove burns good and others my stove doesn't like so much. There are tons of brands out there. Softwood and hardwood. Lots of choices. I tend to stay away from the big box store brands as those are the ones my stove didn't like so much. I have had good luck with Heartland and New England. Obviously buying by the pallet, ton, is much cheaper than the individual bag here and there.

[Bill L]

I like the Vermont pellets, they burn very clean with little ash and have good btu output
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[The Dad Fisherman]

I'd second New England.....I use those most of the time
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[FishermanTim]

Originally Posted by Bill L

I like the Vermont pellets, they burn very clean with little ash and have good btu output
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2X

My brother has oil heat, mostly for heating water, and had a wood stove in his basement. Wood stoves are nowhere as efficient as pellet stoves.

I agree with Prof. that some pellets don't burn as cleanly, or have to much moisture which causes them to clump and burn unevenly.

Vermont has been great for him!

[trevier]

[QUOTE=FishermanTim;1015369]2X

My brother has oil heat, mostly for heating water, and had a wood stove in his basement. Wood stoves are nowhere as efficient as pellet stoves.

I agree with Prof. that some pellets don't burn as cleanly, or have to much moisture which causes them to clump and burn unevenly.

Vermont has been great for him![/QUOT
maybe not, but I don't pay for my pellets, there's the difference. I love my soapstone woodstove, holds heat awesome and runs if the electric goes out.

[FishermanTim]

[QUOTE=trevier;1015409]

Originally Posted by FishermanTim

2X

My brother has oil heat, mostly for heating water, and had a wood stove in his basement. Wood stoves are nowhere as efficient as pellet stoves.

I agree with Prof. that some pellets don't burn as cleanly, or have to much moisture which causes them to clump and burn unevenly.

Vermont has been great for him![/QUOT
maybe not, but I don't pay for my pellets, there's the difference. I love my soapstone woodstove, holds heat awesome and runs if the electric goes out.

Wood burning stoves, like fireplaces, are not efficient ways to heat a house. Heat a room? probably more likely, as the stove and fireplace need air for combustion, and they draw the warm air from the room into the fire and vent the heat up the smoke stack. Where does the air come from to replace the air used for combustion? Outside, of course.
It is common for a room with a fireplace or wood stove to get colder the longer it burns, since the fire is constantly bringing in cold air to replace the air used in combuction.

Pellet stoves have a dedicated intake line which brings in air from outside directly to the combustion chamber, where the room air is drawn AROUND the chamber, heated, and blown back out into the room. One bag of pellets can heat my brothers house (8 rooms plus 2 baths) for most of a weekend. One feature I love on his stove is the controls that govern how much pellets are fed into the combustion chamber and how fast the air is circulated around that chamber.

Some wood stoves are being made with this same dedicated combuction air line and fan for moving room air around the chamber, but most older stoves don't do this. Older stoves exhaust more heat up the flue than thay create in the room.