About

In 2005 I went through the decision process to purchase a pellet stove. I created this site to share some of the information I had learned. Hopefully this will help others when considering wood pellets as an alternative fuel source.

For years I have been aware that pellet stoves existed. Whenever someone mentioned a pellet stove I would scoff at the idea. Why would I want to to spend $1300 on a stove when you can buy fuel oil for $1.20/gallon ? How long before you get your return on investment ?

Fast forward to 2002. We bought a house with electric heat. Our monthly electric bill was close to $600/month during the heating season ! We contacted oil and gas companies about a new heating system. The upfront cost for a fuel oil based system was about $15,000. In addition the cost for oil and gas have risen sharply.

A relative mentioned that two of his friends had pellet stoves and they were really nice. I then started to do some research on the web and visited a few local dealers.

Ultimately we ended up with a Harmond fireplace insert. We went through almost 3 tons of pellets last season at a cost of about $750. We keep the house at a comfy 70-72 degerees.

Because of Hurricane Katrina and the crisis in the middle east there was a huge demand for pellet stoves last season. As a result there was a shortage of pellet fuel. The price had risen from $170/ton the previous season to close to $250/ton. I was calling every local retailer and stopping in to my local Walmart and Home Depot almost on a daily basis. It ticked me off to have this $3000+ stove but no fuel for it. We did manage to scrape enough bags to get us through the winter and near the end of the season it was easier to find supplies.

4 Comments »

  1. SHARON SLATTERY said,

    September 21, 2007 @ 3:56 pm

    WE ARE INTERESTED IN MAYBE CARRYING YOUR PELLETS IN OUR STORE. COULD YOU GET ME YOUR PRICING AND ACCOUNT APPLICATION AS WELL AS PHONE NUMBERS TO CONTACT YOU. I WOULD APPRECIATE IT.

  2. outdoor electric fireplace said,

    March 26, 2008 @ 1:35 pm

    outdoor electric fireplace…

    And with the current outsourcing we are really cutting into our own foot. Korea/ Japan took over our consumer hardware innovation for a large part. Do we really think we can keep software innovation to ourselves? With this directive we are driving inno…

  3. CENTRAL BUILDING SUPPLY said,

    September 10, 2008 @ 11:41 am

    How does somecone contact to buy your woodpellets?

  4. Paul Chauret said,

    October 12, 2008 @ 9:14 am

    Hello,

    Could you please provide me with a phone number or an address (with a name if any) so I can have contact to buy some wood pellet.

    I’m from Gatineau, Qc.

    Thank you and have a nice day.

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Some of these pages are getting huge. I created a forum which is better suited for discussions. If you're a seasoned pellet user then join the forum (click here) to help out the new users. Let's give it a try. Thanks!