Pellet Stove Primer
There are many different types and brands of pellet stoves to choose from.
Most pellet stoves contain a hopper that you can pour the pellets into. The hoppers are sized to hold at least 1.5 bags(60 lbs) of pellets. This way you can just load up the hopper once or twice a day.
The pellets are fed from the hopper to the burn pot. There are two different methods of feeding the pellets to the burn pot, top feed and bottom feed. You may hear people debate which is better. The bottom line is that both can work equally well in a quality stove.
The heat output is controlled by how fast the pellets are fed into the burn pot. Some stoves have a dial to control the feed rate. Some stoves have a thermostat to control the feed rate by temperature. There is a small fan to that blows air through the stove and then exhausts to the outside.
Because pellet stoves are forced ventilation devices there is no need to have a chimney. Most pellet stoves can be direct vented straight out the wall to the outside.
What if I lose power ?
Pellet stoves need electricity to run the feeder and the blower. Fortunately it does not require a lot of electric power to run the stove. A small generator can easily handle the task. I have also heard of people using a deep cycle battery and an inverter to run the stove for short periods of time in an emergency.
In addition to stand alone stoves you can also buy a fireplace insert. An insert is great if you don’t want to have a stove in the middle of your living room.
Maintenance
Typical maintenance is minimal for a pellet stove. You typically need to load the hopper once a day. Every week or so you will need to empty out the ash tray. Every 2-4 weeks you may need to clean off the heat exchangers with a brush. Because there are so many moving parts it’s wise to have the stove inspected and thoroughly cleaned by a professional once a year.
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Hi, hey i have bought a quadra fire 1200 pellet stov a month ago, knowing is not that cold no more….sorry I live in Wisconsin it gets pretty cold up here.
Anyway, I’m so happy with it…what do you think about this brand name?
I had a Quadrafire for 11 years.Went through 2 computers and some other items.We had to finally take it out this past winter.No one could figure out why it kep shutting off.I was being nickle and dimed to death.My girlfriend just bought one and already having shut off problems as well. Along with a computer replacement.The stove is only a couple of months old.The service tech told her that these stoves are becoming a problem.Go figure.. Now made in China.
Quadrafire is a good brand. A couple of years ago the two best stoves were Harman’s and Quadrafires.
Does anyone have a John Deere Stove? We are have a whistling sound. I’m thinking it is the automatic ash cleaner. Reallly grates on the nerves – like fingernails on a chalk board. Thanks
THAT NOISE YOU ARE HEARING IS PROBABLY THE AUTO GRATE SYSTEM.
THERE AR 3 POINTS THAT NEED TO LUBED WITH NEVER-SEEZ.
I WORK AT A JOHN DEERE DEALER AND WE HAVE SOLD SEVERAL OF THESE STOVES. I HAVE ONE MYSELF AND I REALLY LIKE IT.
HOPE THIS HELPS YOU JULIE.
TOM
I have a Harman. Sometimes the trap door between the hopper and the auger squeeks but will go away. Any other weird noises I hear seem to correct themselves.
I installed a Quadra-Fire Mt Vernon model pellet stove in Oct. 2008. It has worked very well so far and the fan is extremely quiet. I am still experimenting with pellet types and using LG and Boreal. I think the Boreal pellets produce a little more ash. I installed my stove in the basement hoping that I would get a good flow of convection heat in the upstairs living portion of mr ranch house, but that has not been the case. I also installed a floor register and used a fan to help circulate the air but that didn’t help much. The basement is very comfortable and the floors are now much better but I want more heat upstairs. Does anyone have any thoughts or experience with this?
thanks
Do you have a furnace with ductwork? Torn it on to “fan” mode to circulate the warm air from the basement around the rest of the house.
I know this is a couple years late for a reply but you really must take into account how old the home is? Is the basement above or below ground? If it is below ground it is going to take more for the stove to heat up the basement and the rest of the house. If it is above ground you may try insulating to get more heat upstairs. The type of pellets you are using is also a factor, they have to be a low ash content, no addatives pellet. The higher the ash content and other misc the less heat you will actually get from the pellets. We have found that Packsaddle, Goldenfire, and Natures Fuel if you can get any of these brands are the best. Least ash content and most btu’s per bag of pellet. Also check your heat exchangers and your combustion fan, if your heat exchangers are plugged or if you dont check the combustion fan and oil it when you put it in you could be losing heat there. The main thing to consider is what your trying to heat downstairs and how much heat your actually going to get upstairs. Alot of pellet stoves only have a 66-75% heat return rating, so you can also anticipate that you will lose some heat there. If you are going to turn on any forced air systems fan always check the duct work, uninsulated, and/or duct work with holes can also add to your heat loss factor. Enough of my babbling though!
is anyone burning a us stove 6220 corn/pellet furnace.??
I am burning the 6100 which is just below the 6220. I like it.
HI,
I live in Western New York near Buffalo, so we get lake effect snow from Lake Erie and Lake Ontario its always COLD from Oct til April.
Looking at a Breckwell Big E 1000, what do you think of it? It’s been used and they want $500 for it?
We presently have a wood stove but want to convert over to the pellet stove? Need help on this one!!!!!!!!!!!!
I prefer to place the stove where the extisting one is, can I place it is up the chimney its stainless steel pipe?
I Live in WNY as well..near Lake Ontario–and own a Breckwell Pellet stove. I think you could replace it in your exisiting chimney with no problem as long as the chimney itself was cleaned out and ready to go and the fittings are tight and secure. I find pellets vary –heat and ash content. I have had alot of ash produced with Alleghany Pellets. One thing about pellet stoves..the bags are usually 40#..i used 1-2 bags on cold winter days..or windy days..and theyre almsot $6 bucks a bag. I use this as supplmental heat. I have my stove for 9 yrs..some problems..nothing major.
I have a breckwell Big E 1000. Cost new $1800 on sale. (avg price approx $2000 new) It works very well. Holds lots of pellets ,has 3 thermostat controls, cleans easily and heats up to approx 2200 sq ft.
How much it’s worth depends on how long it was used and if it was taken care of. Even though it is easily servicable and most parts are not to expensive to replace,there are parts that will wear out probably within 3-4 years with moderate to heavy use in cold climates.(6-7 months of use per year) Sept -march. Find out that info from the seller, inspect the stove for signs of excessive wear and go Breckwells website to see the cost of replacement parts that might be needed.If you are not handy, you will have to include installation labor $. Hope that helps.
Ibought a Harmon stove and it has been a continual nightmare. At this time I have replace almost every subassemply with the exception of the vacuum pump and the controls. I’ve now been told that the vacuum pump is going.
AAARGH”
Bought a Harmon Advance Pellet Stove . Love the auto start and thermocouple temperature feedback control as well as the Heat output. Got one complaint. When the stove slows down or is low burning and then calls for more heat, I’m getting small Puffing out of the burn pot or the fire area and it sounds like deep low small explosions. The flame actually jumps. Can get Irritating. This continues until a big flame is attained, than no problem.
I sold 200 mt vernon pellet stoves in 2008. It has proved to be unrealible at best. 50-60% service call in less than 1 year. way too many glitches. parts failing,loud tuba noise, missed igniton . stopped selling pellet stoves altogether because of this stove. If you want happness & heat,burn a woodstove
We have the Englander PDVC 25. It was very inexpensive, and works great. We are starting our third year with it soon.
The only thing is that you need to chip the ash off of the inside edge of the feed tube each time you do a monthly cleaning, which involves also scooping out the ashes from the side ash collection areas, and lifting the impingement plate out and vacuuming behind it.
We got the whole thing, including flue, for under $1500. Two tons a year nicely heats our 1600 sqft home in Wyoming.
I have a Quadra fire MT Vernon stove,and have had a few issues.But my dealer always provided me with the latest upgrades that( HHT) home hearth technologies had for the product..Other than that I love my stove.
Because we can no longer chop/haul wood, my husband and I thought about converting our Country Comfort fireplace insert to gas logs. The installer said, it would be too costly. He suggested wood pellets. Is it that simple? Replace cut logs with pellets? Or do we have to switch out the insert too? Advice please. (We live in eastern NC)
I would think you would have to change out the insert, inorder to accomodate a pellet insert.
Can anyone tell me which is ideal for a pellet stove—-sparks or flames. In the past we had sparks but try as we might flame is our only option which produces a very sooty window
We bought a Harman P 43 in September 2010 and have had to have it serviced 4 times for a loud squealing noise. They replaced the auger, then came back and filed the edges of the new auger, now they’re telling us to spray the hopper with something that will turn the creosote to powder so it won’t rub and create the noise. We run the stove HOT all the time and scrape the burn pot every day or so, so it’s hard to believe creosote is the issue. Anyone have any experience with this?
I have a brand new Brickwell pellet stove. alot of pellets keep missing the pot all around and then catching on fire. I have changed the feed, Tried different pellets I am lost on what to do.
My 2-day old Breckwell has the same problem – the fresh pellets often miss the burn pot and collect next to it. Aside from the waste of good pellets, I think it may also be a fire hazard since they sometimes smolder. Tmorrow I’m going to se the dealer… wish me luck.
Spoke with the dealer today – he claims it’s a matter of too much air, which I don;t believe. BUT … Breckwell apparently has an adapter for one of their large stoves. It’s a welded steel collar that sits on top of the burnpot, and has a slanted front to catch the extra pellets. My dealer had one in stock for $34; I haven’t had a chance to try it yet, but it looks like it might work on the Tahoe as well. I will try it tomorrow…
I tried the Breckwell collar described above, but it sticks up too far and occasionally a pellet falling out of the chute would hit the back edge (just under the chute). I was able to cut a part of that back edge off with a Dremel cutting disk, and it seems to now work OK.
I still wonder, though, whether a stove which feds the pellets in from the back, instead of dropping them into the burn pot, might have been a better buy. Watching a Harmon stove in the dealer’s showroom, I don’t see any of the sparks that constantly swirl inside my stove. Oh well…
I had the same problem with a new stove. The fire was so hot outside the pot that it warped the panel below the door. That can’t be good. In fact, hot burning coals fell onto the floor. I called Breckwell. They sent a rectangular metal sleeve that fits over the burn pot. It sticks up about a inch and a half and catches 99% of the pellets and keeps them in the fire box.
I had a problem with pellets missing the burn pot as well. On my Breckwell there is an screw on the bottom of the burnpot assembly . Minor adjustment and no more problems —100% in the burnpot now.Another tip is to make sure that the area below the ash pan — on the bottom of the stove — is fairly clean of ashes –otherwise the burnpot assembly will not be seated squarely at the back of the stove— if that happens you will have pellets everwhere.
Had to change bearings in my blower motor– trick to get set screw loose on blower wheel is to get it hot and then while its hot apply candle wax to the set screw — long handle T20 screwdriver –prefer the factory motor because of the bearings!