Off Topic -Pellet Stoves

[5030]

I believe it..... but it's not an option for me (taking the appliance outside) in my scenario, I try to keep up on cleanout (weekly) so the ash don't build up. I have various brushes (a twisted wire bottle brush works excellent for getting in and behind the baffles) to clean it with.

I do pull the venting 2 times yearly and clean it inside. It's amazing how much fly ash clings to the inner liner of the venting.

One thing I've learned is to keep the vacuum physically grounded to the stove body when vacuuming it out. Static electricity can be an issue and static electricity can fry your control board.

I have a small copper wire tether from the vacuum to the stove to discharge the static electricity......

 

[Mickey_Fx]

Like several here, we have an older Whitfield. Can agree with Whistlepig's comments. Ours is a 11 yr old Advantage II insert. To date, no component failures. BIL has a newer Whitfield that is very sim to ours but is post Lenox ownership and is not near the qlty and he has had several component failures. As a few others have said, qlty of pellets are likely the source of operational issues. Tis easy to add a T-stat and I added a programmable one one 4-5 yrs ago. We do love the heat the stove put out. Oh, only takes 93W of power for the stove. Quite easy to handle that along with quite a few other things running off my 1kW genset.

For those that don't have auto ign, what I do is I use a jar with a tight seal, fill with pellets and add a small amount of charcoal starter fuel. After setting for a few hrs, its ready for use. Drop in a couple oz of soaked pellets on top a small bed of dry pellets. Does a great job of getting the fire going.

Agree with other saying regular PM is needed to keep the stove in proper working order.

For fuel cost comparison, I've posted this link several times in the past but will do so again.

Pellet Fuels Institute - Compare Fuel Costs

 

[Car Doc]

For those that don't have auto ign, what I do is I use a jar with a tight seal, fill with pellets and add a small amount of charcoal starter fuel. After setting for a few hrs, its ready for use. Drop in a couple oz of soaked pellets on top a small bed of dry pellets. Does a great job of getting the fire going.

Same here manual fired stove I use kerosene though and fill a coffee can with pellets and leave a 1/3 cup plastic measure cup inside to dip soaked pellets out. :thumbsup:

Fact we just last nite fired her up for the first time this season man its nice having a warm floor to walk across to take that late nite trip to the boys room!

 

[Luremaker]

Same here manual fired stove I use kerosene though and fill a coffee can with pellets and leave a 1/3 cup plastic measure cup inside to dip soaked pellets out... :thumbsup:

I prefer using "Dollar Store" fondu fuel. At $1 for 16 oz I can't go wrong. Fill burn box 1/3 full of wood pellets, sprinkle 1/2oz of fondu fuel on top and light with a match. 16oz bottle of gel starter fuel is around $10 at the local Home Depot.

 

[Car Doc]

Red ULSD diesel is what I would be using if we didn't have kerosene heaters around the house for emergency's.

 

[jeffmac]

I have a Whitfield Tradition...Looks very similar to the woodstove it replaced. Mine is in the middle of an open concept living space and it works great, have had it since 2000. I got it primarily because I had two small children and a red hot wood stove scared me. The pellet stove is better because only the front glass gets hot.
-Cleaning is the key. Clogged exhaust means reduced combustion air and wispy fire. I vacuum regularly and use my compressor during the off season to blow every speck of ash from it.
I have replaced the igniter and the exhauast fan but am very happy with it.
Jeff

 

[Combustix]

You really don't need a HEPA vacuum. Go get yourself a package of 'Drywall Rated' bags/liners for your shop vacuum. They are yellow, not white and a drywall rated primary filter. I use my shop vacuum in the house for appliance cleanout and have been for years using the drywall bags. Actually, I use them for all dry pickup... Not that much more expensive.

Thanks for the tip will look for them next time. Then just gotta convince the wife it's not gonna make a mess

I use the same yellow bags in my shop vac for the past few years. I go through two or three bags a season. Pick them up when they are on sale. In early summer after the heating season I take my stove outside and clean it out using my air compressor. You would not believe how much soot and ash is still in the stove after you vacuumed it out.

I'm sure it's filled as I can still see ash in places I can't reach with hose. Though lugging outside seems like a lot of work, though I'm sure it will be a lot more clean.

 

[Luremaker]

Thanks for the tip will look for them next time. Then just gotta convince the wife it's not gonna make a mess



I'm sure it's filled as I can still see ash in places I can't reach with hose. Though lugging outside seems like a lot of work, though I'm sure it will be a lot more clean.

Now, my stove is in the shop. All I have to do is roll up my skid jack and disconnect the direct vent and roll the stove outside. If is was in the house it would be a different story. In the house I have a regular wood stove.

 

[5030]

Like several here, we have an older Whitfield. Can agree with Whistlepig's comments. Ours is a 11 yr old Advantage II insert. To date, no component failures. BIL has a newer Whitfield that is very sim to ours but is post Lenox ownership and is not near the qlty and he has had several component failures. As a few others have said, qlty of pellets are likely the source of operational issues. Tis easy to add a T-stat and I added a programmable one one 4-5 yrs ago. We do love the heat the stove put out. Oh, only takes 93W of power for the stove. Quite easy to handle that along with quite a few other things running off my 1kW genset.

For those that don't have auto ign, what I do is I use a jar with a tight seal, fill with pellets and add a small amount of charcoal starter fuel. After setting for a few hrs, its ready for use. Drop in a couple oz of soaked pellets on top a small bed of dry pellets. Does a great job of getting the fire going.

Agree with other saying regular PM is needed to keep the stove in proper working order.

For fuel cost comparison, I've posted this link several times in the past but will do so again.

Pellet Fuels Institute - Compare Fuel Costs

I've considered (more than once) adding a gel cell battery backup and a small inverter but, like you, we have standby generation and the 45 second changeover isn't enough to put the appliance in shutdown.

Actually, you could run the appliance on a pair of 30 watt solar panels and gel cell batteries with an inverter.

In the past, the PFI hasn't been entirely above board in their comparisons, could have to do with manufacturers donations.....

Maybe that has changed, don't know.

 

[soulasphil]

Wow, yes, very nice setup.

How does it feed pellets from storage cell to stove ?

A long metal screw in a black plastic pipe actuated by an electric motor at the back of the burner collects the pellets falling through a slit at the bottom of the silo and feeds them into the combustion chamber. The motor is turned on as soon as fuel is needed. The silo is on the right of picture one. This screw can be curved to some extent to fit your lay out.

 

[Car Doc]

Man that is a sweet deal having bulk pellet fuel delivered Phil! :thumbsup:

I tried to get a local alfalfa feed pellet maker that was doing a half ceder wood half corn pellet (burned awesome!!!) in their off season to let me take my grain cart to get filled and they wouldn't do it for some odd reason only wanted to sell by the bag/pallet.

 

[5030]

A long metal screw in a black plastic pipe actuated by an electric motor at the back of the burner collects the pellets falling through a slit at the bottom of the silo and feeds them into the combustion chamber. The motor is turned on as soon as fuel is needed. The silo is on the right of picture one. This screw can be curved to some extent to fit your lay out.

That has to be the nicest urility room / furnace room floor I've ever seen.... You prople in France do it right.....:thumbsup:

 

[5030]

Man that is a sweet deal having bulk pellet fuel delivered Phil! :thumbsup:

I tried to get a local alfalfa feed pellet maker that was doing a half ceder wood half corn pellet (burned awesome!!!) in their off season to let me take my grain cart to get filled and they wouldn't do it for some odd reason only wanted to sell by the bag/pallet.

Perfectly understandable looking it as a for profit business. Why sell in bulk loads when bagged and palletized, the profit margin is so much better.

I've considered a pelletizing mill on more than one ocassion myself, or a briquetting mill. Old alfalfa hay makes great pellets too.

 

[PoorMansCat]

ok, being from Texas, theres not much demand for a pellet stove... Do they work the same way as my pellet grille?

 

[5030]

ok, being from Texas, theres not much demand for a pellet stove... Do they work the same way as my pellet grille?

With the supposed climate change, it may snow in Texas....lol

Lets see, you have a Treager I presume and yes, the pellet stoves and the Traeger are similar but you use special hickory pellets.

Traeger made pellet stoves at one time and may yet.

 

[Car Doc]

Perfectly understandable looking it as a for profit business. Why sell in bulk loads when bagged and palletized, the profit margin is so much better.

I've considered a pelletizing mill on more than one ocassion myself, or a briquetting mill. Old alfalfa hay makes great pellets too.

Yeah I realize that 5030 I see a sale as a sale but others have different ideas.

I know for me and my wife anyway after unloading and stacking 2 tons every year in the garage and then wagging 40lb sacks in all winter that filling a 5 gal pail with a nice handle out of the cart is so dang much easier on the body I can dream.

 

[Car Doc]

Lets see, you have a Treager I presume and yes, the pellet stoves and the Traeger are similar but you use special hickory pellets.

Traeger made pellet stoves at one time and may yet.

The food standard for pellet fuel is that they only use 100% pure wood and no glues etc and the lube they use on the extruders is food grade oil. fyi

Traegers are made in China now btw quality is pretty poor from what they were when they came from Oregon they still work the same though jmho.

(I have pellet smokers also one is a competition model and have used premium grade Oak pellet heating fuel in my smoker with no ill effects not recommending it but $4 vs $20 is tempting...) :laughing:

 

[knightrider955]

Quadrafires stoves are top quality. A little pricy but you get what you pay for. That Quadrafire Mt Vernon is a beast of a stove. I have a USSC model 6220 Pellet furnace that Im currently using. It only blows in my basement. The heat just naturaly rises and keeps the upstairs 65 degrees. Its nice walking on warm floors.

 

[5030]

Yeah I realize that 5030 I see a sale as a sale but others have different ideas.

I know for me and my wife anyway after unloading and stacking 2 tons every year in the garage and then wagging 40lb sacks in all winter that filling a 5 gal pail with a nice handle out of the cart is so dang much easier on the body I can dream.

I'm the same way. It's all a matter of economy of scale. Don't think foir a minute that I don't prefer to have the co-op feed truck auger in a couple hundered bushels of cleaned feed corn into one of my GSI grain tanks so I can go out with the FEL loaded with 5 gallon buckets and offload 10 or so and set them on the deck for later instead of doing the 40 pound plastic bag of pellets off a skid, up the stairs and in the house, but, the pellet fuel is appreciably cheaper this year so it's a bit more work than last year.... but appreciably less expensive.

Bottom line is anyone who has a bio-fuel appliance as a heat source is all about economy of scale, has a set amount of money to spend on heat or is downright cheap and I fill all 3 slots nicely.

If I was a fat cat with steel hinges on my wallet, I'd crank the central heat to 75 and keep the propane man in the green, not a bad idea actually. The owner of the propane company I deal with, I also hunt with......

 

[5030]

The food standard for pellet fuel is that they only use 100% pure wood and no glues etc and the lube they use on the extruders is food grade oil. fyi

Traegers are made in China now btw quality is pretty poor from what they were when they came from Oregon they still work the same though jmho.

(I have pellet smokers also one is a competition model and have used premium grade Oak pellet heating fuel in my smoker with no ill effects not recommending it but $4 vs $20 is tempting...) :laughing:

I didn't know any of that. I knew the pellets were different but exactly how, I wan't aware of.

I see Cabelas sells the Traeger in the catalog and in the store and they are expensive. I prefer charcoal grilled meat anyway. I have a Brinkman, one of the super heavy duty 1/8" thick plate ones that will outlast me.


I'm a bit bummed to learn the Trager is now Chi-Com. Bet the price didn't come down a penny.....