Choosing The Right Pellets For Pellet Stove Usage
Knowing how to choose the right pellets for pellet stove heating is very important to ensure you get the most BTU's, or energy efficiency for your money. Pellet stove pellets come in a variety of qualities and kinds, from common wood pellets to corn or other biofuel types that are made from reclaimed material. To get the most for your money purchasing pellets for pellet stove heating always choose pellets that have 10% or less moisture.
If you have already purchased a new pellet stove, you may already have a bag of pellets that either came with your stove or were given to you by the store where you purchased your stove. When it is again time to buy pellets for pellet stove heating make sure you choose a certified clean pellet or EPA approved brand. The common kinds of wood pellets are the long varieties which tend to burn weaker as they don't feed as much fuel to the fire as shorter pellets do. Using corn biofuel pellets provide 96% of the Btu's of standard wood pellets and are less expensive in cost, affording more heating to your home for less money annually. Keep in mind that there are multi fuel pellet stoves that are designed to run on a variety of fuel sources. Using low quality pellets for pellet stove heating can cause poor heat generation as well as other problems such as ash build up and additional stove maintenance. These problems are at most minimal and when compared to the affordability versus the cost of premium wood pellets, corn and other biofuel pellets are more cost effective choices as fuel for pellet stoves.
New pellet stoves are designed to run almost maintenance free and when properly installed can provide substantial heat to your home at a fraction of the cost of more traditional heating methods. There are some pellet stove parts that move so you should always consider this in your initial stove purchase. There are 2 basic types of pellet stoves, top and bottom feeders. Top loading pellet stoves drop the pellets from the feeder into the hopper, and using lower quality pellets can cause “clinkers” that are a build up of ash that load up in the hopper. Bottom feeding stoves push the pellet into the stoves pan and don't clog the stoves combustion chambers.
In some states there are discounts for purchasing local manufactured pellets, such as corn, and other biofuel pellets, each pellet type will have BTU and heating efficiency information, and specifics for top and bottom feeding pellet stoves. Having the right heating quality information when buying pellets for pellet stove heating in your home can help you save money and heat your home more efficiently and effectively.
