Pellet Stoves are an increasingly popular choice for home heating both Nationally and World-Wide. Biomass Pellets are an environmental friendly fuel. They are made from Domestic Renewable resources, compressed wood and agricultural waste. No New Trees Are Used. They contain little sulfur or other potentially harmful elements that are found in Non-Renewable coal and petroleum products. The fuel for pellet stoves is dry - typically under 10% moisture content. Even well seasoned firewood commonly has twice the moisture content of pellets. In addition, some pellets are now made from paper, cardboard and other waste materials. More pellet plants are opening all the time, making this fuel ever more affordable.

Pellet burning combustion chambers are relatively small which enables them to maintain high temperatures to burn gases before they escape out of the fire. This small but hot fire is maintained by controlling and limiting the amount of fuel present in order to have the proper air to fuel ratio. A conventional wood stove would have to be frequently stoked with SMALL amounts of DRY wood to operate comparably.

Pellet-burning appliances rely on a microprocessor to determine how much fuel should be burned, and a convection blower to produce the amount of heat you want. Unlike a conventional wood stove, pellet stoves and inserts utilize mechanical air-supply systems. Less popular stoves are designed with a forced-draft system, using a fan to force air into the combustion chamber. This system requires a vertical run of pipe through the roof. The more popular induced-draft, or negative pressure, system uses its fan to draw air from the combustion area through the exhaust system, allowing the stove to be vented horizontally through an outside wall.

Pellet-burning appliances are highly efficient and pollute very little. Overall operating efficiencies (the amount of heat delivered inside the room as opposed to the amount of wasted heat going up the flue) of pellet stoves is high. Pellet stoves efficiencies are typically 8 to 10 times better than fireplaces, 1-1/2 to 3 times better than wood stoves, and comparable to the best natural gas furnace. They furnish 7,000 to 40,000 BTU per hour. Because these stoves burn wood so efficiently, some do not even need a chimney. Instead, fumes are exhausted to the outdoors through an inexpensive 3' double-wall pipe.

Pellet-burning appliances are almost as simple to use as gas, oil, and electric heaters. Heating with a pellet stove or insert is clean, convenient, and safe. They need refueling less often than regular wood-burning stoves. One filling per day is usually all that is required, rather than numerous trips to the wood pile. To refuel, you simply pour the pellets into a hopper, and they are automatically fed into the burn grate as needed. A corkscrew-shaped device called an auger transfers the pellets. The most popular and efficient type of auger system is a top-fed design.

Pellets are compressed and bagged for clean, easy storage and handling, and do not produce the mess created by the handling of cord wood. These are no slivers, dirt, or bug infested pieces to contend with. An equivalent amount of pellets will usually store in about 1/3 the space of cord wood.

Pellet stoves burn cleanly, so very little pollution is released. They produce virtually no visible smoke, and less odor than conventional wood-burning appliances. Glass windows which allow viewing of the fire are standard. Pellet stoves are designed with special built in heat shields which allow them to be placed very near a wall. The exteriors are not used for radiating heat and stay relatively cool, preventing burns if you accidentally touch the surface. Whitfield also has pellet inserts to convert your existing masonry or pre-fabricated fireplace.