Pellet Fuel Selection
Pellet Stoves use biofuel products
from used pallet, saw dust, wood chips or other wood product that usually can end up in our landfills.
Small wood pellets similar to what we link with animal food, approximately, are produced by squeezing the discarded products into a deminsion acceptable for pellet stoves.
Fuel for pellet stoves a couple of grades of pellets.. The
premium grade makes up roughly 95 percent of the pellets produced, the balance of the production is standard grade which quite commonly
is used in agriculture as animal bedding. To decrease jamming
and or bridging from occurring in a pellet stove, manufactures try to meet the
best grade standard for range. The optimum
favorable deminsion is normally smaller then 1.5 inches in length and better
to be even smaller then 1 inch to advoid
bridging from happining in the hopper of the pellet
stove as the pellets drop onto the
auger. The best grade pellets will have no more them 1 percent ash content once
the pellets are burned. If there is a large amount of bark mixed into
the pellet fuel, there will be a higher amount of ash content. The
paler in color the pellet fuel are indicators of the amount of bark, e.g. very dark indicates a lot of bark, with little
or no bark the pellets are very light in color. The grade of pellet is not determined
by the hardness of the wood as both hard and soft woodare used. The
type of wood that will be used will be determinedby the available source
of wood that the pellet mill has available for their production process.
It always is a great idea to try different manufactures
of pellet fuel before deciding on your finale decision
to deside on,
which manufacture performs best for your pellet stove. Before you stock up to keep your home warm for the winter.
Different brands of pelletscan have different
prices. Often the lower cost pellets can
be a better value for your money, don't decide
only on cost
Inspect the pellet fuel
as you pour the sack full into your pellet stove, be sure there is not a lot of loose
fines in the bottom of the bag although some saw dust fines will will not be abnormal. Some pellet stoves do not
feed these loose sawdust very good, nor do these loose sawdust make
very much heat value as the fines usually just turn into fly ash, meaning
more extra cleaning is required to keep you pellet stove air passages from being constrained. Some home owners pre screen the saw dust out of the pellet to to be sure that the pellet
stove feeds correctly. Do make sure
the pellet manufacture is supplying premium grade or compairablepellet fuel, as this information should be listed on the bag.
The Pellet Fuel Institute has set standards for pellet fuel to help the consumer to able to be better inform for choosing what grade of pellet fuel that is appropriate
for their brand) of stove.
Checking to see if the manufacturer of the pellet fuel
belongs to the Institute usually is a good guage of the the manufacturer of the pellets
is trying to supply a good product. The membership will be posted on the bag./p>
A not so uncommon question that is ask frequently, can my pellet stove burn corn kernels. The
answer is yes maybe, but you will need to combine with the
corn. Kernals of corn produce more heat and is possible to shut off the stove, by tripping a saftey switch from the high heat from the corn, so be careful not to be too aggressive with high heat setting. Remains
from the burnt corn has a excessive amount of clinker
that areleft in the burn pot. Manual removal of the hard clinkers that have built will be necessary, usually with a scraper,
causing frequent scrapping of the clinker then would
be experienced with buildup from wood pellets. By keeping the burn pot clean of this clinkers, air flows are not disrupted
allowing the pellet stove to function correctly. Most pellet
stove manufactures do not recommend corn to be
used in their appliances as they have experience with of the possible
problem the end user may have. If you do decide
to try to burn corn, commence with
a limited quantity mixed thoroughly with your pellets. The rule of thumb is not to exceed a
ratio of corn to pellet of 30 percent to 50 percent. You need to understand,
why do I want to burn corn? There really is only a couple of answers.
First, if there is a shortage of pellets
in my area. Second is the cost of corn a lotcheaper
than pellets to warrant the extra work.
Remember, lkpellet appliances are a excellent
proven cost effective way to heat your residence compared to the use of conventional oil or gas type
of products or electrical heat. Always be sure that you read the owners manual.
If you buy your pellet stove through a large multi product web site or large chain store that does not specialize
in hearth products, do not expect very much help. Usually
they will advise you to get in touch with the manufacturer or a dealer of pellet stoves in your area. You should realize that a hearth
stores or internet site that did not sell you the pellet stove has no desire obligation to assist you. Usually,
when you want the most help and or advice is in the main
part to the heating season when the manufacture is having
their largest call volume and not so uncommon will not respond to your call
quickly. Price is very important, but if your pellet stove appliance does not
operate properly, or you have to hire a tecnition to repair or fix your stove, did you really save any money? A good service technician
can often walk you though your problem without even showing up at
your door, and have
your pellet stove appliance back and producing heat in a shorter
period of time..