How Pellet Burning Stoves Work

Pellet Burning Stoves

Introduction:

Pellet burning stoves look similar to normal wood burning stoves. However, with pellet stoves the components are more sophisticated. Pellet burning stoves burn pellets for its heat source. Wood pellets can be purchased for $3-6 per 40 lb. bag although they are usually sold by the ton that consists of fifty forty pound bags.

Pellet stoves typically have a hopper that holds a bag of forty ponds of pellets. The hopper varies in size depending on the size of the pellet stove. The bigger the hopper the more pellets can be loaded and the longer the stove will produce heat before reloading is required.

Most pellet stoves have an automatic lighting system while older models require you to light the stove manually. Once the pellets are loaded into the hopper an auger device will transfer the pellets into the heating chamber on a controlled and automatic system by using an internal thermostat to gauge the heat and when to add more pellets.

Air from the room is then circulated into the stove from a built in fan which is then transferred through the heating chamber. The hot air is then distributed back into the room or through a vent system in your house, depending upon how the stove is set up.

There are two types of fed systems that are used to carry the wood pellets to the combustion chamber for burning. The device that carries the pellets to the chamber is called an auger. There are typically two types of auger feed systems, the top feed and the bottom feed.

In the top feed system the pellets are feed by the auger from the top into the burn chamber. This reduces the likelihood of a fire burning back into the hopper.

In the bottom feed system a horizontal auger moves the pellets horizontally into the burn chamber. The ash is moved to the sides which fall into an ash pan and makes cleaning and maintenance much easier than the top feed system.

Filling the pellet burning stove is very simple and convenient. Normally it only needs to be filled in the morning to provide heat for the entire day and again in the evening to provide heat all through the night.