Chimney Care Company's Blog
Pellet Stove Cleaning and Maintenance
If you’ve just installed or are planning to install a pellet stove, it’s important to grasp the importance of getting into a regular habit of cleaning it and providing regular appliance upkeep to get the most out of your investment. The manufacturer’s instructions will typically give you fairly straightforward specifics as far as cleaning and upkeep are concerned in regards to your particular model. Nevertheless, we at The Chimney Care Company would like to provide you with a few general tips and areas to keep an eye on.
BURN POT MAINTENANCE
You’ve invested good money in a pellet stove. Keeping it properly cleaned and maintained will ensure the best return on your investment.
This is the stove’s carburetor, meaning it mixes the air and fuel together to enable combustion. As is the case in a car, the correct air to fuel ratio is extremely important to achieving top performance. When operating normally, your stove should produce a bright yellow or white flame. You may also notice a white or gray ashy buildup on the glass during high burn and a darker, fluffy ash on low burn—both are totally normal. If, however, your flame is orange and sooty or there’s a brown caramel-like substance building up, immediate action should be taken to improve the burning efficiency of your unit.
It’s extremely important that you check the burn pot every day and clean it periodically to keep the air inlets free of ash and clinkers (formed from ash that melts and then hardens). The frequency with which you need to clean the burn pot will depend, in large part, on the type and grade of pellets you’re burning. Incorrect adjustment of the air to fuel ratio can greatly increase the likelihood of blockages forming in the burn pot due to the stove’s inability to remove excess ash on its own.
HEAT EXCHANGER MAINTENANCE
Located inside the combustion chamber, the heat exchanger is designed to transfer the heat produced by the burning pellets in the burn pot into clean hot air for distribution into your living space. Fresh air passes through the inside of the chamber and draws the heat out of the stove and into the room. For maximum efficiency, the surface of the heat exchanger should be cleaned regularly. The frequency with which you’ll need to clean it will depend on your particular unit’s design and can range anywhere from daily to monthly. On some models, cleaning is as simple as moving a rod that scrapes the tubes inside the stove, whereas other stoves may require professional service.
VENTING SYSTEM AND OTHER COMPONENT MAINTENANCE
It is recommended that you have your stove’s venting system cleaned by a professional who’s more experienced in the maintenance of such things. If the vent pipe becomes blocked, smoke may leak into your home. Luckily, most pellet burning appliances now have a safety switch that will interrupt their operation and keep exposure to harmful gases to a minimum. The motors and fans in your stove will need occasional cleaning and/or lubricating as well; using the wrong lubricant or the wrong amount of lubricant can, however, damage the unit. Gaskets (fire chamber door, ash pan door, and hopper lid) may also need replacing from time to time to ensure the seals remain tight.
Like traditional and gas fireplaces, it is recommended that you call a certified professional to service and clean your pellet stove on at least an annual basis; they’ll also be able to provide preventive maintenance at this time. Here at Chimney Care Company, your family’s sense of security and safety is important to us. Whatever your fireplace, chimney or other needs, if you’re looking for high quality, professional services from industry experts, you’ve come to the right place. Give us a call today!
All About Pellet Stoves
Opt for a clean-burning, safer, and cheaper heating system — a pellet stove.
Looking for an economical way to burn wood? A pellet stove is recommended by the US Department of Energy as a cleaner-burning and more efficient way to heat your home. What exactly is a pellet stove? Our knowledgeable staff at Chimney Care Company., as well as the Department of Energy, are happy to explain exactly what a pellet stove is, its benefits, and how you can enjoy this environmentally-friendly and cost-conscious method of heating your house.
What is a pellet stove?
According to the US Department of Energy, a pellet stove is an appliance that burns compacted pellets made of wood or other organic materials, like nutshells, corn kernels, and small wood chips. More convenient to use than wood-burning stoves, pellet stoves are also the cleanest solid fuel heating appliance on the market, with EPA-certified units boasting efficiency ratings of 70 to 80% and heating capacities of a range between 8,000 to 90,000 BTUs an hour.
How do you operate a pellet stove?
Equipped with every pellet stove is a fuel hopper, which will hold about a day’s worth a fuel at a time. A feeder device drops a few pellets at a time into the burner, and the rate of speed the pellets are fed into the burner determines the heat output. Exhaust gases are vented through a small flue pipe out the roof or an exterior wall. At Chimney Care Company, we have pellet stove models with a small computer and thermostat that control the feed rate automatically.
Is the fuel inexpensive and easy to store?
Sold in 40-pound bags for three or four dollars a piece or a ton for about $180 to $250, most homeowners who use a pellet-fueled appliance as their main source of heat use two to three tons of pellet fuel a year, much cheaper than any electric, oil, or propane-fueled appliance. As for storage, two tons sounds like (and is) a lot, but you do not have to buy all of your pellet fuel at once. Also, the pellets are very compressed and do not take up a lot of space. Compare the space taken up by firewood or propane tanks.
What are the drawbacks to pellet stoves?
More complex with expensive components that can always break down, pellet stoves must be cleaned weekly by the homeowner and annually by a professional. Also, these stoves require electricity to operate fans, feeders, and controls, so if your power goes out in a winter storm, you will be without heat in your home, unless you have a back-up power supply. Under normal usage, pellet stoves consume approximately nine dollars of electricity per month.
If you are interested in a pellet stove, contact Chimney Care Company today to schedule an appointment to come in and look at all of the pellet stove options we have for you. We are happy to answer any more questions you might have about this economical, clean-burning heating system.