TOP THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN BUYING A PELLET STOVE

This is not your average way to becoming a pellet stove owner, but it is worth telling.

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“Holy cow!” I yelled to my husband in the other room. “There are explosions happening all over the place!” After watching the news, a little longer, I became very concerned, as my brother lives in one of the affected areas. I gave him a call and they were all okay, hanging outside the house waiting. I basically told him to coral the wife, kids and animals and hightail it to our house. I think it may have taken them an hour to get here for a typical 20-minute drive due to gridlock and chaos.

On September 13, 2018 there were many people affected by the Columbia Gas explosions that occurred in the Merrimack Valley city/towns of Lawrence, Andover and North Andover Massachusetts. Thousands had to turn off their gas and evacuate their homes. My youngest brother and his family were impacted by this devastating event. Thankfully none of them were hurt.

My brother, his wife, three of his children, their dog Buddy and cat Bonez were all guests at our home for a few days. My household includes myself, my husband and five cats. My brother and his wife stayed in the spare bedroom and the kids settled into the Living Room on the couches.

The event occurred on a Thursday and they were one of the last ones to be cleared to return home and get their electricity back on which was on Sunday. Still no gas, which meant no heat, no hot water and no stove. Columbia gas gave out electric hot plates and space heaters. Conversion to an electric water heater was a must for hot water. My brother went a step further and purchased a pellet stove to heat his home.

This is not a story about the gas explosions but if you want to read more, you can search for it on the Internet to get the full story of the devastation. My story is a much lighter one.

I am not making light of what these families have endured or the fact that even now in March of 2019 there is still much work to be completed. I am simply telling a story of how we used my brother’s experience to save some money in our household in which we never would have ever thought of.

Fast forward to January 2019. I walked into my brother’s house and I was in heaven! It was like 75 degrees Fahrenheit in there! It was like summer in the middle of winter. PELLET STOVE!

We have a large house even though there is only two us. The winters in Massachusetts can be brutally cold and we spend a fortune for heating oil every winter. Well shortly after that we were researching pellet stoves.

There are many different brands and sizes based on the square footage you are trying to heat and how many BTUs are needed. There are freestanding pellet stoves vs. inserts into a fireplace. Is it noisy or quiet? What size hopper do you want (this is how many lbs. of pellets the stove will hold). There are many different types of pellets; all hardwood, all softwood, a mix of hardwood and softwood. Don’t forget you will need a hearth pad as well. MAINTENANCE AND REGULAR WEEKLY CLEANING IS A MUST!

My head was reeling from all this information. Who knew?

We ended up purchasing an Enviro M55 Freestanding Cast Iron pellet stove in antique chestnut with a heating area of 2,500 ft², 55,000 BTUs, 83.5% Efficiency and a 60 lb. hopper. Typically, pellets are sold in 40 lb. bags but are cheaper when ordered by the ton (50 bags), but we experimented all winter to determine what type of pellet was the best for us. A few days ago, we ordered our first ton to get us through the rest of the cold weather. This is the time of year the stores stop ordering and stocking more pellets and can run out quickly. Our choice is Vermont pellets.

Summary of things to consider when purchasing a pellet stove:

• Size and Style
  • What is the ft² of the area you want the pellet stove to heat?
  • Will it be seen every day; do you want to pay for added style?
  • BTU output
  • What size hopper does it have? (this is how many lbs. of pellets you can store in the stove hence how often you will have to refill it).
• Model
  • There are many different models available. Here are some we looked at:
    • Enviro (this is what we purchased)
    • Ravelli
    • Harman
    • Many others that we did not look at too
• Insert or Freestanding
  • Do you have an existing Fireplace? If so, you can consider an insert
• Placement if you choose a freestanding pellet stove
  • There are regulations on distance from windows and doors
• Don’t forget about a hearth pad if you purchase a freestanding stove!
  • It is required and can cost in the hundreds of dollars.
• Experiment with the pellets
  • Most recommend all softwood because there is less ash and they are more efficient (they keep the stove cleaner and operating better).
  • I know people who use a mix of hardwood and softwood and say they do not have any issues.
  • All hardwood pellets are available as well; we tried them, and they produced more ash and were harder to clean.

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