When you are looking for an alternate way of heating your home, a pellet stove is just the thing for you. Once you have one of these great heating sources in your home, you will never want to go without it. For just a few dollars a day, you can use your stove and benefit from the convenient heat source.
Pellet stoves are ran on little wood pellets that heat the home efficiently. A pellet stove does require to be plugged into an electrical socket to provide electricity for the blower to circulate the hot air around the home. You will find that one of these stoves will hardly affect your electric bill at all.
Pellet stoves can be placed just about anywhere throughout the home. Wherever you need an extra heat source or an extra accent piece in the home will be great. You do have to take few safety precautions when you are installing a pellet stove. You should never place it near soft furniture and some hard furniture as well. It is also a good idea to keep electronics away from the pellet stove because of the excessive heat that is provided from the stove.
Pellet stoves are usually found to be petite enough to fit in just about any area that you want. You can find them to be in all different kinds of styles and shapes as well. You will not need any additional vents or air ducts installed for your stove. All you have to do is buy the pellets and you are ready to start heating your home.
For the most part pellet stoves are safe. They are an efficient and secure way of heating your home without breaking your bank account. You will have to read up on the information that is sent along with the stove to make sure that you are following all of the recommended instructions that are given for installation and use.
This new pellet stove will be a cheap alternative to heating your home throughout those bitter cold winter nights as well as the brisk fall evenings. You will be able to control the amount of heat that is provided which makes this a great item to use all year round. They are easy to work and anyone can do it.
Another nice thing about a pellet stove is that you do not need to shovel coal or chop up wood for the heating source. Most pellets can be bought in the same place that you buy your stove or you can have them delivered to your home. These stoves are efficient, convenient, and safe. There is not better way to heat your home for less and bring style and appeal to your home.
Installing A Pellet Stove
Whether you're looking for a used, or even a new pellet stove, the information that follows will make you a smarter consumer.
Visit Your Local Building Department
Installing a wood or pellet stove usually requires a building permit. While you're picking up your permit application, tell the person helping you the type of heating appliance you plan to install and ask what kind of additional documentation, if any, is required. This is especially important if you own a mobile or modular home.
When I talked to the City of Quincy building department, they said a product brochure with clearance and venting information would be helpful. You can get all this information by visiting the stove manufacturer's website, downloading the owner's manual and printing it out.
Choose Your Fuel and Stove Size
If you live in the Corn Belt, the choice of fuel is obvious. If you live in the Northeast, the fuel of choice is wood pellets. Since fuel corn is "imported" to the Northeast, the price of wood pellets is competitive with corn. Wood pellet fuel is also becoming a common commodity in home improvement stores as more home owners in this region purchase wood pellet stoves.
You don't need a big stove to save big. Most of the used corn and wood pellet stoves I've seen produce 35,000'45,000 btus - enough to heat a typical 1,200 square foot ranch or the main living areas of a two story home.
If you can get a good deal on a larger, 50-60,000 btu stove, one of these will work great too since these high output models come equipped with 5 heat settings ranging from a low of 8,000 btus for chilly days, to max power for the coldest weather.
Look for These Features and Extras:
Electronic ignition
Just because you're buying a used pellet stove doesn't mean you should return to the dark ages of pellet stove heating with gel starters. Frankly, I wouldn't buy a stove without electronic ignition.
Large hopper capacity
A standard size hopper holds 40 pounds of pellet fuel. This is enough fuel to heat your home for 20-30 hours. A larger capacity hopper, although not necessary, adds convenience by requiring less frequent fillings.
Heat output controls
During the months that transition in and out of the heating season, you won't need the full heating capacity of your pellet stove. A heat output control will ensure maximum comfort from minimal fuel. Heat output controls can take the form of a thermostat, hi/lo blower, or variable speed auger that controls the rate pellets are fed into the burn pot.
Air washing system
Believe it or not, the #1 complaint people have with pellet stoves is dirty viewing glass. An air washing system, now standard on many new pellet stoves, removes the fly ash from the viewing window and eliminates frequent cleaning.
Extras
Many sellers of used pellet stoves include the venting pipe, hearth pad, log set, and any left over pellet fuel in the purchase price. These extras can add up to hundreds of dollars in additional savings.
Where to Find a Used Pellet Stove
Start with craigslist. Since most used pellet stove sellers offer pick up only, craigslist enables you to refine your search by City or State. This is a big time saver. A recent check in the Boston area turned up 12 used stoves within a 50 mile radius of my home.
ebay has plenty of listings too, you just won't find as many local sellers as you will on craigslist. When I narrowed the ebay search results to a 50 mile radius of my zip code using the Search Option function, it returned only 1 seller.
However, ebay will conveniently notify you by email whenever a new listing pops up and it's possible to delay payment for 3 months by using their credit card.
Search tip: A search on either craigslist or ebay will turn up MORE used pellet stoves if you use the term "pellet stove" rather than the narrower "used pellet stove." Also try "pellet", "wood pellet", or the brand name.
How Much Can I Expect to Save?
Generally speaking, the higher the original retail price, the more you will save percentage wise. Stoves that sold for $3,000 new can often be purchased used at savings of 50-70%. Stoves priced new under $2,000 seem to depreciate less.
Delivery
If you choose to pay for delivery, call a shipper like Yellow Truck or a courier service to make arrangements. If you buy from an ebay seller willing to ship the stove, a freight shipping calculator is provided on the sales page.
No matter who ships your stove, make the sure the truck they send has a lift gate so you can get your 300 pound stove off the truck.
Installation
Most cities and towns require a licensed pro to complete the installation. If you're an experienced home owner, finding one shouldn't be a problem. If you're new to home ownership, I recommend a service like Need a Contractor for a list of pre-screened contractors is your area.
Contact the Seller
Don't hesitate to contact the seller with any questions you might have. He or she can be especially helpful in determining whether the used pellet stove for sale is still under warranty.
Both Ivar Rudi & Sam Streubel are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
Ivar Rudi has sinced written about articles on various topics from Online Dating, Addictions and Bail Bonds. Copyright 2006 - Ivar Rudi. Ivar suggests you find great market for less by shopping online today. For more information and resources about this subject check out:
