Pellet and Wood Stoves

Even though conventional fireplaces add romance to your home, they actually do not produce heat efficiently, and chimneys require maintenance and repairs; therefore, many homeowners have decommissioned their traditional fireplace and installed a wood, pellet or gas burning appliance. These can improve heat output in your home, can be used when wanting to avoid repairing a damaged chimney and can be installed when you want a fuel-burning device where a chimney does not currently exist such as in a bedroom.

Pellet Stoves

How Do Pellet Stoves Work?

Pellet appliances automate as many functions as possible. The most significant is fuel delivery. The heat setting made by the operator controls an auger or similar feed device that delivers regulated amounts of fuel from the hopper to the fire. Automatic fuel delivery from the hopper frees the operator from frequent attention and loading, while providing clean burns and the desired comfort level. The amount of air needed for optimum combustion efficiency is delivered automatically or with minor manual adjustments. In most designs, a fan delivers air to the fire and blows exhaust by-products out of a vent pipe that is smaller and typically less expensive than a chimney. In most designs, a fan delivers heat to the home by blowing air through heat exchangers in the stove and out into the home. Heating efficiency is greatly enhanced by removing the heat from the appliance before it can exit the system.

Wood Stoves and Wood Stove Inserts

Wood-burning appliances enable homeowners to improve heating efficiency without losing the coziness traditionally associated with building a wood fire. Like conventional fireplaces, wood burning appliances burn a familiar and renewable fuel source - wood. Unlike conventional fireplaces, however, the latest generation of EPA-certified wood burning appliances generate heat effectively and burn fuel cleanly.

There are two types of wood-burning appliances:
Freestanding wood stoves are self-contained wood-burning appliances that vent to the outside through a specially designed chimney system or through your existing fireplace. Self-installation of freestanding wood stoves is strongly discouraged, in part because of these complexities:

	To install a freestanding wood stove with its own chimney system, it's necessary to cut a hole in your roof. Once this chimney system is run through to the outside, the hole must be properly sealed and the entire appliance secured.
	When venting a stove through your existing chimney system, it's necessary to install a correctly-sized flue liner and a chimney connector that extends to the top of the chimney.

Freestanding stoves are available in a variety of sizes and styles, and may be made from cast iron, plate steel, or a combination of materials. Homeowners may choose a stove that delivers heat by radiation or by convective airflow. Newer models also offer additional features like built-in thermostats, side glass doors and blowers.

Whether you buy a top-of-the line model or one that offers just the basics, be sure to purchase a wood stove that is the right size. Heat output efficiency is reduced when the stove is too large for the space being heated.

Wood stove inserts (also known as fireplace inserts) fit into the firebox of an existing fireplace. A specially designed panel extends around the fireplace opening and impedes air from flowing into and out of the firebox. Current standards require that wood stove inserts be installed with a flue liner and a chimney connector. This ensures by products of combustion vent safely, thus preventing dangerous creosote buildup and carbon monoxide poisoning.

The Right Choice
Cost, convenience and your need for heat are important factors in choosing a wood or gas burning appliance. To learn more, visit:

A-1 Fireplace & Backyard World
588 West Franklin Road, Boise, ID 83709
208.345.1992

Leisure Time, Inc.
9710 Fairview Avenue, Boise ID
208.376.0180

“Customers First, Foremost & Always”