Archive for the ‘Other Types of Stoves’ Category
About biomass fuel
Agricultural by-products that can be used to produce energy are called biomass fuel. Examples of biomass fuel include wood chips, wood pellets, cordwood, and waste paper. Careful and appropriate agricultural and forest management can help to produce a limitless supply of biomass fuel. This renewable aspect of biomass fuel is what makes the use of biomass fuel so attractive. Additionally, biomass fuels have proven to be stable in price.
We all know that fossil fuels such as gas and oil are not price stable at all. Biomass fuels are also very good for the environment, as widely available waste products are turned into clean and usable energy. Pellet fuel manufacturers obtain low-cost biomass materials from sustainable forest programs and other agricultural management initiatives. Forest health and fire prevention and management is important to the survival of forests in North America.
A huge amount of biomaterial is left on forest floors whenever second-growth forests undergo periodic treatment to manage health and mitigate fires. Such material cannot be used by manufacturers of wooden products, but is very useful to manufacturers of pellet fuels. The lumber and wood manufacturing industries also provide by-products that are used to make pellet fuels.
But waste wood is not the only resource from which pellet fuel can be composed; straw, waste paper, cornstalks, and even animal waste can be utilized to make pellet fuel, thus recycling of millions of tons of waste in an efficient and useful manner.
About gas stove installation
When installing your gas stove, it is important to consider the amount of clearance needed between the stove and walls, as well as the distance from more flammable objects, such as doors and draperies. Some gas stoves can be installed with as little as four inches of clearance. Your new gas stove will need to be vented to the outside air. This can be accomplished through an existing chimney, or a B-vent aluminum gas pipe.
The chimney can go directly through the wall of your home, or through the ceiling above the stove. Certain models of gas stoves are termed “vent-free”, and as such, require no venting. Gas stoves are generally controlled by a wall mounted thermostat or a remote control. You can even adjust the heat output and flame height on some models. Equipped with variable speed blowers and extra-wide glass doors, a gas stove can effectively heat your entire home, if need be, and provide you and your family a view of the beautiful flames.
With a wide variety of styles and finishes to choose from, you can be sure to find just the stove to fit your home’s décor, meet your needs, and not break your budget. When having your new gas stove installed in your home, the HPBA recommends that you contract with a specialty retailer or a certified professional stove installer. In addition to making sure the installation is done in the correct and safest fashion, a professional installer will make sure to obtain the proper building permits and make sure that all the installation is up to local and state codes. Gas stoves are generally some of the cleanest burning heating appliances around, and require little maintenance throughout their working life. It is recommended, however that the stove be professionally cleaned at least one time every two years to ensure to performance and the safety of your family.
Your chimney and all associated vents should also be inspected and cleaned by a professional chimney sweep, as certified by the Chimney Safety Institute of America. You will be able to perform some of the general maintenance associated with your stove, such as cleaning the glass and cleaning the blower motor. Gas stoves usually operate on either natural gas or propane, with the most common being natural gas. Most stoves available can operate on both types of fuel but are installed and set up to operate on one or the other. If you need to switch fuel at some point after installation, you can usually convert to the other fuel source with the use of an adapter kit.
While the cost of owning a pellet stove is usually very reasonable, you need to budget, not only for the purchase of the stove itself, but for the installation of the stove, the chimney pipe, and the annual cost of maintenance and fuel.
Gas Stoves and Heating Part 2
They are available on the market in a wide variety of styles and colors, designed to fit any home’s décor and any family’s life style. You can choose a wood stove designed around a certain architectural style or school, such as Contemporary, Colonial, Art Deco, Mission, and French Country. Frequently employing brushed metal and high-gloss porcelain enamel, in a wide array of colors, today’s gas stoves are as beautiful as they are functional. With materials such as granite, marble, and soapstone frequently employed in their construction, a gas stove can blend into and add an air of sophistication to any room in your home.
Take the time to do your research when choosing a new gas stove. Make sure you spend some time speaking with a specialty gas stove retailer. They can help you make an informed decision based on your family’s needs, and can often be relied on for safe, professional installation, and information on proper stove maintenance. When choosing your gas stove, your options are generally limited by the climate where you live and the age and construction methods used in your home. You will need to consider these factors when deciding whether to purchase a top vented, directly vented, or vent free stove.
They can be purchased that range from small in size to rather large. The size of your stove is dependent on the amount of heat the stove will be required to produce. If you can be comfortable with a lesser amount of heat in a larger home, a smaller gas stove would be ideal. Keep in mind that gas stoves are often controlled by thermostat, so you can easily control the amount of heat produced by the stove.
Gas Stoves and Heating Part 1
Gas stoves are the benchmark for home heating convenience. With a simple push button ignition, or with a thermostat, a gas stove can fill your home with safe, efficient, and reliable heat. The ambiance of flickering flames cannot be replicated by conventional means of heating. You need the soothing warmth that only flames can provide. There is no more convenient way to enjoy real flames in your home than with a gas stove. You can start and stop your gas stove at your convenience, without mess or difficulty.
Serving double duty is the gas stove’s specialty. Being able to serve as an effective heater, and as a beautiful addition to your home’s interior design, a gas stove is an essential addition to any modern home. If your house is equipped with an aged and failing central heating system, a gas stove can be a big help in heating your home in the winter months, as well as saving you money.
The flames that you see even look remarkably like a real wood fire! Freestanding gas stoves usually come in one of three styles: top venting, direct venting, or vent-free. In each of these categories, there is a wide variety of sizes and heating capabilities. One of the best features of a gas stove is the fact that they can be installed just about any place in the home, easily. A gas stove is a joy to own and operate. Advancements in technology have helped gas stoves achieve a level of realism as to make them virtually indistinguishable from a real wood fire.
The burners on a high quality gas stove make the flames come alive and dance in bright yellow. The logs even appear to produce beautiful, glowing embers! With highly detailed, molded logs that are hand painted, even people who routinely burn a wood fire will be hard pressed to tell the difference between a gas stove fire and a fire in a wood stove.
We all know how costly heating a home can be. A gas stove can go a long ways in helping you defray some of the cost. Utilizing the concept of “zone heating”, a gas stove can be a great asset.
With zone heating, a gas stove is used to heat just a single room, or a portion of the home, allowing you avoid heating lesser-used areas of the home, and saving you hard earned money. If your home is equipped with an older central heating system, a gas stove can be used to relieve some of the burden placed on it. The nature of the heat produced by a gas stove is even more penetrating and warming than the heat produced by a central heating system.
How to select a wood stove
Like any other major appliance purchase, purchasing a wood stove requires that you do a certain amount of research before hand. To ensure that you buy just the right stove, it is recommended that you visit with a retailer that specializes in wood stoves.
The retailer will be able to arm you with all of the information you need to make an intelligent purchase, as well as be able to provide you with professional installation. Your local stove retailer may even be able to provide you with information of local sources of firewood, and will give you valuable information on stove operation and maintenance. When choosing a wood stove for your home, there are two basic choices to make. Most wood stoves that produce low emissions come in one of two basic styles, catalytic or non-catalytic. Also, stoves generate their heat in one of three different ways: Convection, Radiant, or a combination of the two.
Wood stoves range in size, but more importantly is the amount of heat that they can generate. The heat a stove generates is measured British Thermal Units (BTUs). The biggest factor you need to take into account when choosing a stove is the amount of heat you need your stove to generate for your comfort. When deciding on the location for your wood stove installation, take into account that your stove needs to be installed a safe distance away from walls and flammable materials, such as drapes and doors. Some stoves on the markets are extremely well insulated and can be installed with as little as 6 to 12 inches of clearance from walls.
In almost all instances, you need to allow for installation of a hearth pad constructed from tile or brick for underneath the stove. Venting is a very important to consider and plan for when installing your new wood stove. Existing chimneys in your home can be used, as well as venting your stove through a wall to the outside air. Modern wood stoves are worlds apart from the old pot bellied stoves of yore. With features such as self-cleaning glass, reversible flues, and hidden hinges, modern wood stoves are as attractive and easy to use as they are functional.
Many stove manufacturers have additional options available, such as wall-mounted heat shields, fans, and gold plated accents. Wood stoves are now so much more than a source of heat. With stoves available in so many styles other than black with gold details, they are a serious piece to your interior design puzzle. You can choose between different types of bases for your stove, such as legs or pedestals, as well as different finishes, such as porcelain, or tile, and different colors of finishes. In some areas of the country, the addition of a wood-burning stove to your home requires a building permit. Also, make sure that your homeowner’s insurance policy will allow you to install a wood stove in your home. Do the unique design elements of your home, such as the pitch of the roof make installation more complicated? These are some of the questions you need to ask before you begin the installation process.
Wood stoves are very convenient to use, but they do require regular routine maintenance to maintain their efficiency and ease of use. Your chimney needs to be inspected and cleaned annually by a certified chimney sweep. You also need to check and replace the gaskets and seals periodically. It is recommended that you also remove the ash from your stove often, as well as touch up the exterior paint. Seasoned and cured firewood is usually the best fuel source for your wood stove. Wood used in a wood-burning stove needs to be split and dried for six months or more, and stored outside, under cover, but in such a way as to allow ample air circulation. The cost of owning a wood-burning stove is made up of many parts, including the initial purchase price. You also need to budget for the cost of the chimney, installation, maintenance, and the cost of an annual supply of fuel.
About wood stoves
A wood stove is an economical and environmentally friendly solution to your family’s heating concerns. Beside providing an attractive and mesmerizing source of heat for your home, a wood stove is a cost effective, and clean way to stay warm.
Progress in wood stove technology has helped to produce stoves that are so efficient that very little smoke is produced as a by-product. Compared to stoves from the 70s and earlier, modern wood stoves burn much cleaner, leaving a minimal amount of waste ash, as well as consuming much less firewood. Since modern wood stoves are constructed to be essentially air tight, wall clearances can often be as little as six inches. Wood burning stoves are now constructed from materials as diverse as soapstone, cast-iron and stainless steel.
The sheer amount of choice available when shopping for a wood burning stove means that the consumer can be assured of finding just the right stove to compliment their home’s interior design and décor. The days of the huge pot-bellied cast iron stove are over, with stoves now available in a wide array of styles and colors, with complimenting colored stovepipe. You can even find modern wood burning stoves in a bright red enamel finish!
If your home has been designed with adequate internal airflow, a single wood stove can often be relied upon to heat your entire house. You can also consider a wood stove to be a convenient way to heat rooms that see the most use in your home. This means that you can choose to not heat certain areas of your home, while keeping other areas nice and toasty. This means lest waste and less money spent on heating. With little experience, even new stove owners can use their new appliances to provide efficient and flexible heat to their home.
Stoves manufactured and sold after July 1st, 1992 are required to meet stringent air quality standards developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. These standards were designed to protect communities from excessive wood smoke during the winter months. During the 70s and 80s, wood stoves produced, on average, 42 grams of wood smoke per hour, while current wood stove technology has dropped that level to approximately 7.5 grams of wood smoke per hour. When shopping for a new wood burning stove, make sure the model you are looking at has a label on the back from the Environmental Protection Agency.
Advantages of gas stoves
Gas stoves are a versatile and efficient addition to anyone’s home. They are easy to vent to the outside air because they be directly vented, vented through a pre-existing chimney, or vented through the ceiling and roof via stovepipe. This versatility means that they can be used in essentially any location that the homeowner desires. Gas stoves are available that can utilize two fuel types: natural gas, or propane.
These stoves will operate through a power failure and are very low maintenance. Unlike wood burning stoves, gas stoves do not produce ash that needs to be disposed of, do not require messy logs, and do not suffer from fuel shortage issues. Many gas stoves come complete with ceramic faux logs that look almost identical to the real thing, so you get both the convenience that comes with a gas stove, and the warm ambience of a wood fire.
A great feature of gas stoves is the fact that they allow to control how much heat they produce. You can usually adjust the output of BTUs by half of what the stove is rated to produce. Depending on your desired comfort level, you can adjust your stove to save you money on fuel, or to keep you extra toasty on an exceptionally cold night. In contrast to a wood burning stove, gas stoves require much less clearance from walls.
It can be placed as close as four inches from a back wall. Many gas-stove models feature an automatic thermostat for convenient zone heating. You may even be able to get a rebate from your energy company if your gas stove has a thermostat. The convenience of being able to flick a switch and fill your home with beautiful, warming fire makes a gas stove an efficient and easy way to heat your home.
Home heating – an overview
Heating your home can be a complex process, and nothing is more important than efficiency and your personal preferences. You need to take your time when picking out a new pellet stove, to insure that you get exactly what you want and need. Chances are, any trip to the stove shop will yield a number of pellet stove models that would serve you well. The selection could very well be overwhelming, so make sure you are honest with yourself. There is a lot of room for personal style and preferences to come through. Any investment of this size deserves careful consideration. Why spend your hard earned money on a product that you will be unhappy with?
Your local pellet stove retailer can assist you in taking some of the guesswork out of choosing a new stove. There are a lot of details to be considered when choosing a stove, such as your home’s layout. Does your home have a more open floor plan? If so, consider a single, central heat source to effectively heat your entire home. If your home is divided into many rooms, but you routinely spend your time in a few, consider zone heating.
You could install a gas, wood, or pellet stove in a single room to supplement your central heating system, or you could install several smaller units in certain areas of your home for even heating. When deciding upon your heating method, it helps to be aware of a few other details as well, such as, the material the floor of your home is made out of, how large your home is, how well insulated it is, and the insulation value of your windows.
How airtight is your home, and how well and in which fashion does air circulate? Are comfortable with moderate heating capabilities, or when the mercury drops, do you require the home heating equivalent of volcano to be comfortable? A 30,000 BTU rated gas stove will effectively heat a home that is between twelve and fifteen hundred square feet, while providing the most even heating. Gas stoves are also adjustable, so you can control the amount of heat you are getting at any one moment.
When comparing pellet stoves to wood burning it stoves, it helps to keep some things in mind. Pellet stoves will provide you with a more consistent heat than wood stoves, as well as producing much less smoke. A wood stove is a good choice for heating only certain areas of your home, or as an additional source of heat in rooms that may not see a lot of daily use. A wood stove’s heating capabilities are not as consistent as a pellet stove and can vary greatly depending on the size of the firebox, and also the type and quality of the wood being burned.
Moder Pellet Style Stoves – Decorative
About decorative pellet stoves
Like the old fashioned wood stoves of yore, modern pellet stoves feature large glass fronts so you and your family can enjoy the flickering flames on a chilly winter’s evening.
No one but you will know that those beautiful logs burning in your stove are actually imitation logs manufactured to look as authentic as the real thing.
Today’s decorative pellet stoves feature optional backup power and thus can automatically switch between your home’s electricity current to battery power and back again. Easy to use and care for, your pellet stove retailer can explain to you in just a few minutes how to get the most out of your new pellet stove.