What is a pellet fire?

The Pellet Fire

 

With everyone becoming more aware of the environmental issues that are facing our planet, we are trying to hold on to the things we love while still embracing a newer clean green alternative.

I don't know about you, but for me standing in front of a heat pump trying to get warm really doesn't cut the mustard. I like the fact that you are not spending weeks cutting firewood, then stacking and drying, or trying to save enough money to buy wood from a merchant. Still there is nothing quite like the warmth of a fire to make you feel snug and cosy.

Here is where the Pellet Fire comes into its own. Resembling a fire place or wood stove, a Pellet Fire or Wood Pellet Stove is a low cost heating option that is efficient and environmentally friendly. Fuelled by the wood pellet, a cheap and relatively easy product to manufacture that is made from recycled sawdust, a waste product from sawmills. It is considered to be a great eco alternative to wood.

You still need electricity to run a wood pellet fire, so are not entirely off the grid but your overall costs are a fraction of other alternatives.

 

How does the Pellet Fire work?

 

Pellets are firstly loaded into the hopper, this can be at the top or bottom depending on the type of stove you have. Secondly a motor that is much like a screw (the auger) delivers the pellets to the burn pot that is in a combustion chamber. The heat produced is determined by how fast you deliver the pellets via the speed of the auger. The heavily compressed pellets have very little moisture and create a hotter flame than standard wood. In the burn pot the air and fuel (pellets) mix with the help of a blower, creating combustion, which is how the burning process works. Finally, the remains of the pellets (ash) end up in the ash pot which periodically needs to be cleaned out.

 

 

What I like about this process is the pellets come from a waste product and when you have finished burning them you can recycle the ash into your garden. They also burn hotter so are releasing considerably less emission into our atmosphere. It's got to be good, warmth and being an eco-warrior!