- Keep your pellets dry
- If there's one thing that can ruin a pellet fire, it's a bag of pellets that have been compromised by moisture. Store pellet fuel indoors and only buy pellets from retailers that do the same. Most pellet bags have tiny perforated holes throughout which allows for outgassing after the manufacturing process, these holes also allow moisture back into the fuel, so keep your pellets dry!
- Keep your pellets in a container
- It is a good practice to keep your pellets in a container in close proximity to your stove. This keeps the fuel nice and dry, and will help pellets compromised by moisture to dry out.
- Avoid over-filling
- With pellets, a little goes a long way. Start out by filling the basket half way or so, until you find the optimal draft settings on your wood stove for burning wood pellets.
- Avoid over-firing
- Be sure to burn fuel from the top down, and avoid excessive firing from the bottom of the basket. Set draft to encourage a slow rolling fire that keeps the flames in the burn chamber. Don't burn too intensely as this will cause valuable heat to escape up the flue and add undue heat stress to the basket. Maintaining a low intensity fire is the most effective and efficient way to burn pellet fuel and will produce the greatest heat benefit.
- Give stove ample draft on initial lighting
- Pellets require sufficient draft for combustion to be complete. Give your stove plenty of draft at the start, this will spread flames fast and bring your stove up to temperature quickly. Cut back on the draft once the flames have caught the fuel.
- Give stove ample draft after refueling
- Leave plenty of embers to re-light pellet fuel when refueling. It is normal for the pellets to smoke as they reach the point of combustion with embers. In cases where not enough embers are left to re-light, simply add starter block to top of pellet surface. Fatwood is also good for this purpose. Leave draft open until flames catch pellet fuel. Cut back on draft gradually to prolong burn time and open draft if pellets should start to smoke excessively.
- On those cold days and nights
- Set draft back to contain flames to the burn chamber and prolong heat output. Refuel when embers shrink to 3-4 inches deep.
- On those REALLY cold days and nights
- Refuel more often. After flames have quit, add more fuel and open draft to get flames going again.
- Maintain your stove in good working order
- Replace any gaskets that may need replacing and start with a clean burn chamber and flue system. The Pelleteer will help you keep it that way.
Printable Instructions