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I would consider pellet storage in my home a big fire hazard.Not that you would,but if someone layed a droplight on the pallet of bagged pellets what would happen? If i was ever inclined to go with pellets i would never store them where my family sleeps or lives.Of course thats just me.
It would probably smolder for a long while, but laying a drop light on anything flammable is dangerous. Pellets aren't going to burn any quicker than any other wood in your house. What get pellets to burn hot, is the fan blowing air through them. That's not going to happen to a bag of pellets until you get a good fire going and your smoke alarms should be going off well before then. Loose paper would be more dangerous.
One thing I don't like about my neighbors woodstove is the heavy smoke that comes out of the chimney. On a cold cloudy winter day, the haze just hangs around the house and it actually impacts my lungs when I'm working outside near his property. You can see the haze lingering and several of the neighbors here have complained.
I want something clean burning, so thats another reason why I prefer gas or pellets (gas being the cleanest of the two).
I also heard that in this nanny state they want to control how much pollution comes out of a fireplace- essentially outlawing woodstoves and coalstoves. It isn't law yet, but it is something I am concerned about. They won't be granfathering in any stoves.
It would probably smolder for a long while, but laying a drop light on anything flammable is dangerous. Pellets aren't going to burn any quicker than any other wood in your house. What get pellets to burn hot, is the fan blowing air through them. That's not going to happen to a bag of pellets until you get a good fire going and your smoke alarms should be going off well before then. Loose paper would be more dangerous.
AKCK, I have a friend who installed radiant heat,propane fueled insta boiler.A bigger version of the insta hot hot water heaters.(no tank)I have no beef with these systems.We both know each other for 20 years and have over 60+ years plumbing and building homes.He has under the new absolutely smoking hot home,a 2 car garage that is walled off.(i despise under house/living space garages because,....i see dead people)Figuratively!sp?
However he has in the rest of the walk in basement/half bermed the area he installed a pellet stove.The first year it was installed late in the season and he hadn't established a junkie/dealer relationship.It sat cold except when he got a supply of junk for more than any fuel known to mankind.He wanted to play with his new toy.
So we were hanging out,did a hot tub soak,bbq,knocking back some cold ones.I had previously mentioned that the huge amount of bagged pellets in the basement near the pellet stove seemed a fire hazzard.
He went inside for a while and i got a bag of pellets.I opened it and spilled some out on the driveway.I dropped a cig butt on the pile instead of the ashtray.I was a little peeved it didn't turn into an inferno immediately to show off my superior logic skills.I lit up a special cigar that we sometimes share.He yelled out the shower was open and lets get going down to local watering hole.I dropped the cigar into the pile.I went to shower and when i came out he was pissed i started a fire in his driveway.
The moral of the story is he has a pellet stove for sale.The bags of pellets turned into a big mushy pile of bagged sawdust/green slop.He uses $600 of propane a month when its frigid while running his hot tub 24/7 all through the winter.
If you have pellets don't store them in the home where you live or sleep.
With proper wood specifically it's been seasoned properly and proper firing the smoke should not be a huge issue. A lot of smoke is the result of incomplete combustion, you'll want to try and avoid that for more reason that annoying your neighbors as you're be getting a lower efficiency and causing more creosote build up.
A lot of trouble recently with wood fired appliances are these outdoor wood boilers. Since it's outside and can accept any type of wood many are throwing a lot of wet new wood in them causing a lot of smoke. I know I wouldn't want to live next to a house using one in such a manner.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Phish Head
I also heard that in this nanny state they want to control how much pollution comes out of a fireplace- essentially outlawing woodstoves and coalstoves. It isn't law yet, but it is something I am concerned about. They won't be granfathering in any stoves.
An appliance fired by anthracite coal does not have the same issues associated with wood or soft coal. This type of fuel is used in very urban environments and no more of a nuisance than someone using a gas fired boiler. At the very most you might get a faint sulfury smell on warm and humid mornings.
As far as banning wood/coal I'd imagine that might be a possibility but here in PA that's not going to sit well for many homeowners. Many like myself are using them for primary heat and a new boiler like the one I have is a significant investment starting at $5K. That investment gets you about 50 years of use and beyond though. Ours just hit about 25 years.
As far as any fire hazard with coal it's non existent, interesting story came up on my forum. One forum member said the neighbors house burned down near him and it was fully engulfed, he went there the day after and said you could look into the basement and still see the pile of coal.
Literally you could trow gasoline on pile of anthracite, light it and it won't ignite the coal. It needs a specific environment to burn.
Last edited by thecoalman; 09-24-2009 at 06:17 PM..
...He went inside for a while and i got a bag of pellets.I opened it and spilled some out on the driveway.I dropped a cig butt on the pile instead of the ashtray.I was a little peeved it didn't turn into an inferno immediately to show off my superior logic skills.I lit up a special cigar that we sometimes share.He yelled out the shower was open and lets get going down to local watering hole.I dropped the cigar into the pile.I went to shower and when i came out he was pissed i started a fire in his driveway.
The moral of the story is he has a pellet stove for sale.The bags of pellets turned into a big mushy pile of bagged sawdust/green slop.He uses $600 of propane a month when its frigid while running his hot tub 24/7 all through the winter.
If you have pellets don't store them in the home where you live or sleep.
If you did the same thing to some crumpled up newspaper, you'd get the same result. So do you keep paper out of your house too?
All I was saying is that storing pellets is no more dangerous than storing any other flammable material in your house. Granted, you should keep your pellets away from heat sources, but I place my hand on the stove while it's going, to fill it up. It's comfortably warm and nowhere near hot enough to start a fire. Pellets should be stored in a dry place to keep them from absorbing moisture.
As a person who has had some rather traumatic experiences with "gas" appliances, I shy away from it.
As a person who has recently (for about a month now) converted to wood as a heat source, in a stand alone wood stove, (Avalon Rainier 90), I am a firm believer in this method of primary heat.
As a person who has investigated pellet stoves, and didn't buy one because I like the "snap, crackle, pop of a wood fire; the hypnotic appeal of a wood fire; the smell of a wood fire........I find the pellet stoves woafully inadequate.
but my 2 cents: if you can get wood cheap enough, that'd be the cheapest. Pellets can get pricey sometimes. Gas too. Depends where you're at. But wood is really messy and I hate it. They all have pros and cons I guess, depends what you're looking for and wanting most.
campmom123.......I'm a "old" guy......lol (late bloomer in here)
-Soupy1957
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)Figuratively!sp?
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