How to Use a Pellet Furnace

Sometimes referred to as a pellet stove, a pellet furnace is considered the whole house heating version. Generally mounted in the basement, but it can be centrally mounted in any living space to provide whole house heat, every pellet furnace works in the same basic manner. Granted, some are completely manual, much like any regular wood-burning furnace or stove, and some are computer controlled with a thermostat and feed rates. But every one shares the same basic operation and uses pellets that burn and give off heat.

Things You'll Need

• Pellet furnace
• Pellets
• Starter gel
• Match or lighter

Instructions

1. Obtain a supply of pellets that burn in your furnace. Some furnaces are strictly made to burn wooden composition pellets, and some can burn multi-fuel pellets like corn or composites of wooden scrap and other organic materials. Check which furnace you have, and get the proper type of pellet for your furnace.

2. Open the hamper on your pellet furnace and pour a bag of pellets in. Most pellets come in forty pound bags, and a pellet stove hamper will hold at least one bag full at a time.

3. Light the pellet furnace by either initiating the ignition sequence on an automatic model, or starting the pellets manually. The automatic sequence will move pellets to a burn pot and ignite them with a self-igniter. Manually light a pellet furnace by taking a handful of pellets and placing them in the burn pot. Place some ignition starter gel on the pellets, and using a match or a lighter, ignite the gel which will ignite the pellets in the burn pot.

4. Set the feed rate of the pellets going into the furnace. On automatic and computer controlled furnaces, a thermostat will regulate the feed rate to coincide with the temperature desired. A manual feed rate setting will let you adjust how many pounds of pellets you want to burn in an hour. A manual set rate of about one pound per hour will give you a limited amount of heat, and a set rate of about five pounds per hour will make your pellet furnace blaze and give off maximum heat. Adjust accordingly.

5. Refill the pellet furnace hamper daily. At maximum heating capacity, your may have to refill the hamper twice daily.

Tips & Warnings

• Buying pellets in bulk will save money over buying one bag of pellets at a time.

• A pellet furnace must be properly installed professionally to meet all state heating and safety codes.

References

• Hearth: Pellet Stoves and Inserts
• David Darling Info Encyclopedia: Pellet Stove
• Ask The Builder: Wood Pellet Stoves
• David Darling Info Encyclopedia: Pellet Stove Operation