Pile on the pellets
Toolbox
By Stefan Hard Times Argus Staff - Published: August 14, 2008
EAST BARRE — The crowd of about 150 central Vermonters huddling around a pair of operating wood pellet stoves outside the East Barre VFW Post 790 on Tuesday evening wasn't trying to keep warm, although it was a tad cooler than normal for a mid-August evening.
The group had come to learn about wood pellet stoves and fire safety in a two-hour seminar arranged by Aubuchon Hardware, and city officials hoped to educate those thinking about escaping high fuel oil bills this winter.
Aubuchon's manager Josiah Gates, Barre Mayor Thomas Lauzon, and Fire Chief Peter John mingled with attendees as the smell of burning wood and grilled hamburgers and hotdogs wafted over the crowd. Tents and tables had been set up, but with no rain clouds in sight, most opted to sit in the open on folding chairs to eat or listen to presentations.
The working pellet stoves were literally hot Tuesday, but not just in temperature — they're also hot sellers this year. Gates, who arranged the seminar, said he had already sold about 50 pellet stoves this year, and at a current rate of 5 to 10 stoves sold per week at Aubuchon's, was anticipating selling many more. Gates has also geared up to do warranty service on the pellet stoves.
He hinted that the seminar was hardly needed to drum up sales, but more a way to educate the community about an alternative heat source and safe ways to operate the pellet stoves that are a relatively new phenomenon in the Northeast.
"This is not about selling stoves" said Gates, "It's about informing the community about an alternative heat. It's an effort to save somebody's house from burning down."
Assistant State Fire Marshall Mike Greenia joined John and several of his firefighters to answer questions about safe stove installations and the use of fire detectors.
Greenia is preparing to hold safety seminars for fire departments and increase outreach and education to the general public around the state on the topic of wood heat safety. He feels an urgency in the matter.
"We don't want a repeat of the '80s," said Greenia, "when we saw a tremendous increase in fires and fire deaths when people rushed back to wood heat. Statewide, we're concerned about a repeat… we want people to keep in mind that if you save money by taking shortcuts on safety, it's eventually going to catch up with you."
John installed a wood pellet stove for four years ago in his Barre home because he coveted the cozy atmosphere of wood heat that he enjoyed when visiting friends with wood stoves. He said he is very pleased with is pellet stove, which he had professionally installed for safety reasons.
"It's a lot, lot cheaper to heat with [the pellet stove] than with oil," said John. "It's very safe. You open the front door, and the fire automatically goes out. It produces about 10 gallons of ash per year. I load a 40 pound bag of pellets once a day, at night, no hassle, no headaches whatsoever."
If John has any headaches connected with pellet stoves and other wood heat sources, it's because of his fear that many neophytes will get into wood heating this winter with little or no experience; he worries they will try to get by without proper stove installation and neglect to take basic safety precautions in daily operation of their stoves and accessories, including maintaining and updating smoke detectors.
This fall, John said his department, along with insurance companies and others, will hold another safety seminar, probably at the Barre Civic Center, on all alternative combustible heat sources.
"It's important to do the best installation possible by following the manufacturer's recommendations," said John.
That sentiment was echoed by Canadian Comfort Industries representative Bob Shuman, who explained the design of the stoves and their proper installation, operation and maintenance of the pellet stoves. Schuman emphasized the importance of using only approved pellet stove vent pipes, both indoors and outdoors, with the stoves, and not substituting any other kind of vent pipe.
"That's where you're eventually going to run into problems if it's not done right," said Schuman. He also warned against using any other wood fuel other than pellets in the stove.
Attendees had many questions for Schuman.
Will the stoves work when the power goes out? Answer: No.
"They are an electrical appliance," said Schuman, who recommended a generator system to kick in when the power fails.
How long will the hopper full of pellets last? Schuman lifted the lid on the larger of the two pellet stoves and indicated that the 120 lb. fuel capacity of the stove would last a long time burning at a rate of between 2 pounds per hour on low setting, and 6 pounds per hour on high.
Is the price of pellets stable? The price is going up, said Schuman, because of high demand and other factors in the wood products market, but still yields heat at roughly half the cost of fuel oil.
Gary Shute and his sons, Tom, 27, and Doug, 31, all of Barre, were soaking up the information at the seminar. They will also be soaking up the heat from their pellet stoves this winter. The elder Shute had his pellet stove installed two weeks ago and already has seven tons of pellets stored in his basement. Doug said his stove should be fully installed by the end of the week. Tom's stove hasn't arrived, but he expects his to be in and working in a couple of weeks.
Even with the prices for their pellet stove setups ranging from about $2,000 to $4,000 with full installation, the Shutes are looking forward to saving money. They anticipate the stoves will pay for themselves in fuel savings in two years or less with the current equation of wood pellets offering the same heat as oil for about half the price.
Over at the outdoor grill, Susan Tallman of Topsham flipped burgers and crowed about how she is preparing to tell her fuel oil dealer to stop deliveries now that she has ordered a wood pellet stove.
Jamie Jenkins of Berlin is looking forward to getting his pellet stove, ordered back in June from a Pennsylvania supplier to replace his kerosene heater that gulps $5 per gallon fuel. There's only one problem – the manufacturer has his pellet stove back ordered and delivery is not expected until November.
"If it doesn't come by then I might be getting one of these," said Jenkins, turning toward the CCI stoves throwing heat just a few feet away.
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