Wood Heat Stoves & Solar — Educational resources

Gas stove conversions are often necessary when stoves are sold, stove owner's move or a new fuel option becomes available. Many stove manufacturers stopped offering their conversion kits soon after the stove went out of production and it was assumed that all of them had been installed. We get inquiries all the time for these conversion kits that are out of production. The first and most important step is to find a licensed local technician who is experienced in doing these conversions. They can help you find the right parts and do the installation in a safe and efficient fashion....

Wood stoves built before 1990 were not regulated except if they were approved by a safety laboratory for floor and wall protection clearances. Starting 1988 the Federal government established emissions standards for all wood stoves sold in the United States and by 1990 all manufacturers had to pass that standard or stop producing wood burning stoves. This improvement caused efficiency to rise so that wood stove operators started using from 30% to 50% less fuel, the skies stopped having white wood stove smoke and many other improvements came along like self cleaning glass doors, ash drawers, 8 hour burn times,...

The Whitfield Quest and Quest Plus freestanding and insert pellet stoves are easily identified by the shape of the pellet feed chute in the back wall of the stove.This rectangular pellet chute opening is on the Quest Plus model.   This oval shaped pellet feed chute is on the The Whitfield Quest. The Whitfield Quest and Quest Plus freestanding and insert pellet stoves are easily identified by the shape of the pellet feed chute in the back wall of the stove. All of the parts for these and all Whitfield pellet stoves are listed in this parts list on our web...

FIREPLACE SAFETY TIPS: It is important to remember that the glass panels and surface in and around all fireplaces and stoves can become extremely hot due to the high efficiency of these products. After turning off your gas fireplace or stove, wait for the appliance and glass panel to cool down before allowing anyone to get near it. The glass may remain warm from a lit pilot light. Metal surfaces, such as door frames and grilles, may also get very hot. Make sure all visitors are aware of the hot temperature of the glass panel of a fireplace or stove....

You might ask "What is Biomass?". It's the vegetable residue of agricultural operations such as growing crops, milling timber, farming cattle and clearing ground. Residential, or premium grade wood pellets contain nothing else but wood. No glues are needed in the production of pellets. When the pulped wood or sawdust is forced into the wood pellet die under pressure and heat, natural binding material already present, (lignin), allows the pellet to hold its shape. A premium grade pellet contains very little potential ash. 1%. Standard, or commercial grade pellets contain more impurities, 3% potential ash. This is because paper, bark,...