Friday, December 14, 2007


The folks at Lennox think its time to retire the Whitfield Advantage.


Here are three good reasons that they should not.


1. The best design and looks ( we sold thousands of them)


2. Easy to work on ( takes me half the time to service a Whitfield Advantage as any other product)


3. Easy for you the customer to understand.


SOOO..... you Thousands of Customers in Sacramento and across the country email Lennox and tell them to keep making the Advantage! email to info@LennoxHP.com.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Hi Folks,

As you can see all the major suppliers in Sacramento have pellets this year. The truth is last year there were plenty of pellets sitting at the PELLET PLANTS, it just takes a lot of trucks to get the fuel here. December and January are not good months to ship pellets from the North West. Like 1990 when we had a so called shortage of pellets in Sacramento the next yeat the customers bought their Winter suppy early and the outlets secured more fuel for there outlets.
Looking for a great deal on a New or recoditioned Pellet stove Pellet Stove Guys is the place to go!


KEEP WARM!

Robin

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

More people, more rules. Not blowing smoke in someones face is the price we pay for such wonderful friends and neighbors.
The Feds have new restrictions on small particulates in our air. Such particles have been found to cause serious cardiovascular and pulmonary problems in humans. They contribute to ailments the likes of bronchitis, asthma, coughing, and even premature death in people with heart and lung disease. In an effort to meet federal standards the Sac. Co. air quality control board decided to implement voluntary no burn alert at 25 micrograms per cubic meter of small particle pollution followed by a two stage mandatory no burn days if pollution levels worsen.
Fireplaces, wood stove and pellet stoves account for more or less, half the particulates in our winter air. Stage one restricts use of open fireplaces (indoor & outdoor) as well as non EPA approved wood stoves (those built before July 1, 1990) The estimate for such no burn days (between Nov. 1st and Feb. 28th of each year, starting this year) is about thirty days.
If pollution levels worsen no burn days will be issued for EPA approved woodstoves and pellet stoves as well. (stage two) The estimate of no burn days for approved wood stoves and pellet stoves is about 11 per year, (phase two). Advisories will be broadcast and posted in the paper and internet. More lee-way was given to approved wood stoves and pellet stoves because they burn cleaner than open fireplaces. Approved woodstoves average 18 times cleaner and pellet stoves average 48 times cleaner in regards to the small particulates (pm 2.5) which are being restricted.
Thru March 2008, based on limited funding, the air quality management district ( 874-7422) is offering incentives in the form of vouchers ranging from $250 to $500 towards purchase of cleaner burning wood, pellet & gas appliances to replace open fireplaces and old wood stoves. Some alternatives to open fireplaces include:
Gas Logs : Non restricted, almost zero particulates, some ambiance, not much heat, not cheap to run , adds to global warming.
Gas Fireplace Inserts & freestanding stoves: Similar to gas logs except that the heat is extracted from the fire and radiated or blown into your room. Excellent heat source. Price -$1500-$3000.
Pellet fireplace inserts and freestanding stoves: Burn pelletized saw dust and agricultural waste. Cleanest burning solid fuel appliance, smaller fire, good heat, require some routine & year end maintenance. Price $2,000 - $4,000.
EPA Phase II certified wood inserts and freestanding stoves: Not your granddaddy’s stove, designed to burn much cleaner and emit more heat. Still requires start-up, warm up, handling wood and ashes, plenty of heat but require attention. Price $1800 - $4000.
Electric Fireplaces: Cheaper, amazingly real fake fire. Produce heat, but at greater cost than natural gas. Pollute at power plant. Price $200-$800.
All these devices have windows for viewing the fire and offer various degrees of heat.
All of them provide some ambiance and more warmth to the bum and bones because unlike central heat, the heat source is sitting there in your living room. Cat and grandma can cozy up closer to the heat if need be. Heating bills are usually reduced because your heating where you hang out most not the entire house. More than half of the greenhouse gases we emit are produced at home. Using less energy cuts both bills and our carbon footprint, not a bad thing these days
If you need more info., or are considering a pellet or gas fireplace or freestanding stove, give me a call. Free in house consultation in our area
Thanks. Bruce Morse (916)446-5261 or (916)769-3003
Contractor #677888

Friday, November 09, 2007

I have sold over 2000 pellet stoves and serviced that many more over the last 19 years. I would like to hear your comments on what you feel is the best darn pellet stove out there. Pellet stove owners and Service guys lets hear you comments !
I can’t believe all of the poorly installed pellet stoves that I see. 80% of the stoves I am called out on to do a simple service call merit a proper reinstall! They are not sealed, with silicone and screws so they leak carbon dioxide and ash. Folks, don’t expect the so called professionals to do it right either. Most of the jobs I have seen have been put in by paid installers (definitely not professionals). A couple of easy questions you might ask the installer before you let him install you pellet stove insert:

Do you have high temperature silicone?
Do you have metal tape?
Do you have a drill a driver and screws?

If they answers no to any one of these send them packing! There are more questions to ask but this should eliminate the worst imposters.

Friday, October 05, 2007



CHANGE OUT YOUR 20 YEAR PLUSWOOD STOVE !

If your wood stove was made before 1990 its time to step up to the plate and get a new EPA certified wood, gas or pellet stove. Why? You ask.

From a purely health stand point your old wood stove that you love so much is putting up to 50 per hour grams of emissions into our ( the Sacramento Valley). Your old wood stove is putting out as much smoke particles as 10 new technology stoves and up to 50 times more than a pellet stove.

Secondly our local government WILL OUT- LAW all stoves if we the “Wood Burning Citizens” of our region don’t clean up our act. That means burning CLEAN stoves with SEASOND wood or gets a clean burning pellet stove.

One option our board of supervisors has given us is we can have up to thirty no burn days a year. I don’t know about you but I don’t really like that option! This was the recommendation of our air board to bring us into EPA limits on PM2.5

You are truly being a good neighbor if you install a cleaning burning appliance. Your neighbors your children and your friends are entitled to clean air. You get a more efficient stove and clean air.

. Clean solid fuel alternatives are important. We go to war for petroleum, it is carbon negative (wood fuels are carbon neutral) and fossil fuels add to global warming and they are NON-RENEWABLE energy sources. Wood and fiber fuel is totally renewable.

Read your local news paper this is a very serious situation email or give this letter to your neighbor if he is smoking up you neighborhood. Visit your local stove dealer and see what’s new in clean burning wood and pellet appliances. Do your part and we can all enjoy low cost solid fuel fired appliances in our homes for many years to come.

Robin McDonell

Tuesday, May 22, 2007


Its That Time Again!
Well it’s that time of the year again; time to take care of your good friend the pellet stove that gave you so much warmth, atmosphere and enjoyment over the cold winter and wet spring.
(Note side panel full of ash
this stove can't breath!!)
When I ask my customers if they have given their pellet stove a good cleanout, they always reply YES we clean it every day. Well folks at the end of the season you really need to do a little deeper cleaning than what you can see with your eyes. So I put a little list together for you:




1. Emptying ash traps and cleaning exhaust passages behind the fire chamber.
2. Cleaning and lubricating fans and motors.
3. Cleaning the hopper and fuel feed system.
4. Cleaning the heat exchanger system.
5. Cleaning exhaust pipes and resealing the venting system if needed.
6. Verifying and adjusting the stove settings with proper gauges and meters.
7. Mechanical and electric components may eventually wear out and need repair or replacement.


Since service is needed at least on an annual basis. Many stove shops and service technicians offer a service plan that specifies a service schedule, what is covered, travel costs, and other details. If you plan to do your service yourself I recommend hiring a proffesional and watching the first time.


Thanks again,
The Pellet Stove Guys


Do you have Questions?
Send your emails to robin@pelletstoveguys.com