This is our official list in search of the best pellet stoves on the market today. Scroll further down for full details on each product and a useful guide to all you need to know about pellet stoves.
Quick Look:
- 5.0 out of 5.0 stars Pleasant Hearth Cabinet Style 50000 BTU’s Pellet Stove
- 4.5 out of 5.0 stars Castle 12327 Serenity Wood Pellet Stove with Smart Controller
- 4.5 out of 5.0 stars Pleasant Hearth 1,200 Square Feet Wood Burning Stove
- 4.5 out of 5.0 stars Comfortbilt Pellet Stove-HP61
- 4.0 out of 5.0 stars Pelpro Pellet Stove – Model# PP130
We know time is of the essence, so the above is a cheat sheet of what’s ahead, just in case your’re in a hurry. Otherwise, keep scrolling down for more detailed and constructive info on each item.
5 Highest Reviewed Pellet Stoves to Consider
With the cost of energy always on the rise, a large chunk of your monthly expenses represents the cost to adequately heat your home. The electricity from the local utility company is more expensive than heating your home with wood pellets, which is why the pellet stove is a great investment. Below you’ll find the top five choices we’ve compiled and ranked for your consideration.
1.) Pleasant Hearth Cabinet Style 50000 BTU’s Pellet Stove
Here we have a cabinet style pellet stove from Pleasant Hearth, and it’s capable of heating up to 2,200 square feet of space. With a heat rating of 50,000 BTUs, this stove can generate enough heat for an entire home, or it can serve as a powerful supplemental heat source.
It’s designed with a 120-pound hopper, which has enough room for plenty of pellets. The burn time for this stove is between 24 to 70 hours, and it has been certified by the EPA for energy efficiency.
The ignition automatically lights, and depending on your desired comfort level you can choose from five different heat settings.
Unlike some other products, this stove can run continuously on the minimum and maximum heat settings. It also comes with an outside convection blower and air kit, which requires minimal assembly.
PROS
- Cleaning is very easy
- Heats 2,200 square feet of space
- Works well as a supplemental heat source
- Holds 120 pounds of pellets at a time
CONS
- Must be cleaned often
2.) Castle 12327 Serenity Wood Pellet Stove with Smart Controller
The Castle 12327 Serenity pellet stove is another top product, and it offers a thermal efficiency of 69.8 percent. It provides enough heat to cover 1,500 square feet, and it has an automatic ignition. This pellet stove comes with five blower speeds and feed rates, and it has been certified by the EPA.
A unique feature that this product offers is a smart controller, which allows you to choose between several different operating modes.
Depending on your specific needs, you can set the smart controller for weekly, thermostat or manual heating modes, which makes it easy to program the stove according to your schedule.
Like all other Castle pellet stoves, this product offers practicality, style and affordability, and it features a compact, stylish design. The smart controller makes it easier to heat your home, and the other features are made to work perfectly with the programming.
PROS
- Very reliable and built well
- Easy to clean and requires minimal maintenance
- Thermostat is built into the design
- Stylish and attractive
CONS
- Hopper only holds 40 pounds of pellets
3.) Pleasant Hearth 1,200 Square Feet Wood Burning Stove
Here we have a smaller pellet stove from Pleasant Hearth, and it can heat an area with up to 1,200 square feet of space. With such a small size, this product might serve as an alternative heat source for your home, and it can burn for six to eight hours on a single load.
This Pleasant Hearth pellet stove has a pedestal base and uses a blower to produce up to 50,000 BTUs of energy. It’s designed to be used with cord wood, and it fits onto a six-inch stovepipe.
This stove has been certified by the EPA for efficiency, and it’s a non-catalytic wood burning product. It also might be the best wood burning stove on the market. It’s approved for use in mobile homes, but you’ll need to purchase the air intake kit separately.
The Pleasant Hearth wood burning stove comes with a ceramic glass window, and the firebox is lined with bricks. It’s designed to connect to a six-inch chimney, and with an approval from the EPA, it burns wood efficiently.
PROS
- Made with a solid build
- Very efficient and heats up large space within minutes
- Ash compartment makes maintenance easy
- Ideal for a small home
CONS
- Burn time could be increased
4.) Comfortbilt Pellet Stove-HP61
The Comfortbilt Pellet Stove-HP61 can produce between 42,000 and 50,000 BTUs, and it has no trouble heating up a large space. With a powerful heating capacity, this stove can cover a space of 2,000 square feet, and it comes with a large viewing window.
Unlike some other stoves, the viewing window on this product is made with anodized bronze. The hopper can hold 55 pounds of pellets, which is enough for a few hours of burn time.
The Comfortbilt Pellet Stove-HP61 comes with a programmable thermostat, ash pan, and auto ignition, and the powerful blower is rated at 86 percent burn efficiency. The stove runs on 110 volts of power, and it can qualify for most state tax incentives.
PROS
- Heats 1,200 square feet in one hour
- Uses about 40 pounds of pellets per day on low
- Easy to install
- Qualifies for most state tax incentives
CONS
- Requires a lot of cleaning
5.) Pelpro Pellet Stove – Model# PP130
The Pelpro Pellet Stove can heat 2,200 square feet of space, and the hopper can hold a whopping 130 pounds of pellets, which is significantly more than most other stoves. This product has a burn efficiency of 85 percent, and it can burn for 80 hours on a single load.
For convenience, it offers three different heat settings, and it serves as a great way to reduce your energy bills. The heat level is adjustable, and the auto ignition delivers efficient heat. This stove is made to run on wood pellets, and it can run longer than most other stoves on a single load.
PROS
- Massive hopper capacity can hold 130 pounds
- Adjustable heat settings
- Can burn for 80 hours on one load
- 85 percent burn efficiency
CONS
- Could be built better
Beginners Guide to Choosing a Good Pallet Stove
Some homeowners purchase a pellet stove for supplemental heat, and others use it as a primary heat source. Modern pellet stoves look like fireplace inserts, but they burn pellets and not wood. If you’re considering purchasing a pellet stove, you should know the advantages of burning pellets.
Most homeowners don’t know that the pellets are actually made of recycled sawdust, peanut shells, walnuts, corn and wood shavings. Once these biomasses have been chopped up and compressed, they can be burned inside of a modern pellet stove.
The pellets are sold in large bags, and they look like rabbit feed. The recycled materials that pellets are made from would’ve ended up inside of a landfill, and by purchasing a pellet stove, you can save money and reduce your dependence on oil. The combustion mechanics within the stove caused pellets to burn very hot, which allows them to burn much more efficiently and cleaner than wood.
What Is a Pellet Stove?
A pellet stove looks like it should burn wood, but it’s designed to burn small pellets, which are made from recycled materials. With the right stove, you can turn down your household thermostat and enjoy reduced energy bills.
If you live in a cold climate, then about 33 percent of your annual utility bill is paid to heat your home. With such a high cost for heating, many homeowners are purchasing and installing a pellet stove to get some relief. Several popular models can be installed into an existing fireplace, and they’re designed to operate like a modern furnace.
Once the stove is installed, all you need to do is fill the hopper with pellets and set the thermostat to your desired setting. When the stove is running, it uses a mechanical auger to deposit pellets into the burn pot. The stove incinerates the pellets at an incredibly high temperature, which prevents creosote buildup and vent clogging. Since they produce very little emissions and ash, your indoor air will stay clean.
When compared to older woodstoves, modern pellet stoves are about twice as efficient, and depending on the size of your home, a single unit might be able to heat your entire home. For larger homes, pellet stoves serve as efficient sources of supplemental heat.
How to Use Them
A pellet stove is very reliable, and if you’re going to purchase one, you should know how to use it. The only downside of a pellet stove is that it requires electricity, but during a power outage, it can run on a battery source. To use the stove, you’ll need to place pellets into the hopper or storage bin.
After you’ve added the pellets, the stove will automatically move the pellets into the burn pot, which is where the pellets are incinerated and used to generate heat.
If you want to avoid major problems, it’s very important to make sure you’re always using the correct fuel source. All stoves are designed to be used with certain types of pellets. Your stove must also be maintained properly, and you should examine and clean the burn pot daily. The ash drawer should be emptied weekly, and you can follow the included instructions when you need to clean the heat exchanger.
Who Uses Them and Why
The main purpose of a pellet stove is to produce clean, efficient heat, and when used with the correct type of pellets, it will serve its purpose well. Most of these products are used by homeowners, and modern pellet stoves can help you reduce the cost of heating your home.
Some people use pellet stoves as a supplemental heat source, but if you have a smaller home, the stove can serve as your primary source of heat. The cost of electricity is always going up, and homeowners are always looking for ways to save money.
Since pellet stoves offer greater heating efficiency than many alternative heating sources, they’ve become very popular, and the market share for these products is quickly catching up with conventional heat sources.
Benefits of Pellet Stoves
One of the major advantages of these products is that they’re very easy to use. When compared to the alternatives, the best pellet stove is easier to operate and much more convenient. Since they only need to be loaded with pellets once every one or two days, you don’t have to monitor them constantly.
The process for loading the pellets is also quick and easy, and it consists of opening the hopper and pouring some pellets into it. Another advantage of owning a pellet stove is the lack of smoke. Some alternatives stoves can produce unwanted smoke and cause your home to smell terrible.
Stoves that burn pellets are also very safe, and they produce almost no external heat while operating. You can install this product one inch away from a wall in your home, and there will be no risk of a fire. If you have children or pets, a pellet stove is one of the best heat sources that you can own.
There is also the benefit of low emissions, and since the burning process is very efficient, these products have almost no environmental impact.
Drawbacks
If you’re planning to invest money into one of these products, you should be aware of the drawbacks. Most of the pellets for these stoves are made in the Pacific Northwest, which can be a drawback if you live in a warmer climate.
Another potential drawback is the fact that pellet stoves still use electricity, but the monthly consumption is very low. Unfortunately, these products cannot be installed in manufactured homes, and the initial cost of the stove can be quite large.
What to Look for In a Good Pellet Stove
When shopping for the best pellet stove, you should know what to look for. The two main styles are top-fed and bottom-fed stoves, and each type offers its own benefits and drawbacks. The major advantage of purchasing a top-fed pellet stove is that it’s less likely to send fire back into the hopper.
However, top-fed models are more vulnerable to clinkers and ash buildup. If you decide to get a top-fed stove, make sure to burn low-ash, high-grade pellets, which helps to prevent these problems.
Bottom-fed pellet stoves don’t need premium fuel because they push ash and debris into the ash pan. However, bottom-fed models require you to empty the ash drawer every week. Before purchasing a new pellet stove, you should consider the electrical requirements.
If the area you live infrequently loses power, then consider a stove that can run on a battery backup. You might also consider purchasing a stove that doesn’t require any electricity. A very important feature to consider is the heat output. The stove’s heating capacity is measured in BTUs, which is the amount of heat produced per hour. Most products are rated between 8,000 and 90,000 BTUs, and you shouldn’t have any trouble finding the perfect BTU rating for your home.
Before you decide on a particular model, decide if you want a freestanding unit or insert. An insert must be installed into an existing fireplace, and a freestanding stove doesn’t require a fireplace.
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Wrapping Up
When compared to the rising cost of electricity, the heat from a pellet stove is much more affordable, and it can help you save money on your monthly utility bills.
Modern pellet stoves serve as great supplemental heaters for larger homes, and if you have a smaller home, you might be able to use a pellet stove as your primary heat source. The best wood burning stove can quickly heat a living room and keep you warm and comfortable during winter.