# Pellets in wood stoves - bradley burner?



## spirilis (Sep 8, 2009)

Anyone use this product?  http://www.bradleyburner.com/

Sounds neat, a grill to let you burn pellets in a woodstove.   I just bought a house a few months ago and it came with 2 older woodstoves (airtight, non-EPA certified) and the big stove upstairs could probably fit this device.  There's no woodpile on my property and it'd probably take some landscaping to get a good platform for a pile (in fact I'm a bit curious how the previous owners burned theirs, the old lady must've got wood from her son or burned those Duraflame logs), so I was looking into alternatives and found out about this.  Pellet and corn stoves sound neat but I'd rather not shell out thousands of dollars for something if I don't have to.


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## MCPO (Sep 8, 2009)

spirilis said:
			
		

> Anyone use this product?  http://www.bradleyburner.com/
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> Sounds neat, a grill to let you burn pellets in a woodstove.   I just bought a house a few months ago and it came with 2 older woodstoves (airtight, non-EPA certified) and the big stove upstairs could probably fit this device.  There's no woodpile on my property and it'd probably take some landscaping to get a good platform for a pile (in fact I'm a bit curious how the previous owners burned theirs, the old lady must've got wood from her son or burned those Duraflame logs), so I was looking into alternatives and found out about this.  Pellet and corn stoves sound neat but I'd rather not shell out thousands of dollars for something if I don't have to.



Are you joking? Your old non EPA stoves are probably already innefficient.  I`m not saying this contraption won`t burn but by design it would have to be rediculously innefficient .
 Heh,heh imagine that, a pellet grill made to fit inside a wood stove. Maybe I can get my little charcoal Hibachi to burn in my garage wood stove too .


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## spirilis (Sep 8, 2009)

Gio said:
			
		

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I don't doubt it, but I thought pellet fuel would burn more efficiently by design regardless of the apparatus--since it's very dry?  Only problem I can see is how often I'd have to add pellets, but judicious use of the damper should let me slow down the burn rate.  Would I have to worry about creosote much with pellets?

Either way, it might still be worth it for me instead of shelling out $3K+ for a whole new stove and installation.  Just curious if anyone's used it, is all.


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## BrotherBart (Sep 8, 2009)

Watch that video closely. Just from the flame on the starter gel and then the flames on the established fire you can tell there is a hellu'va draft up that chimney before he lit the thing. And it takes a really strong one to pull air through that pellet basket. Most of those contraptions just sit and smolder.


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## MCPO (Sep 8, 2009)

The video shows the door off the stove , obviously to demonstrate the inviting flames of a fully engulfed pile of pellets.
However, I wonder how well it would burn with the door closed and the air supply turned down low to extend the heat cycle . 
 You gotta know that if the air is wide open those pellets aren`t going to last long and you`ll be babysitting that stove having to reload it every 15-20 minutes. (?) And pook`s comment on the possibility of pyro gas buildup is valid.
 Regardless it`s still interesting concept and I have to compliment the inventor even though he doesn`t give us much to go on.


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## spirilis (Sep 8, 2009)

Definitely a good point about the pyrogas.  It's not a basket btw, rather some special grate to aerate the interior of the pile (so I'm not sure if it's fair to compare it against those pellet baskets that typically smolder).  But those air inlets better be clear or have enough clearance around them... my woodstove might be a bit tight on the front & rear sides for that, unless I cut the rear of it short an inch or so.

It still has me itching to try it.  Just rather not spend $200 trying to do so.  Something about the design makes me think it'd make more sense to have this thing *inside* a pellet basket though, like if you combined the two together you'd have the best of both worlds.  Or maybe take a pellet basket, shove a couple iron pipes through its interior with holes drilled in it... would probably make more sense!


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## spirilis (Sep 8, 2009)

oh yeah, I'd be watching it like a hawk for a couple hours until I get it.  and trying different damper/air inlet positions while watching the stovepipe thermometer.


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## fredarm (Sep 9, 2009)

Use Biobricks or Envi Blocks.  Same fuel as pellets (compressed sawdust and wood chips), brick-shaped to use in a wood stove.  No basket or grate needed.


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## spirilis (Sep 9, 2009)

Ah heh, I couldn't find biobricks or enviblocks where I live (Maryland) but this stuff is available -- http://www.usrecycledwoodproducts.com/distributor.html -- and there's a dealer near my house.  I'll try that before messing with the pellets.  Cost per ton is on par with pellets anyhow.


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## treehackers (Sep 9, 2009)

I think it will just smolder


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## Delta-T (Sep 9, 2009)

Several years ago I had seen and witnessed a devise called a "Promethious Basket" (yes, like the god who gave us fire, for real) that was similar, and did not work so well for making heat for getting warm, but was decent to roast marshmellos on.


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## nlittle (Sep 29, 2009)

spirilis said:
			
		

> Ah heh, I couldn't find biobricks or enviblocks where I live (Maryland) but this stuff is available -- http://www.usrecycledwoodproducts.com/distributor.html -- and there's a dealer near my house.  I'll try that before messing with the pellets.  Cost per ton is on par with pellets anyhow.



I'm getting some of these also, hope they perform.


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## fredarm (Sep 30, 2009)

nlittle said:
			
		

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I'll be honest, I tried some of those Wood Bricks last winter (one of their distributors is in the next town) and I found they didn't work as well as BioBricks.  They tended to smolder rather than burn with flames and broke apart rather than hold their shape while they burned.  They seemed to be made of larger wood chips than the BioBricks and not as tightly compressed.  Give them a try though, they could work better for you, or maybe I just got some bad ones.


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## nlittle (Sep 30, 2009)

fredarm said:
			
		

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Hmmm so maybe I will go to the place that is a little farther and get the bio bricks...they only cost a bit more, but delivery will cost..


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## fredarm (Sep 30, 2009)

Try a package of Wood Bricks first and see how they work for you.  Maybe they've improved from last year.  They are cheaper than BioBricks.


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## spirilis (Oct 1, 2009)

fredarm said:
			
		

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I've given them a couple runs so far in my stoves.  I'm taking delivery of 2 tons of them tonight.  They seem to work well enough for me--they do require kindling to get started, you can't just toss some gel firestarter and expect them to stay lit... but in my Defiant I was able to get it cookin' at 600F on the griddle with 1200F flue temps (like 5" behind the stove using a probe thermometer).  They do break apart a bit, and don't hold their shape, but they burned through okay.  They don't seem as compressed as the biobricks based on what I've seen online.  Once the stove's up to those kind of temps though, it doesn't seem to matter--they burn reliably and given enough time, will burn down to a pile of ashes mixed with a little unburned black charred sawdust.  Good enough for me.  Just need to stock some kindling now.

I've written about my experiences here-- https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/41230/

Used a total of 10 bricks in my Defiant and 6 in my Jotul series 8 (1st generation with the rotary air control).  The Jotul didn't seem to heat the house much, just the basement and stairwell, but the Defiant had that house cookin' with the thermostat moving from 72F at ~10PM to 89F at ~3AM.


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## fredarm (Oct 2, 2009)

[quote author="spirilis" date="1254438754] Used a total of 10 bricks in my Defiant and 6 in my Jotul series 8 (1st generation with the rotary air control).  The Jotul didn't seem to heat the house much, just the basement and stairwell, but the Defiant had that house cookin' with the thermostat moving from 72F at ~10PM to 89F at ~3AM.[/quote]

Yeah, those old Defiants will throw the heat when you get them going.  89F is getting into sauna territory!


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