Victorian Stove
New Member
currently it is in communications and they are working on it. and yes, sugar coating the word doesn't make it safer.
My Wiseway non electric stove experience
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wow, thanks for sharing. I was really considering one of these for my lower level, but not any more.
Thanks to OP for posting. Have also been interested in these given our frequency of long power outages. We have two pellet stoves now. First purchased just to warm up a cold family room with lots of glass but it has become our only heat source in shoulder season and a big help in the really cold months. Our electric rates run about 12.5 cents per KWh and it's a heat pump only house. I can hear the money draining out when those backup strips turn on. Thinking of building a new house with very low energy usage and ability to be near net zero in a few years. One of these may be part of that plan!
Victorian Stove
New Member
All are gone! Every unit I sold has gone back to my distributor. He said they are going to do some testing with an improved unit, all I can say is they have a lot of proving to get me to sell them again.
Thanks for posting VS. When these have come up in the past I have done a little looking and always came across the hopper fire issue. And "we are working on it".
Victorian Stove
New Member
Just an update to all who want to take a chance on a gravity feed pellet stove. I have been in this business for many years and have seen them come and go. The problem is this product has not had enough testing and is a well known problem with the hopper fires. The manufacture and distributors are sugar coating the issue and saying they are working on it and testing a new design. The real issue is they are still selling a product they know has a serious problem.
I like my customers and don't feel they are test pigs, these need to all go back to the manufacture and not to be sold until they are completely safe, no excuses.
I like my customers and don't feel they are test pigs, these need to all go back to the manufacture and not to be sold until they are completely safe, no excuses.
pellet powered
New Member
My experience is much different. I have a WiseWay and yes I'm a dealer. However, I have one in my home and it is perfectly safe. It heats my 1966 Ranch house with single pane windows to 70 degrees without the use of fans and I have had NO "burn back" issues. I use premium pellets with a high BTU and low ash rating(less than .5%). The burn back occurs with the use of cheap pellets that burn very slowly and create lots of ash. The amazing thing about the WiseWay is it does exactly what it claims to do. It uses no electricity and has no parts to break. Everything the stove will ever need can be easily addressed by the homeowner, who, by the way, will have heat whenever and where ever he or she needs it even without power!
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So does the unit come with an applicable label regarding safety and quality of fuel? Not sure how the average owner would know this. Additionally, does this mean this stove isn't sold in areas that only have access to high ash pellets?
Mt Bob
Minister of Fire
(broken link removed to http://www.ebay.com/itm/WiseWay-Non-Electric-Gravity-Fed-Pellet-Stove-/261349334526)
ive been kicking an idea around of a battery started teg regenerated design, little more than concept at this point, haven't figured out the power curve yet, its kinda fun in a torturous way.
pellet powered
New Member
Yes, the owners manual recommends soft wood pellets, particularly Douglas fir and outlines all proper operating instructions. I burn Vermont wood pellets and have had good luck with curran softwood pellets and even energex softwood pellets. The concept or the stove is somewhat similar to a rocket stove and as such needs a pellet that burns quickly. Additionally, pellets should be 1/2 inch or shorter. I go through a bag to a bag and a half of pellets a day and again the stove keeps my average, not so well insulated home a balmy 70 degrees. I haven't even used a fan to circulate heat yet. As far as areas where premium pellets are available, I can only speak to my experience here in Rutland,vt. I can only assume that quality softwood pellets are available in other areas. You may have to look and try different brands but in my opinion, it's worth it for what you get, a pellet stove capable of 58,000 BTUs that only needs pellets to work. This stove is a completed product that has been 10 years in the making and has EPA certification and a UL listing. The notion that the manufacturer is using its customers for guinea pigs is ridiculous.
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Harvey Schneider
Minister of Fire
I have this image stuck in my head of a stove with a Sterling engine (an external combustion, heat engine) strapped on top. A pulley and line shaft driving the augers and blowers. The cool thing about that arrangement is that all you have to do is hand feed it enough pellets to get the engine to start turning and it becomes self sustaining. Again, theoretically possible but, I don't think anybody is going to go there.
And no, I 'm not related to Rube Goldberg. (Although he is one of my heros)
I posted questions about the stove just to see if I get a response.
Why are you selling a one month old stove? Have you had any hopper
fires in it?
Bill
They say in the eBay ad that they both work twelve hour shifts and can't be at home to baby sit it and probably will buy a conventional pellet stove.
Yes. But prior to that they indicate how it is a breeze to use and doesn't require electricity. Yet they want to go conventional. Hmm...
pellet powered
New Member
The WiseWay Pellet Stove is a wood stove that burns pellets. Like we all know, a wood stove needs daily attention to run well and burn hot. I stoke my fire in the WiseWay twice a day to achieve a hot burn. An electric pellet stove can run for a day or more with no attention. I can see why someone who is hardly home would prefer an electric pellet stove. However, when the power goes out- no pellet stove. Also, typical electric pellet stove cleaning takes 30 minutes to up to an hour every couples of weeks or so and can be very laborsome. Cleaning the WiseWay on any given day takes less than ten minutes and is quite simple and rewarding.
i feel plenty of reward spending 20-30 min a week cleaning mine. And I dont have to empty my ash pan daily
pellet powered
New Member
Of course! I have an electric pellet stove too that I have had for 6 years and I like how well it runs after I clean it. That is rewarding. However, I can't say that I enjoy cleaning it or that the process is rewarding. I shut down and clean my WiseWay every few days and it takes less time and considerably less effort.i feel plenty of reward spending 20-30 min a week cleaning mine. And I dont have to empty my ash pan daily
OP here,
Figured I would give an update. My stove has been performing the same as in my original post. That is a little higher in pellet usage than I desired for cost savings but not overly excessive. The heat is good and I have not had any hopper fires. I do burn the recommended low ash fir pellets however that is the pellet that is predominate in my area. Three brands are packaged off the same line by the old Atlas plant in Shelton, along with 1 brand packaged in Tacoma are what we seem to have available. I also shut my stove down after a few hours and do not let it just burn all of the pellets as instructed in the owners manual. I usually do two burns a day one in the morning and one in the evening shutting down around lunch and bed time. This is how I am managing my pellet usage to obtain the cost savings I was hoping for. We just went through one of the coldest weeks and burned a few hours longer during the day on the weekend but still shut it down for a few hours.
I also will state that I am not a dealer since that might not have been clear after reading some of the other post.
There was also a question on my electric rates that I would like to answer. The question was about my "true" KWH rate (Total Bill/ KWH used). The 6.5 cents is the billing rate per KWH used not total bill. There is also a $15 a month connection charge that I would pay even if all I had was the meter with nothing connected. Since I wanted to compare the replacement of baseboard heating with pellet stoves I did not include that in my calculations. So far for the months of Oct and Nov I did save a little bit of money compared to last year minus the cost of the 3/4 ton that I have burned during that time. The saving would be enough for a dinner out. That does not factor in the cost of the stove so it will take a few years to break even. However the house is generally warmer now then when we used the baseboards last winter. Add in the fact that I now have a way to heat when we lose power and I am satisfied.
Mike
Figured I would give an update. My stove has been performing the same as in my original post. That is a little higher in pellet usage than I desired for cost savings but not overly excessive. The heat is good and I have not had any hopper fires. I do burn the recommended low ash fir pellets however that is the pellet that is predominate in my area. Three brands are packaged off the same line by the old Atlas plant in Shelton, along with 1 brand packaged in Tacoma are what we seem to have available. I also shut my stove down after a few hours and do not let it just burn all of the pellets as instructed in the owners manual. I usually do two burns a day one in the morning and one in the evening shutting down around lunch and bed time. This is how I am managing my pellet usage to obtain the cost savings I was hoping for. We just went through one of the coldest weeks and burned a few hours longer during the day on the weekend but still shut it down for a few hours.
I also will state that I am not a dealer since that might not have been clear after reading some of the other post.
There was also a question on my electric rates that I would like to answer. The question was about my "true" KWH rate (Total Bill/ KWH used). The 6.5 cents is the billing rate per KWH used not total bill. There is also a $15 a month connection charge that I would pay even if all I had was the meter with nothing connected. Since I wanted to compare the replacement of baseboard heating with pellet stoves I did not include that in my calculations. So far for the months of Oct and Nov I did save a little bit of money compared to last year minus the cost of the 3/4 ton that I have burned during that time. The saving would be enough for a dinner out. That does not factor in the cost of the stove so it will take a few years to break even. However the house is generally warmer now then when we used the baseboards last winter. Add in the fact that I now have a way to heat when we lose power and I am satisfied.
Mike
pellet powered
New Member
As far as the ash pan, I don't mind. Overall, I just like the simplicity of the WiseWay. I always loved the radiant heat of a wood stove but hated the work and mess of it. The WiseWay is the best of both for me!i feel plenty of reward spending 20-30 min a week cleaning mine. And I dont have to empty my ash pan daily
pellet powered
New Member
The Wiseway. The Bixby just collects dust at the moment. Like I said, I enjoy the radiant heat and ease of use. The truth if the matter is It was about time to clean the bixby when I switched over to the Wiseway and I wasn't looking forward to cleaning for a half hour. I will shut the Wiseway down in a day or so to clean it. A simple run or two with the shop vac and I'll re light it. BTW- how do you know I have a Bixby? I don't think I mentioned that.
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