Pellets/Granules

[turpin]

Hi all this is my first post here so I hope I am in the right place for this sort of question.

I live in the French Alps where it will soon be getting pretty chilly...I have looked into installing a large wood stove in the centre of the house and during my enquiries I have become interested in the pellet or granule stoves....they seem like a better solution for a family home and more economical if I can find the higher initial cost of purchasing one. I had one concern which was about the noise it might make, especially at night.....does anyone have any experience of this...do you hear falling granules, mechanical sounds from the hopper and release mechanism? The stove would be in a large hallway near bedrooms which is why noise is a concern for me. Any experiences would be welcome.

Thanks......Nick

 

[fletchtb]

I would think that you would hear the constant noise of the fans running on the stove no matter what brand of stove you have. On my stove (an Enviro Empress) the pellets are dropped into the burn pot from above, and I can hear them "clink" into the burn pot. It is not very loud, but I can hear it. I can not hear my auger motor from my bedroom. Overall, it is not a very disturbing noise. It is kind of white noise that is easy to fall asleep to.

If you have children or someone that goes to bed before you do, they might hear you fill the hopper with pellets if you fill the stove before you go to bed for the evening. This does not wake up my kids, but it has woken me up if my wife fills the hopper while I am asleep.

If there is a stove shop near you that sells pellet stoves, I would recommend stopping by to hear and see a pellet stove in action.

Good Luck.

Thanks,
Todd

 

[turpin]

Todd

Thanks so much for your reply, I didn't think about the fan at all.....I guess a conventional log stove makes a certain amount of noise but I was concerned the pellet stove might sound more like a machine than the crackle of a log stove.
I will try and find one in action to observe. Sounds like the worse noise is the hopper filing which I could do before my kids are in bed.

Thanks....Nick.