Talk to me about pellet heating...dusty?

[eclecticcottage]

We heat with our Lopi in the cottage. We want to add on, but the way the addition will be situated, it might not be able to take advantage of the heat as well as we would like. The addition will be part garage and part work area for our business. We make t-shirts, so we need a clean, dust free area (or low dust anyway). The garage part will be housing a car only and it's not a daily driver, so it won't be contributing to mess (I'm obessive about keeping her clean). We won't be doing much "garage work" in there, maybe oil changes, but no grinding, etc.

We have three choices-wood, pellet and LP (DV). Wood is out. Dusty, as much as I love using it, it just is, between the ash and wood. Leaves pellets and LP. I was leaning towards pellets but then started thinking that pouring the pellets in the hopper and cleaning out the ash might be dusty too. I'm not against pellets by any means and am not trying to start something, but need to keep our business in mind. So....honestly, are pellets dusty/dirty to use? I'm scoping out a potential DV unit but just can't pull the trigger knowing LP can be expensive in comparison.

Room is likely going to be 12-14' x 18-20' and two story.

 

[Dr.Faustus]

its generally not dusty but it can be due to accidents. like if you connect your ash or shop vac backwards and blow into the stove blowing ash everywhere. yep. did that.

if you're really careful during cleanings it really isnt bad at all. mine is in my livingroom and we get an average amount of dust a home would have without a pellet stove. there should be no smoke smell if installed correctly.

pouring the pellets in is another story. i rip open the top of my bags and dump them in then close the lid quickly. you could either sift the pellets outside or just dump them in a bucket outside and gingerly scoop them into the hopper to cut down on dust.

i'd estimate that a pellet stove should be ok to use around a t shirt operation. one other thing, my pellet stove dries out the air like nobodys business. might want to consider a humidifier to cut down on static elec. when the t shirts are flyin.

 

[Dr.Faustus]

oh just remembered 1 thing... some places have some laws about not being able to use solid fuel burning appliances in garages and work areas. might want to research that, if you plan on doing permits and insurance and such.

 

[Don2222]

Hello

I know someone that just lays down an old blanket in front of the pellet stove at cleaning time just to keep the carpet nice. It works!

It helps the have a raised hearth the keep the dust from getting on the floor or rug too!

LP Gas of course is the cleanest but not the cheapest these days!

 

[eclecticcottage]

Oh cuss...I forgot about that. I think it's an NY law...

We'll talk to the inspector when we get closer to actually doing it. Still need to work on variances for it to begin with.

 

[save$]

Are there any fumes form inks etc. that might support combustion?

 

[GrahamInVa]

Oh cuss...I forgot about that. I think it's an NY law...

We'll talk to the inspector when we get closer to actually doing it. Still need to work on variances for it to begin with.

Down here garage installs are allowed as long and you install an OAK. I just recently checked with my county inspector.

 

[RKS130]

I don't know what experiences other have had, but if I wipe the top of my stove with a damp paper towel it will come up a bit gray with some very fine dust, after just a few days. I am not 100% certain it is from the stove as we live on the road and get a lot of road dust etc, and, of course, any heat source seems to attract dirt/dust.

Maybe others who know more than me and have more experience can comment. The thin film we get is not a problem for us but, I suppose, might be for your shirts.