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A Quick Guide to The Best Pellet Stoves on the Market

The best pellet stoves are becoming a desirable alternative for heating homes. As furnace-style burners, pellet stoves add an element of old-timey woodstove charm to a contemporary space, and they use pellets as fuel. Pellets are a type of fuel created from compressed biomass, including wood (most commonly the industrial byproduct of waste sawdust), agricultural waste, food waste, and crops. Pellets are small and of a uniform size and shape, making them ideal for use in the hoppers of the best pellet stoves.

How Pellet Stoves Work

Comfortbilt HP22i Pellet Stove 150x150

Pellets are placed into a hopper then fed via an auger into the combustion chamber. Today’s best pellet stoves tend to have a thermostat, which helps to determine how hot the fire burns, which is correlated to how fast the auger delivers pellets. Air enters the combustion chamber to maintain a flame. Exiting the combustion chamber is the heat exchanger, and air blows over the heat exchanger so convection current can sent hot air through the heat exchanger into the room to subsequently heat it.

Our Top 3 Best Pellet Stoves

Smart Controller
Castle 12327 Serenity Wood Pellet Stove with Smart Controller
Castle 12327 Serenity Wood Pellet Stove with Smart Controller

The Serenity Stove is designed to be easy to clean - there are no tubes, corrugations, or hidden chambers

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Epa certified
Pleasant Hearth 35,000 BTU Medium Pellet Stove
Pleasant Hearth 35,000 BTU Medium Pellet Stove

Includes an outside air kit and convection blower

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Large ceramic glass window
Pleasant Hearth 2,200 Sq. Ft. Large Wood Burning Stove
Pleasant Hearth 2,200 Sq. Ft. Large Wood Burning Stove

It is compatible also with a variable speed blower (not included) to spread the heat throughout the space quietly yet powerfully.

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How to Choose the Best Pellet Stove for Your Space and Life

  • Ensure that the pellet stove’s efficiency and output match the space in which it will be heating. Most pellet stoves are slated to have between 75% and 90% efficiency and output between 40,000 to 50,000 BTU.
  •  Consider the purpose of the pellet stove in your space – is it for heating the entire home or a portion of it?
  • Be aware of options for positioning the stove within your space. Avoid corners or nooks that would obstruct any heat being emitted and keep the heat from circulating freely. Also, be aware that a bit of electricity is required for the pellet stove (e.g., pellet transfer to combustion chamber, air blower).
  • Think about your heat tolerance and/or preferences. The best pellet stoves vary in their heating capacity – some heat a space very quickly and intensely, while others have more variable temperature control options.
  • Consider the type of pellet type required. Of course, in order to operate your pellet stove, you’ll need the proper fuel for it. Make sure the pellet type is accessible, and then, beyond that, make sure that you can get the best kind of that pellet for premium heat.
  • Remember that pellet stoves need to be maintained, and the maintenance required varies from model to model.
  • Determine where you want the placement of the hopper – on top or bottom. Research pros and cons to both to help you decide.

Best Pellet Stoves Options

Below is a compilation of five of the best pellet stoves to choose from.

1. Serenity Wood Pellet Stove with Smart Controller

Comfortbilt HP22i Pellet Stove 150x150

The Castle 12327 Serenity wood pellet stove provides a modern reinvention of the way a home is heated. With its included smart controller, users can choose from several operational modes for heating the home on a schedule – the modes include manual, thermostat, and weekly. Not only can you set the wood pellet stove based upon the calendar and time with the 24-hour programmable smart controller, but you can also set a local thermostat (or manual override) to operate on one of five burn levels.

The Serenity provides style and practicality at an affordable cost, and it is easy to install. Upright and with a small footprint, this wood pellet stove saves space and energy while providing the space the heat you want…when you want it. Not only that, but the Serenity’s design makes it easy to clean because of the absence of tubes, corrugations, or hidden chambers. Instead, the easy-to-access firepot and ash pan can simply be dumped, and the exhaust pipe swept out for cleaning requirements.

Specifications: 77W operating wattage, 120V, nearly 70% thermal efficiency, and 1,500 square feet heating capacity with 31,960 BTU.

Smart Controller
Castle 12327 Serenity Wood Pellet Stove with Smart Controller
Castle 12327 Serenity Wood Pellet Stove with Smart Controller

The Serenity Stove is designed to be easy to clean - there are no tubes, corrugations, or hidden chambers

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2. Pleasant Hearth Medium Pellet Stove

Comfortbilt HP22i Pellet Stove 150x150

The Pleasant Hearth medium pellet stove provides excellent burning efficiency to maximize the cozy heating of your space. Features of the Pleasant Hearth include an auto light ignition, five heat settings, a comfort control system, and the option to run continuously at minimum or maximum. The Pleasant Hearth has the charming look of a more traditional wood stove.
Very little assembly is required to install the Pleasant Hearth, and the kit includes an outside air kit and convection blower to disseminate heat throughout the space. This highly efficient pellet stove is rated at 85% efficiency by the EPA, which means you’re not going to be paying for excess heat.

Specifications: 85% efficiency (EPA certified), up to 1,750 square feet heating capacity with 35,000 BTU.

Epa certified
Pleasant Hearth 35,000 BTU Medium Pellet Stove
Pleasant Hearth 35,000 BTU Medium Pellet Stove

Includes an outside air kit and convection blower

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3. Pleasant Hearth Large Pellet Stove

Comfortbilt HP22i Pellet Stove 150x150

Similar in some ways to the medium Pleasant Hearth pellet stove, this Large version is much more powerful in its heating capacity. It involves up to 77,000 BTUs per hour in order to heat up to 2,200 square feet. A large ceramic glass window in the front-loading solid cast iron door allows you to watch the fire as it burns, which adds to the ambiance of the entire fireplace experience.
Cleanup, required for all pellet stoves, is fast and easy with the Pleasant Hearth Large model because of an ash drawer that can be easily removed, emptied, and replaced.

Specifications: EPA certified, up to 2,200 square foot heating capacity with 77,000 BTU.

Large ceramic glass window
Pleasant Hearth 2,200 Sq. Ft. Large Wood Burning Stove
Pleasant Hearth 2,200 Sq. Ft. Large Wood Burning Stove

It is compatible also with a variable speed blower (not included) to spread the heat throughout the space quietly yet powerfully.

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4 .US Stove 5660 Bay Front Pellet Stove

Comfortbilt HP22i Pellet Stove 150x150

This fully automatic pellet stove looks as well as it works. Six heat settings give you the flexibility to adjust heating needs while the pellet stove is in use, and a 120 CFM blower with automatic circulation helps to spread the heat evenly throughout the room. An easy-to-operate LED display is readable and, as this type of digital control board tends to do, allows for easy, one-touch heating adjustments.

Perhaps most notable is the large bay window door at the front and front corners of the pellet stove, made from air wash glass. The design is durable yet sleek, and versatile in nearly any space. Auto ignition and a temperature-controlled circulation blower add to the US Stove 5660’s usability, and efficiency is kicked up a notch with its integrated damper control and heat tube scraper.

Specifications: Up to 2,200 square foot heating capacity with up to 48,000 BTU.

1 Year Warranty
US Stove 5660 Bay Front Pellet Stove
US Stove 5660 Bay Front Pellet Stove

6 heat settings allow the ability to adjust to your heating needs

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5. Comfortbilt HP22i Pellet Stove/Fireplace Insert

Comfortbilt HP22i Pellet Stove 150x150

The Comfortbilt HP22i is large, with a 47-pound hopper capacity, but that’s not its calling card. This highly efficient pellet stove is designed to be easily installed as a fireplace insert to add cost-effective warmth and beauty to your space. It’s, fittingly, carbon black.A large viewing area set in the bay window layout maximizes the charm of a blazing flame while also providing greater heat outreach.

Specifications: EPA certified, 110V, up to 2,000 square foot heating capacity with 42,000 BTU.

High efficiency
Comfortbilt HP22i Pellet Stove
Comfortbilt HP22i Pellet Stove

The HP22i comes with programmable heat settings and auto ignition for easy usability.

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We hope you have found this article useful in your research to find the best pellet stoves!