Pellet stoves have a number of electrical and mechanical components to help make the process of generating heat for your home from burning solid fuel more automated.
This more automated burning process helps remove the requirements to manually add fuel to the fire and makes pellet stoves one of the most efficient forms of fireplace by providing the cleanest burn possible.
However, this requires the range of electrical and mechanical components to be operational throughout the duration of each fire and so does this mean that pellet stoves are noisy as a result?
Pellet stoves are relatively noisy compared to most other forms of fireplace and stove. Internal blower fans required for air supply and heat circulation, and moving augers needed for automated fuel delivery means that all pellet stoves will generate some level of noise during operation.
Compared to our wood burning and multi fuel stoves, our pellet stove is much noisier.
However, this is due to the number of electrical components, and our pellet stove is just as noisy as our electric fireplace. Even though some noise is produced, it’s not a nuisance and the heat output, efficiency and automation that our pellet stove provides us with greatly outweighs the disadvantage of there being some noise.
We’ve explained in more detail below using our own pellet stove as an example:
- Whether all pellet stoves are noisy.
- Why pellet stoves can be noisy.
- How you can help keep noise from a pellet stove to a minimum.
Are All Pellet Stoves Noisy?
All pellet stoves will produce a certain level of noise, but the amount of noise generated can differ between each model of pellet stove. All pellet stoves use the same processes with similar electrical and mechanical components that will create noise during operation.
Pellet stoves are similar to other forms of wood stove in that they’re designed to generate heat for a home from solid fuel.
However, pellet stoves differ to wood stoves in that they’re primarily electrical appliances that need electricity in order to work.
The main benefit of using electrical and mechanical components controlled by a central control unit is that all the systems can work together to provide a cleaner burn and be more efficient at producing heat from every piece of fuel.
A pellet stove will use the right air to fuel ratio to be one of the more efficient forms of fireplace or stoves, which wouldn’t be possible without the use of these electrical and mechanical components.
A traditional wood burning stove typically won’t have any electrical components and so the amount of fuel and air supplying a fire in a wood stove is done manually and therefore subject to user error.
Pellet stoves use a range of sensors to automatically adjust and optimize the fuel and air delivery to increase heat output.
Unfortunately, noise is one of the downsides of burning solid fuel using a range of mechanical and electrical components within pellet stoves.
Our own stove makes some noise when it’s on, but so do all other forms of pellet stove.
The only exception would be for non-electrical versions of pellet stoves, but these models of pellet stove are far less common.
The level of noise made by a pellet stove will differ between each model and so it’s always worth seeing a pellet stove operating first-hand before buying one to ensure that:
- You’re happy with the level of noise made by pellet stoves.
- You’re happy with the amount of noise being generated by a particular model of pellet stove.
Why Is My Pellet Stove Noisy?
The noise from a pellet stove is being produced by the combustion blower in the fume extractor pulling waste air out of the stove and sucking fresh air in, the distribution blower forcing hot air out into a room, and the auger delivering fuel from the hopper to the combustion chamber.
Not all of the electrical components within a pellet stove will be noisy but the main ones that will generate some level of noise during operation can include:
- The combustion blower in the fume extractor
- The distribution blower
- The auger
A pellet stove can’t typically operate efficiently without these components and need to be operational during fires to help reduce emissions and wastage, and maximize heat output.
Fume Extractor
The combustion blower within the fume extractor will be constantly removing waste air from the stove out through the flue, and in turn creating a vacuum within the combustion chamber to suck fresh air in to feed the fire.
The central control unit will be managing how quickly the air is moving through the stove to ensure the most efficient fuel to air ratio by adjusting how quickly the combustion blower inside this fume extractor will be running.
The blower within our own pellet stove is located at the front under the combustion chamber.
This fume extractor has a blower that will be continuously running during operation of the pellet stove, and so we notice a small amount of noise coming from our own fume extractor when our stove is on and generating heat.
Distribution Blower
Pellet stoves are typically some of the more efficient forms of fireplace and stove because the heat from the fire is efficiently transferred to the room as well as efficiently extracted from the fuel.
Pellet stoves will therefore have a distribution blower, the purpose of which is to provide heat to the room through convection of hot air.
The distribution blower in our pellet stove is located just behind and below the combustion chamber inside the stove.
This blower pulls in cooler air from the back of the stove and forces it out the front through a grille-like feature that you’ll typically find on the front of many models of pellet stove.
As this air moves through the stove it heats up as it passes around the combustion chamber, therefore delivering the heat to the room as hot air.
The distribution blower in our pellet stove is probably the noisiest part.
A pellet stove can’t deliver heat efficiently to a room without it, however.
Auger
While for wood burning stoves, the fuel needs to be manually added to the fire, in pellet stoves the fuel in the form of pellets are stored within the stove itself and automatically fed to the combustion chamber to ensure the optimum fuel to air ratio is provided for the cleanest and hottest burn.
This feeding process of fuel to the fire within a pellet stove is undertaken by the auger.
The auger is a screw-like feature with a motor at one end and moves pellets from the hopper to the fire as it turns.
This auger can make a certain level of noise when turning, but from our experience doesn’t make as much noise as the blowers found within our pellet stove.
A pellet stove that’s making more noise than what should be expected from the operation of the components mentioned above may have an underlying issue. We’ve discussed more about helping keep a pellet stove quieter in more detail below.
How Can I Make My Pellet Stove Quieter?
To help keep noise from a pellet stove to a minimum, ensure that the stove is used, cleaned and maintained in line with the manufacturer’s guidelines. A pellet stove can’t be made quieter than what was designed without making changes to the stove itself.
Pellet stoves will always produce a certain level of noise. However, this noise can be exacerbated by problems such as blockages.
To help make a pellet stoves quieter and keep noise to a minimum:
- Clean the stove. Pellet stoves should be cleaned at regular intervals in line with the manufacturer’s guidelines, and the flue should also be cleaned at least once per year.
- Maintain the stove. Seasonal maintenance of a pellet stove should be carried out by a professional, if required within the guidelines.
- Change the door gasket seal if required.
- Tighten any loose fittings.
- Ensure that the stove is sitting on a flat surface with no movement.
Pellet stoves are electrical appliances where problems with the mechanical or electrical components may occur over time.
Many pellet stoves (including ours) will have a range of spares available to buy if something does go wrong and more noise is being produced as a result of that problem.
Speak to your manufacturer for more information if any certain parts of a pellet stove are making more noise than usual as they made need to be replaced, especially if using an older model of pellet stove.
Further Reading
Things To Know About Pellet Stoves