Different Types of Pellet Stoves

What are Pellet Stoves?

A pellet stove is a heating appliance that uses compressed wood chips (pellets) instead of logs as fuel. This gives pellet stoves a number of advantages and disadvantages compared to traditional wood stoves. Originating in Italy, several types of pellet stoves have emerged in recent years—mainly to reduce the shortcomings of the “traditional” pellet stove.

The Traditional Pellet Stove

A standard pellet stove typically has the following features:

A hopper for loading pellets is located at the back and top of the stove. You fill it with, for example, 15 kg of pellets.
From this hopper, pellets are continuously pushed into a small burn pot—this produces the ticking sound of falling pellets.
An electric ignition system lights the first pellets, so you don’t have to do it manually.
The stove’s heat level can be adjusted, much like a gas heater.
A flame, resembling a blowtorch, heats the air. A small fan inside the stove blows this warm air into the room. The warm air rises to the ceiling, cools, and gets pulled back into the stove—similar to a steel wood stove.
Some modern stoves can be connected to a thermostat.

The main advantage of this type of stove is that it offers an easy way to heat using an eco-friendly fuel source (compressed wood chips). However, there are disadvantages:

They require regular maintenance due to electronics and moving parts.
They make noise.
The dry air they blow into the room isn’t always pleasant.
They depend on electricity—if the power goes out, there’s no heat. There’s no cozy flame ambiance—these stoves are pure heat sources, not mood-setters.

Pellet stoves became popular in several European countries in the 1990s. Mass production has kept prices manageable—a high-quality model can cost around $3500. But the disadvantages have kept them from becoming truly mainstream.

Batch Combustion of Pellets – A New Concept

Because of the drawbacks of traditional pellet stoves, there’s been a search for a system that burns pellets without electronics or moving parts, that’s silent, and that produces a beautiful flame.

In theory, the concept is simple: fill a tray with pellets, light it from the top, and let it burn down—just like a load of firewood. However, this type of combustion often doesn’t create a pretty flame and tends to be incomplete. Incomplete combustion can even lead to small explosions in the firebox, as carbon monoxide builds up under the smoldering pellets and can ignite.

Most of these “technologies” also fail to meet emission standards required for pellet stoves. That’s why they’re often sold as an add-on for wood stoves—so-called hybrid stoves. You place a simple pellet tray into the firebox to make the switch. A little too simple.

Batch Combustion via Micro-Gasification

The company Blucomb in Northern Italy has developed a clever, patented solution to these challenges: batch combustion via micro-gasification. This offers all the benefits with none of the drawbacks. No moving parts, no electronics, silent operation, a beautiful flame, extremely clean combustion, and no risk of pellet-tray explosions.

This technology integrates perfectly into heat-retaining stoves, because the combustion can be made very powerful—meaning the room is warmed by radiant heat instead of hot air (convection heat).

Thanks to the heat retention, warmth is gradually released even at night. So, you don’t need to keep the stove running overnight to maintain a comfortable room temperature—which feels both safer and more pleasant.

The only downside? These stoves are slightly more expensive than traditional pellet stoves. A Blucomb pellet stove with heat retention starts around $5000, while a good traditional model begins at about $3500.

As a dedicated pellet stove (not for burning wood), we offer our Venetia model.
We also carry several models that can burn both wood and pellets.