The weather is still hospitable enough to get out and do the things we want and need to do around the house and lawn.

Now is the time to get done the projects related to heating a home during the coldest months, including a few items specific to owning a pellet stove.

• Check on, order, or reserve your fuel now. If you need to let a local farmer know that you want to buy 100 bushels of corn, now is the time to let them know. If you order bags of corn or wood pellets from a local supplier, check on pricing and availability.
• Review your notes from last year on how much fuel you burned, so that you can estimate accordingly.
• Buy starter fluid, if you have a manual ignition
• Check your back-up power supply if you utilize one.
• Clean your vents, including from the outside in case any debris blew in over the summer or anything nested in there.
• Remove any flowers, bushes, or branches that grew up around your clean intake vent.
• Empty your ash vac to make sure it’s ready for use. Find all your cleaning tools/adapters.
• Reverse your ceiling fan blades if you use the fans to help circulate warm air.
• Locate your manual for easy reference and make sure your stove is clean and maintained according to instructions.
• Order any parts you may need now.

Additional heat efficiency tasks you may want to consider include,

• Check seals around doors, windows, garage doors.
• Add storm windows and draft guards.
• Change the filter in your furnace if you use it to help circulate air.
• Plan to use the sun to your advantage, closing drapes or blinds at sun down or during windy storms and opening them when calm and sunny.

If you have technical questions, contact our technical department at 1-320-227-2902