# Pellet stove



## woodpile (Apr 1, 2015)

Does anyone know how safe a pellet stove is in a woodworking shop with all the sawdust. I would buy a Harmon P68 which is pretty much all automatic. Ihave one already in my basement and seems very safe to me. Thanks


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## Racer2007 (Jan 13, 2011)

It may be just my having grownup with my Dad on the Fire Dept. for 30 years , but I would not want any kind of heating system with a flame in my shop. Even a gas furnace I would put it in a seperate room and duct the heat into the shop. 
I know a lot of guys have wood stoves in thier shops but Like I said , I may be a little OCD about it but I would not want to take the chance.


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## woodpile (Apr 1, 2015)

Thank you so much Richard Iam sure your right.My next thought is to put it upstairs above wood shop and put a ac handler (which is just a fan) in shop and run return upstairs to blow the air downstairs. The upstairs is totally sealed off from downstairs. What do you think.


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## wapakfred (Jul 29, 2011)

You will be fine safety wise. The flame is enclosed, and while it draws room air for combustion that might well be the case for a lot of gas fired appliances for heat. What I would wonder about if the fine dust settling on the electronics in the cabinet…of which a pellet stove has bucket loads. We have one ( a Quadra Fire) in our basement, and the only problems I've ever had with it were electronics related. The fellow I bought this place from also had one in what is now my woodworking shop (he took it with him). Your impression and experience is correct, they are safe.


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## Andrewski (Sep 22, 2013)

I have two. A free standing in my sun room and a fireplace insert in my living room. They both get their combustion air from the outside through fresh air intake tubes that have screens to keep crawly critters out.

The only air mine draw from the room air is heated and recirculated.

My belief is that pellet stoves are safe.


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## hotbyte (Apr 3, 2010)

Can't you get systems that are in enclosed shed away from building that use some type of heat exchange loop?

Not a safety comment, but buying pellets for a pellet stove in a work shop generating scrape and cut-offs just doesn't seem right


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## RHolcomb (Mar 23, 2010)

Woodpile, I have that exact pellet stove in my woodshop. It was in my house for a number of years and when we switched to Natural Gas, I installed it in the shop. That was back in 2008. I have had no safety issues at all and would do it again without hesitation. I did have to replace the Combustion Exhaust fan motor this winter but the pellet stove is 15 years old so I think that was more that it wore out than a dust issue. When I replaced it, I took the time to thoroughly clean the stove and there was very little dust on the electronics. Most of the dust stays on the outside of the stove.


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## dhazelton (Feb 11, 2012)

They're UL listed so I don't see why not. Especially with an outside air intake. You could always hang a box fan over it blowing outward and that would distribute the heat better and keep dust off of it.


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## Mykos (Jun 27, 2013)

No comment as to the safety aspect, but I agree with hotbyte. The appeal of having a woodstove in the shop (aside from the wonderful heat they make) is that you can sweep up shavings and offcuts and turn them into more heat.


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## johnstoneb (Jun 14, 2012)

I've had a Breckwell for two years now works great. The combustion chamber is sealed. pulls in outside air for that. pellets burn clean very little ash. good heat ouput. You'lll never generate enough offcuts to heat a shop with so save them for other small projects. I do at times wish this had an electronic ignition but a propane torch works pretty well. Just takes a minute or two.


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## shipwright (Sep 27, 2010)

Unless your sawdust is so thick in the air that you can't see across the room there is no safety issue at least not an explosion risk. I have had wood stoves (the kind you open the door on and throw in shovelfulls of dust and shavings) in my shops for thirty years and I've only had dust collection for the last ten. It is just not an issue.
A pellet stove would be even less I would think but as mentioned above, it can't help you with the shavings and scraps.


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## splatman (Jul 27, 2014)

Could sawdust and tiny scraps be mixed with the pellets and fed into the pellet stove?


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## pjones46 (Mar 1, 2011)

> Could sawdust and tiny scraps be mixed with the pellets and fed into the pellet stove?
> 
> - splatman


No as it would clog the pellet feeder.


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## woodpile (Apr 1, 2015)

I Thank everyone for their replies they have helped me make my decision to install the p68 pellet stove in the shop.Which I will put vents in the ceiling to let the heat rise into the 2nd floor when not in the shop. I also have a jet filtration system in the shop also.


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## trz (Aug 5, 2011)

I guess Im old time, I use a wood stove in my shop!


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## woodpile (Apr 1, 2015)

I was afraid of a woodstove because they get so hot.Pellet stoves are much cooler on the outside


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## RogerM (Oct 31, 2011)

I have had a wood stove in my shop for over 10 years and love it. Nothing like a wood stove on a cold winter day. Yes, I have smoke detectors with CO sensors. They have never gone off.


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