With Covid-19 hitting in 2020 and lingering longer than anyone had expected and more people staying home, we are seeing a trend in families entertaining more outdoors. With this there are several product lines that have grown so quickly that they have become very hard to get your hands on. Here are our favorites: Gas Fire Tables Gas Fire tables sales have grown 200% in the last year. Not only are they easy to use, they provide heat and beauty without getting smoked out when sitting beside them. They come in all different sizes and shapes (round, square, rectangular), have both modern and traditional looks, and come in all sorts of different finishes. When looking at a gas fire table make sure it has a safety pilot. What this means is that if the wind blows out the flame, the gas stops flowing. Many inexpensive brands do not have this safety feature and it is a huge hazard. The products we sell are from The Outdoor Great Room Company. We have several fire pits on display. Breeo Fire Pits Breeo is literally the only wood fire pit we have ever sold at our store. We always want to sell products that are high quality that will last a long time, so we have always avoided selling cheaper fire pits. Breeo products are made in America (Pennsylvania) and their “Ultimate Smokeless Dual-Function fire pits” are just AMAZING! You can sit around the fire and enjoy it with extremely limited smoke, sear some steaks or kabobs on the sear plate, or purchase the outpost and grill to your hearts content. We have been selling Breeo for a number of years and we have just seen them evolve into a product that is just incredible. This is a lifestyle product, not just a plain old fire pit that you sit around. Lead times on Breeo firepits at the end of 2020 were about 10 weeks long. I have been to their manufacturing site and it’s just magic to watch how these are made. We stocked up at the store on the most popular which is the 24” X Series. Don’t forget a cover for it!! Memphis Pellet Grills Smoking outside has been one of the hottest new trends over the last several years. The Memphis Pellet grill is a high-end pellet grill that is built like no other. The Memphis Pro is probably one of the best grills I’ve ever laid my hands on. From the 304SS to the true double wall construction of the grill head, Memphis has my heart and is my favorite grill to use. I smoke on it, I bake on it, I roast on it, and I high heat sear on it. I cook dinner on this grill EVERY night. It is so versatile that I haven’t found something that I can’t cook on it! One of my favorites was smoked cheesecake. My mouth is watering just thinking about that light smokey flavor that it has. Want to sear a filet at 600 degrees in the winter? ..No problem on the Memphis grill! I dare you to try that with cheaper pellet grills. Maybe you have dabbled with an entry level pellet grill but get frustrated because you just can’t get it too hot, or the exterior has quickly deteriorated since you are keeping it outside. Look no further than the Memphis Grill for your next pellet grill. You will not be disappointed. Check out the Memphis Grills website for some pretty awesome recipes to try on your new Memphis Grill. https://memphisgrills.com/pellet-grill-recipes/ Patio Heaters If you are looking to provide some heat for your guests on a cold night but a fire table is not your thing, then you should invest in a patio heater for your patio or deck. Not all patio heaters are created the same. We have brought in the SunStar patio heater and we do feel the quality is much better than others. First, the heater is made of 304SS which will help it last longer outdoors in the elements. Second, it is naturally weighted so you don’t have to purchase sand or fill up a container with water to hope that it will not tip over. Lastly, the 4 built in cup holders is a nice thing to have when you have friends or family gathered around it. Check out all of the items I’ve mentioned on our online store or stop by to see them in person: https://www.houseofwarmth.com/shop-online

Pellet stoves are a great source of heating your home and is also a typical transition for people who want to move away from burning wood. So you've purchased a pellet stove and now you wonder what type of pellet to burn and how to purchase them. Here is a quick read that will help with the most common questions we receive at House of Warmth Stove & Fireplace Shop in New Milford, CT. Hard vs. Soft - In a wood stove you typically want to burn hard wood so many people are surprised when we recommend our La Crete Pellets which are a soft wood pellet. Once pellets are compressed, it does not matter if they are hard wood or soft wood because one is not going to burn faster than the other. The auger motor on the pellet stove determines how fast pellets drop into the burn pot. What you need to look for is BTUs per bag and ash content which are addressed below. Premium vs. Super Premium - With a premium pellet you will typically clean your pellet stove about once a week. With a super premium pellet you will clean your pellet stove about once every two weeks. Why is this? You need to understand two numbers on a wood pellet bag: 1. BTU's per bag. 2. Ash Content. The higher the BTU content, the more heat it will produce per bag of pellets. The lower the ash content, the less you will need to clean your stove. The idea is to purchase what you can afford that will be the highest BTU's and the lowest ash content. Pellets with a low BTU content or unlisted BTU content and a high ash will typically make an unhappy pellet stove owner as you will be cleaning your stove daily and will be frustrated with how much maintenance a pellet stove takes. When to purchase? All pellet manufacturers offer pre-season pricing. The best time to purchase pellets is in the heat of the season in July or August when prices are at the lowest of the year. Starting in September, prices tend to creep up about $5-$10 a ton. They continue to increase about once a month. By the bag or by the ton? It depends. If you have room to store them in a cool dry place we always recommend purchasing them by the ton as this is going to be the best pricing for pellets. Many people will store them in a garage, a basement, or a shed. It is very important to keep them dry because water is the kryptonite to pellets as they will make your pellets unusable. If you don't have room we recommend purchasing them by the bag. You will pay a little more however you will not need a lot of space to store them. How many tons do I need a year? Our typical homeowner uses between 2-3 tons a year. It depends on how cold the winter is and how long the season is. It also depends on how well insulated your house is. When you get down to your last ton we recommend making a decision on whether or not to purchase an additional ton. Don't ever wait until you are on your last bag as sometimes pellets are scarce toward the end of the season. Can tons of pellets be delivered? Yes. Most places offer delivery. We can deliver up to 3 tons of pellets. We outsource anything more than 3 to an independent driver since he can carry 6 at at time. What brands do we sell? Here at House of Warmth we carry Energex Pellets and La Crete Pellets. Energex are a hard wood pellet and we have been selling them for 30 years. They are a very good overall pellet that have great reliability. They are made in Mifflinton, PA. Energex are a Premium pellet with @8,200 BTUs per bag and <1% ash. About 5 years ago we started carrying a super premium pellet called La Crete. La Crete are a soft wood pellet with @8,900 BTUs per bag and <.4% ash. They come from Canada. The feedback that we have been getting from the La Crete has been incredibly positive so we have continued to carry them and will continue to offer both brands so our customers have a choice. So what other wood pellets do we recommend besides Energex and La Crete? Any hearth shop or wood pellet distributor is going to carry at least a premium pellet. Other brands we like are: Barefoot, Hamer's Hot Ones, Turman, & Cubex, Maine Woods. --Blog by Nyree Pieck, Owner The House of Warmth Stove & Fireplace Shop is a family owned business in New Milford, CT which sells wood, pellet, and gas stoves, wood and gas fire pits, outdoor kitchens, and BBQ grills. They also sell fireplace accessories, venting, and fuel. (pellets, coal, and biobricks) They sell Lopi and FireplaceX wood stoves, wood fireplaces, and wood inserts. Check out their online store: www.houseofwarmth.com Also, click on Design your fire on the top right hand side of their website to see all their Lopi and FireplaceX models.