All things Fire!

Hottest Outdoor items for 2021

houseofwarmth@yahoo.com (Nyree Pieck) — Fri, 26 Mar 2021 15:03:40 GMT

Take Your Entertaining Outdoors

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

Wood Pellets - What do you need to know?

houseofwarmth@yahoo.com (Nyree Pieck) — Sun, 27 Sep 2020 19:07:54 GMT

Common questions about wood pellets

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.

Breeo Firepits - What's the Magic?? A review on Breeo Fire Pits

Sun, 13 Sep 2020 17:18:35 GMT

Breeo Fire Pits: Our FAVORITE wood fire pit, but why?

Our fireplace shop, House of Warmth Stove & Fireplace Shop in New Milford, CT never carried a wood fire pit until a couple of years ago when we found Breeo. Breeo has been just the company that we had been waiting to partner with for wood fire pits. But why?

First, why did we not carry just any average wood fire pit? Our philosophy is simple: We want to sell things that are great quality that last! Seeing the poor quality of wood fire pits that were on the market made us hold out for the longest time until we came across Breeo. We are not about having someone spend a hundred dollars or more just to have a fire pit last only a year, then burn through, then have to spend more money for a new one. Breeo fire pits are heavy duty fire pits that are made to last for years.

So what's the magic? Breeo fire pits are a high-quality fire pit made in Pennsylvania. They use a double-wall, secondary combustion design which makes the fire pit smoke less than the average wood fire pit. How does this work? As your fire is heating up, the walls of the fire pit also heat up and the hot air rises through the gap between the two walls of the fire pit. As the air exits the wall cavity, it is escaping through the line of holes around the top of the inside rim of the fire pit. The air is pressurized, and the heated oxygen mixes with the smoke and causes it to reburn. This secondary combustion, which is also used in high end wood stoves, is what causes the fire to smoke less.

We have seen Breeo grow over the years from their first rendition of the fire pit called the Ablaze, to the Double Flame, and now the X Series. In my opinion the X Series is quite the design breakthrough for Breeo. I love how the body of the fire pit is made to patina over time. I also love that the rim around the top, the sear plate, offers an area that you can cook on. The sear plate was also designed to be slightly turned inwards so that no grease should fall outside the fire pit. Want to grill over the fire? No problem! Breeo offers and accessory post and grill. Between the outer rim and grill you can grill for a heck of a lot of people at once.

Our experience with Breeo fire pits in general. We LOVE these fire pits and currently have a 24" X Series at our home. I'm a HUGE s'mores fan and let me tell you that this fire pit toasts a marshmallow like no other. It toasts all the way through! We have also sat around the fire on many of cooler nights with our friends, grilled some steaks on the rim, grilled some shish kabobs, shrimp..you name it. Have we used the post and grill accessory? Yes we have! It's perfect for flame broiled hamburgers or to toast your buns! LOL!!

To get the cover or not to get the cover? All of the covers for the various Breeo fire pits are sold separately but do you need a cover? In our opinion YES. Here is why. You and your family are enjoying a great night outdoors, toasting marshmallows over your smoke-less fire pit. You are getting tired but just about 10 mins ago you put another piece of wood inside the fire pit so the fire is still burning. What do you do? Do you walk away and leave it burning? Never! Do you wait it out until it dies down? Maybe. If you get a cover, you can safely cover the fire pit, which will limit the air, and safely extinguish the fire.

What do our customers say? They absolutely love it. They send me pictures of themselves cooking on them and enjoying time around their fire pits with their families. To date we have not received a single complaint about a Breeo Fire pit. Also, our customers are coming back and buying them for family members because of the great experience they have with their own fire pit. The last one we sold was to couple who had purchased a Double Flame 24" fire pit for themselves about two years ago, and now bought one for their daughter and son-in-law as a wedding gift.

A few things to note: First, these fire pits are designed for outdoor use only. Never burn it in a building, garage, or any other enclosed area. Never place these fire pits on a wood or composite deck or grass. It is recommended to have them on a non-combustible, level surface. If you want to use it on a deck or grass, we suggest you create a level surface with a non-combustible surface undeneath.

Breeo is rapidly growing in popularity and the buzz on the street has really pushed their popularity right to the top of the list of wood fire pits. All of their fire pits, the Ablaze, the Double Flame, the X series, the Luxeve, and the Zentro are AMAZING quality. The demand for these products has sky rocketed this year!

--Blog by Nyree Pieck, Owner

Understanding your Wood Stove: Importance of Efficiencies & BTU range

Tue, 01 Sep 2020 18:43:50 GMT

Wood Stove Efficiencies (HHV vs. LHV) and BTU Range explained

One of the most common questions we get asked by customers at our shop, House of Warmth Stove & Fireplace Shop, is "What is the efficiency of this wood stove?" As a customer who is starting to look into purchasing a wood stove or insert, if you were to pick 4 random wood stove manufacturer brochures, what you don't know is when you are looking at the efficiencies, you may not be looking at apples to apples numbers and here is why.

There are two types of efficiencies, HHV or High Heating Value, and LHV, or Low Heating Value.

HHV is is the efficiency rate recognized by the EPA. Wood used inside when testing a wood stove needs to be between 19% and 25% moisture content, which is a real-world scenario when burning wood at your own personal house.

LHV is a theoretical number where the stove is tested using 0% wood moisture. LHV is not recognized by the EPA. Why is there a flaw in this? Where most people are burning dry wood, you are not burning wood that is 0% moisture content. Testing a wood stove with wood that has 0% moisture content boosts up efficiencies by another 19%-25%, creating an artificially high efficiency number that will never be attained at your own home. Therefore this unrealistic LHV value is not EPA recognized.

As a consumer, what you need to know is that not everyone puts the HHV value in their marketing literature. Some manufacturers include LHV, which is the theoretical number that is artificially higher efficiency. While we always tell people to burn dry wood, nobody is going to burn wood with a 0% moisture content which is why LHV is a flawed number.

How important is BTU range? A wide range in BTU range is important to make sure that you can control the heat of your wood stove and get it hot enough to warm your home. A BTU range from 15,000-25,000 is not a great range. It will be hard to get your stove hot enough and will not provide enough heat for your home. On the other hand, a BTU range from 15,000-50,000 is a great range. This is real world scenario that will be important for you for heating your home.

One of the main lines of wood stoves, wood inserts, and wood fireplaces we carry at the House of Warmth is Lopi and FireplaceX, both made by Travis Industries in Mukilteo, WA. All of these stoves have HHV numbers (real-world what you will experience in your own home) in the marketing as well as wide BTU ranges for their wood stoves and inserts. We love that they are American made and super high quality! We see a lot of customers come into our store who have purchased a Lopi stove 18-20 years ago, tell us how much they love it, and are buying typical wear parts such as door gasket and fire bricks. Our store has been carrying this line since the early 1980's.

--Blog by Nyree Pieck, Owner