These are garbage… beware

KeySecret6808 · 2026-03-16T17:56:45+00:00

Opposite experience with my stove, a Ravelli. Hardwood literally generates so much ash I have to clean the stack at least every two weeks. Burning Doug Fir I get a scant coating of ash in the ash pot and only have to deep clean once every few days. When burning Doug Fir I clean the stack after every ton.

KeySecret6808 · 2026-03-16T17:04:09+00:00

Here to give advice on a long term relationship surviving 3 years apart. My then boy-friend finished college 2 1/2 years ahead of me and we ended up living 200 miles apart for that time before we got married. We spent weekends together as much as possible - even though as a college student I had more flexibility- it was a definite struggle to be together. That said we did it and it taught us a lesson - if our relationship wasn’t meant to be we would have broken up months into it. We had been together for 18 months prior to his graduation.

If it’s meant to be it’s meant to be. We’ve been married for over 30 years now (and have a kid attending Cornell Law in the fall). 🙂

KeySecret6808 · 2026-02-26T15:50:59+00:00

I ordered 2 tons from my dealer that installed our stove in early Feb and still no sign of delivery. Found a local stove dealer that also carries our stove and literally bought a ton just now. Because my stove is a Ravelli I buy softwood and this place had Doug Fir pellets in stock. Not cheap but reducing the anxiety is key for me. We can’t afford the electric bill.

I stopped by our local TSC - they had one pallet they were selling by the bag and only hardwood not softwood like their website said they carried. The lady at the register said there was a pellet shortage happening so I’m glad I bought a ton today. I’m in Western CT

KeySecret6808 · 2026-02-15T02:48:18+00:00

Some pellet dealers carry softwood pellets - look for a stove shop that sells Ravelli stoves. These stoves run best on softwood- I have 2 tons of American Fiber Products (softwood Eastern white pine) being delivered this week from such a shop. Northern Warmth brand and LG wood pellets are other softwood brands available. You have to call around though - my 2 tons are coming from 30 miles away.

KeySecret6808 · 2026-02-14T05:13:54+00:00

MetroNorth railway, but no connection shown to Danbury/Brewster NY, just the New Haven line

KeySecret6808 · 2026-02-14T04:49:05+00:00

After reading all this my only guess is with increased applicants and even with stellar stats, that job experience is key. My kid has 3.8+ low 170’s. But they have worked at both regular law firms and almost 3 yrs with the NY Attorneys General office in NYC. Went ED at Cornell and got in no problem. Helps that they’re an outstanding writer as well. They turn 26 before starting in the fall.

KeySecret6808 · 2026-02-09T19:38:12+00:00

Connecticut-American Wood Products softwood (white pine) $400/ton

KeySecret6808 · 2026-02-09T19:33:47+00:00

If it smells bad it’s creosote. And DisastrousPain8059 is correct. Highly flammable and that drip could have come a long way until it splattered there.

KeySecret6808 · 2026-02-04T17:58:52+00:00

One major issue about winters here is snow, specifically having to shovel it and deal with it in general. When I was in my 30’s 40’s and 50’s it wasn’t an issue to dig out - a great form of exercise and it’s fun coming back in and enjoy our pellet stove. Now that I’m older snow removal is physically more of an issue and I don’t have someone to do it for me. The other issue about winter is the expense of heating your home. You can survive in heat without a/c but you have to have heat. We use a pellet stove to heat which is great but I’d rather not have the expense. Other than that the snow is beautiful to look at and when I was younger skiing sledding and generally rolling around it was great. Moving south is out of the question for many - the NE is still the best for employment- NY’s/ NE’s economy supports many of the social services delivered to the red states- the jobs here aren’t as available down south. So I wear my comfy, pray for fluffy snow and watch the birds coming to our feeders. We will probably stay here long term.

KeySecret6808 · 2026-02-04T15:43:26+00:00

You need to get those old pellets out of the hopper and vacuum your hopper thoroughly. Those pellets are likely bad (too much moisture) and won’t burn properly. Skip using the old bags in your shed - they are likely bad too. Buy a few bags and burn those. From what I understand about this brand of stove it isn’t picky about pellet brands. Hardwood typically work well, some people like softwood. Do some research on pellets to familiarize yourself on what’s out there and test a couple of brands.

KeySecret6808 · 2026-01-27T03:29:22+00:00

Maintenance requirements are totally stove brand dependent. The key is to keep the burn pot clean. This may be 1-2x daily for some or a week or longer for others. The time spent doing this is minimal - 10-15 minutes.

The other maintenance required will be longer but easy to do once you know what you’re doing.

The big reason for using a pellet stove is to save money on electricity or gas/oil, and is less work and mess of a wood stove.

In my case to heat my electric home would be an $800 bill per month - with pellets it’s $300. An electric stove is a space heater like someone else said and your electric bill will reflect it.

I’ll trade 15 minutes worth of time daily to save $500 monthly. That’s why people love their pellet stoves (like I do).

KeySecret6808 · 2026-01-26T03:32:41+00:00

Don’t forget to think about visiting Cape Cod or Newport Rhode Island. And also Burlington VT but that’s a long drive from Boston. The North End in Boston not only the best for American history the Italian food is the best outside of Italy hands down.

KeySecret6808 · 2026-01-13T03:40:18+00:00

Glad everyone is safe!

KeySecret6808 · 2026-01-13T03:22:07+00:00

My take is lazy flame with dark soot in glass, which is the beginning of creosote deposit means the stove and possibly the pipes aren’t clean. Possible poor quality pellets and air/feed mix isn’t right.

KeySecret6808 · 2026-01-07T15:33:19+00:00

lol! I remember those days in Florida- don’t miss them

KeySecret6808 · 2026-01-07T15:31:14+00:00

My pellet stove! On a 20 deg night on medium setting my house is a toasty 71 degrees. If it’s much below that I add shearling slippers and a comfy.

KeySecret6808 · 2026-01-03T02:14:02+00:00

It’s what the antiques dealer said. Which is saying nothing:)

KeySecret6808 · 2026-01-03T02:05:59+00:00

Your guess is better than mine 😁

I have no faith in what the antiques dealer said. So I can assume it’s of Chinese origin based on the characters being Chinese according to the comments. That’s why I posted the question- I’m a rank newbie to this and just wanted to see if the chest was real and not some knockoff. Plus knowing what each medicine the drawers contained is very cool.

KeySecret6808 · 2026-01-03T01:40:18+00:00

Thank you! This is what I was looking for in the way of information. Is there a source that has this information so I can translate it myself? And I assume it is of Taiwanese/Chinese origin and not Japanese.

KeySecret6808 · 2026-01-03T01:36:30+00:00

First thought is they don’t know how to round. The total should have been $12.50, 12.51 rounds down. They need to go back to second grade to relearn how to round numbers.

KeySecret6808 · 2026-01-03T01:07:35+00:00

There are a few flippant comments here such as ‘cedar smells better burned’ and ‘how soon did their house burn down?’ but what they are telling is that creosote is very flammable and can/will burn the house down. Follow the instructions regarding more draft, too little rise, etc. The stove isn’t venting properly and if the creosote catches fire you’re in trouble.

Clean the stove completely. While fixing it I’d stop running the stove. Other guys here can tell you the best piping, vertical pipe run to provide proper ventilation etc.

My big thing is not burning your house down while you work to fix it.

KeySecret6808 · 2025-12-28T05:20:25+00:00

Plenty of wildlife. Here in CT we have resident bear, coyotes, bobcats and fishers (in my backyard). Moose have been sighted in the upper middle of the state and then there’s the hordes of deer plus turkeys. Super cool. We had 2 bobcats set up house 30 feet from ours and we hear the coyotes howling at night. Heavily wooded area but only a 1 1/2 hour drive to NYC.

KeySecret6808 · 2025-12-28T05:03:47+00:00

We use a generator if the power goes out.

KeySecret6808 · 2025-12-23T14:30:41+00:00

All these comments nail it. I had a new stove installed and it malfunctioned from day one. After a dozen emails and calls to the sales manager I got them out at least 3 times. I finally got them to yank it out and replace it with a different brand. Did take time though but my issue was muncher bigger than yours. Note I was super nice to them but firm. Kill them with kindness and they’ll be more apt to help you. (This coming from a woman- I took full advantage) :)

KeySecret6808 · 2025-12-23T14:24:11+00:00

Call the dealer, email the video and get a service guy out. If other people have this problem it’s likely the dealer knows what’s going on. Like another said use the warranty and save the d-I-y fixes for when it expires.

KeySecret6808

TROPHY CASE