There are a lot of wood fuel options out there, but most wood burning appliances accommodate either wood pellets or wood logs. And even among those two types of fuel, there are several varieties to choose from.

You’re probably at least decently familiar with firewood, especially if you own a fireplace, a fire pit, a wood stove, or a wood furnace. Pellets, on the other hand, may be less familiar.

So which one should you use, and in which appliances? Can some appliances accommodate both? And what kind of burn time can you expect out of each fuel?

At HY-C, we make appliances that utilize both fuels, and we even produce our own pellet fuel. And we want to answer any and all questions you may have about pellets and logs.

By the end of this comprehensive guide, you’ll understand the differences between wood pellets and firewood logs. You’ll know what varieties of each fuel are available, which appliances accommodate each fuel, how much smoke each one puts out, and much more.

More importantly, you’ll know whether your wood burning appliance should use wood pellets or logs so you end up with the best wood burning experience possible.

Wood Pellets vs. Logs: Varieties

Pellets

Wood pellets are used for two purposes: heating and barbecuing. Barbecuing pellets are made to be burned in wood smokers or grills to season meat, enhancing its flavor. Common types of wood pellets used for flavoring include:

• Apple
• Cherry
• Hickory
• Maple
• Mesquite
• Pecan

Heating pellets, on the other hand, consist either of hardwood pellets or softwood pellets. Hardwood pellets are denser and tend to burn for a longer time as a result. Softwood pellets, by contrast, burn hotter, putting out more BTUs (British thermal units).

Logs

There are several types of firewood, and if you asked ten wood burning experts the best species of wood to burn, you may get ten different answers. Very generally, though, common varieties of firewood species found throughout the United States include:

• Oak
• Black locust
• Maple
• Ash
• Walnut
• Elm
• Birch

Like pellets, firewood can be broken out into hardwood and softwood. Hardwood logs are more dense than softwood logs. Most experts agree that hardwood is better wood to burn, as it burns longer and hotter than softwood. Hardwood entails a higher price as a result, though.

Wood Pellets vs. Logs: Appliances

Pellets

There are quite a few appliances made to burn wood pellets.

Pellet grills allow you to cook meat using wood pellets as fuel instead of charcoal. These grills utilize barbecuing pellets (instead of heating pellets) to flavor food. They’re designed to burn pellets only; they’re not compatible with firewood.

You’re probably familiar with wood burning stoves, but there are also pellet stoves on the market designed to burn wood pellets rather than logs. These stoves radiate heat into the room in which they’re set up, providing warmth during the fall and winter months.

Most wood burning furnaces on the market are designed to burn logs, but there are some pellet furnaces out there. These furnaces tend to burn more cleanly and efficiently than their log-burning counterparts, but they are often much more expensive.

Finally, there are pellet fire pits engineered to burn wood pellets (though most models can also burn logs with no issue). These pellet fire pits are smokeless, leaning on both the pellet fuel and the fire pit’s airflow system to eliminate smoke byproducts.

Logs

There’s certainly no shortage of appliances that burn logs.

Fireplaces are one of the most common. Whether homeowners use them for warmth or just ambiance, fireplaces have been around for hundreds of years. Most fireplaces feature a grate that holds the wood as it burns, allowing air to flow underneath the logs to keep the fire lit.

Another tried-and-true home heating appliance, wood stoves have been around for centuries, too. They predate their pellet counterparts, but they work the same way, radiating heat into whichever room in which they’re installed.

While smokeless pellet fire pits are catching on in popularity, they’re yet to overshadow the classic wood fire pit. Many backyards across the country feature either a homemade or store-bought fire pit to provide some extra warmth during fall and winter outdoor gatherings.

Finally, wood burning furnaces act as a viable central heating alternative in place of a gas or electric furnace. Firewood burns continuously in the firebox while a distribution blower pushes warm air from the furnace, into the air ducts, and throughout the rest of the home.

Wood Pellets vs. Logs: Smoke Output

Pellets

Have you ever wondered why fire produces smoke? The answer is moisture content. Trees survive and thrive on water, and when they’re cut into firewood, logs retain much of that moisture. A log can contain 50% or more of its weight in water. That results in a lot of smoke.

Pellets are made of compressed sawdust, so they contain much less moisture than logs. Wood pellets typically have moisture levels of just 5% to 10%. This means that when they’re burned, they tend to produce very little — if any — smoke.

Logs

Do logs give off more smoke than pellets?

The answer is, “It depends.” Even wood that appears dry can have a high moisture content, which will result in a lot of smoke (you can use a moisture meter to test the moisture content of a piece of firewood).

Ideally, firewood should have a moisture content below 20%. Seasoning freshly cut firewood involves splitting it, stacking it, covering it, and storing it. In order to achieve that twenty-percent-or-lower threshold, firewood needs to sit for about 6 to 12 months before use.

Getting your logs’ moisture content down won’t necessarily eliminate smoke entirely. But low moisture will help to mitigate smoke, making for a better burning experience.

Wood Pellets vs. Logs: Burn Time

Pellets

Wood pellets — even dense hardwood pellets — tend to burn up quickly. If you fill a pellet fire pit with about ten pounds of pellets, those pellets will burn for perhaps 15 or 20 minutes before you need to add more to the fire.

Using pellets, you’ll end up with a smoke-free experience and a very efficient fire, but you will have to babysit it quite a bit, adding more fuel relatively often. Be sure to add more pellets slowly, as too many at once will snuff the fire out.

Logs

You’ll get much longer burn times out of firewood compared to pellets. If you start a fire in a fire pit with four logs, you may need to add a new log every 30 to 40 minutes to keep the fire going (that time will vary depending on which species of wood you use and its moisture content).

Using firewood, you’ll likely wind up with more smoke than with pellet fuel. But you won’t have to keep as close an eye on the fire, freeing you up to do other things.

Should You Use Wood Pellets or Logs?

Choosing the right wood fuel can be confusing. Given the differences between pellets and logs, the different types of pellets and logs available, and different species of wood, it can be hard to keep it all straight.

You may be wondering at this point, “Which fuel should I use?”

To answer that question, start with your appliance. A pellet grill is made specifically for pellets, while a wood burning furnace is made just for logs. Fire pits can often accommodate either, so that’s left to your discretion.

After deciding whether you need pellets or logs, choose between hardwood (if you want a longer burn) or softwood (if you’re looking for a hotter burn).

And whatever fuel type you decide to use, always be sure to follow good fire safety habits. Keep a watchful eye on your fire and keep a fire extinguisher nearby in case things get out of control. This way, you’ll enjoy the comfort of the fire while keeping your home — and everything in it — safe.

A smokeless fire pit provides a warm, relaxing way to enjoy a cold fall or winter evening. These cleverly designed products allow you to sit comfortably around a fire without having to deal with troublesome, irritating clouds of smoke blowing in every direction.

If you’re considering getting a smokeless fire pit, the question naturally follows: which one should I buy?

With so many makes and models on the market today, it can be tough to narrow down your choices. But in this guide, we’re going to help you do just that.

We’ll compare two smokeless fire pit manufacturers: Solo Stove and Flame Genie. We’ll go through the models each manufacturer offers, how those models are designed, the fuel each model utilizes, and how much each model costs.

Before we get going, a quick disclaimer: at HY-C, we manufacture Flame Genie smokeless fire pits. Despite that, we’re going to keep this comparison as objective as possible, pointing out only the tangible specifications of each smokeless fire pit model.

By the end of this guide, you’ll have an in-depth understanding of each smokeless fire pit manufacturer. Armed with that information, you’ll be able to make the best buying decision for you.

Flame Genie vs. Solo Stove: Models

Flame Genie’s family of models is pretty straightforward: there’s the Flame Genie (with a 13.5” diameter), and the Flame Genie Inferno (with a 19” diameter). Both models are available in either stainless steel or a cost-effective galvanized steel with a black powder coating.

Here’s a look at the specifications of both Flame Genie models in both finish options:

Solo Stove, on the other hand, offers four models: the Mesa, the Ranger 2.0, the Bonfire 2.0, and the Yukon 2.0. Like Flame Genie, each model functions similarly and looks identical; just think of them as small, medium, large, and extra-large.

Here’s a look at the specifications of each of the four Solo Stove models:

Flame Genie vs. Solo Stove: Design

Older Solo Stoves were designed as one solid piece with a perforated, non-removable ash pan in the bottom. After the fire died and the fire pit cooled, you’d simply turn your Solo Stove over and dump out all the ashes to clean it.

Newer models like the Ranger 2.0, Bonfire 2.0, and Yukon 2.0, on the other hand, are made with a removable ash pan. Instead of having to turn the entire fire pit over to clean it, all you have to do is lift out the ash pan, carry it away, and dump it out. These new and improved models offer a much easier cleaning experience.

By contrast, Flame Genies come in two distinct pieces: the base (pictured left) and the combustion chamber (pictured right). As the fire burns in the combustion chamber, ash and embers fall through small holes in the bottom and filter down into the base.

After the fire is out and the fire pit cools, you can take the combustion chamber off and carry away just the base to dispose of the ashes.

The two components are designed to fit into each other when the fire pit is not in use, too. The base is sized to fit into the combustion chamber, helping to cut down on storage space and assisting with portability.

Flame Genie vs. Solo Stove: Fuel

Solo Stoves are designed to accommodate standard firewood. The design of the airflow system on a Solo Stove preheats outside air that filters into the fire pit, helping to mitigate or even eliminate smoke. The drier and more seasoned the firewood, the better the burn in the fire pit.

Flame Genies, on the other hand, are made to burn wood pellet fuel. Wood pellets are made from compressed sawdust and, as a result, they have very little moisture content. This fuel, combined with the intentionally placed airflow holes on the fire pit, allow for a smokeless burn.

While Solo Stove suggests standard firewood and Flame Genies are made with pellets in mind, note that you can burn either fuel in either fire pit. Flame Genie works well with regular firewood (though pellets offer the best chance at a smoke-free experience), and Solo Stove manufactures and sells a pellet adapter for their fire pits.

Flame Genie vs. Solo Stove: Price

Solo Stove’s pricing model is very straightforward: if you buy a bigger model, you’ll pay more for it. Each model is made of the same stainless steel material, so prices increase consistently with size. Here’s a look at the price of each Solo Stove model (keep in mind that these are subject to change over time):

• Solo Stove Mesa: $79.99
• Solo Stove Ranger 2.0: $199.99
• Solo Stove Bonfire 2.0: $224.99
• Solo Stove Yukon 2.0: $399.99

Our Flame Genies, on the other hand, have a less consistent price model. That’s because we don’t enforce a minimum advertised price (MAP), allowing retailers to charge what they think is the best price for their customers. As a result, you’ll see Flame Genies priced differently from retailer to retailer.

With that in mind, though, here’s what you can excerpt to pay on average for each Flame Genie model (though you may see prices much higher or much lower than these):

• Flame Genie (black): $135
• Flame Genie (stainless): $210
• Flame Genie Inferno (black): $199
• Flame Genie Inferno (stainless): $380

Another factor that may affect price is the manufacturing location of each fire pit. Solo Stoves are made in China, meaning their prices may be affected by tariffs, freight fees, and other international pricing logistics.

Flame Genies are made in the USA and, as a result, aren’t subject to these international price variables.

Flame Genie vs. Solo Stove: Which One Should You Get?

We know the smokeless fire pit market is filled with all kinds of options and, as a result, it can be confusing to figure out which one to buy. This guide only covered two manufacturers, too; there are dozens more smokeless fire pit makes and models out there to choose from.

By now, though, you should have a solid understanding of the bells and whistles of Solo Stove and Flame Genie smokeless fire pits. You know about how they’re designed, what kind of fuel they burn, and how much they cost.

The question remains, though: which model should I buy?

That entirely depends on which features you’re looking for. Solo Stoves are good for firewood while Flame Genies are made for pellet fuel. Flame Genie’s two-piece design allows for good portability, but that also means that one part can’t work without the other. Solo Stove’s fixed prices are easy to digest, while Flame Genie prices may differ from retailer to retailer (either in your favor or not!).

In the end, try to imagine how you’re going to use your smokeless fire pit and buy the option with the features best-suited to that experience. You’ll wind up with a great heating device that’s warm, enjoyable, and — maybe most importantly — smoke-free.

Around 90% to 95% of chimneys out there use a standard-sized chimney cap. For the select few whose chimney or flue don’t fall within the standard size ranges, though, finding a cap can be daunting. You may not know which options are available to you, or even which manufacturers offer custom covers.

Having made thousands of custom caps over the years, we’re no stranger to dealing with non-standard chimney dimensions at HY-C. We work with customers all the time to handcraft a precise cap to match the specific dimensions of their chimney.

So whether you’re looking for a single-flue cap, a multi-flue cap, a stainless steel style, or an elegant copper cover, in this guide, we’ll outline the types of custom chimney caps we offer. You’ll understand the styles we have available, the materials they come in, and how to measure for your own custom cap. When you’re done, you’ll be well-equipped to make an educated buying decision and to find the right custom-made chimney cap for your home.

HY-C’s Custom Chimney Cap Styles

We manufacture two different kinds of custom chimney caps at HY-C: custom brand-around caps, and custom skirt-type caps. The custom band-around cap is available in stainless steel only, and the skirt-type caps are available in copper or stainless steel. The style of a custom-skirt cap will differ depending on which metal you choose.

Custom Band-Around Stainless Steel

Our band-around (or band-around-brick) gets its name from the metal band on the bottom of the cap. This band wraps around the top row of chimney brick and clamps down via the bolts on the corners of the cap. This installation method means you don’t have to drill any holes directly into your masonry; the clamping force of the band holds the cap in place.

These custom-made band-around-brick chimney caps are made completely from 304 stainless steel. The maximum base size for these caps is 48” x 96” (or four feet by eight feet). Their large range of available sizes should fit just about any chimney size with no problem.

How to Measure for a Custom Band-Around Chimney Cap

When measuring for a custom band-around-brick chimney cap, there are two measurements you need to take: the dimensions of the top row of chimney brick, and the height of your chimney flue.

The measurement of the top row of chimney brick will determine the lengths of the base, mesh, and hood of your custom band-around cap. In the example above, the dimensions of the top row of chimney bricks are 36.5” x 24.5” x 36” x 23”.

The second measurement, the height of your chimney flue, determines the height of the mesh and braces of your cap (braces are the lengths of metal inside the cap that hold the entire apparatus together). From the example above:

• A flue of 3.5” in height or less will use 9” braces and mesh
• A flue between 3.5” and 6” in height will use 12” braces and mesh
• A flue between 6” and 9” in height will use 15” braces and mesh
• A flue between 9” and 12” in height will use 18” braces and mesh

Providing these measurements will allow us to know precisely how to build your custom cap to fit the exact dimensions of your chimney.

Custom Skirt-Type (Stainless Steel)

A custom skirt-type chimney cap differs from a band-around-brick cap in that it bolts directly into the chimney’s top row of brick. The addition of the metal skirt provides the best possible protection against rain, snow, sleet, hail, wind, and other elemental forces that degrade a chimney over time.

Like the band-around-brick cap, this skirt-type chimney cap is also made of 100% 304 stainless steel, and its maximum base dimensions (like the band-around-brick style) are 48” x 96”.

How to Measure for a Custom Skirt-Type Stainless Steel Chimney Cap

Like the band-around-brick custom chimney cap, you’ll need two sets of dimensions when measuring for a custom skirt-type stainless steel chimney cap: the dimensions of the top row of chimney brick, and the height of your chimney flue.

The lengths and widths of the top row of chimney brick will determine the length and width of your custom band-around cap. In the example above, these dimensions are 36.5” x 24.5” x 36” x 23”.

The measurement of the height of your chimney flue will determine the height of the braces and the mesh on your custom skirt-type cap. As you can see in the example above:

• A flue of 5” in height or less will use 8” braces and mesh
• A flue between 5” and 8” in height will use 12” braces and mesh
• A flue between 8” and 11” in height will use 15” braces and mesh
• A flue between 11” and 14” in height will use 18” braces and mesh

There should be at least 6” of space between the top of your flue and the hood of the chimney cap to allow smoke to vent out properly. Knowing the flue height will help us know what the height of the cap should be to allow for this ventilation.

Custom Skirt-Type (Copper)

Copper is the pinnacle of luxury and style in the world of chimney caps. The elegant, eye-catching metal is a bit softer than stainless steel, but it still provides adequate weather and animal protection.

Copper also acquires a natural patina over time as it’s exposed to the elements — a much sought-after aesthetic feature of a copper chimney cover. Bear in mind that copper chimney caps carry a much higher price than stainless or galvanized steel.

Like its stainless steel counterpart, a custom skirt-type copper cap is bolted directly into your chimney brick for maximum security. Unlike its stainless steel counterpart, though, a copper custom skirt-type cap does not come with braces; it’s held together solely by its mesh.

You’re a little more limited in the size department with this style of chimney cap, too — the maximum possible base size for our copper custom skirts is 38” x 88” (as opposed to the stainless steel styles’ 48” x 96”).

How to Measure for a Custom Skirt-Type Copper Chimney Cap

Again, you need two all-important measurements when sizing up your custom copper skirt-type cap: the dimensions of the top row of chimney brick, and the height of your chimney flue. In the above example, these dimensions clock in at 36.5” x 24.5” x 36” x 23”.

These copper caps are a bit more limited with regards to flue height, as well. From the example, you can see that:

• A flue of 5” in height or less will use 9” mesh
• A flue between 5” and 8” in height will use 12” mesh
• A flue between 8” and 10” in height will use 14” mesh

The same stainless steel custom-skirt chimney caps can accommodate a maximum flue height of 14”, but the copper cap can only fit flues up to 10” high. This is because the biggest standard size for copper mesh is 14” (as opposed to stainless steel’s maximum height of 18”).

Which Custom Chimney Cap Should You Get?

The world of custom chimney caps is overwhelming. You may have come to this article wondering if you even need a custom chimney cap, what your options are, which size to choose, or which material is right for you.

Now, you know the two types of custom chimney caps we make, which materials we make them in, how those materials may affect the possible size of the cap, and what kind of measurements you need for your custom cap.

If you’re ready to pull the trigger on a custom chimney cap, our customer service team is ready to help. All you’ll have to do is mention which type you want, your preferred material (if you’re after a skirt-type cap), and the dimensions of your chimney brick and flue. From there, the rest is in our hands, and your custom-made HY-C cap will be ready for your roof in no time.

Proper ventilation is essential for any home. Whether it’s air being drawn in through your soffits, into the attic, and out through the roof vents or outlets for appliances like a dryer or fireplace, keeping fresh, clean air is important for the health of the home and the homeowners alike.

Unfortunately, though, ventilation comes with tradeoffs. Ventilation means holes in your home, and holes in your home mean any number of unwelcome guests could creep through. From small or medium-sized animals to crawling, flying, and stinging insects, the last thing homeowners want is for outside wildlife to get inside the house.

The solution to keeping wildlife out comes in the form of exclusion products. And while there are plenty of great brands on the market, at HY-C, we manufacture HY-GUARD EXCLUSION: a line-up of wildlife control products engineered to keep critters out of your home while still allowing that all-important air circulation to take place.

But what kinds of products are in the line? How do they work? And what are they made of? In this guide, we’ll answer those questions (and more) to help familiarize you with what wildlife control products are and what they do. By the time you’re done, you’ll know exactly what kind of pests to keep out and how you can stop them from getting into your home.

What Kind of Wildlife Control Products Does HY-GUARD EXCLUSION Make?

HY-GUARD EXCLUSION products have multiple purposes and keep out all kinds of critters, but each product falls into one of three distinct categories:

1. Exclusion caps
2. Exclusion screens
3. Exclusion guards

Exclusion Caps

Exclusion caps are made exclusively to sit atop chimneys. There are two varieties of exclusion caps: chimney caps, and chimney guards. Chimney caps feature both a solid, metal top that keeps snow and rain out of your fireplace and mesh sides that still allow smoke and gasses to vent out as logs burn.

Exclusion guards are basically the same, but instead of a solid, metal top, they feature a mesh top (and mesh sides). These guards are typically used in areas with low precipitation that require spark arresting, a process in which the tight mesh “catches” sparks to prevent them from floating away into dry vegetation, potentially causing wildfires.

Both chimney caps and chimney guards come with mesh patterns that are tight enough to keep out local animals (and, if the mesh is tight enough, bees and wasps). These caps are often bolted on, preventing animals from ripping them off and making a home in your chimney.

Exclusion Screens

Exclusion screens are pretty straightforward: they come as a flat “sheet” with a solid, metal frame and a diamond mesh body. These screens go anywhere on your home that have a sizable opening — typically on a soffit or over an opening in the house’s foundation.

Like exclusion caps, exclusion screens are bolted into place, so curious animals won’t be able to rip them off and get inside. Depending on the tightness of the mesh, these screens can keep out decently sized insects, too.

Exclusion Guards

Finally, HY-GUARD EXCLUSION’s lineup also features a few different exclusion guards. These guards exist to cover vents from products that need to put out some kind of exhaust — products like dryers, fireplaces, or wood burning furnaces or stoves.

Exclusion guards are also bolted onto the house. They may be made from either plastic or metal. While metal is obviously stronger, even plastic guards are capable of withstanding the prying claws of a critter. A tight-meshed guards can keep out small critters or large insects.

Where on Your House do HY-GUARD EXCLUSION Products Go?

HY-GUARD EXCLUSION products quite literally cover everything from a home’s roof to its foundation. Whether the opening in the home exists for ventilation purposes or to service the exhaust needs of an appliance, there’s a cap, screen, or guard to cover it.

Chimneys

Starting at the highest point on the home, exclusion caps and guards are bolted onto chimney flues to keep animals out. While there are technically no chimney caps or guards under the HY-GUARD EXCLUSION name, other HY-C brands (like Shelter and Draft King) make chimney products engineered for wildlife control.

Roof Vents

Staying near the top of the house, HY-GUARD EXCLUSION manufactures an entire line of roof vent guards. The vents themselves allow air to circulate through a home’s attic while the guard keeps birds or dexterous mammals from getting into the attic and building their nests.

These roof vent guards are designed with swooping angles to look architecturally pleasing. They also come with pre-cut holes to accommodate screws that go directly into the roof’s shingles so the vent guard stays securely in place.

Soffits

Plenty of critters (especially raccoons) love to make their homes in soffits. Many soffits come with a layer of hardware cloth built in, but most animals have no trouble ripping off this flimsy mesh and climbing through to set up camp. HY-GUARD EXCLUSION’s soffit vent covers are made from galvanized steel, which is significantly harder for animals to gnaw or claw through.

Dryer Vents

The majority of vents that appear on the side of the house are dryer vents, and animals can get into them quite easily. HY-GUARD EXCLUSION’s dryer vent covers come either with diamond mesh or code-compliant, vertical bars to keep local animals out of your dryer vent hose.

Foundations

It’s important for an attic to breathe, and it’s important for a basement to breathe, too. To prevent stale air from gathering at the base of a home, some houses come equipped with foundation vents to promote circulation.

These areas are very vulnerable to bugs and critters, and HY-GUARD EXCLUSION’s foundation vent guards keep these intrusions out while still allowing airflow into the basement.

What Kinds of Wildlife do HY-GUARD EXCLUSION Products Exclude?

HY-GUARD EXCLUSION’s caps, screens, and guards are designed to keep out a large range of animals and insects based on the biodiversity of your local environment. The vast majority of the products are made with stainless steel mesh, and the size of each product’s mesh helps to determine what kind of animals or insects it will exclude from your home.

⅝” Mesh

The widest HY-GUARD EXCLUSION mesh option, ⅝” mesh will keep out larger intrusive animals. Some of the most commonly excluded are:

• Raccoons
• Opossums
• Squirrels
• Skunks
• Beavers
• Birds

It should be noted that bats and mice are not on this list. While ⅝” diamond mesh should keep mice and bats out of your house in theory, in practice, animals are sometimes determined to squeeze through tight spaces. At the end of the day, it is theoretically possible for a bat or a mouse to get through ⅝” diamond mesh.

⅜” Mesh

The next-tightest mesh option, ⅜” mesh represents the threshold at which mice and bats can no longer get in (but insects still can). This mesh size is commonly designed to keep out:

• Mice
• Bats
• Raccoons
• Opossums
• Squirrels
• Skunks
• Beavers
• Birds

¼” Mesh

Finally, at just 0.25” in length, this mesh size is engineered to exclude all the critters listed above (and other similarly sized animals) plus medium to large-sized insects. Some of the most common insects kept out by ¼” mesh include:

• Bees
• Wasps
• Yellow jackets
• Stink bugs

Keep in mind that while ¼” mesh does keep out some bigger invasive insects, smaller ones (like ants) can still make their way through the cracks.

Are HY-GUARD EXCLUSION Products Right for You?

Before now, you may not have even known about some of the spaces on your home that were vulnerable to insects and animals. After reading this, you may feel compelled to take a peek at your dryer vent, or to glance up at your soffit to see if it has any vents.

Depending on what you find, you may decide you want some exclusion screens or guards. After all, wildlife control products are designed to be preventative, keeping a bat colony out of your attic or a stink bug infestation out of your basement before it can even begin.

If you decide you want to keep animals and insects out of your house with wildlife control products, your next step should be to contact a wildlife control professional — they’re qualified and licensed to install products like HY-GUARD EXCLUSION.

Keep the ventilation spots we mentioned in mind — spaces like chimney openings, roof vents, soffit openings, dryer vents, and foundation vents. Ask a professional which of these are present on your home, and ask them to find the appropriate screens and guards to cover up these vulnerabilities.

After the installation is complete, you’ll be left with peace of mind and a clean, well-ventilated home that’s set up to minimize pest invasion and maximize comfort.

If you’re a pest control professional, you know that de-webbing — the removal of spider webs from a client’s home — is an important part of the job. You may not put much thought into your cobweb duster, though; in fact, it’s possible that you’ve been using the same company-assigned spider web removal brush for years at a time without even realizing that there are different options available.

One such option is SpinAway, a drill-powered extendable brush that HY-C manufactures. SpinAway is good for all kinds of cleaning jobs, and, as we’ve used it and tested it ourselves, we’ve been particularly impressed with its de-webbing capabilities.

But is it the right tool to add to your pest control toolkit?

In this article, we’ll compare SpinAway to the classic, tried-and-true cobweb duster. After you’re done reading, you’ll know the pros and cons of each kind of de-webbing tool, and you’ll be ready to decide whether you want to keep using your traditional brush or if you’re the right kind of person to give SpinAway a try.

SpinAway: 3 Cobweb Removal Pros

1. Automated Spinning Brush Head

When removing spider webs from a home, pest control professionals are taught to rotate their brush to sweep cobwebs away effectively and efficiently. With traditional brushes, this is a labor-intensive process. But SpinAway is designed to do the job for you.

SpinAway is made with a drill bit built into the end of its handle. All you have to do is attach the bit to a drill, extend the brush head to the appropriate length, and pull the drill’s trigger. The brush head will spin, utilizing centripetal force to sweep cobwebs from gutters, downspouts, and eaves — no arm or wrist twisting required.

2. Pain-Free De-Webbing

Pest control professionals know that as the day wears on, cobweb dusting can take its toll. Pushing and spinning that brush head back and forth across multiple houses for hours at a time is demanding on back and arm muscles.

SpinAway takes the torque out of your muscles and transfers it into the drill. All an operator has to do is hold the brush head in place and maintain proper posture. The rotation from the drill provides the cleaning force, giving your muscles a reprieve.

3. Faster Cobweb Removal

Cleaning spider webs from a house with a cobweb duster is a lot like mopping a floor: you have to push back and forth, ensuring you sweep up every web from every surface. De-webbing this way necessitates some overlap in the sections you’re scrubbing, which can add to the time it takes to get the job done.

With SpinAway, there’s no need for the “mop method” of de-webbing; just touch the brush head to the surface of the house, pull the drill’s trigger, and walk a straight line from one corner of the house to the next. The rotating head will catch the webs from all the cracks and crevices of the home with little to no need to go over the same surface twice.

SpinAway: 3 Cobweb Removal Cons

1. Requires a Cordless Drill

One of SpinAway’s biggest strengths as a de-webbing tool may also be its biggest weakness to some: to use it to its potential, you’ll need a battery-powered drill. This can mean additional upfront costs ($40 to $100 or more for a drill and $30 to $50 or more for batteries), and if the batteries die or the drill breaks, it goes back to being just like any old cobweb duster.

The saving grace here is that most pest control professionals already have a cordless drill for removing downspouts, drilling holes to add and bait, etc. Even if you do already carry a drill with you on the job, be sure to note that SpinAway is very demanding on the life of your batteries, and it may be necessary to purchase a few extras. Also, keeping all those batteries fully charged will be its own battle.

2. Shorter than Traditional Cobweb Dusters

Classic extendable de-webbing tools clock in at anywhere from 12 to 20 feet long — plenty long enough to remove cobwebs from the exterior of just about any home. SpinAway, on the other hand, extends only to 5 feet in length, falling well short of even average-length cobweb dusters.

If you’re a pest control professional who works mostly on single-story buildings, SpinAway’s length shouldn’t be a problem. In terms of total reach (i.e., the length of the tool itself plus the amount of distance an average user can reach), SpinAway is good for about 10 feet. If you’re de-webbing two-story houses or other taller structures, though, the extra length of a traditional cobweb duster may be better for you.

3. Price

SpinAway retails for about $60. Other comparable cobweb dusters typically cost somewhere from $30 to $45, and that’s without even factoring in the cost for a drill and batteries, which can easily add at least another $50.

Is SpinAway the Right Web Removal Tool for You?

Before now, you may not have given much thought to your cobweb duster. Now that you’re aware of SpinAway and its de-webbing capabilities, you may be wondering whether or not it’s the right tool for you.

If you’re looking to keep a low budget, you don’t already have a cordless drill, or you need to de-web two-story houses on a frequent basis, SpinAway may not be the right cobweb duster for you.

But if you have some money to spare, you already have a drill and some batteries, or especially if other de-webbing tools have been causing you pain in your back, hips, or arms, you may want to give SpinAway a try. It’s light, it’s quick, and its rotating brush head does a lot of the heavy lifting for you, keeping you fresh for the next job.

You’ve almost certainly cleaned your dryer’s lint trap. But have you ever cleaned the vent hose? It’s a harder task, but it’s vital to perform — lint buildup in a dryer vent can lead to a fire in your laundry room that can quickly spread out of control.

Many people hire a professional cleaner, but DIY dryer vent cleaning is becoming a popular alternative. We should know — we own LintEater, the first retail dryer vent cleaning kit designed specifically for homeowners. And though we were the first, we’re not the only ones on the market anymore; plenty of other impressive dryer vent cleaning kits have hit the shelves since LintEater. But, with so many options available, which kit is right for you?

Let’s take a look at three rotary dryer vent cleaning kits: LintEater, Lint Wizard, and — far and away the most popular manufacturer on the market — Holikme. We’ll compare them along five different attributes:

1. Rod length
2. Rod material
3. Rod attachment style
4. Accessories
5. Price

By the time you’re done, you’ll understand the ins and outs of what makes a rotary dryer vent cleaning kit work. You’ll also have a sense of the similarities and differences between three of the top kits on the market so you can find the right kit for your cleaning needs.

What Is a Rotary Dryer Vent Cleaning Kit?

Residential dryers have a vent hose attached that runs from the back of the dryer to the exterior of the home. Think of the dryer vent hose as the “exhaust pipe” of a dryer. Clothes can’t dry unless the moisture has some place to escape through, and that place is the dryer vent hose.

Over time, clothing lint inevitably gets sucked into the dryer vent hose and accumulates. The lint trap is supposed to help prevent this buildup, but lint traps can’t catch everything. Lint buildup in a dryer vent hose is very dangerous. Dryers get hot, and if lint gets near the dryer’s heating elements, that’s a house fire waiting to happen. In fact, there are nearly 16,000 dryer-related fires per year in the United States that result in hundreds of millions of dollars in damage.

A rotary dryer vent cleaning kit is designed to help you clean the lint out of your dryer’s vent hose. These function primarily by way of three components:

1. Extension rods
2. A brush head
3. A drill (not sold with the kits)

To operate the kit, just attach as many extension rods as necessary to your drill (enough to reach through the entire length of your vent hose), connect the brush head to the extension rods, insert the rods and brush into your dryer vent, and power on your drill. The rotating brush head will scrape lint out of the dryer vent as you push it in and out.

Comparing the Top 3 Rotary Dryer Vent Cleaning Kits

So, it’s clear that you should clean your dryer vent. Hiring a professional is always a viable option, but it also tends to be more expensive than if you were to do it yourself. And if you want to do it yourself, you need a dryer vent cleaning kit.

But which kit should you buy? One of the three top dryer vent cleaning kits on the market — LintEater, Lint Wizard, and Holikme — is a good place to start.

Let’s compare and contrast these three kits, taking a look at the length of their connector rods, the material of those rods, the method by which the rods attach to each other, the accessories included in each kit, and, finally, the price of each kit.

Rod Length

In the world of rotary dryer vent cleaning kits, a good rule of thumb is, “The longer the rod length, the better.” Shorter rods mean more connection points, and more connection points make the column of rods less stable as they spin. Longer rods are gentler on dryer vents, easier to operate, and offer superior cleaning results.

The Lint Wizard and Holikme kits offer 24” rods, while LintEater is the only dryer vent cleaning kit that offers 36” rods. And while the “Longer is better” rule of thumb is true, shorter extension rods are viable options for cleaning short, straight dryer vent hoses. So be sure to choose a kit with rods appropriate to the length of your dryer vent hose.

Rod Material

There are two materials that dryer vent cleaning kit rods are made from: plastic or nylon. Nylon is very flexible, which is advantageous — dryer vent hoses tend to twist and bend at all angles to extend from the dryer to the dryer exhaust vent. Flexible nylon rods have no trouble bending to follow the path of the dryer vent hose.

Plastic rods, while somewhat flexible, are a bit more rigid, and can break off and become stuck deep in the vent hose as a result. This could damage the vent hose, and the process of retrieving a broken extension rod can be frustrating.

Holikme kits and Lint Wizard kits come with plastic extension rods, while LintEater kits feature nylon rods. Despite their versatility, nylon rods do come with a glaring downside: they’re more expensive than their plastic counterparts (sometimes twice as expensive as kits with comparable lengths).

Rod Attachment Style

Dryer vent cleaning rods attach to each other in one of two ways: they can screw into each other, or they feature a spring-loaded, button-style locking mechanism. The button-style attachment (pictured above) is much more secure. It ensures the rods stay solidly locked in place during the cleaning process.

The threaded, screw-style method, on the other hand, is a bit more limiting. Because of the way the screw rods are threaded, you can only set your drill to spin clockwise. Counter-clockwise cleaning may cause the rods to become unscrewed from each other, resulting in wobbly rotation or even causing the rods to become disconnected from each other entirely, getting stuck in the dryer vent.

Holikme dryer vent cleaning kits are made only with screw-style extension rods. The Lint Wizard kits use only button-style extension rods. LintEater uses a mix of button and screw-style rods — the original LintEater and the LintEater extension kit use screw-style connections, and the LintEater Pro uses button-based connections.

Accessories

Dryer vent cleaning kits can come with a slew of accessories, some of which you may want, and some of which may just pad the price of the kit. Aside from the extension rods and the brush head, common accessories include:

• A narrow lint brush attachment for cleaning lint traps
• A vacuum adapter to vacuum out your dryer vent
• A claw-like blockage removal attachment to help extract large clumps of lint
• A lint-catching bag to attach to your home’s exterior vent to collect extracted lint

Holikme makes 14 different dryer vent cleaning kits, some of which come with just the bare-bones essentials while others come loaded with additional accessories.

LintEater and Lint Wizard kits come with vacuum adapters, lint trap brushes, and blockage removal tools. If you’re looking for a single, all-encompassing option, LintEater and Lint Wizard have you covered. Holikme, on the other hand, offers a great balance of accessory-heavy kits and cost-effective choices with just the essentials.

Pricing

The four features above (rod length, rod material, rod attachment style, and accessories) are the factors that determine the price of a dryer vent cleaning kit. Kits can cost as little as $17 to as much as $45, and their prices vary between the big three manufacturers.

Holikme is both the most cost-effective and most expensive manufacturer of dryer vent cleaning kits. They make their kits in 15-feet, 25-feet, 30-feet, 40-feet, and 50-feet options. You can buy their rod-and-brush-only kits from $17 to $36 (depending on the length you need), or you can buy a 30-feet, 40-feet, or 50-feet kit with additional accessories for $30 to $44 (again, depending on length).

Lint Wizard’s options are a bit more straightforward: they sell a small duct cleaning kit for $15 and a large duct cleaning kit for $27. These kits are a great middle-of-the-road option from a price perspective, and they both come with the same number of accessories.

LintEater offers both the original LintEater and the LintEater pro for $33 and $41, respectively. Both kits come with identical accessories. We also offer a smaller, more streamlined LintEater Junior with just two, 18-inch extension rods for $19, and the LintEater Pro Jr. (with button-style connection points) for around $21.

Which Dryer Vent Cleaning Kit Is Best for You?

So much of the answer depends on how your dryer is situated, how long its vent hose is, and how often you use the dryer. Your conditions may require a high-end, heavy-duty kit, or you may just need a bare-bones kit with few to little accessories.

The good news is that by now, you should have a great idea of which kit you need and what kind of features it should come with. After you decide, you’ll be ready to keep your dryer vent hose clean, lint-free, and safe from catching fire.

In a world where natural gas home furnaces have become the norm, wood burning furnaces are a commonly overlooked option. They shouldn’t be, though, as they offer an environmentally friendly, cost-effective, and energy-independent way of heating your home (or supplementing your existing furnace).

If you’ve decided to declare your independence from your propane, heating oil, or gas company, the question remains: what is the right wood burning furnace for me?

In order to help answer that question, in this post we’re going to compare two highly regarded, tried-and-true furnaces: HY-C’s Fire Chief FC1000E and US Stove’s Hot Blast HB1520. We’ll consider each furnace’s heat dispersion capabilities, the build quality of each furnace, how easy each furnace is to install, and some important safety considerations to keep in mind. By the end of this guide, you should have a much stronger sense of what to look for in a wood burning furnace, and you’ll be ready to start considering pricing options.

Heat Dispersion Capabilities of Each Furnace

Above anything else, a furnace’s primary function is to deliver heat throughout your home. In wood burning furnaces, that heat is measured through British thermal units (BTUs) — the higher the BTUs, the more heat the furnace can provide. US Stove’s HB1520 is rated for 180,000 BTUs while Fire Chief’s FC1000E tops out at 143,5000 BTUs.

If you live in a frigid area that demands continuous performance from your furnace, the HB1520 might be the better choice for you. However, if the climate in which you live is a little more forgiving, the FC1000E is up to the task.

As wood burns in the furnace, the heat in the firebox needs to be pushed out into the home’s air ducts. Wood furnaces accomplish this by way of a distribution blower. The amount of air a distribution blower is able to push out is measured in cubic feet per minute (CFM). The HB1520 features two distribution blowers which put out 550 CFM each. The Fire Chief FC1000E has one distribution blower, and it’s capable of 1,800 CFM.

Wood Furnace Build Quality

The quality of your wood furnace is what will help determine its longevity. High build quality means less repairs and better overall, long-term performance. Wood burning furnaces are made primarily of steel, a strong, sturdy metal that holds up well long-term.

The Fire Chief FC1000E is made in the USA with domestically sourced steel. Its firebox (the part of the furnace where wood fuel is placed and burned) is designed both with steel and an additional layer of insulation, which means heat won’t escape and will be channeled through your ductwork to heat your home efficiently.

US Stove’s Hot Blast HB1520 is not manufactured in the USA, and it’s made with non-domestic steel. That means it comes with a cheaper price tag than the Fire Chief FC1000E, which might make it a better option for more budget-conscious shoppers.

Ease of Furnace Installation

Regarding the installation process itself, the Fire Chief furnace comes with both pre-wired, “plug and play” electrical components and two duct attachment points to help make self-installation simpler. The Hot Blast may require assistance from a metal fabricator to fashion the ductwork connection. US Stove recommends using a qualified electrician to install the Hot Blast’s electrical components.

It may not be top-of-mind for most customers when making their purchase, but the size of the furnace itself is also an important determining factor when installing it in your home. Maneuvering a furnace to its installation location often includes fitting it through the basement door and down the steps.

The Hot Blast HB1520 measures about 45” x 25” x 54” and weighs around 580 pounds while the Fire Chief FC1000E is a narrower 42” x 26” x 45” and weighs around 435 pounds.

Furnace Door and Clearance to Combustibles

One of the primary safety concerns of a wood furnace is its clearance to combustibles range, or how far combustible materials (like extra firewood or a wall) need to be kept from the furnace to avoid them catching fire. The Fire Chief FC1000E’s clearance to combustible range is six inches, while the Hot Blast HB1520’s is 18 inches.

So think about the area where you want to install your furnace. What’s there? Walls? A work bench? Other combustible materials that can’t be easily moved? If you have more open space, either furnace will work well for you. The Fire Chief FC1000E’s shorter clearance to combustible range makes it a more versatile choice in tighter spaces.

The HB1520 also comes with a glass pane on the front of its loading door. The glass is useful for seeing into the furnace in order to know when to add more wood. The Fire Chief FC1000E features a solid steel door (without a glass viewing pane) that can be locked into place when it’s closed.

Which Wood Burning Furnace is Best for Me?

There’s no simple answer to this question. Everyone’s home, heating needs, and available space are different. Even still, at this point you should have a better idea of the differences between the Fire Chief FC1000E and the Hot Blast HB1520 so you can decide on the best one for you — or even a different wood burning furnace altogether.