Parts of a Pellet Stove – Labeled Cutaway Diagram

All 16 parts on the diagram

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Fuel feed and controls 5

Hopper It is filled from the top, a bag at a time. It empties from the bottom into the auger.
Hopper lid It closes the top of the hopper while the stove runs.
Auger As it turns it lifts pellets from the hopper. They then fall into the burn pot.
Auger motor How often it runs sets how fast pellets are fed.
Control board Its heat setting decides how fast pellets are fed.

Firebox 5

Firebox It holds the burn pot and is closed by the door.
Door The rest of the outside stays much cooler than the glass.
Burn pot Air comes in through the bottom of the pot. Some makers call it a firepot.
Igniter Air passing over the hot rod sets the pellets alight. No match is needed.
Ash pan It slides out to be emptied.

Air and exhaust 6

Heat exchanger Room air is blown through and comes out warm at the front.
Convection blower Some makers call it the room air blower or the distribution blower.
Vent pipe It can run out through a wall or up through the roof.
Air intake Often joined to a pipe that draws the air from outdoors.
Combustion blower Some makers call it the exhaust blower.
Vacuum switch If the draft is lost, it stops the pellet feed.

How this list was compiled: Every name checked on 2026-09-30, a name kept only where two independent sources use it: Wikipedia, Pellet stove (text only); US Department of Energy, Energy Saver, Wood and Pellet Heating (archived copy at https://web.archive.org/web/2024/https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/wood-and-pellet-heating); and three makers' owner's manuals read as full text on archive.org: England's Stove Works pellet stoves (https://archive.org/details/manualzilla-id-7050706), Harman P61A (https://archive.org/details/manualsbase-id-600515) and Quadra-Fire Santa Fe (https://archive.org/details/manualzz-id-742387). No maker is named on the page. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry; a schematic of no maker's stove, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

A pellet stove feeds itself: pellets wait in the hopper, an auger carries them to the burn pot, and two blowers move the air. The drawing cuts one open from the side, then enlarges the bottom of the firebox.

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Follow a pellet through the stove

Numbers 1 to 4 are the fuel's path: the hopper under its lid, and the auger, turned by its motor, which lifts pellets until they drop into the firebox. Numbers 5 to 10 are the rest of the whole stove: the firebox behind its door, the heat exchanger across the top with the convection blower behind it, the control board and the vent pipe. Numbers 11 to 16 are in the close-up: the burn pot, the igniter, the air intake, the ash pan, the combustion blower and the vacuum switch.

Two blowers, two jobs: the combustion blower feeds the fire and pushes out the exhaust; the convection blower sends warm air into the room.
Makers' names differ: burn pot or firepot, combustion blower or exhaust blower, convection blower or room air blower.

Questions and answers

How does a pellet stove work?

An auger carries pellets from the hopper to the burn pot, where they burn. The combustion blower brings air to the fire and pushes the exhaust out the vent pipe. The convection blower moves room air through the heat exchanger and back into the room.

What does the auger do in a pellet stove?

The auger is a metal spiral inside a tube. Its motor turns it to carry pellets from the hopper until they fall into the burn pot. The control board sets how fast it feeds, and that sets the heat.

What is the burn pot in a pellet stove?

A cast-iron or steel basin with holes, inside the firebox, where the pellets burn. Air from the combustion blower comes in at the bottom of the pot. Some makers call it a firepot.

Does a pellet stove need electricity?

Yes. The auger motor, both blowers, the igniter and the control board run on electricity, so a pellet stove plugs into a standard outlet.