Pound per hour vs BTU?

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gqllc007

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Sep 1, 2014
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Albany NY
Which is more important? For example it seems that a higher BTU will heat a larger home as that makes sense. But how many pounds of pellets per hour does that stove take to burn to get to that BTU?
For instance my Avalon APG will burn on high approx 5 pounds per hour and produce 41,000 BTU
A Harmon I looked at said 68,000 BTU but could not find how many pounds per hour on high it burns.
So does the Harmon burn 8.3 pounds per hour for the higher heat? Or is the Harmon that much more efficient?
House is approx 2400 sq ft
 
As I understand, the higher ratings burn more Pellets. Not sure what the max pound rating is for the P68, but I believed it is around 8lbs per hour.
 
The Harman can ramp up to the 8.3 pounds per hour thus yielding the 68,000 INPUT btu. The output btu of each stove is a matter of heat exchanger design efficiency and varies by stove manufacturer. Most seem to be in the 75-78 % range with a few in the lower 80's.
 
Yep, if you want more heat, you feed the BEAST more pellets, plain and simple. You don't get anything for nothing. It can be a very expensive space heater.
 
The stove BTU ratings are typically input ratings. Considering a lack of a standard on measurements the consumer is essentially shopping with one eye closed. The max pounds per hour will give you a better idea, but this information isn't readily available.

BTU ratings are like the megapixel count on cameras. Marketing hopes you stick with the more is better mantra but it isn't that simple.
 
john193 said:
The stove BTU ratings are typically input ratings. Considering a lack of a standard on measurements the consumer is essentially shopping with one eye closed. The max pounds per hour will give you a better idea, but this information isn't readily available.

BTU ratings are like the megapixel count on cameras. Marketing hopes you stick with the more is better mantra but it isn't that simple.
Click to expand...
That is how I felt when I purchased my Avalon APG. I had a hard time comparing apples to apples and one dealer that everyone likes and approves of here carries the Avalon. The other dealer that everyone said to stay away from carries the Harmon!
 
gqllc007 said:
Which is more important? For example it seems that a higher BTU will heat a larger home as that makes sense. But how many pounds of pellets per hour does that stove take to burn to get to that BTU?
For instance my Avalon APG will burn on high approx 5 pounds per hour and produce 41,000 BTU
A Harmon I looked at said 68,000 BTU but could not find how many pounds per hour on high it burns.
So does the Harmon burn 8.3 pounds per hour for the higher heat? Or is the Harmon that much more efficient?
House is approx 2400 sq ft
Click to expand...
If stove efficiency is roughly equal, then it doesn't matter which number you use for comparison as most mfrs use the same standard of 8000BTUs per pound. Some are a little higher. Sounds like the Harman uses a slightly higher number. If you want to eliminate most of those mfr assumptions, then go by pounds. It all comes down to thermodynamics. The more you burn the more heat, all else being equal.
 
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