Think I should be good with 6 tons this winter

  • Active since 1995, Hearth.com is THE place on the internet for free information and advice about wood stoves, pellet stoves and other energy saving equipment.

    We strive to provide opinions, articles, discussions and history related to Hearth Products and in a more general sense, energy issues.

    We promote the EFFICIENT, RESPONSIBLE, CLEAN and SAFE use of all fuels, whether renewable or fossil.
Status
Not open for further replies.

Chrisnow86

Minister of Fire
my first season with a pellet stove and now breaking into my 6th ton.. I've tried many different brands. North Americans, Green not so supremes,(will never buy thoes again) minute mans, green golds, (these were my favorite) lg granules, and now working on some stove chow that I found at Home Depot last week shockingly. I will say I'm glad I pulled the trigger on a pellet stove this year. It's my only source of heat and was a way better step up from the old wood stove. and after the winter from hell it was nice with the convenience of a pellet stove over a wood burner
 
Were only at the 2 1/4 ton mark.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Cory S
Just finishing ton #8. Could use two more. Have paid $238 each all winter. Now only pellets to be found are $350 per ton. Not gonna happen.
 
Into 5 in pellets and 4 in corn, but then I keep the stove balls to the wall all the time... got to keep the missus warm.

A happy wife is a happy life.

The end is in sight btw.
 
  • Like
Reactions: newbieinCT
I am 10 bags into ton #4. I paid $250.00 a ton for the first three, but paid $350.00 for that last ton which turned out to be my favorite of this season. Lignetics.
 
At just under 5 tons, with about 40 days to go based on history and a bit over 1 ton in inventory. Dealers only source of pellets if needed now. Box stores have neither pellets nor salt. Just flimsy snow shovels designed for children and suburbanites (which seem to flock together, but difficult to tell who's in charge. But I digress...). On track to finish with fewer than 10 bags left. 4-8 inches of snow forecast through tomorrow. Rough winter. I crave a mohito...
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ranger72
  • Like
Reactions: newbieinCT
I think I will order 3 tons this season and if I need more ill hump them. Got about 40 bags left and I think I might have left overs maybe. Who knows.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Cory S
How big is your home? Insulation? Key factors in pellet usage. I have a well insulated 1800SQFT home and burn around 5 tons, in an artic wasteland.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Cory S
I am picking up a new P61A this weekend. Will install it come Spring. Hoping to only burn 3 tons next season. 1900sq ft home, VERY air tight/insulated. Going to end up only burning 3 cord of semi-seasoned wood this season. It's been a very cold January/February too!!
 
Have about 20 bags left of the Greene Team, picked up a ton of Vermont last weekend. Liking the few bags of the Vermont I used over the weekend. Same heat as the GT's, same price ($300/ton) but much less ash. probably will get 4 tons of them this summer for next season.

Sam
 
I'm just finishing up my 4th ton of pellets from wood pellets inc. They burned well all season, i'd purchase again. I purchased in late July @215 per ton.
 
Were only at the 2 1/4 ton mark.


You live in MA, and have only burned slightly over 2 ton? Really? How is that even possible? We've just gone through one of the coldest Winters ever recorded. I assume that the pellets aren't your primary source of heat? Do you live in a really small home? Just trying to wrap my head around that, as I'm well into my 6th ton!
 
  • Like
Reactions: newbieinCT
My house has 2 floors plus an attic. We live mostly on the upper floor where the stove is located. The lower level is a large finished room, a small cellar area where our oil furnace, oil tank and washer / dryer is and a 1 car garage. We keep the oil thermostat on the lower level set to 60. Upstairs we keep the stove thermostat set to 71 when were home at night and on weekends. When we're out, we set it to 65.

Total square footage is 2400sqft. Our upstairs is 1800 sqft.
 
My house has 2 floors plus an attic. We live mostly on the upper floor where the stove is located. The lower level is a large finished room, a small cellar area where our oil furnace, oil tank and washer / dryer is and a 1 car garage. We keep the oil thermostat on the lower level set to 60. Upstairs we keep the stove thermostat set to 71 when were home at night and on weekends. When we're out, we set it to 65.

Total square footage is 2400sqft. Our upstairs is 1800 sqft.

That's pretty amazing...you must have a nicely sealed house!
 
I think I will order 3 tons this season and if I need more ill hump them. Got about 40 bags left and I think I might have left overs maybe. Who knows.

Humping the missus has definite advantages IMO.
 
  • Like
Reactions: newbieinCT
We are almost halfway through ton #5 (somerset) in Western CT. We are definitely going to run out and I'm kicking myself for not getting 7. Thought we would be fine w/ 6. It was our first official year burning...but then again, we didn't expect multiple -12 degree days, either! I think, I was also thinking we would have more curtains and stuff in the house to keep the heat in (we recently moved) but there's lots of uncovered windows that are not helping things.

We are running a harman p61a in main part of the house and a old kozi xl at the far end. The kozi is loud and probably very inefficient but it can crank out some heat! It loves the 'sets. We only use that to supplement the downstairs a few times a day - layout of house means it's hard to push the air around and we just need a booster shot from the kozi at times.

Either way, getting 8 tons next year!
 
Im not sure how much a difference this makes but I also switched to douglas fir pellets this year which are probably the hottest (and most expensive) pellet you can buy.
 
Im not sure how much a difference this makes but I also switched to douglas fir pellets this year which are probably the hottest (and most expensive) pellet you can buy.

I've been thinking about trying them next year. haven't been able to find any around here to test out. We have somerset, which are pretty great for the price but if it's another winter like this, I might have to step up my game!

Insulation definitely makes a difference! We live in an old farmhouse and we had insulation installed last year in all exterior walls - some walls had existing insulation others had none at all. We added blown in cellulose in all attic spaces and had the exterior walls air sealed. What a HUGE difference it makes! Pre-insulation, we could see our breath while sitting on the couch. Now, we barely use the oil (only to keep pipes warm) and rely mainly on the pellets - and most days I am warm enough for a tshirt!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.