So I'm burning Pellets in my wood stove, vids inside. =]
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tbuff
Feeling the Heat
My 2nd burn ever last night I went thru 12 lbs in 2 1/4 hours.
I'm going to use a different refueling strategy as well as different air damper and pipe damper settings tonight and hopefully cut the usage in half.
Trial and error works wonders.
I'm going to use a different refueling strategy as well as different air damper and pipe damper settings tonight and hopefully cut the usage in half.
Trial and error works wonders.
tbuff
Feeling the Heat
Keep us posted - this is good stuff. I use biobricks in my stove currently, but have wanted to try the pellet route just for kicks. Right now, consumption seems high with 12 pounds for 3 hours of burn. Using biobricks, 40 to 60 pounds will get me through 24 hours, depending on how aggressively I reload . I still want to try pellets, only because they're readily available just about everywhere.
wood-fan-atic
Minister of Fire
DexterDay said:
50 lbs of pellets a day x 5 months (150 days)= $800 (@ $200 a ton)
Now, figuring in all the hours I spend pondering scrounging, scrounging, loading, unloading, cutting, splitting, stacking, fetching splits, and feeding the stove.....I might as well move to Bermuda. However, oil costs $4 a gallon here - and that means, for me, about $4000 a winter.
We dont get "paid" for raising our kids either.... but sometimes you allow yourself to take facts and figures off of the see-saw and just live. I, for one, LOVE the whole experience of self-reliance, and keeping my family as warm as they want all winter..... all for the "cost" of my blood,sweat, and tears. Well, usually theres no tears (unless I drop an oak round on my toes). ;-)
Heating with wood is not for everyone. You either LOVE it - or you dont. I do.
wood-fan-atic said:DexterDay said:
50 lbs of pellets a day x 5 months (150 days)= $800 (@ $200 a ton)
Now, figuring in all the hours I spend pondering scrounging, scrounging, loading, unloading, cutting, splitting, stacking, fetching splits, and feeding the stove.....I might as well move to Bermuda. However, oil costs $4 a gallon here - and that means, for me, about $4000 a winter.
We dont get "paid" for raising our kids either.... but sometimes you allow yourself to take facts and figures off of the see-saw and just live. I, for one, LOVE the whole experience of self-reliance, and keeping my family as warm as they want all winter..... all for the "cost" of my blood,sweat, and tears. Well, usually theres no tears (unless I drop an oak round on my toes). ;-)
Heating with wood is not for everyone. You either LOVE it - or you dont. I do.
I too was spending $4,000 a yr on oil.. I was just stating that burning pellets still has a savings. Please reread my last 2 sentences.. I too, absolutely love the whole experience of wood and wood pellets.
Pullin wood out of the forest IS pretty rewarding. Plus, every boy wants to be a lumber jack. ;]
Rob From Wisconsin
Minister of Fire
jeremy85 said:
My words exactly......besides, my wife like the lumberjack "buff" look.... :coolgrin:
Milton Findley
Feeling the Heat
Although I would not admit it here Jeremy, I have a commercial pellet basket of welded steel bar construction in my stove and two tons of pellets stacked out where the wood pile normally is. I get two tons of pellets for slightly more than the same price as one cord of wood, and at 8000 btu's per pound versus something less than 6000 for the junk wood that I have been buying I feel like I might just be financially ahead.
The pellets burn with a yellow flame, and they burn very thoroughly, and although I have burned slightly less than a bag so far, in relatively warm outside temps, I have been encouraged by the results. Secondary flames start very quickly after the top surface gets going, a quarter of a Super Cedar gets it going in short order, and adding another scoop full adds to the fun. My stove is soapstone, so getting the pile of rocks hot is the goal. The air flow is more than sufficient to insure combustion, and once up to temp, I shut off the primary and secondary air keeps it flaming.
I will keep track of duration once heating season really gets going, and I will update as well. I think that you are on to something with this.
The pellets burn with a yellow flame, and they burn very thoroughly, and although I have burned slightly less than a bag so far, in relatively warm outside temps, I have been encouraged by the results. Secondary flames start very quickly after the top surface gets going, a quarter of a Super Cedar gets it going in short order, and adding another scoop full adds to the fun. My stove is soapstone, so getting the pile of rocks hot is the goal. The air flow is more than sufficient to insure combustion, and once up to temp, I shut off the primary and secondary air keeps it flaming.
I will keep track of duration once heating season really gets going, and I will update as well. I think that you are on to something with this.
I'm trying pellets this season as well. My welder and most of my metal working tools are in another state at the moment, so I hacked one together to test the idea first. I actually bought a large deep fryer basket on eBay and modified it slightly. I cut off the handle and hook, added some stainless bolts for feet and two v-shaped perforated air channels going from front to back. I'm hoping that this will aid with complete combustion. I'll take some pictures tonight.
I haven't tried it yet, but I will probably fire it up in the next week. I imagine it could hold around 10 pounds of pellets if I filled it all the way. I've got a small stove though, so that may be too much.
Here is the link to the basket I bought. Maybe it would work for somebody else?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-LARGE-D...125?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item588f326715
Dave
I haven't tried it yet, but I will probably fire it up in the next week. I imagine it could hold around 10 pounds of pellets if I filled it all the way. I've got a small stove though, so that may be too much.
Here is the link to the basket I bought. Maybe it would work for somebody else?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-LARGE-D...125?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item588f326715
Dave
Milton Findley
Feeling the Heat
I think that the price was right on that basket, but I doubt that it will last more than a couple of months, less if used heavily. Those pellets get very hot, and eventually the light wire will ablate away. The same is true for the expanded steel plate, or steel rod for that matter, the only difference is the time frame.
You're probably right Milt, but I am expecting that. This is just a cheap way for me to test the idea before I go whole hog!
Milton Findley
Feeling the Heat
ort5 said:
Yep, I tend to jump off the deep end and buy the whole hog at once. My wife has a spare bedroom full of my projects, she calls it my Trophy Room. I stay out of there myself. :red:
fredarm
Minister of Fire
Good point about brick availability versus pellets. I got mine from Tractor Supply this year (bought a ton) but it's only about 10 miles from the house. Last year I had them delivered from South Shore Wood Pellets in Holbrook, MA. There is a place in Southern NH that delivers them, Woodpellets.com. But I have noticed that pellets are generally more available and cheaper than the wood bricks. If you can make pellets work in the basket, go for it! Also, you may be able to burn cheaper pellets that the complicated mechanics of pellet stoves may have difficulty with.
I hear you Fred. I bought a ton of Envi-8 blocks last year and they were great. Unfortunately, it would cost me around $330 to get a ton delivered this year and I'd rather not pay that kind of money. I'm hoping the pellet basket works well enough to get me through. I can get a ton of pellets for under $200 and take them home at my leisure from the Lowes near my house.
Good, seasoned wood is around $325 a cord around here, and it's NEVER fully seasoned.
I have over a cord of some punky wood that I would love to burn though. The bricks work well to mix with the less than ideal wood, but the pellet basket won't work that way. Can't have it all I guess!
Good, seasoned wood is around $325 a cord around here, and it's NEVER fully seasoned.
I have over a cord of some punky wood that I would love to burn though. The bricks work well to mix with the less than ideal wood, but the pellet basket won't work that way. Can't have it all I guess!
firefighterjake
Minister of Fire
firefighterjake
Minister of Fire
Not to get too far off tangent, but . . . if a person is just looking for a way to get through the shoulder season or to supplement their wood supply a really cheap and relatively easy way to get some heat would be to find some free pallets and bust them up.
Also in regards to bio-bricks, Envio-whatevers . . . you may want to check with your local hardware store and see if they might have a supplier . . . I know our local hardware store was selling bio-bricks or something like that . . . but it was a special order and not something they had stacked outside.
Also in regards to bio-bricks, Envio-whatevers . . . you may want to check with your local hardware store and see if they might have a supplier . . . I know our local hardware store was selling bio-bricks or something like that . . . but it was a special order and not something they had stacked outside.
Here is the other toy ya need to make.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wood-Pellet...ultDomain_0&hash=item2c5ee6977a#ht_500wt_1287
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Wood-Pellet...ultDomain_0&hash=item2c5ee6977a#ht_500wt_1287
Milton Findley
Feeling the Heat
I see that Brother Bart, and I am impressed. I ordered a six quart aluminum ice scoop and sat around polishing the interior to a nice slick mirror finish while hanging out in the ash can. It holds somewhere around 4 pounds fully loaded, and three full scoops fills the basket, even with the stoves low over head. I also lowered the front of the basket by sawing off a couple of the bars. Slides right out into the basket that way.
Just a little update.
I've been using the wood pellets almost everyday.
About a bag a day, and it's been nice and toasty even with the last 30 degree nights.
One thing is my basket has warped a bit, but is still fine to use. =]
I've been using the wood pellets almost everyday.
About a bag a day, and it's been nice and toasty even with the last 30 degree nights.
One thing is my basket has warped a bit, but is still fine to use. =]
North of 60
Minister of Fire
Milton Findley
Feeling the Heat
I have lit mine off a couple of days as well. I notice that the flames are yellow, and don't seem to be burning very hot, not like cord wood. I am not burning a lot of them at once, so the stove is not up to temperature, but interestingly enough, there are secondaries fairly soon in the process. A little soot is deposited. I have a couple of tons left, so I guess I will be finding out how to get them hot. I also notice that pellets that spill to the floor burn just fine.
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