Do You Turn Your Stove Down At Night?

[helismash]

My stoves are set up on thermostats so I have been turning them back at night when I go to bed. I was wondering if there is any advantage to this other than saving on pellets. It was very cold and snowy this morning and the stoves ran for quite a long time bringing the house up to temp. I was thinking that any savings in pellets is going out the window when I turn them back up in the morning. I turn them down to 65 at night and around 73 or so during the day. My thought is as the weather gets colder, the stoves will run more at night anyway and it will take longer to bring the house up to temp. Also, I am using the standard Quadra-Fire thermostat and not the fancy digital one. If I'm not going to turn the stoves back at night, is there any advantage to getting the digital one?

Rocco

 

[jdege]

Only been running the stove for about 2 weeks but found that I leave the temp up at night to keep upstairs warm and then turn it back a little in the morning when we are up, dressed and moving,
Take with a grain of salt as I am new to this.

 

[silverfox103]

I have a set back digital thermostat. At 10 PM, it turns down to 64* and at 5 AM, back up to 70*. We usually get up between 6:30 and 7:00 AM. So far that is working good. This is my fourth year with pellets, but my first with a thermostat. I will probably have to adjust as it gets colder.

Tom C.

 

[jtakeman]

I do a set back both at night(when sleeping) and the day(when at work). But your stove needs horse power to do this. Not worth it if it takes several hours to recover from the temp drop. You'll need to trial and error this to see if you can.

There are many variables involved, Each house/install is different. So what we do may not be whats good for you.

 

[kcellwood]

I am also new at this. First year with stove. I turn my back at night and during the day about 5 degrees. I use a thermostat and have it set up to add a 33K resistor to the thermistor circuit when I want it set back. I too am wondering if it really is saving pellets. I have plenty of horsepower to get the house back up to temp. I will be trying different set ups as the colder weather starts to set in.

 

[DexterDay]

Run the Quad on its lowest setting 24/7. Keeps the house about 75*. This is my 1st year with the Fahrenheit furnace. So I will be experimenting. But the last few years, I just run low and slow, all day. Only use the T-stat for shoulder seasons (right now). Keep it set at 72* w/ a 2 degree swing setting.

 

[tjnamtiw]

I used a setback for the last two winters but in the morning the stove would work for a couple of hours to recover the temp. This year I am leaving it run at normal temp and closing our bedroom door in the early evening to get its temp down. Pellet stoves, especially small btu ones like mine, can't recover quickly. If you think about it, during the recovery phase, you are not just reheating the air, but you're also warming back up the walls, floors, furniture, and everything else in the house. You may reheat the air rather fast and have the stove shut off, but rather quickly all the walls, etc will cool off the air and call for the stove to come back on. This cycle will happen for quite some time until everything is warmed up. We shall see this year if things are better.

 

[ironpony]

Set it and forget it..................
hmm I've heard that somewhere before

I feel leaving it alone heats all the objects in the house so everything feels warmer
and if temp drops all the warm objects keep everything else warm as they cool

 

[lbcynya]

Since a stove is a space heater, it takes much longer to recover and you'll likely have to overheat the stove space to push more heat into the rooms that cooled off. Remember, you have to reheat the entire structure which take time and a lot of BTU's. With that said, I used to set back my forced air furnace 8 degrees, but I plan to set back my pellet stove 4 degrees.

My Skytech uses an average with a 2 degree swing, so 72 set point will result in a 70 degree on and 74 degree off. This means the main room will hit 74, but the other rooms might get to 70 or just below which is perfect. Every situation/house will need some tweaking...

Nights and days, I'll have it go to a set point of 68, resulting in an on temp of 66 and off at 70.

Stove set on manual, so it won't go out in between heat cycles.

Hasn't been cold enough to really compare usage, however, I do like having the stove running on maintenance (sipping pellets, keeping the stove up to temp) and wide open which, by design, is likely them most efficient combustion rate for the stove.

(Edit - I think me and the previous 2 posts were typing at the same time...hahaha)

 

[EZsteve]

My first year with stat also. 65 when asleep and not home, 72 when home and awake. It works fine has recovery mode so it is the temp I want when I wake up and come
home from work. But wonder if it is better for the stove to just turn on and leave on. The on and off, the hi and low seems like it would take a toll on it. With that being said it is nice to just put pellets in and forget about it. Also with the stat my electric heat pump has gone MIA.

 

[jdempsey]

Ive been testing this myself. In my situation turning the stat back at night opposed to set it and forget eats a bit more pellets. Im sure eveyones results will vary depending on insulation,area being heated, basement install etc.

 

[Jack Morrissey]

I dont think its worth getting a new thermostat...imo

 

[76brian]

Ive been testing this myself. In my situation turning the stat back at night opposed to set it and forget eats a bit more pellets. Im sure eveyones results will vary depending on insulation,area being heated, basement install etc.

This is what I have noticed too. I used room temp auto mode and turned it down to 70 at night, and it seems to dump a crap load of pellets to get going, burn for a short time, then shut off and do it all over again 30-40 mins later.

Last night I left it on room temp manual mode, at 74F and it seemed there was more pellets left in the hopper than other cold nights.

My first season with this so I'm sure I'll have to tinker to get the most efficiency out of it.

 

[richkorn]

Skytech 3301p:

11pm goes down to 66 F.
5am (weekdays) goes up to 70 F.; (weekends) at 6am
8am goes down to 68 F.
8pm goes up to 70 F.

We adjust depending on how we feel.

 

[DexterDay]

Set it and forget it..................
hmm I've heard that somewhere before

I feel leaving it alone heats all the objects in the house so everything feels warmer
and if temp drops all the warm objects keep everything else warm as they cool

Yep.... My 1st year we used the stat and stove set to Med.. The 2nd year left it to run all night on low, then turned the stove back to Medium in the a.m. and the stat back on... Last year was the 1st year running 24/7 all day on low. Unless the temp dips down to about 0, then Med is not needed.

The house feels 10 times more comfortable this way. And in the event of a shutdown (forget to fill hopper) the house doesnt get cold as quick because Everything is warm, not just the air.

Everyones needs are different. But for mine running constantly works best. Shut down on Sundays for cleaning and the house barely drops a couple degrees before its back up and running again..

Lots of trial and error this season. I may not need/use the Quad at all. Between the Woodstove and the Fahrenheit, I should be alright. Not installing the cold air return, so that the Fahrenheit takes the 85* air from the basement and pushes it through the ducts, then it will come back down the stairs and through our laundry shoot. The wood heat has a hard time getting upstairs. So by using that hot air for the furnace, it should increase the natural convection of the woodstove. Pulling the heat through the registers and then bringing the air back downstairs. Overall efficiency should increase. Still to be determined.

 

[BradH70]

Now that it is starting to get cold out, I'm going to run mine in Hi/Low mode in the evenings and nights and then put it in manual mode at heat level #1 during the day when the house is unoccupied. Programmable T-stat will be set to 68 (to start with) with a 1.5deg swing. I'm sure I will have to make some adjustments along the way. I don't want the house to get to cold during the day as it may take more pellets to heat it back up then it would have to just hold it at a set temp.

I think the joy of having these stoves is all the tinkering we get to do with them to get everything just right, and seems that we always find a reason to tinker just a little bit more.

 

[GrahamInVa]

I have to turn mine up at night when the temp is below freezing. I have to over heat the living room(75) a bit to keep the bedrooms up around 70.

Otherwise I leave it set at 71 with a 4 degree swing.

 

[dsnedegar3]

Previous seasons I would set my Mount Vernon AE to 65 at night and then bring the house temp up in the AM to 68, with it set for 70 around 4:00PM when the wife gets home. I'd run at 70 for the rest of the evening until 11:00PM. I heat the first floor of my home --- about 1600 sq. feet and would use about 1 bag a day of pellets during the winter. I'm thinking I may take the approach of trying to keep the house temp more consistent at least on weekends and see how the pellet usage goes.

 

[save$]

My goal is to maintain temp. I turn my stove on or up at night. The nights are usually 30 to 40 degrees cooler, so that is when I need the heat from the stove.
I don't have a stat, but if I did I would think it would call for more pellets at night, then less during the day since the stove wouldn't have to work so hard during the day to maintain temp. Once there is snow hanging on the ground, I generally have the stove going 24/7 and am inclined to leave the settings alone except for those sub zero days and nights. The wife is not one bit tolerant of seeing the thermometer drop.
I have some 100% hardwood pellets I am saving for the deep colds. I would like to try some of those pellets that most others are bragging as been so much hotter, but haven't run across them. I don't want to order them. I am just pocking around to see what some of the pellet places have in stock. I actually have enough pellets to get through the winter, but I want to try some others and see some of the differences I might be able to get.

 

[flynfrfun]

Set it and forget it..................
hmm I've heard that somewhere before

I feel leaving it alone heats all the objects in the house so everything feels warmer
and if temp drops all the warm objects keep everything else warm as they cool

Yep.... My 1st year we used the stat and stove set to Med.. The 2nd year left it to run all night on low, then turned the stove back to Medium in the a.m. and the stat back on... Last year was the 1st year running 24/7 all day on low. Unless the temp dips down to about 0, then Med is not needed.

The house feels 10 times more comfortable this way. And in the event of a shutdown (forget to fill hopper) the house doesnt get cold as quick because Everything is warm, not just the air.

Everyones needs are different. But for mine running constantly works best. Shut down on Sundays for cleaning and the house barely drops a couple degrees before its back up and running again..

Lots of trial and error this season. I may not need/use the Quad at all. Between the Woodstove and the Fahrenheit, I should be alright. Not installing the cold air return, so that the Fahrenheit takes the 85* air from the basement and pushes it through the ducts, then it will come back down the stairs and through our laundry shoot. The wood heat has a hard time getting upstairs. So by using that hot air for the furnace, it should increase the natural convection of the woodstove. Pulling the heat through the registers and then bringing the air back downstairs. Overall efficiency should increase. Still to be determined.

Dexter,
I've seen a lot of posts about how well your CB1200 heats your house on low. Why is it I also see you talking about a pellet furnace or other stoves? Just curious...sounds like the 1200 works so good, why change?

 

[DexterDay]

Set it and forget it..................
hmm I've heard that somewhere before

I feel leaving it alone heats all the objects in the house so everything feels warmer
and if temp drops all the warm objects keep everything else warm as they cool

Yep.... My 1st year we used the stat and stove set to Med.. The 2nd year left it to run all night on low, then turned the stove back to Medium in the a.m. and the stat back on... Last year was the 1st year running 24/7 all day on low. Unless the temp dips down to about 0, then Med is not needed.

The house feels 10 times more comfortable this way. And in the event of a shutdown (forget to fill hopper) the house doesnt get cold as quick because Everything is warm, not just the air.

Everyones needs are different. But for mine running constantly works best. Shut down on Sundays for cleaning and the house barely drops a couple degrees before its back up and running again..

Lots of trial and error this season. I may not need/use the Quad at all. Between the Woodstove and the Fahrenheit, I should be alright. Not installing the cold air return, so that the Fahrenheit takes the 85* air from the basement and pushes it through the ducts, then it will come back down the stairs and through our laundry shoot. The wood heat has a hard time getting upstairs. So by using that hot air for the furnace, it should increase the natural convection of the woodstove. Pulling the heat through the registers and then bringing the air back downstairs. Overall efficiency should increase. Still to be determined.

Dexter,
I've seen a lot of posts about how well your CB1200 heats your house on low. Why is it I also see you talking about a pellet furnace or other stoves? Just curious...sounds like the 1200 works so good, why change?

A Back-up for my Back-up.... That and I have a problem (sickness with stoves) when I found this Forum last year. I only had the Quad. I now have 4 stoves and a wood insert in my garage I am currently rebuilding, along with trading an old Timberline woodstove for a 25-PDV for my Father (installed about a month ago). The furnace was bought to keep my daughters room (6 months old) warm. Its the farthest away from Quad. I bought it before I installed all the through the wall fans.
So do I need it??? No... But do I love to tinker and experiment with heating my home? Yes... Already bought it. Might as well use it. Worse case scenario, I sell it next season.

I still use about 4 ton with the Quad. If I can reduce that by using the woodstove, in combination with the Fahrenheit (pulling the warm air from the basement) then I will be pretty happy.. If not, away she goes. For what I paid for it, I shouldnt have a problem selling it.

 

[lbcynya]

Set it and forget it..................
hmm I've heard that somewhere before

I feel leaving it alone heats all the objects in the house so everything feels warmer
and if temp drops all the warm objects keep everything else warm as they cool

Yep.... My 1st year we used the stat and stove set to Med.. The 2nd year left it to run all night on low, then turned the stove back to Medium in the a.m. and the stat back on... Last year was the 1st year running 24/7 all day on low. Unless the temp dips down to about 0, then Med is not needed.

The house feels 10 times more comfortable this way. And in the event of a shutdown (forget to fill hopper) the house doesnt get cold as quick because Everything is warm, not just the air.

Everyones needs are different. But for mine running constantly works best. Shut down on Sundays for cleaning and the house barely drops a couple degrees before its back up and running again..

Lots of trial and error this season. I may not need/use the Quad at all. Between the Woodstove and the Fahrenheit, I should be alright. Not installing the cold air return, so that the Fahrenheit takes the 85* air from the basement and pushes it through the ducts, then it will come back down the stairs and through our laundry shoot. The wood heat has a hard time getting upstairs. So by using that hot air for the furnace, it should increase the natural convection of the woodstove. Pulling the heat through the registers and then bringing the air back downstairs. Overall efficiency should increase. Still to be determined.

Dexter,
I've seen a lot of posts about how well your CB1200 heats your house on low. Why is it I also see you talking about a pellet furnace or other stoves? Just curious...sounds like the 1200 works so good, why change?

A Back-up for my Back-up.... That and I have a problem (sickness with stoves) when I found this Forum last year. I only had the Quad. I now have 4 stoves and a wood insert in my garage I am currently rebuilding, along with trading an old Timberline woodstove for a 25-PDV for my Father (installed about a month ago). The furnace was bought to keep my daughters room (6 months old) warm. Its the farthest away from Quad. I bought it before I installed all the through the wall fans.
So do I need it??? No... But do I love to tinker and experiment with heating my home? Yes... Already bought it. Might as well use it. Worse case scenario, I sell it next season.

I still use about 4 ton with the Quad. If I can reduce that by using the woodstove, in combination with the Fahrenheit (pulling the warm air from the basement) then I will be pretty happy.. If not, away she goes. For what I paid for it, I shouldnt have a problem selling it.

Dexter is there so we can tell our wives that we're not as bad as "that guy". We all need to have a fall guy when we choose to obsess about something endlessly.

Of course, I did just buy a CLS American splitter (8 horse honda, 16 gpm pump) for 3 full cords of splitting per year. That's right up there with Dex's PF100 and 3 other stoves...

 

[gobuck]

I super insulated my house so that I turn the stove off at night and when we are not home during the day. I solar heat my water and use about 100 gallons of oil for backup on the heat and hot water. I bought a used cb1200 last year for the basement to compliment the cb1200 I have in the livong room. I will run the stove on high to warm the house then turn it down to medium or low if the spousel unit lets me. She likes it to be 80+. Our stove in the living room is exhausted thru a 25 ft stainless steel 3 inch pipe in large center stone chimney that heats up nicely. the coldest I have seen the inside temp get is 52 f. We have only used the basement stove a few times and it has rusted a bit because of that. The basement stove is exhausted straight thru the wall,(walkout).

 

[exoilburner]

Ive been testing this myself. In my situation turning the stat back at night opposed to set it and forget eats a bit more pellets. Im sure eveyones results will vary depending on insulation,area being heated, basement install etc.

I tested this too on my pellet furnace. When the outside temp was about the same temp I set the thermostat at 60dF at night and 70 during the day for a couple of days. Then set the thermostat the same day and night for a couple of days. Burned less pellets with the thermostat set at 70 night and day. Wasn't a huge difference but enough to see there was a difference. It kind of surprised me that the BTU required to recover was greater that keeping it constant.
My house is old. New insulated windows; poor attic insulation.

 

[PJPellet]

I don't turn it down, just let 'er chug along day and night at approximately 70*. The 70* setting works well for me, it keeps the whole house at 69-72* depending which room you are in.