Heating the Entire House Question

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juliez

New Member
Apr 6, 2012
7
We are in a half double, 1400 sq. ft, but it is laid out unlike a traditional half-double (very open, overall). Basement stays fairly warm as is w/ running the dehumidifier.

Pellet stove (Harman P38) in family room downstairs. We run a ceiling fan to circulate it through the downstairs. Has worked well so far (outside temps lowest so far in the 30's this fall). We are in Southeast PA.

Plan to circulate it upstairs w/ our forced air "circulate" setting.

Hoping to not have to turn the oil furnace on at all. Do you think this is doable in your experience??? We have 1/4 tank of oil, and we are debating whether to buy oil or how much we would need if we have to supplement at all. We have an 18 month old who is home during the day, so we keep the house warmer (75-78 degrees ideally).
 
Not sure if it will work for you or not. Lot of heating variables.

One tip is to not just rely on the ceiling fan and central system to "circulate" the air.
Many of us have found that using strategically placed supplemental fans really help out.
It is generally recognized as being more efficient to aim the supplemental fans blowing cooler air towards the heat (stove).

Depending how insulated your home is, will determine how many pellets (BTU's) of heat you will need.
To keep a home heated from a remote location at 75-78 degrees is going to require a lot of pellets.

If I were you I'd get 1/2 tank oil to have if you need it. And burn the heck out of the Pellet Stove to delay oil use as long as possible.
I found my older EF-2 Enviro stove would maintain heat real well but would have a hard time bring a cold house up to temp.
If the house was cold from being away for a weekend or travel, I'd use the oil to bring the house up to comfortable levels.
Then use the stove to keep it there. Worked real well for me.

My new M-55 heats the house in no time so no Oil is needed.
I keep the oil tank at 1/4 for "just in case" situations.
2-3 times a year I turn it on just to make sure it is still working, lol

Good Luck,
---Nailer---
 
I'm assuming this is your first year with the stove. The P38 is a great stove. It is capable of heating 1400 sq ft. Each house is different and this will be a learning experience. I'm not sure what a half double is, but being an open plan is good for heat movement.

Like the nailer said, it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to have a half tank of oil on hand. Supplemental fans are very helpful.

Tom C.
 
I live in your general area in a 1,700 sq ft ranch with a walk out basement. Our stove is in the family room in the basement, and with a booster fan and vent through the floor and a return vent in the floor opposite. Our stove will keep up with our heat demands until the temp stays below 30 for an extended period. We like the temp around 68.

Last year was very mild and we only used 150 gallons of oil, which was awesome and unusual. I would think that if this winter is pretty cold, you will enjoy the pellet heat and the savings on oil, but you will still need some to supplement. Good luck, learning pellet heat is an experience!
 
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