How many tons of pellets to order for a season?

[Polish Princess]

I live near North East of St. Louis, Mo.on the Illinois side/ Last year we averaged 3.09 bags per day of pellets during our burning season. Does that sound right? When we 1st purchased we were told 2 bags per day was a good average. Glad I didn't listen we would have been very COLD. What are some of your averages?

 

[DexterDay]

4 tons.. Plus or Minus, if you use it for your Sole source of heat.

 

[imacman]

.....Last year we averaged 3.09 bags per day of pellets during our burning season. Does that sound right?.....

Every winter is slightly different, but most people go through between 3 and 4 tons each winter. 3+ bags/day DOES sound a little high, but maybe you just want your house warmer than most.

Last winter (the Winter from Hell), I went through 4 1/2. >:-(

 

[heat seeker]

Heating most of a 2200 square foot colonial, 76º near stove, to 68º upstairs, we burned 1½ bags/day in the cold weather. So much cheaper than oil...

 

[Polish Princess]

Our house is 1700 square feet. We have US Stove Pellet Furnace and I set on lowest setting and automatic feed. Anything else I can do? You are burning less in a colder area. I realize the furnace makes a huge difference huh?

 

[Polish Princess]

Sorry, meant to also add use pellets from Rural King. Probably not the best brand but not sure where else to purchase around here as so few of us have pellet furnaces in my area.
I have read the thread where do you purchase Uncle Jed's? or Somersets? Any other brand I could look for to be more efficient?

 

[Don2222]

Hello

3+ bags a day is very high! yikes! I use 1-2 bags a day tops with my Avalon Astoria 45k BTU stove at 3 tons a year. 3.5 tons last winter because it was so cold!

What model type and how many BTUs is the Stove are you running? Do you have a pic of the install? How about a T-stat?
How warm is your house?

Maybe we can give some advice on your setup.

 

[Polish Princess]

I will take a picture but will have to read how to post. It is an American Harvest by US STOVE pellet furnace in the basement and vented up a flu lined chimney. Was installed
professionally to specs. As far as a thermostat I have one upstairs for the electric furnace which is a backup, the pellet is my primary source of heat. I have the setting on the lowest setting which is P-1 and let it feed automatically. Should there be a thermostat installed somewhere else?

 

[Don2222]

I will take a picture but will have to read how to post. It is an American Harvest by US STOVE pellet furnace in the basement and vented up a flu lined chimney. Was installed
professionally to specs. As far as a thermostat I have one upstairs for the electric furnace which is a backup, the pellet is my primary source of heat. I have the setting on the lowest setting which is P-1 and let it feed automatically. Should there be a thermostat installed somewhere else?

Hello
Yes, a pic will help. Pellet Furnaces do burn a little more but 3.09 bags a day is still a little high since I know some one with a Harmon PF-100 that burns 2 bags a day that lives near me.

So I am guessing you have a setup similar to the diagram below from the American Harvest 6500 manual with a backup electric furnace. If you can find the model # such as 6500 that will help alot too.
The pic can be no more than 1300 pixels. You can tell in MS windows paint

Click on Image Attributes and then click on Image Resize/Skew to scale it down a bit.

 

[jtakeman]

All depends on the square footage you want to heat, How tight the structure is and how warm you want the said area. Also the colder the region, The more fuel required to maintain the heat in the structure.

Pellet furnaces generally use more fuel on average. But its worth it because they heat the house more evenly. Less cold spots and no over heated area's like a pellet stove.

2 bags a day is kind of an average many stove dealers use. I hear that number often!

 

[IHATEPROPANE]

I will burn 5 ton. My house is 2,200sq feet and I use at as my sole heating source November-April.
The temp is usually 68-72 downstairs and 62-65 upstairs.

 

[mascoma]

I usually got thru about 6 tons a year in my draft old cape.
Sole heat source from Sept-May.
Have 3 of the 8 tons I ordered this spring in the garage and picking the rest up this week.
Found a deal on Cubex I got excited about and ordered some extra...

 

[Polish Princess]

My furnace is a Model 6500 American Harvest.and the heating and cooling installer used the schematic. Where would a thermostat be installed? Do I need one? Also, how is it installed as the blowers run almost constantly. I keep thinking we are missing something important to be burning 3 bags a day when many of you live in the very cold states and burn 2 bags. Our house is 1700 square feet and use the pellet furnace as primary heat. Just took some pics will try to send them.

 

[jtakeman]

That's a lot of pellets for 1700 sq feet~WOW!

How warm do you keep the house and how well is it insulated?

There are wireless stats out there that you can move around to find the best spot for it. You could try one and see of it helps. But they are pricey. A wired stat is much cheaper.

A centrally located stat might help reduce the usuage. Interior wall close to where you spend most of your time. The stat on that furnace will not shut it down. It will cycle to the lowest setting when the stat is made. It will cycle to the higher setting when more heat is required. It should keep the house from getting to warm for you and possibly save you some fuel. Unfortunately that furnace has been known to be a fuel hog. We have heard from a few owners complaining it uses too much fuel. Some of this could be efficiency??? IDK for sure. But I have tinkered on a couple and the vent temps seemed high which leads me to believe they don't extract all the heat they could with the heat exchanger. The better the heat exchanger the more heat that stays in the house.


Another issue could be the quality of the fuel you are using. What brands are you burning?

 

[imacman]

How warm do you keep the house and how well is it insulated?..........

Another issue could be the quality of the fuel you are using. What brands are you burning?

Same thoughts I had Jay.

 

[FireManDan]

this is my first year burning i have 3 tons right now. My house is just at 1500 and the stove is centrally located in the living room. Im hoping this will do.

 

[GrahamInVa]

My first season too... My house is 2400 sq ft but i'm not expecting it to heat everything, it would be nice though! I have it centrally located on the first floor and plan on using my existing forced air system to keep the air moving so the heat is move even. Right now I have just over 2 tons. But I plan on picking up at least 1 more ton maybe 2 and see how that goes. Pellets seem to be very plentifully around here and there doesn't seem to be much of a demand. So if i need some more mid winter I don't see it being too big a issue.

 

[sinnian]

First question people should be asking is how many gallons of oil did you use in the past? That will help to determine if 3 bags/day is out of the norm for your house's efficiency.

I have a pellet boiler and used to use 800 gallons of oil per year, I use about 5.5 tons of pellets now October to April/May.

 

[Don2222]

My furnace is a Model 6500 American Harvest.and the heating and cooling installer used the schematic. Where would a thermostat be installed? Do I need one? Also, how is it installed as the blowers run almost constantly. I keep thinking we are missing something important to be burning 3 bags a day when many of you live in the very cold states and burn 2 bags. Our house is 1700 square feet and use the pellet furnace as primary heat. Just took some pics will try to send them.

Hello
Make sure if you are burning wood pellets the furnace is set to Pr

This unit comes preset from the factory to burn shelled corn. The display
will show a “Cr†in front of the heat setting. If burning only wood pellets, this
setting must be changed. To change, press and hold the heat range up and
down buttons simultaneously for approximately 2-3 seconds. The display
will change from “Cr†to “Prâ€.

Also check to see if the mode is set to Automatic

The “Mode†button is used to switch between manual and automatic mode. When in auto mode, the fans, auger, and
agitator will operate at preset intervals unless changed manually using the buttons mentioned above. When in manual
mode, the draft fan (exhaust) will operate at full speed (100%), so the air must be controlled with the damper just below
the viewing door.

I see NO mention of a thermostat in the 6500 manual. That is odd. You should check with your dealer on that!

Also I found this!!
http://forum.iburncorn.com/viewtopic.php?t=10825&sid=e79557dada69c100c45fe4d572f868ae
Hi all, you may remember me from back in Dec when I posted pictures of our house covered in soot from our newly installed 6300. US Stove has taken responsibility for that issue and has given us a new 6500 stove with all the corrections made (according to them). We have had the stove on for less than 24 hours and have gone through 4 bags of pellets and it is 63 outside and the house isn't even to 70 in here. The company says that this stove should be able to heat our home efficiently and that we need to caulk all of our duck work and that should take care of the problem. My husband and I are not convinced. You all have been so helpful in the past. Will just caulking our ducts get it running more efficiently? We need to get down to at least 2 bags a day or propane is cheaper! (and less work!) Unfortunately the number of cold days ahead is slowly dwindling and we won't be able to "test" it out in cold weather until next winter. What are your thoughts?

See all the answers in the link but what hits the nail on the head is this:
The lowest setting is 5 LBs per hour That is 3 bags a day!!

My Large Avalon Astoria 45k BTU stove highest setting is 5.5 lbs per hour and the lowest setting is 1.7 lbs per hour

That is YOUR Answer !

 

[roadking88]

this is my first year burning i have 3 tons right now. My house is just at 1500 and the stove is centrally located in the living room. Im hoping this will do.

same case here..first year with pellets bought a harman p43 3 tons of mwp..
still have cord of wood in the basement for backup..
gonna be better than burning 4 cords i bet..
fairly new house and well insulated...

 

[Stentor]

Bought 4 tons for this season. Based on last year, I expect to use a little over 3 tons with a good supply left over. I'll probably cut back my pellet purchases for the 2012-2013 season.

 

[Polish Princess]

WOW----Most of you are from OH NY CT or NH and burn LESS than I do, and burn from Sept-April or May. I am in Illinois and burn from October-March to beg of April. I have my
6500 set on P1.

Again it does not have a thermostat which I do not understand. How do I know what the pellet furnace temperature gets up to? Last season it kept our house around 72-74 degrees per the thermostat we have upstairs on the wall that is for our backup electric furnace.That was comfortable but wow 3 bags a day for a short burning season is expensive.

This whole situation makes absolutely no sense to me what so ever. We burned 3.09 bags per day had on the lowest setting of P-1 and seems to feed the pellets fast and seems to waste many. Does it effect the furnace if I manual the feeding of the pellets? U S STOVE is of no help with this kind of situation.

The only place I have found around me to purchase pellets has been Rural King. Again if ANYONE knows where I can purchase a better grade I live 1 hour NE of ST LOUIS MO on the Illinois side of the Mississippi. If I have a better grade of pellets will that make a difference?

 

[Don2222]

Hello

The US Stove American Harvest 6500 Pellet Furnace's lowest heat setting is 5 LBs per hour That is 3 bags a day!!

My Large Avalon Astoria 45k BTU free standing stove's highest setting is 5.5 lbs per hour and the lowest setting is 1.7 lbs per hour

There is NO mention of a T-Stat in the 6500 Manual !!

That is YOUR Answer !

If you switch to a Harman PF-100 or even a HydroFlex 60 you would have a more efficient furnace!

HydroFlex60
(broken link removed to http://www.harmanstoves.com/products/details.asp?cat=central-heating&prd=boilers&f=BLRHF60)

PF-100
(broken link removed to http://www.harmanstoves.com/products/details.asp?f=FURPF100&nav=features)

 

[sinnian]

5 lbs/hour for 50K btu is WAY inefficient

 

[Don2222]

5 lbs/hour for 50K btu is WAY inefficient

I must disagree with that statement.

Check the specs for most stoves and you will see why.

Example:

Avalon Astoria

BTUs Per Hr_Heat Setting___LBs/Hr
13,940 _______LOW_______1.7
45,100 _______HIGH_______5.5

The high setting for my 2,000 SqFt fairly well insulated house is only needed when it is -5 to -10 degrees F below Zero
or zero to 10 above and high wind speeds!

I use the low setting which is almost 14k BTUs per hour for very comfortable heat most of the time when it is 20 to 30 degrees F outside

The following chart is a guide for heating the whole house (Split Entry) with the stove installed in the center of the basement with 2 registers with a convection fan and a doorway fan in the doorway to the basement.
Pellet Stove Heat Setting, with the Air Restrictor on 2 and the Convection Fan on 6 (Highest)
Wind Speed +or-5 MPH
5 10 20
Outside Temp +or-5 Degrees
v v Astoria Heat Setting (1-6) Astoria Heat Setting (1-6) Astoria Heat Setting (1-6)
0 4 5 6
10 3 4 5
20 2 3 4
30 1 2 3

Example1: Early Saturday morning on 01-30-2010, The wind speed was 20 MPH and outside temperature was 4 degrees. the chart says 6 for the heat setting. At that time, we had it set to 5 when we were asleep and 6 when we woke up for more warmth and comfort!!

Example2:
02-07-2010 at 2 pm, the temperature was 27 degrees F, and the Wind Speed was 9 MPH. Therefore, the chart above puts the heat setting between 3 and 2 (slightly closer to 2) We have it set to 3 for comfort although 2 would be adequate!!