Learned a lesson last night..not going to use a thermostat

[mgeary0624]

My wife and I left town for the day yesterday and did not get home until about midnight last night. We planned on being home by the end of the day. My stove ran out of pellets at approximately 5 pm according to my daughter. I planned on having her add pellets but she left to go to a friends house before I was able to call her to add the pellets. She was no help in reminding me....brain is getting a little old. Anyway, each house is obviously different. My house happens to be a bit drafty and not insulated too well. In just that 7 or so hours with outside temps falling thru the 20's my living room where stove is went from its normal 71/72 to 63 and the other side of house (ktichen and dining room) were down to 61. I added pellets as soon as I got home. My P61 used about 3/4 of the bag just to get the entire house back to its normal 71 and 68 respectively by mid/late morning today. I now believe that by letting the walls, granite counter tops, floors, etc cool down just causes the stove to use too many pellets to warm everything back up, at least in my house.

Therefore I think that keeping the stove on 24/7 in the heart of winter is the way to go. I think too many pellets would be burned if I turned the stove off each day or night by hooking it up to an "on/off" thermostat. I do use it in room temp mode so it will ramp up and down as neeeded to keep temperature around 71 near the probe and will even shut down on those shoulder days but on nights like last night it will just keep running with the internal thermostat doing its job. I love my stove.

Just wondering if anyone else operates their stove this way.

 

[whit]

The government suggests basically that you'll still save energy with a thermostat to turn the system down, but that to warm everything back up in your situation there might need to be several hours of lead time. So you could save, they're suggesting, by turning it down overnight. But you'd want it to go back to the higher setting perhaps a few hours before you plan to get up.

I've seen some reports here of people thinking there are more pellets left in the hopper if they just leave the temp fixed overnight. Not something I'll try, since we like it chilly for sleeping. That a warmer house is going to radiate more heat to the outside than a colder one, though, seems like unavoidable physics. The only difference between a typical furnace and a typical pellet stove may be that the furnace can kick out more BTUs faster, so the lead time to warm back up after being turned down for the night is longer with the pellet stove. There also should be some savings in using a nighttime setback with the pellet stove since the morning warm up will be one continuous firing after ignition, where keeping a constant temperature overnight will mean more cycles with the igniter, which draws more watts.

 

[Trickyrick]

It is all about how fast your stove recovers and can warm up your house. You do actually save pellets by stepping back. The issue is that to raise the temperature of your entire house last night you needed more BTUs than your stove could provide per hour. This is why your central heating system is something like 150,000 BTU rate output. It allows your to be able to recover in 2 hours where you stove took 8. You house looses BTUs at a constant rate based on the difference between inside and outside temp. You will find that at some point your stove will no longer be able to produce enough BTUs to match the loss of the house. That is just the way thermodynamics work. I do a step back rite now where I am the daily high is low 40s and mid 20s at night. Another 10 degrees and the stove will come off the program mode and run all day in maintance mode and then by mid Jan the stove will be running 24. For me that is how my stove runs most efficiently.

 

[silverfox103]

GooGoo

I think you missed the whole lesson to be learned: 1. Fill the hopper with pellets before you go for the day 2. Don't let the stove run out of pellets. 3. Thermostats are a plus, they allow you to control the stove as you like.

Tom C.

 

[jtakeman]

If your stove can recover from heat loss pretty quickly? By all means use the stat. It'll save some fuel. If it takes many hours to recover? Might just be better off sticking with it running 24/7.

But with a stat your guaranteed to have a steady temp in the house. Are you good at keeping up with the heat loss and how it changes from day to day? And with the temp dial on the Harman your pretty much using a stat anyway. It will control the stove and regulate it to keep temps steady. So there is fuel for both sides. Kind of like the OAK debate and Ford vs Chevy. Use whats good for you.

 

[RKS130]

. The only difference between a typical furnace and a typical pellet stove may be that the furnace can kick out more BTUs faster, so the lead time to warm back up after being turned down for the night is longer with the pellet stove. There also should be some savings in using a nighttime setback with the pellet stove since the morning warm up will be one continuous firing after ignition, where keeping a constant temperature overnight will mean more cycles with the igniter, which draws more watts.

We used a Honeywell setback thermostat for many years with our oil fired steam heat boiler. The real difference between the oil heat and our new pellet stove (besides the cost!!) is that the multiple heat sources in the house, ie., radiators in each room, warmed the house faster because we did not depend on heat spreading from a central source. However, the thermostat did "learn" when it had to turn on the heat in order for the house to be at temp at the specified time. I am going to look into a similar type stat for the stove.

 

[RKS130]

I'm not afraid to burn a little oil.

Nice to be fearless . . . but seriously, sounds like a good idea.

 

[DexterDay]

Not cold enough for 24/7 burning yet (Southern facing house w/ lots of windows-also been loading the woodstove with a small load in the mornings)

House stays in the mid 60's during the week when we work. About 65 when I get home at 4:30. But when the temps dip, its a safe bet, that something will be going all the time. Last year, from Dec-March the Quad ran 24/7 and used just as many pellets in past yrs using the T-stat and cycling. Only.difference was the house had even temps and was much warmer.

 

[exoilburner]

I don't buy all the speculation and theory for set back or not. Too many variables. Only way to find out which method uses the least fuel for each situation is to try both when the outside temp is steady. For a set period of time (24 hours would work) and temp. measure how much fuel is used.

I did that and found in my situation setting my pellet burner back to 60Df at night and 70Df during the day burned slightly more fuel than leaving it set at 70 all the time.

 

[DBCOOPER]

There is a big difference between using a thermostat and using a setback feature of a thermostat. Neither will keep the stove running if you don't feed it properly.

 

[subsailor]

I prefer to run my Harman in stove temp mode. The distribution fans shut doen in room them mode and it will run for hours without it, and to me, that is a waste of pellets. I turn my stove down a few degrees at night and back up in the morning, but nothing drastic. If the temp gets away from you, it will take a long time to get it back up, unless of course you turn on the furnace. Mine is disconnected, soa it's pellets or nothing.

 

[gbreda]

I'm not afraid to burn a little oil.

Nice to be fearless . . . but seriously, sounds like a good idea.

Same here. As the stove is in the basement, it takes time to get upstairs warm again in the morning. On the cold mornings (like this morning) A little baseboard heat from the oil furnace to get a nice even temp and then the stove maintains very nicely from there. Personally, I dont mind the chill for a little bit, but the other half is a different story. We all know how that needs to play out; let's just say I'm happy.

Even using a little oil, I only used 1 tank last year, including hot water. 24/7 temp mode is coming soon enough, and yes it gets turned down overnight then too.

 

[lessoil]

My wife and I left town for the day yesterday and did not get home until about midnight last night. We planned on being home by the end of the day. My stove ran out of pellets at approximately 5 pm according to my daughter. I planned on having her add pellets but she left to go to a friends house before I was able to call her to add the pellets. She was no help in reminding me....brain is getting a little old. Anyway, each house is obviously different. My house happens to be a bit drafty and not insulated too well. In just that 7 or so hours with outside temps falling thru the 20's my living room where stove is went from its normal 71/72 to 63 and the other side of house (ktichen and dining room) were down to 61. I added pellets as soon as I got home. My P61 used about 3/4 of the bag just to get the entire house back to its normal 71 and 68 respectively by mid/late morning today. I now believe that by letting the walls, granite counter tops, floors, etc cool down just causes the stove to use too many pellets to warm everything back up, at least in my house.

Therefore I think that keeping the stove on 24/7 in the heart of winter is the way to go. I think too many pellets would be burned if I turned the stove off each day or night by hooking it up to an "on/off" thermostat. I do use it in room temp mode so it will ramp up and down as neeeded to keep temperature around 71 near the probe and will even shut down on those shoulder days but on nights like last night it will just keep running with the internal thermostat doing its job. I love my stove.

Just wondering if anyone else operates their stove this way.

Years ago my Father-in-Law and I discussed the best way to run heat (oil)
He worked in the Energy Field so his advice I trusted.
He said not to lower the heat at night more than 6-8 degrees than daytime setting.
If you went more than that, it would cost more to bring house up to temp in the morning than you saved by lowering the night before.
I think pellet heat is the same and I agree with you.

We have been running the stove in room temp mode with the ignitor switch in manual.
Holds the temp real well and does not allow fire to go out.
Good constant heat!

 

[aaronnoel]

In winter I stick to stove mode 24/7, it's not about the temp downstairs were the p68 is, it's about keeping the upstairs warm if I let that cool off to much it will take a while to warm back up.Lately I have been running on stove mode with fan high at night and set at 3, that will make my first floor 80 or so and get even the floors nice and toasty for my 11 month old son, it's about 68 on the 2 floor. During the day I will take it way down , if the sun is out I will turn it to room temp 70 , and go back to stove mode around 4 in the afternoon, this works best for me and my 1929 house with 9 foot celling and new replacement windows with blown in ceulose insulation in walls and 10 inches in the attic.

 

[gbreda]

Years ago my Father-in-Law and I discussed the best way to run heat (oil)
He worked in the Energy Field so his advice I trusted.
He said not to lower the heat at night more than 6-8 degrees than daytime setting.
If you went more than that, it would cost more to bring house up to temp in the morning than you saved by lowering the night before.
I think pellet heat is the same and I agree with you.

We have been running the stove in room temp mode with the ignitor switch in manual.
Holds the temp real well and does not allow fire to go out.
Good constant heat!

Good advice, and from my experience, very true.

 

[ironpony]

run on stove temp 24/7
keeps the house comfortable
might get a couple of degrees warmer during the day
a couple cooler at nite
everything in the house also stays warm
that makes a big difference

but if the stove has no pellets
its a moot point

 

[save$]

We don't have a stat, wish we did, but that is for another day.
We run our stove according to the temps both outside and in. Never turn up or down due to time of day or when we are home or away. Any cool down perceived by the wife will send her to the thermostat of the oil fired furnace. I can't afford oil at the current rates. It drains the wallet and is insulting. Burning pellets helps me to stand on my feet and tell the oil industry to go where the sun don't shine.

 

[checkthisout]

Why not set your stove to room temp mode and then rig it up to an advanced t-stat that sets the temp back about 8 degrees when you aren't home and a bit lower when you sleep?

This will save you pellets and still keep you comfortable.

 

[exoilburner]

Why not set your stove to room temp mode and then rig it up to an advanced t-stat that sets the temp back about 8 degrees when you aren't home and a bit lower when you sleep?

This will save you pellets and still keep you comfortable.

Mine burns more pellets when I do this.

 

[checkthisout]

Why not set your stove to room temp mode and then rig it up to an advanced t-stat that sets the temp back about 8 degrees when you aren't home and a bit lower when you sleep?

This will save you pellets and still keep you comfortable.

Mine burns more pellets when I do this.

How much?

 

[jtakeman]

Years ago my Father-in-Law and I discussed the best way to run heat (oil)
He worked in the Energy Field so his advice I trusted.
He said not to lower the heat at night more than 6-8 degrees than daytime setting.
If you went more than that, it would cost more to bring house up to temp in the morning than you saved by lowering the night before.
I think pellet heat is the same and I agree with you.

We have been running the stove in room temp mode with the ignitor switch in manual.
Holds the temp real well and does not allow fire to go out.
Good constant heat!

Good advice, and from my experience, very true.

Well the theory is true, But the pellet stove doesn't have the massive BTU's of the furnace. I find it to be a bit tougher to recoup after the drop with only roughly half the BTU's of the furnace available. I tried to tigthen up the numbers a little. I use no more than 6ºF during the day and no more than 4ºF at night. I can do the 6ºF during the day because I also get some solar assist. As it gets colder I cut off another degree and decrease the time its set back. As the heat loss increases you have to adjust or you could come home to a house that isn't up to your liking! FYI only.

Works well for me, But may not for someone else.

 

[exoilburner]

Why not set your stove to room temp mode and then rig it up to an advanced t-stat that sets the temp back about 8 degrees when you aren't home and a bit lower when you sleep?

This will save you pellets and still keep you comfortable.

Mine burns more pellets when I do this.

How much?

In a 24 hour period I burned two 40lb bags during the colder days when setting the thermostat from 70Df to 60Df overnight. When I ran it for 24 hours at a constant 70 degrees it used slightly less. Around 1.75 bags. That isn't much difference but it was noticeable.

 

[briansol]

When its cold out (ie, under 20) my stove rarely shuts off. Instead it runs the hi/low program and eventually before that hour is up kicks back on to high for a bit.

 

[checkthisout]

Why not set your stove to room temp mode and then rig it up to an advanced t-stat that sets the temp back about 8 degrees when you aren't home and a bit lower when you sleep?

This will save you pellets and still keep you comfortable.

Mine burns more pellets when I do this.

How much?

In a 24 hour period I burned two 40lb bags during the colder days when setting the thermostat from 70Df to 60Df overnight. When I ran it for 24 hours at a constant 70 degrees it used slightly less. Around 1.75 bags. That isn't much difference but it was noticeable.

Interesting.

I lower the temp by about 7 degrees (from 72 to 65) when I leave for the day and turn the feed rate down on the stove. This cuts my pellet use in half and I never know the difference. It seems to take about 45 minutes on setting 3-4 to heat the house back up again when it's in the 30's.

Letting the stove chug away on low wastes a lot of pellets, at least it seems to with my particular stove VS leaving it up a bit higher and then using a t-stat to control the temp.

 

[exoilburner]

Why not set your stove to room temp mode and then rig it up to an advanced t-stat that sets the temp back about 8 degrees when you aren't home and a bit lower when you sleep?

This will save you pellets and still keep you comfortable.

Mine burns more pellets when I do this.

How much?

In a 24 hour period I burned two 40lb bags during the colder days when setting the thermostat from 70Df to 60Df overnight. When I ran it for 24 hours at a constant 70 degrees it used slightly less. Around 1.75 bags. That isn't much difference but it was noticeable.

Interesting.

I lower the temp by about 7 degrees (from 72 to 65) when I leave for the day and turn the feed rate down on the stove. This cuts my pellet use in half and I never know the difference. It seems to take about 45 minutes on setting 3-4 to heat the house back up again when it's in the 30's.
Letting the stove chug away on low wastes a lot of pellets, at least it seems to with my particular stove VS leaving it up a bit higher and then using a t-stat to control the temp.

Like a previous post said; there are so many variables. I guess each individual situation should be tested for pellet usage for both methods. One rule evidently doesn't fit everyone.