primary or secondary heat?
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I have my furnace vents on only in the back rooms cause its a little chilly back there when i need it .
Rgerek
Member
My pellet stove vents the whole house so every room is around 76 to 77, the stove does warm up the wood floor right above it, and keep the water a little warmer for the showers in the morning.
DneprDave
Minister of Fire
Wow, some of you like it really warm!
My wife and I set the temperature not more than 65 F.
My wife and I set the temperature not more than 65 F.
Yes 77 is to warm more like 73 here if my stove cooperates. I dont think i could get my stove to do 65 thats to chilly anyways to me.
bogieb
Minister of Fire
I agree! My main floor stove is on a thermostat set at 68-69* (I'll bump it up at times, but set at 68* while I'm away). the Stat is in a room in the center of the house so I will admit that the living room can get up to 76-78 while it is running, then it cools off nicely as it shares the heat while the stove is off. Far rooms, which includes the bedroom, are never more than 2* lower than my set temp.
Downstairs stove is on room temp/auto set at 70-72* It is too warm down there but I gotta keep the concrete from getting cold and plus it does help heat the main floor.
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My harman is in the living room and there are two rooms in the back that are a bit cooler but thats the way i have to have it or we get burned out of here. I had to mess with the temp probe last night this is the only thing i dont like about this harman is the probe has to be 5 to 6 feet from the floor otherwise the stove keeps pumping out heat cause it senses the cool air. So i have this wire going up my wall in the back of the stove looks kinda getto lol. Sounds like you got yours down to a science! Mine not that involved but it works.
karen_in_nh_2014
Member
My kitties love the pellet insert (as you can see from my profile pic 
) ... they get annoyed with me when I have to shut it down for cleaning.
I typically use the pellet insert as my primary heat source. It gets REALLY hot in the living room, but I'm not in there much (my cats are, of course!) ... enough heat gets upstairs to my home office that it works well except on bitterly cold days/nights. I usually just let the fire go and go and go -- probably has been as high as the mid-80s in the living room.
Looks like next week we're going to have overnight lows in the single digits, which will probably mean I will use a bit of oil, especially overnight. I actually like a cold bedroom for sleeping (as in, 55 degrees or so ... my SO doesn't like that much!) but it's hard getting up to that. That's one reason I love the pellet insert -- I can close the master bedroom door and keep it cool enough for sleeping but then I step out onto the landing and can feel the wonderful heat wafting upstairs. Gotta love it!
) ... they get annoyed with me when I have to shut it down for cleaning.I typically use the pellet insert as my primary heat source. It gets REALLY hot in the living room, but I'm not in there much (my cats are, of course!) ... enough heat gets upstairs to my home office that it works well except on bitterly cold days/nights. I usually just let the fire go and go and go -- probably has been as high as the mid-80s in the living room.
Looks like next week we're going to have overnight lows in the single digits, which will probably mean I will use a bit of oil, especially overnight. I actually like a cold bedroom for sleeping (as in, 55 degrees or so ... my SO doesn't like that much!) but it's hard getting up to that. That's one reason I love the pellet insert -- I can close the master bedroom door and keep it cool enough for sleeping but then I step out onto the landing and can feel the wonderful heat wafting upstairs. Gotta love it!
Lol i looked at your pic. Your stove looks like a xxv but apparently my cats aren't the only ones benefiting from welcoming heat. My cat has actually burned his eye lid cause he gets so close to the glass goofy cats!
steamguy
Member
I installed a new high-tech infinitely variable heat pump system two years ago and the stove has just sat without being used, ever since. I can heat to 69° and cool the house to 73° all year for less money than I was paying just during the winters to heat to 63° with just pellets.
Last year we had a really, REALLY mild winter so there was no need to start the stove. This year it looks like a pretty much average year, with winds averaging 25-35 knots and gusts somewhere over 50, with outside temps to the mid-to-high 20s. When it hits 25°, I'll start the stove to keep the boost heat from coming on.
Last year we had a really, REALLY mild winter so there was no need to start the stove. This year it looks like a pretty much average year, with winds averaging 25-35 knots and gusts somewhere over 50, with outside temps to the mid-to-high 20s. When it hits 25°, I'll start the stove to keep the boost heat from coming on.
tlc1976
Minister of Fire
Primary source. Secondary source is an LP boiler which I use practically never. LP costs about twice as much as pellets right now, and with the boiler I am heating the basement too, so basically 4x as much to heat with LP. We moved in and started with the boiler, I did the math and we bought a pellet stove within 2 weeks. Not only that, but I'm all too familiar with leaking pipes, and I'm paranoid about having a pipe in every room that can leak at any time and cause serious damage. Every time the boiler would cycle I'd hear the pipes creak and pop and I'd cringe. I haven't even lit the pilot for this winter but I will soon as the single digit temps are arriving. I set the thermostat to 50 so it only comes on if the stove fails for whatever reason, and long enough to get that cold. Hasn't yet. I even fired up the pellet stove one night this summer when it got in the 40s and we had left the windows open. I guess the only other secondary heat is a space heater I use under my desk in the basement when I am sitting at my computer.
Pete Zahria
Minister of Fire
You can make it longer you know....
Mine is 5' off the floor, in the dining room, the stove is in the basement..... 15' away.
Dan
ChandlerR
Minister of Fire
Primary. No matter the season, if I need heat, the stove is running. I've been in this house for 8 years. I had a half tank of oil for my furnace. I still have a half tank. I had to put stabilizer in the fuel because it's gonna sit a lot more than it's used.
tlc1976
Minister of Fire
Same with my old house except wood was the primary source. I filled the LP tank in 2005 and sold the house 2 months ago with 37% remaining.
Lake Girl
Moderator
Have to find some metal wall art to camouflage the room probe.
Okay thanks . But i think i have it good now cause there is only a 3 degree difference from stove setting to room temp.
Its funny you say wall art to hide the wire my runs up the wall behind a hanging picture lol.Have to find some metal wall art to camouflage the room probe.
Pellet-King
Minister of Fire
Me too until last year when pellets are at a all time high and oil is cheap, have not cleaned my stove in 2 yr's or used it, plus I like having a evenly heated home not one that's 10° colder on the otherside of a small cape, no lugging bag's every day, nor weekly cleanings, pellet stove is just a relic from the past, all of you buying $300 ton pellets keep believing your saving money.................
ChandlerR
Minister of Fire
It's not about saving money. I'm at the break even point. I just like the warmth of the stove in my family room. Call it what you will. Ambiance or whatever, but I've been heating with some form of wood since 1976. The concept of sitting in this room when it's freezing cold outside without the glow of a fire is foreign to me.
tiger
Feeling the Heat
secondary, I guess. Stove is on 5 hours or so weeknights, and all day & evening on the weekends. Gas boiler at night and while we're at work.
Pete Zahria
Minister of Fire
Right now I can get great pellets for $239.
Comparing a million BTU's of heat,
it would cost $19.31 with pellets @75% eff.
it would cost $23.38 with nat gas @80%eff.
it would cost $42.29 with propane @80%eff.
it would cost $20.25 with #2 oil @80%eff.
it would cost $55.69 with electric @100%eff.
it would cost $24.25 "if" you paid $300 for pellets..
Not many in this area are paying $300....
unless they want to. DF's are $349
La Cretes are $275. at that price they are still cheaper than
all but oil @$22.20.
So it isn't a question of "believing"...
I get it, that prices of fuels vary by location..
but I can only go by where "I" live, and pay...
Dan
Tails1
Feeling the Heat
I'm actually spending money as with the wood stove alone I get the wood free and it was just my labor involved. But the convenience of waking up to a warm house is worth it imho. And no NG bill as I am the only person on the street without it.
bogieb
Minister of Fire
A) I don't pay $300/ton for pellets. I believe my 11 ton stash averaged out to about $165/ton with delivery (might be off as I'm going by memery of my calculations - but I'm not off by much). Most I paid was $260/ton
B) I just got propane for $2.95/gallon - which is actually cheaper by >$1/gallon than I would have paid my last supplier (reason I changed suppliers)
C) Basement does not get heated with the FHW system but does by pellets
Equals, yes, I am paying much less to use pellets to heat my house, even my entire house versus propane
Even if I paid $259/ton for my pellets, I would still be paying 1/2 the price per BTU than propane.
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