Should I be running my Herman xxv in this in between season? (On/off)

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Bassmantweed

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Nov 22, 2013
103
Avon, CT
Just curious if I should be running my stove right now. It turns itself on and off several times throughout the day and I just wonder if I am unnecessarily wearing parts on it especially the igniter. Given the fact that oil is so cheap right now I wonder if I should let my furnace do the job for now and then save the pellet stove for when it gets really cold and it can stay on all the time.

thoughts? Does it hurt the stove to constantly be ramping up and turning off?
 
Just curious if I should be running my stove right now. It turns itself on and off several times throughout the day and I just wonder if I am unnecessarily wearing parts on it especially the igniter. Given the fact that oil is so cheap right now I wonder if I should let my furnace do the job for now and then save the pellet stove for when it gets really cold and it can stay on all the time.

thoughts? Does it hurt the stove to constantly be ramping up and turning off?


I run from late October to late March early April. I say run it. If you want to get more control hook up a programable tstat and control when it comes on. Mine comes on at 4 am goes off at 730 then comes on at 4:00 pm off at 11 pm. If it seems exceptionally warm or cold I can dump into manual mode on the tstat and let the stove do its thing. The only wear item would be a starter and as long as you keep it reasonably clean mine lasted 4 years with 2 starts a day in the shoulder season.
 
I run from late October to late March early April. I say run it. If you want to get more control hook up a programable tstat and control when it comes on. Mine comes on at 4 am goes off at 730 then comes on at 4:00 pm off at 11 pm. If it seems exceptionally warm or cold I can dump into manual mode on the tstat and let the stove do its thing. The only wear item would be a starter and as long as you keep it reasonably clean mine lasted 4 years with 2 starts a day in the shoulder season.


Thats a total of about 3000 starts so the OP can estimate how many times a day his stove relights and know about how long his igniter will last. I'd prob just burn oil untill the stove could just run at lowest setting without shutting off to heat home. Unless the new igniter is like10-$25 dollars and you can self install. Funny my replacement oil furnace is about 10 yrs old and the only thing I had to replace was a transformer (I think) and it had something to do with the furnace ignition.
 
Thats a total of about 3000 starts so the OP can estimate how many times a day his stove relights and know about how long his igniter will last. I'd prob just burn oil untill the stove could just run at lowest setting without shutting off to heat home. Unless the new igniter is like10-$25 dollars and you can self install. Funny my replacement oil furnace is about 10 yrs old and the only thing I had to replace was a transformer (I think) and it had something to do with the furnace ignition.
Wait a minute I'd figured that on a 365 per year burn so its probably way less than 3000 prob more like 1000.
 
There is always plenty of debate between people about the "wear and tear" on an igniter during the stove's start/stop cycles. If you're concerned about it, you can always flip your switch to manual instead of auto and that will eliminate the stove going completely on and off. When running in Room Temp mode, it will just throttle down to a maintenance burn until more heat is needed. Igniter troubles seem to be luck of the draw. Some run for years with no issues, others burn out rather quickly. It's a personal judgment call.

I personally keep my XXV in Stove Temp mode on manual and have had it running since mid-October with temps averaging around 35 degrees or colder since then. Depending on your temp. setting, these stoves will burn through some pellets, but that's too be expected with a 50,000 BTU stove. We keep the house pretty warm (70 or more) and burn almost 2 bags on average a day right now, but it varies as the temps fluctuate outside. For me, it's a no brainer to burn because my backup heat is propane. This time last year (no stove), I had already burned through about 750 gallons of propane and the house was kept cooler. While this is my first year with a stove, my parents have burned pellets for years. Here in this part of Ohio, pellet burning doesn't seem to have caught on compared to say the northeast part of the country. Pellets never seem to be in short supply around here, and still at decent prices: Somersets at 260 a ton including tax.

Harman's are an expensive initial investment, but for me, it'll pay for itself easily even if I end up replacing some parts down the road. I say light the fires and burn on!! :ZZZ
 
Burn baby burn.....
 
Mine has been running 24/7 for about 2 months now. I have it on Room temp, auto. It shuts itself on many times a day (and night). I have only had it a year, but the igniter has been fine so far. Since I am only burning 1/2 to 1 bag a day. I figure I save enough on pellets that I won't cry too much when it does go. During the really cold temps, I will probably go to stove temp, but I now have another stove upstairs that I run at night, so I am unsure what I will really need at that point.
 
Wait a minute I'd figured that on a 365 per year burn so its probably way less than 3000 prob more like 1000.
Figure 100 days twice a day 200 a year
 
Room temp/auto here also..
pretty soon i'll switch to room/manual when it;s constant cold.
for me anyways, stove temp just seems to eat more pellets and I am more concerned with the stove monitoring the Inside temps
rather than outside temps...but everyone has the're particulars..
 
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