thermostats

[briansol]

Anyone using one?

I like the idea, but every time i think about it, it seems to me like this would just be an utter failure and completely unreliable.

Ie, its 55 in the house, i set the thermo to 70. it burns all night.
by mid morning, it shuts off.
by sunset, its time to kick on again.

But, the burn pot is full of ash now, and the ignitor won't get in there to light the new fuel.


Am I thinking of this incorrectly?

 

[Meneillys]

My Quad Castile runs off a thermostat and turns on and off through out the day. Normally I clean the burn pot once a day before leaving for work. I think if the stove is made to run off a thermostat it shouldn't have a problem igniting the pellets unless you fail to clean it on a normal schedule.

 

[begreen]

Not sure what kind of pellets ya'll are burning but we had a digital thermostat on our Quad 1200i and loved it. Worked great, nothing nicer than having the stove waking up ahead of you and warming up the place for you in the morning. I cleaned out the stove every weekend in winter. Every other weekend in milder weather. More than that would have been out of the question.

 

[briansol]

i've used about 15 different kinds of pellets now, and while some are obviosuly cleaner than others, I don't think ANYthing i've burned, after 12 hours of burning, if shut off, the ignitor would have a chance to re-ignite the burn pot. The pellets would just dump and overflow for hours. (ask me how i know this).

 

[begreen]

Bummer. That would drive me nuts, but maybe I am just a lazy sob.

 

[Meneillys]

When I say I clean the burn pot I am talking about pulling the little nob out that opens the bottom of the burn pot then pushing it back in and walking away. I clean the stove once a week or about 8 bags.

 

[The Radiator]

I installed a t-stat last year on my Enviro. The biggest concern for the stat is location. Too close and the heat from the stove will have the stat hunting on and off. My stove and probably others don't just shut off, they run a bit after the stat is satisfied. If there is a call for heat during this time it will just keep running and not have to relight. Saving the ignitor. I installed mine down the hallway towards our bedrooms, it's always cooler at that end of the house. I really wanted the stat to turn off the stove when it got too warm when no one was home. Which it does. I clean the stove once a week and haven't really had ignition problems. Seems if the air is set pretty good it blows most ash out of the burn pot. Once in awhile I do have to use the scraper tool in the pot but not that often. Usually just at the weekly cleaning.

 

[relxn88]

When I say I clean the burn pot I am talking about pulling the little nob out that opens the bottom of the burn pot then pushing it back in and walking away. I clean the stove once a week or about 8 bags.

I am guessing, running a thermostat would depend on the stove. I have a ST. Croix and the burn pot is self cleaning, so I have a thermostat in the kitchen, right next to my oil furnace thermostat. For me, the thermostat runs from Fall to Spring and it saves a lot of unnecessary pellet usage. Never had a problem, so I guess it depends on the stove.

 

[krooser]

When I say I clean the burn pot I am talking about pulling the little nob out that opens the bottom of the burn pot then pushing it back in and walking away. I clean the stove once a week or about 8 bags.

I am guessing, running a thermostat would depend on the stove. I have a ST. Croix and the burn pot is self cleaning, so I have a thermostat in the kitchen, right next to my oil furnace thermostat. For me, the thermostat runs from Fall to Spring and it saves a lot of unnecessary pellet usage. Never had a problem, so I guess it depends on the stove.

I'll be installing a t-stat on my St. Croix for the first time this year... I'm looking forward to seeing how well it works.

 

[jamesdjs]

When I say I clean the burn pot I am talking about pulling the little nob out that opens the bottom of the burn pot then pushing it back in and walking away. I clean the stove once a week or about 8 bags.

I am guessing, running a thermostat would depend on the stove. I have a ST. Croix and the burn pot is self cleaning, so I have a thermostat in the kitchen, right next to my oil furnace thermostat. For me, the thermostat runs from Fall to Spring and it saves a lot of unnecessary pellet usage. Never had a problem, so I guess it depends on the stove.

I'll be installing a t-stat on my St. Croix for the first time this year... I'm looking forward to seeing how well it works.

Krooser, I have a Tstat on my Pepin for two yrs now and its the best thing since sliced bread

Goes to low fire when the heat is satified and turns up high when calling for heat.
Never had a problem with it.
Love it for night time where I can turn it down low but if it get really cold it fire right back to high and keeps the place warm.

 

[briansol]

Bummer. That would drive me nuts, but maybe I am just a lazy sob.

it is quite annoying.

Frankly, i'm quite annoyed at my stove most the time. I bought it for $1000 over the other model i was looking at because it had all these cool features
http://www.lennoxhearthproducts.com/products/overview.asp?pid=464
airburst! yeah, right.
keeps the glass clean! lol 1 day and its basically opaque
quick access! ha! cheap allen bolts are already starting to strip after just 2 seasons of use and careful opening. Crap bolts in a tight thread.

I really wouldn't recommend this stove to anyone, especially not at the $3400 installed price i paid for it.
Oh well, thats what i get for not really knowing anything about them and trusting a sales man.

 

[jtakeman]

I am a stat believer and have had one on every stove I owned. The newer stoves have the High/low feature that reduce wear and tear on the ignitor. I only use that feature in the dead of winter as the shoulders my house temp doesn't drop all that much. I feel I use much less pellets with the stat installed. By the time I felt to warm it was too late and the temp was high in the house. I wasted to much pellets. The stat is much easier and the house temp is consistant.

But if the stove is clogging you might have issues with a stat. A steady burn may be more suitable for you and your stove. Clean your stove when the ouside temps are highest and fire it right back up and try to keep a steady house temp. This is were the multifuelers shine with there self cleaning burnpots. Even with crap pellets my stove will restart. And I have burned some real junk without an issue!

 

[Don2222]

Hello

Our Avalon Astoria heats the whole house on the low setting. So I use the thermostat basically in the late fall and early spring as a timer to make the pellet stove come on the low setting at 3 Am and off at 11 AM to warm the house for the day. I just program it for 80 Degrees to turn on and 50 degrees to turn off.

In the winter we run 24/7 on low.

No problems.

 

[imacman]

I have had a stat on both my Englander multi-fuel, and had the same one connected to the Astoria I used to have.....have never had a situation where the stove would not light the pellets after it had been off for a while, whether I had just cleaned the stove that day, or if it hadn't been cleaned in a week.

The Astoria is an on-off stove, and the CPM-10 Englander will do on-off or low-high.

With the Englander, I do on-off in the shoulder months, and low-high when it really gets cold, and this works great.

For me, the stat is the way to go. I set the programs, and the stat & stove do the rest. I only have to add pellets & clean once in a while.

 

[briansol]

In the winter we run 24/7 on low.
No problems.

This is what i have been doing. I rarely run my stove at anything but "1". It sees 2 on those REALLY cold nights.

My purpose of wanting a stat is to kill the stove. even at 1, my house can climb to 74-76 when its in the 30's out.... and frankly, thats too hot for me. I like a 64-66 comfort zone most the time and 60 at night. I end up closing my door to my bedroom most of the way so it doesn't get as hot.

If i could regulate it down, basically, lower than "1", I might be able to save a few bucks.

 

[jtakeman]

In the winter we run 24/7 on low.
No problems.

This is what i have been doing. I rarely run my stove at anything but "1". It sees 2 on those REALLY cold nights.

My purpose of wanting a stat is to kill the stove. even at 1, my house can climb to 74-76 when its in the 30's out.... and frankly, thats too hot for me. I like a 64-66 comfort zone most the time and 60 at night. I end up closing my door to my bedroom most of the way so it doesn't get as hot.

If i could regulate it down, basically, lower than "1", I might be able to save a few bucks.

That could be why the stove loads up. You could try a stat and a medium setting. Your stove should not load up as bad on a higher setting. All it would cost is a cheap stat and some tinkering. If it doesn't work, just remove the stat and go back to the old way.

 

[briansol]

Just running it on "3", the burn pot will load up faster than on 1. I don't see how that will fix anything. More pellets = more ash that gets stuck in the burn pot.

 

[krooser]

Just running it on "3", the burn pot will load up faster than on 1. I don't see how that will fix anything. More pellets = more ash that gets stuck in the burn pot.

If your stove's burn pot overflows on the higher setting it usually means the stove isn't getting enough air... sounds like it's time for a thorough cleaning... mine did the same thing.

 

[briansol]

I do a complete cleaning 3 times a year (after every ton) (pull all sensors, exhaust pipe, compressor, etc). I do a mild cleaning at least once a week (ash pan, glass, etc) The only thing i haven't done is the exhaust pipe scrape. I bang it and i think i get most the ash out (see leaf blower thread), but i will be buying a brush to try this year.
I may have to play with my draft settings a bit more.
http://www.lennoxhearthproducts.com/resources/manual/775229M Rev D-PI40-winslow-insert(II&CO.pdf
page 25.

i can't even find this area on my stove. Nothing looks like it at all. Will have to dig through it more.

 

[jtakeman]

Just running it on "3", the burn pot will load up faster than on 1. I don't see how that will fix anything. More pellets = more ash that gets stuck in the burn pot.

Generally when you increase the heat setting on the stove the combustion blower increase it's speed and that usually blows more ash out of the pot than when on low. If you don't have a variable speed blower, You need to increase the damper to do the same thing on higher settings.

Doesn't hurt to try it on a higher setting. Its free and you might be really really surprised. I have seen several stoves that load up on low and burn for days on a higher setting. But I have only been tinkering on these things for 11 odd years so what would I know????

 

[imacman]

If your stove's burn pot overflows on the higher setting it usually means the stove isn't getting enough air... sounds like it's time for a thorough cleaning... mine did the same thing.

I agree......90% of the time when people have issues w/ overflowing pellets in the burnpot, it's due to poor combustion airflow through the stove....a "dirty" stove.

Are there hidden ash "traps" that might be clogged? One of those long bendable dryer vent brushes work GREAT for getting into those to loosen any trapped ash, and than use the leaf blower at the VERY END of all the cleaning.

 

[rona]

Some stoves are more prone to ash problems then others. Also sometimes we depend to much on a dealer to solve the issues and are hesitant to do some experiementing on our own.
I was having problems with a stove once and couldn't seem to make it burn right. I was talking to a old timer and he told me a good idea. Think of that stove as a gas engine and you have to finetune it. Providing you have the electical stuff right all you have left is the fuel and air mix to adjust. If you are having problems burning with a lot of soot etc I would guess the stove needs less fuel and more air. Usually most stoves work best at 3/4 of the rated heat out-put.
One other thing to add is we all bought our first stove once and I would guess at least half would purchase a different one if they had to do it over. Sometimes what we thought was important with the first stove really was over shadowed by something else. Plus what I may think is desirable is not a big deal for someone else. Example is I like a large hopper so I don't have to add twice a day. Same thing with a ash bucket as I don't want to have to babysit it twice a day. Other people may not be bothered by that.
Speaking of thermostats no one has mentioned programmable set back thermostats. They work on most stoves along with wireless thermostats.

 

[jtakeman]

I love my programmable stat. Warm when I want it and cooler at night for sleeping. Saves me pellets overall. A big must have for me!

But if your stove is hit or miss on the start ups?? Really glad my Omega always starts for me, I almost forget to fill it!

 

[krooser]

Some stoves are more prone to ash problems then others. Also sometimes we depend to much on a dealer to solve the issues and are hesitant to do some experiementing on our own.
I was having problems with a stove once and couldn't seem to make it burn right. I was talking to a old timer and he told me a good idea. Think of that stove as a gas engine and you have to finetune it. Providing you have the electical stuff right all you have left is the fuel and air mix to adjust. If you are having problems burning with a lot of soot etc I would guess the stove needs less fuel and more air. Usually most stoves work best at 3/4 of the rated heat out-put.
One other thing to add is we all bought our first stove once and I would guess at least half would purchase a different one if they had to do it over. Sometimes what we thought was important with the first stove really was over shadowed by something else. Plus what I may think is desirable is not a big deal for someone else. Example is I like a large hopper so I don't have to add twice a day. Same thing with a ash bucket as I don't want to have to babysit it twice a day. Other people may not be bothered by that.
Speaking of thermostats no one has mentioned programmable set back thermostats. They work on most stoves along with wireless thermostats.

Funny....imacman also likes 'big hoppers'... but not especially on his pellet stoves.... :cheese:

 

[imacman]

Funny....imacman also likes 'big hoppers'... but not especially on his pellet stoves.... :cheese:

You got that right! ;-)