20 bags. 1 week

[chrisasst]

So I am going through 20 bags in 1 week. I know part of it is old house, but I insulated our main room a few years back. . Have new windows which have plastic over them, I just don't know what else I can do. All I know, I can't afford to keep doing 20 bags a week.

 

[CT Pellet]

chrisasst.....From what I can tell, you have been a member here since 2008, and I am going to presume that you have doing pellets since then. From what I can tell from your sig, you became a dual stove house in 2011. At what point did you start usine 20 bags per week? And is it evenly split at 10 bags per stove. Also, please correct me if i have made erred assumptions.

 

[buildingmaint]

Running only one stove or two? I burn ten bags easy when it's real cold outside maybe even twelve in a week. If you are burning twenty bags to keep house warm, how much do you think it will cost you to heat the same space with , electric, natural gas, propane , fuel oil, cord wood, running in place ?

 

[chrisasst]

All correct...Have done pretty much every trick I have been taught here. Giving the configuration of my house, I run both stoves. If I don't run both stoves, it is usually the PDVC, but I have to run that almost full bore. With both stoves going, I can run the PDVC on 4. Even on heat 4, I can go through a 1 1/2 bags in that stove alone.
So yes, it is about 10 bags in each stove.. Even last year with the milder weather, I started going through alot of pellets, more than I thought I should have for last year. IDK, I guess I just need to button up the house in more areas I guess. See if that helps...

 

[CT Pellet]

You doing like 7 tons per season or so?

 

[chrisasst]

You doing like 7 tons per season or so?

Yes its about that...

 

[jtakeman]

Attic, Did you insulate the attic? Should have at least 2 layers up there. R48+ can save lots a nickles and dimes. Pink pellets are permanent too!

 

[imacman]

That works out to approx. 1.4 bags/day/stove.....doesn't seem terrible especially since the winter has been pretty cold. I'm sure it's been colder up by you.

 

[CT Pellet]

Spending money on heat sucks....It really does. But most of my customers burn between 3 and 6 tons per year. The 5 and 6 ton customers have big stoves, like a Mt. Vernon or P68 and such. But some of my customers have 2 stoves and all do north of 5 tons, some as much as 9 or 10. (I am one of them!)
Usage wise, you're right on track with what I would expect. Yeah, it's not cheap, I know. But I do not think you are doing anything wrong.

 

[glenc0322]

I am using only one stove with a small ranch and usually run a bag a day and when its cold 1.5 -2 depending on how cold it is and I live on long island so it does not get as cold here as it does up by you. How many square feet is your house? and like buildingmaint said what would it cost you if you were not using pellets?

 

[chrisasst]

well, makes me feel a little better.. Yes attic has nice layers of insulation.
Pink Pellets?

 

[imacman]

......Usage wise, you're right on track with what I would expect. Yeah, it's not cheap, I know......

The question Chris has to ask himself is.....if he didn't have the pellet stoves, what other heat source does he have and what would THAT cost him over the course of a winter?

 

[iceguy4]

try shutting down unused rooms. In my old house... I even closed down an open sunroom with tongue and grove 2" ground contact foam panels that were 2' wide by 10' ...gut them to fit tight and tape seams. number them for next season. This house that I live in now I shut down the whole upstairs useing the same method...before my pellet boiler came on board...now I heat everything to 70 degrees

 

[CT Pellet]

The question Chris has to ask himself is.....if he didn't have the pellet stoves, what other heat source does he have and what would THAT cost him over the course of a winter?

And at what temperature would he be keeping his house at compared to his current temps Don't EVER think I will allow that point to be omitted!

 

[chrisasst]

The question Chris has to ask himself is.....if he didn't have the pellet stoves, what other heat source does he have and what would THAT cost him over the course of a winter?

Oh, trust me I know. When I moved here, I was spending a good $800/ month on fuel oil.

 

[iceguy4]

Running only one stove or two? I burn ten bags easy when it's real cold outside maybe even twelve in a week. If you are burning twenty bags to keep house warm, how much do you think it will cost you to heat the same space with , electric, natural gas, propane , fuel oil, cord wood, running in place ?

running in place

LOL

 

[imacman]

And at what temperature would he be keeping his house at compared to his current temps Don't EVER think I will allow that point to be omitted!

That should be a given for everybody.....

 

[iceguy4]

So I am going through 20 bags in 1 week. I know part of it is old house, but I insulated our main room a few years back. . Have new windows which have plastic over them, I just don't know what else I can do. All I know, I can't afford to keep doing 20 bags a week.

just reviewing my records;
date..time..degrees...bags
2/6 am 24 1
pm 22 2
2/7 am 13 1
pm 18 3
2/8 am 20 1
pm 25 2
2/9 am 16 1
pm 5 2
2/10 am 7 2
pm 26 1
2/11 am 26 2 birthday
pm 30 1
2/12 am 32 2
pm 36 1
______________________
23 bags i week

 

[FS1971]

It has been cold (or what we used to say was normal) this season. How many sq. ft are you trying to warm? How big is the house and if it is a "old house" are we talking 9ft ceilings? This season has also been really windy and that has had a big effect on my burn rate. I have been buring 1.5 per day and cleaning this hog each friday. By wed it will not put out the heat that it is capable of at the begining of the week so I clean pot, cast iron and heat transfer grilles. You can really tell the difference.

 

[Lower bucks]

1 bag last me 13 hours on low but now its 27 degrees outside so I put my mt vernon up a notch to 2 now it will burnout in 9 hours but on regular 35 degree temps figure 2 bags in a 24 hour period, 3 bags if its colder.So at $4 a bag $8-$12 a day oil probably 5 gallons a day $20 I figure close to 1/2 the cost.

 

[CladMaster]

If this make you feel any better, I'm burning close to 2 bags a day in my 25 PDVC just to keep the house at 70 - 75F here in the southern part of Maine.