Hey everyone. I purchased a GF55 standalone unit this year and had it installed by the dealer.
One burning question I have is are any of the level settings deemed unsafe for long use? I could've sworn I read, or heard from the installers, that the 5th setting shouldn't be used for extended periods. I don't see anything about it in the owners manual, so I'm not sure if there's any truth to not using setting 5 for long periods or not. Does anyone have any experience with this unit that would be able to help?
The next question(s) is how to heat the house better with it. Right now, it's about 31F outside, and in the basement, on the opposite side of the stove, it's 73.6F, the bedroom right above the thermometer is at 68F and the hallway upstairs is 67F.
Current setting of the stove is 3.
First, my house is 900 sq ft, single floor + basement (basement is also 900 sq ft)
My basement is finished (sheet rock walls, carpeted floor, office lighting), and is a wide open space. The floors have vents cut out in the living room (right above the stove), and in the 3 bedrooms (I've read how cutting holes in the floor isn't always a good option, but these were already in the house when I purchased it this year, so it's not something I did personally). In the master bedroom, I changed the vent to one with dual fans, and it's made quite a difference (typically 2-3 degrees cooler than the far side of the basement), so I'm most likely going to pick up another one for the other bedroom at the opposing side of the house from the stove.
While the temp is good now, if it drops into the mid 20's, I start getting low 60's to mid 50's upstairs. I believe I had the stove on level 2 last night, so that might be the reason why. I've been nervous about putting it higher at night (still very new to the world of pellet stoves).
Anyway, what can I do to help get the heat spread out better? I have the basement door open, which leads to the kitchen (and also the side door of the house). I have the kitchen ceiling fan on so it's sucking the air up, and at the end of the hallway I have a pedestal fan at the lowest height blowing on the lowest setting. Is there anything else I can do to make it warmer using this?
I'm assuming that turning it up to level 3 or 4 instead of 2 is likely the only real option.
What do ya'll go through in terms of 40 pound bags a day during the cold season? Using this as a reference (https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/regency-greenfire-gf55-pellet-stove-review.23915/ - which seems pretty accurate), I would be going through 2 bags a day on setting 3. Is this a normal/typical amount during the cold season? Setting 4 and 5 are pushing the 2.5 bag a day range, though I'd be wary of leaving it on that high (unsure if that's a reasonable thing to be cautious on, or if I'm being overly cautious).
I guess another alternative option would be to get a wood stove on the top floor to help during the really cold days.
I do have electric heat, but I prefer to not have to use it (though I did use it for a few hours one day and it worked rather well, but I'd hate to use it more than necessary due to how high of an electric bill I'd have).
Thanks!
One burning question I have is are any of the level settings deemed unsafe for long use? I could've sworn I read, or heard from the installers, that the 5th setting shouldn't be used for extended periods. I don't see anything about it in the owners manual, so I'm not sure if there's any truth to not using setting 5 for long periods or not. Does anyone have any experience with this unit that would be able to help?
The next question(s) is how to heat the house better with it. Right now, it's about 31F outside, and in the basement, on the opposite side of the stove, it's 73.6F, the bedroom right above the thermometer is at 68F and the hallway upstairs is 67F.
Current setting of the stove is 3.
First, my house is 900 sq ft, single floor + basement (basement is also 900 sq ft)
My basement is finished (sheet rock walls, carpeted floor, office lighting), and is a wide open space. The floors have vents cut out in the living room (right above the stove), and in the 3 bedrooms (I've read how cutting holes in the floor isn't always a good option, but these were already in the house when I purchased it this year, so it's not something I did personally). In the master bedroom, I changed the vent to one with dual fans, and it's made quite a difference (typically 2-3 degrees cooler than the far side of the basement), so I'm most likely going to pick up another one for the other bedroom at the opposing side of the house from the stove.
While the temp is good now, if it drops into the mid 20's, I start getting low 60's to mid 50's upstairs. I believe I had the stove on level 2 last night, so that might be the reason why. I've been nervous about putting it higher at night (still very new to the world of pellet stoves).
Anyway, what can I do to help get the heat spread out better? I have the basement door open, which leads to the kitchen (and also the side door of the house). I have the kitchen ceiling fan on so it's sucking the air up, and at the end of the hallway I have a pedestal fan at the lowest height blowing on the lowest setting. Is there anything else I can do to make it warmer using this?
I'm assuming that turning it up to level 3 or 4 instead of 2 is likely the only real option.
What do ya'll go through in terms of 40 pound bags a day during the cold season? Using this as a reference (https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/regency-greenfire-gf55-pellet-stove-review.23915/ - which seems pretty accurate), I would be going through 2 bags a day on setting 3. Is this a normal/typical amount during the cold season? Setting 4 and 5 are pushing the 2.5 bag a day range, though I'd be wary of leaving it on that high (unsure if that's a reasonable thing to be cautious on, or if I'm being overly cautious).
I guess another alternative option would be to get a wood stove on the top floor to help during the really cold days.
I do have electric heat, but I prefer to not have to use it (though I did use it for a few hours one day and it worked rather well, but I'd hate to use it more than necessary due to how high of an electric bill I'd have).
Thanks!
should not be hot enough to warp a firebox
