Heating 3700 sqft with a PF100 and on a small amount of pellets

[dmaclaren]

I don't have the return duct connected in my unfinished basement. So, I'm heating this and the two floors of the house.

So, Monday night I put in 2 bags of Green team at 8:40 pm and Tue at 5:45pm they were gone. THe house was 70 and the basement was 67. Over night I reduced the heat to 66.

outside was 25 at night and the high for the day was 37

This unit is in manual mode so it burns 1lb an hour and will turn on/off here and there when the heat triggers the blower. That, I believe, is the key to the low usage. The unit will stay at a heated level and the discharge does reduce heat loss in the house between runs.


I am blown away with it's performance. I can't wait to hook up the return to see what my usage is.

 

[hossthehermit]

I don't have the return duct connected in my unfinished basement. So, I'm heating this and the two floors of the house.

So, Monday night I put in 2 bags of Green team at 8:40 pm and Tue at 5:45pm they were gone. THe house was 70 and the basement was 67. Over night I reduced the heat to 66.

outside was 25 at night and the high for the day was 37

This unit is in manual mode so it burns 1lb an hour and will turn on/off here and there when the heat triggers the blower. That, I believe, is the key to the low usage. The unit will stay at a heated level and the discharge does reduce heat loss in the house between runs.


I am blown away with it's performance. I can't wait to hook up the return to see what my usage is.

Maybe it's just me, but if mine burned 1 lb. / hour, it would run 80 hours on 2 bags of pellets.

 

[P0ZBURN]

I think he means this from the manual:
NOTE: When the Switch is set to Manual-Lite in the “AUTOMATIC†mode, the Wall Control will function as in Auto-Lite except the fire will not be allowed to go out. It will only be allowed to go to a minimum burn rate between the times the Wall Control is calling for heat.This rate is about 1 pound of fuel per hour.

 

[richkorn]

If at 1 lb/hr why did it burn 80 lbs in 21 hours?

 

[Turbo-Quad]

Sounds pretty good to me. Most stoves won't burn 1lb per hour. So if youre making 2 bags last 20 hours, I think thats great. Especially keeping it at 70 degrees. That's about what I burn, but only if the wind isn't blowing and the temp doesn't drop below 20. How well is your house insulated? What are the outdoor conditions?

 

[dmaclaren]

Right, in manual mode, it burns 1lb an hour in this mode. It will keep a fire going and keep the unit hot. in sutomatic mode, it only will burn as it is needed for heat.

so, I have kept manual on to keep it up to heat for fast recovery when heat is called for. now, that 1lb an hour burn does not fully heat the house so it will demand more when it actually fires up for a real heat burn. This is why 40lbs in 21 hours

 

[Turbo-Quad]

Any updates? I am watching your posts closely as Ihave a line on a used PF 100 and am very interested. What kind of insulation do you have?

 

[dmaclaren]

What do you want to know? Tomorrow will be a full week with this. I can say this is the best i have felt in this home in the last 5 winters.

I am tracking 4 bags and will update tomorrow. PM me and I can give you my cell number or just list out what you want.


I love this unit and I have done nothing but shake the cleaner handle and fed pellets since it started a week ago.

 

[begreen]

Thanks for posting the great pics and info. Have you thought about insulating the ductwork. If the primary goal is to heat upstairs, reducing duct loss can reduce fuel consumption.

 

[dmaclaren]

The new piece that connected the pellet to the gas is not currently insulated. The existing piece is not big enough and I want it to look the same so i am trying to find the gray stuff. The return is not insulated, not real worried about that.

At this pellet usage, I may leave all as is and just heat the basement. The workout area I have is getting more use and the tile floor in the kitchen and fpyer is nice now that it's not real cold.

 

[ididarod]

I'm heating a first floor 1800 sq ft and a huge foyer/chimney thing that just sucks air up to the second floor. House is at 72 all day every day. I average 1-1/2 bags a day, on those really cold windy days/nights I'll hit 2 bags. Your usage sounds about right to me.