How many pellets do you use?

[szumbrun]

We bought a 50000 BTU stove in December to offset ridiculous propane prices ($2.50/gal) in our propane-heated neighborhood. We have a 2500sq ft house with stove in family room and have used it exclusively to heat the house. Since December, we have averaged 1.1 bags/day. First full month of use was $147 in pellets. I'm looking forward to seeing how the numbers add up at the end of the heating season.

 

[DAKSY]

Probably gonna burn 3 tons+/- this winter.
Had 4.5 left over from last year's stash,
& we've gone thru about 1.75 tons.
Been burning pretty much constantly since mid-November.
Cleaning #3 will happen tomorrow morning...

 

[Bioburner]

That's a totally absurd price for the bastard gas. If I had pulled the trigger on getting my tank fill before October I could have had it for under 80 cents.
I was wanting a larger tank and didn't want to be charged for the pumping etc etc. Company never did find a 500 gallon tank for me and come end of October when I needed gas the price went up to $1.15.
Weather went cold at Christmas and stayed cold for the most part most of January so the stoves will have if I guess right about 3 tons of bio material. Corn was close to $110/T and caught sale on couple tons of pellets for around $190+-.

 

[railfanron]

My house is 2200 sq ft and although I still burn Propane with pellets we will burn about 3 tons this year and runs about2 1/2 to 3 tons a year. I also heat my workshop , which is 1600 sq ft when I'm working in it with Propane. My total is 500 gallons Propane (for house heat, workshop heat and hot water) plus the 3 tons of pellets.
Ron

 

[fmsm]

I have about 2000 sq. Feet in my addition with an open floor plan. It is new construction and I won't burn a ton this year keeping it at 72 in the house. In contrast, my kids in my original house will burn 2 tons plus a tank of oil with 1980 sq. Feet.

Layout/airflow, stove efficiency, and pellet quality make it very difficult to compare usage.

 

[UpStateNY]

I am also averaging about 1 bag per day for 1232 sq ft top floor of raised ranch. In past years on extreme cold days (below zero at night) I would sometimes burn as much as 2 bags per day. I don't think we will burn our usual 3 tons this year unless we get a severe 2 week cold snap.

 

[funflyer]

On average, I can get 1.5 days from a bag. Since October I've used 61 bags. Got rid of the 250 gallon propane tank last year and replaced it with a 100 pounder to use just for cooking. Propane use dropped from 8 gallons a day to about 10 for the entire year. Gotta love Arizona, we can see overnight temps in the 20s and teens but afternoon temps can reach the 50s and 60s.

 

[tbear853]

February 5th it is and it's been a soft winter here in the southern end of The Shenandoah Valley so far ..... and I'm not upset at all.

I had maybe 10-12 bags left over from last year, I bought a ton (50 bags) back in Nov I think it was, and just a few days ago I bought 35 more bags and unless we get hammered in March, I think I may squeak by at just under 2 tons total. I can always pick up a few to carry me over if needed. I figure a bag a day average, but it varies by where I set the temp dial on the stove.

 

[Tonyray]

Has not been very cold here outside Phila so far...
few bitter cold days and then a warmup....
started burning in October and used just about 2 tons...
we burn 24/7 and heating a 2 story 1600 sq ft house...[not well insulated and never will be as waay too many windows even though they are double pane Andersons.] ..
heat gets upstairs to bedrooms as we have a ceiling fan at top of steps which is run on lowest speed Clockwise..
will prob bottom out at 3/half or more tons.. burning good Softwoods which is keeping the stove and Pipes lot cleaner

 

[stmar]

So far this winter used about a pallet, 60 bags, and it has been cold and windy. House is well insulated so it would have to be well below zero to use more than a bag a day. Propane usage is about 250 per year; cook stove, dryer and central heat. I like to start the season with two pallets and have never come close to being low.

 

[tlc1976]

We burn on average a bag a day. About 30 hours to a bag running on 1, 25 hours on 2... all the way to about 10 hours on 5. Most of the time we run between 1 and 3. During spring and fall the stove is off during the day.

We started burning just after new years last year, so the 2nd part of winter we used 1.5 ton. So I figured 3 ton this year and got 3.5. Late January we hit the 1.5 ton mark and broke into the 2 ton we have left. So I'd say we are right on track.

However as of yesterday I am experimenting with ProPellets since the local farm store is switching from Kirtlands to ProPellets. A local member said they burn hotter and so far I'm seeing a considerable heat increase like 20%. I'm waiting for this bag to burn up but it's looking like 27 hours to a bag with these, and the glass isn't AS full of ash as usual. I'm eager to give it another day and clean the burn pot and glass every couple days like normal and see if there is any difference.

Propane, we have a boiler but after living here a couple weeks I decided the cost to heat with propane would kill us so we got the pellet stove The prevous owner said he filled the 500 gal tank a few times a year. Now the propane is only for the range, water heater, dryer, and boiler pilot light in the winter in case the pellet stove ever quits. And for the generator which has run during a few outages. We use 6% a month in summer and 8% a month in winter. So we get almost a year out of a tank.

We have double pane Andersons too but they are from 1985 so I'm sure they could be better. But the house was built very well for its time and is still so airtight the stove needed an OAK to run.

 

[GeriatricGinger]

February 5th it is and it's been a soft winter here in the southern end of The Shenandoah Valley so far ..... and I'm not upset at all.

I had maybe 10-12 bags left over from last year, I bought a ton (50 bags) back in Nov I think it was, and just a few days ago I bought 35 more bags and unless we get hammered in March, I think I may squeak by at just under 2 tons total. I can always pick up a few to carry me over if needed. I figure a bag a day average, but it varies by where I set the temp dial on the stove.

I, too, am in Shenandoah valley (Fred. Co.). Just got my pellet stove last Friday, and we've went through 4 bags, as of today, running on 3 (1-5 setting). Can barely keep the room it's in above 68F at night (2000sf 2story non-open floor plan) in this less that desirably insulated 1987 Cape Cod. At that rate of usage, I'll be mowing through 1t/mo which is a lot, in my opinion..
My house is normally heated by heat(less) pump, which is well skilled in shooting my electric bill above $500/mo if I use it.

 

[pageyjim]

Burned probably 7-8 bags shy of 2 tons so far. App 1400 sq', 90 year old drafty house. feels like we are burning more than years past even though its been relatively mild winter. I think my wife likes it warmer than she use to is part of that reason. Keep it around 74 downstairs and that keeps it around 69 upstairs.

 

[tbear853]

I, too, am in Shenandoah valley (Fred. Co.). Just got my pellet stove last Friday, and we've went through 4 bags, as of today, running on 3 (1-5 setting). Can barely keep the room it's in above 68F at night (2000sf 2story non-open floor plan) in this less that desirably insulated 1987 Cape Cod. At that rate of usage, I'll be mowing through 1t/mo which is a lot, in my opinion..
My house is normally heated by heat(less) pump, which is well skilled in shooting my electric bill above $500/mo if I use it.

I awake to 65-67 everyday it's cold outside. Log home on a full basement, three sides in ground and 4th side has 10x40 room across where once was a patio .... trike room it is which helps insulate the basement from outside heat / cold. House Tstat sets on about 63-64 so heat rarely cuts on. We use flannel bed linens. I also use radiant infared heaters for close room heat as needed when we are present & awake. When I go to bed, only the pellet stove is on. My pellet stove is in a living room with a ceiling open to the loft above, a ceiling fan on low helps keep heat below loft some, and we have a master BR up stairs off the loft with bath. Use a smaller heater in the bathroom at shower time. Downstairs two BRs and bath, one BR door is shut.

 

[Cincinnati Kid]

We bought a 50000 BTU stove in December to offset ridiculous propane prices ($2.50/gal) in our propane-heated neighborhood. We have a 2500sq ft house with stove in family room and have used it exclusively to heat the house. Since December, we have averaged 1.1 bags/day. First full month of use was $147 in pellets. I'm looking forward to seeing how the numbers add up at the end of the heating season.

I'm heating 2700 sq ft with a P43 and Accentra Harman stoves. Since winter really has passed us by here in Cincinnati this year, I will only use one ton or so. I do use a heat pump as my primary source of heat.

 

[scajjr2]

Heating a 1600 sq ft small 2-story (I call it a mini-Cape) with our P-43. Use about a bag a day, maybe 1-1/2 if it gets real cold (under 10). But it's been fairly mild again so far this winter. House is well insulated, I shrink film windows. Right now it's 80 in stove room, 75 in the far reaches downstairs, 75 upstairs with it 31 outside.
The few days that it has been in the teens when I get up at 5AM, it's been 74 in the house. Used about 2 tons since beginning of Nov.

Sam

 

[Ryker99169]

Since the first week in December 77 40# bags.. first batch 192.00 per ton 2nd batch 225.00 per ton. Second purchase was a savings since I did not drive the 102 mile RT and got them locally 3 blocks from my home.

 

[shtrdave]

I P43 user here, I go through a bag day and maybe once or twice a week I need a second bag to make up. Temps have not been to bad here this winter so far, almost 1.75 ton since sometime in november. Only heating about 1000 sq ft. I have it on a thermostat and it burns constantly.

 

[GeriatricGinger]

New Hudson River/Inca Saranac PSI, ambient temps in the avg 30s.. I avg about 1.5-2 bags/day with stove on heat 3 (of 5). Tried Trae Heat, Turmans, Stove Chow, and Ozark, so far. None really seem to be any better than the others, with (ironically) Trae Heat seeming to be the least dirty/ashy.

 

[Dr.Faustus]

I use 1-2.5 bags a day depending on the temperature outside. The biggest killer for me is the wind. when its really windy out i go through the high end of that range.

In the shoulder season its 1 bag or less. in the dead of winter, where i leave the stove on 1 while im at work its more likely to hit 2.5

I use no other source of heat. I have kerosene as a backup for power outages/stove failure. I have a massive diesel genset but the stove doesnt run right on it so kerosene is cheap and easy vs a new genset. I will sometimes run the kerosene to help out the stove when its under 10 degrees out, but mostly to avoid having to run an older stove so hard for so long.

 

[NYBurner]

ill be through 6 tons in a week or two. 7 for the season I expect.

I am absolutely bewildered how you guys are burning 1 bag/day....especially if you have 50k+ btu stove? Mine turn into a black disgusting mess if I let it idle on the lowest heat setting and I still think Id burn more than 1 bag/day. Output air temps are just about 200F at best with that low of a burn from what i have seen.

 

[lagger]

so far I have gone through 1/2 ton or less of timber heats and 2 full tons of Still River (not recommended .. low heat) Heat open floor plan upper of bilevel house.. about 1600 sqft except for the recent warm week (temps in low 70's in upstate NY) I generally burn about 2 bags in a 24 hour period ... fewer when using better pellets like Hamers or Greene Team

 

[4UGod]

We bought a new modular 3 bed/2bath 1500 sqft home and are using about 24 bags a month (0.8 bags a day). Harman P43 keeps the house at around 73-75F 24 hours a day. Temperatures have mostly been 15-25F at night and 35-45F during the day the last few months.

 

[302PONY]

I am running the same stove as you Pelpro 130, I have about 1800 sq ft to heat in a 100+ year old house, The house has been upgraded with thermo windows , new insulation etc, but no where as tight as a new home, I use about 1bag to 1.5 depending on outside temp. I also have propane fired baseboard heat , but the cost of propane is just too high. this is my first season with the pellet, very happy with it , very happy with the Pelpro130

 

[Sirshredalot]

Mild winter here in indiana, 2200sf drafty Farm house, will have burned 5 tons by the end of the season.
If Temps are below freezing we average 3.5 bags a day in our englander 10cdv.

God bless
Shred