How much pellets is normal. from a rookie pellet burner

[jr8803]

I am a rookie pellet stove owner. I have a Quad Mt. Vernon OE which is about 3 years old, I bought it used. I basically went through the hole stove before the season started cleaning it. Starts up no problems and runs good (I think). So here is the question last night was in the low 30's my stove on a 12 hr burn went through nearly 80 pounds of pellets (hardwood energex). Is this about normal, now I know alot of things come into play such as the condition of my house. I would rate it fair as far as insulation goes, I need to do a little more in the basement where the stove is because its block with nothing over it, I only have about 1/2 of it insulated and its partiatly above ground. So I am looking for some thought from the pellet stove veterans.

Thanks
JP :coolsmile:

 

[Bkins]

Welcome to the forum.

What temp did you have the stove set at? 80 lbs. in 12 hours tells me that you had the stove turned up to its highest setting which I think is 7.4 lbs. per hour. If you had it running for 12 hours at the highest setting the amount used it pretty close to being correct. We run ours on med and sometimes high, but not the highest setting, which is quad on my stove. The stove will chew through pellets at a fast rate turned up to high. Maybe your stove is undersized for the area your trying to heat or as you state the room may need to be insulated. If you are trying to heat the upstairs, from the basement , it is not a great idea. Pellet stoves are basically room heaters. You may need to investigate ways to get the heat to where you want it. Most stove users on this forum have stated it is not good to run your stove on its highest setting for extended periods of time. To me if the stove has a high setting it should be able to run on that setting all day.

Bkins

 

[jtakeman]

I need to do a little more in the basement where the stove is because its block with nothing over it, So I am looking for some thought from the pellet stove veterans.

Thanks
JP :coolsmile:

Well that's half the problem, if not more. Exposed block will suck up the heat. Plus another minus is the stove's in the basement. All us basement stove people fight that. If you were just trying to heat the basement space and its not lived in space. It would be different. But You are also trying to heat the upstairs(I assume)?

You could try covering the block to help the issue, But may just be best to move the stove to the 1st floor. Most basement installs are a lot of work to get around. Unless you purchase a pellet furnace and direct the heat upstairs with duct work or a Hot water pellet boiler. You will always overheat the basement for any heat to reach up to the living levels.

Good luck.
jay

 

[jr8803]

Yeah, I am running it on high all the time. Tried it on medium but was loosing temp even in the basement when I tried that, maybe if I get the rest of the insulation done. Yes I am trying to heat the upstairs and I tried to use the return air system already in place from my furnace but did not seem to do much, maybe will try again when it gets colder. I have return duct work directly in front of my pellet stove about 6-7 feet away and up at the basement ceiling so I cut another hole in it and put in a grate. Also have some regular floor registers upstairs that have t's on them that are open and I found some register fans which I have not bought yet but want to try. Has anyone tried these, its a register that has fans in them that you can run either direction to pull air either way. Looks good to me looking for input.

Thanks

 

[tchdngrnby]

I have my pellet stove installed in the basement as well. I installed 2 registers and hung simple 9 inch bracket fans below to force the air upstairs. I also have a 20 inch fan in the stairwell as a method to return air to the basement. I find that this works well without having to install ductwork. Previously the basement was always cool and musty smelling. Now its warm and dry. I agree that the pellet stove is mainly a room heater however, I am using it to heat the entire house. Lately it has been in the w 20's and 30's and the stove on medium has been keeping the place at about 69 livable degrees. been burning about a bag and a half a day.

 

[jr8803]

Wow thats good a bag & 1/2 a day, I know I am loosing alot of heat because of the partially exposed block. But hope to remidy that soon with more low e foil insulation. How many tons a year do you guys go through typically? My local dealers say 3 to 3 1/2.

 

[teetah222]

Chiming in here... you don't say how many sq ft you are trying to heat? Just curious what kind of area you are trying to heat to have gone through 80 lb in a day.

 

[jr8803]

About 2200 sq. ft. and the stove is rated for up to 3000 sq. ft.

 

[imacman]

About 2200 sq. ft. and the stove is rated for up to 3000 sq. ft.

Jr8803, first of all, as other posters above have mentioned, basement installs are poor at best at heating the rest of the house. Add to that the fact that you have uninsulated block walls. In addition to all that, don't get too hung up on what the stove is "rated at" as far as how many sq. ft......the stats that the companies use are under "ideal conditions", which yours is not.

Unless you plan on spending most of your time in the basement, I HIGHLY suggest that you move the stove upstairs to the main area that you want heated. Insulating the basement walls will always help your present situation, but don't expect the heat upstairs to increase much, if any.

80 lbs a day x 3 months (90 days for example) = 3.6 tons. 3.6 tons and the upstairs isn't even going to be that warm, and you'll be running the stove on high most of the time, wearing it out much sooner than you think......they weren't meant to be run on High all the time.

EDIT: read the very first post in this thread, and also post #3:

www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/47474/

 

[Bkins]

The way I read his post the bag count comes out to 4 a day if the stove were to run 24 hours.

Bkins

 

[jr8803]

Mainly I am looking to supplement my propane furnace from running me into the poor house. I am well aware that it may not heat the entire house. I don't beleive that running my stove on high will run it into the ground much quicker. As the motors are made to run these speeds consistently. I do beleive that it will do a pretty good job of keeping the house fairly warm as it is 27 degrees tonight and the house is at 69 degrees upstairs. I have found out that if I run my main furnace fan it is keeping the upstairs about 70. I beleive this of motors because I work in a factory and electrical motors are just like cars some only run for a little while and some run forever regardless of the brand. Maintenance.........................is the key.

thanks

 

[jtakeman]

I don't believe that running my stove on high will run it into the ground much quicker. As the motors are made to run these speeds consistently.

jr,

Its not the motors, Its ALL the excessive heat that will wear it out sooner than you think. Kind of like the 80% rule in must equipment. If you run just about anything above the 80% its life is shortened rather quickly. Plus the extreme weather is yet to come. I'll bet you will have more issue's as the cold sets in.

Personally we started with a small Quad, We were cold. The I moved up to a bigE, we were cold. Then I bought a larger stove and we are much warmer now, even in the extreme cold. The ultimate would have been a furnace. But the cost steered me to my Omega. Stove efficiency is also a BIG factor. Lots of duct work and a collecting hood. Fans to move the air to the upstairs rooms and a return fan drawing the colder air back down stairs. After spending all that plus my time, I almost could have purchased the furnace. Now I am only using 3.5 to 4 tons per winter instead of 5 to 5.5 tons. Yes I too was at 4 bags a day from my little stove at the max setting(about cooked it in the -°F weather). My Omega is using about 2 to 2.5 bags in 24 hrs. on the really cold days. I am averaging about 1 per day now.

After all the pellet stove is actually just a space heater. Maybe 2 stoves will work too. One in the basement to remove the chill and the other upstairs to keep the living area warm.

I was a non believer too! But lets just say I had to learn the hard way. If I had to do it again. There would be a furnace in my basement and maybe a small stove in my living room just so I could watch the flames and have a toasty room. While the rest of the house was kept a bit cooler. So I speak from some experience.

Keep us posted on your progress.
jay