I think I must be doing something wrong.

[LuckyDad]

I have a Breckwell Big E. My house is pretty well insulated as I just resided and put new double-pane windows in the summer of 07. I like the stove and I'm not complaining, it's doing a great job keeping my house warm. But I'm burning more pellets than I thought I would be. A lot more. I burned about 900 gallons of oil last winter (my house is about 3000 ft^2) and with a toddler and a baby, I like to keep the house warm. So I've been keeping it about 68 or so. I've had the stove set at 3 most nights. I have the trim set to the 'normal setting', and I'm burning almost 2 bags a day (probably averaging 1& 3/4). I had only planned on burning 3 tons this winter, but by my calculations, I'll probably wind up burning 4+, possibly even 5. And it hasn't gotten REALLY cold yet.

As for pellets, I'm using granules. I'm supposed to get 7800 BTU/lb out of these things, which is about as good as it should get. I scrape the heat exchanger tubes maybe 3, 4 times a week. I'm doing really well keeping it all vacuumed out and clean. Am I doing something wrong, or for a 3000 ft^2 house from 1982, this probably pretty good?

Thanks for all your suggestions.

 

[Doocrew]

I have a Breckwell Big E. My house is pretty well insulated as I just resided and put new double-pane windows in the summer of 07. I like the stove and I'm not complaining, it's doing a great job keeping my house warm. But I'm burning more pellets than I thought I would be. A lot more. I burned about 900 gallons of oil last winter (my house is about 3000 ft^2) and with a toddler and a baby, I like to keep the house warm. So I've been keeping it about 68 or so. I've had the stove set at 3 most nights. I have the trim set to the 'normal setting', and I'm burning almost 2 bags a day (probably averaging 1& 3/4). I had only planned on burning 3 tons this winter, but by my calculations, I'll probably wind up burning 4+, possibly even 5. And it hasn't gotten REALLY cold yet.

As for pellets, I'm using granules. I'm supposed to get 7800 BTU/lb out of these things, which is about as good as it should get. I scrape the heat exchanger tubes maybe 3, 4 times a week. I'm doing really well keeping it all vacuumed out and clean. Am I doing something wrong, or for a 3000 ft^2 house from 1982, this probably pretty good?

Thanks for all your suggestions.

Sounds normal to me. 3000 square feet is a lot of space to heat. I am only heating about 1300 and I am burning a little over a bag of LG's a day. If I leave my stove on setting 1 I will burn a bag and a little more at setting 2. I also did new siding, windows and doors in 07 so the house is pretty tight. I bought 3 tons as well and will probably be a little short. Hopefully the prices will come down in the spring and I can pig up for next year.

 

[whippingwater]

If you expect to replace 900 gallons of oil with pellets, according to the fuel calculators you would need 7 tons or better. I checked my usuage against a calculator and I'm about right on compared to last years propane usuage.

 

[LuckyDad]

Well, my hot water heater is consuming some of the oil as well, but that's good to know. I'm guessing the 5 tons I'm on target for should be normal then. I just was surprised, because this summer when i was checking stoves out, I kept hearing from people that were claiming they were heating a house my size (or slightly smaller) with 3 tons. I'm thinking either they were exaggerating their "pellet-fu", or weren't saying that the pellet stove was supplemental heat, not sole heat source. Thanks.

 

[buildingmaint]

People lie . I use 185 -200 bags to heat about a third of a house your size . I run mine on , High # 3 /Low #1 setting on a programable stat. Have a friend who claimed he was heating his 2000 sqft home on the # 1 setting manual feed and 3 tons . Find out later his forced air gas furnace runs all night and he has a ventless gas stove in the basement , and his natural gas bills run about $ 125 .00 a month on budget or $ 1500.00 a year for gas and $ 600.00 for pellets. I pay $ 800.00 for pellets and $ 400.00 for gas.

 

[itworks]

Well, my hot water heater is consuming some of the oil as well, but that's good to know. I'm guessing the 5 tons I'm on target for should be normal then. I just was surprised, because this summer when i was checking stoves out, I kept hearing from people that were claiming they were heating a house my size (or slightly smaller) with 3 tons. I'm thinking either they were exaggerating their "pellet-fu", or weren't saying that the pellet stove was supplemental heat, not sole heat source. Thanks.

Welcome abroad. Keep reading the links. Some of the posters claim they're replacing 6 gals of HHO with 1 bag of pellets. I can't figure that, but who knows. I'm not doubting their veracity, I just think some people have fallen in love with their stoves. I kind of like my new LCD TV and sound system, and have never watched TV as much as I'm currently watching.

 

[newpelletstove]

If a pound of pellets has around 8,000 btu (320,000 btu in a 40 lb bag), and a gallon of HHO has 140,000 btu, then each bag replaces about 2 or 2 1/2 gallons of oil. As has been said, people sometimes exaggerate or leave out important facts. I was burning 700 gallons a season, and my pellet usage is around 5-6 tons a season. So LuckyDad, I think you will need more than 3 tons. I also heard from my dealer, "3 tons, maybe 4 at the very most". I'm not calling my dealer a liar, but nope - it's more than that.

 

[Matt715]

If you expect to replace 900 gallons of oil with pellets, according to the fuel calculators you would need 7 tons or better. I checked my usuage against a calculator and I'm about right on compared to last years propane usuage.

Do you have a URL for the calculator? I haven't run across any that compare pellets to propane and it would be neat to see if I'm really saving anything.

 

[imacman]

Do you have a URL for the calculator? I haven't run across any that compare pellets to propane and it would be neat to see if I'm really saving anything.

Pellet Fuel Institute. just input your fuel costs

(broken link removed to http://www.pelletheat.org/3/residential/compareFuel.cfm)

 

[Matt715]

Thanks! I have no idea how I didn't stumble across that one- its great.

 

[smaxell1]

If a pound of pellets has around 8,000 btu (320,000 btu in a 40 lb bag), and a gallon of HHO has 140,000 btu, then each bag replaces about 2 or 2 1/2 gallons of oil. As has been said, people sometimes exaggerate or leave out important facts. I was burning 700 gallons a season, and my pellet usage is around 5-6 tons a season. So LuckyDad, I think you will need more than 3 tons. I also heard from my dealer, "3 tons, maybe 4 at the very most". I'm not calling my dealer a liar, but nope - it's more than that.

It is kind of funny how all dealers say that... even when I told them I burned 1100 gallons of oil last year.

I went to several dealers before I bought my stove - and they all said the same thing.

---scott

 

[whippingwater]

If you expect to replace 900 gallons of oil with pellets, according to the fuel calculators you would need 7 tons or better. I checked my usuage against a calculator and I'm about right on compared to last years propane usuage.

Do you have a URL for the calculator? I haven't run across any that compare pellets to propane and it would be neat to see if I'm really saving anything.

Here's another one:
http://www.woodboilers.com/fuel-calculator.aspx

 

[Xena]

Doesn't sound like anythings wrong to me.

As has been mentioned, you will hear amazing and miraculous
pellet stove stories from some people making some wild claims.
If they sound too good to be true - you can bet they are.

Enjoy your stove man!

 

[kinsmanstoves]

I have a Breckwell Big E. My house is pretty well insulated as I just resided and put new double-pane windows in the summer of 07. I like the stove and I'm not complaining, it's doing a great job keeping my house warm. But I'm burning more pellets than I thought I would be. A lot more. I burned about 900 gallons of oil last winter (my house is about 3000 ft^2) and with a toddler and a baby, I like to keep the house warm. So I've been keeping it about 68 or so. I've had the stove set at 3 most nights. I have the trim set to the 'normal setting', and I'm burning almost 2 bags a day (probably averaging 1& 3/4). I had only planned on burning 3 tons this winter, but by my calculations, I'll probably wind up burning 4+, possibly even 5. And it hasn't gotten REALLY cold yet.

As for pellets, I'm using granules. I'm supposed to get 7800 BTU/lb out of these things, which is about as good as it should get. I scrape the heat exchanger tubes maybe 3, 4 times a week. I'm doing really well keeping it all vacuumed out and clean. Am I doing something wrong, or for a 3000 ft^2 house from 1982, this probably pretty good?

Thanks for all your suggestions.

Must have been a good Salesman.

As for heating 3000 sqft with one pellet stove, good luck. I would aim for two stoves if you want to use pellets for that amount of area.
We have two stoves both Breckwells running on #2 to heat 2500 sqft at 71 degrees. That is almost 3 bags a day.
What does this mean? I've had the stove set at 3 most nights. I have the trim set to the 'normal setting', and I'm burning almost 2 bags a day

Eric

 

[Wet1]

I agree with KS, 3000 sq ft is a lot to heat with a single space heater, you'll no doubt have some very cold areas of the house when the temps drop for prolonged periods of time. You'd have more consistent temps if you were using more than one stove. A furnace or boiler would probably be a better setup for your house. Although, since oil is now cheaper than pellets, using your existing oil fired central heating system is probably your best bet...

 

[LuckyDad]

Must have been a good Salesman.

As for heating 3000 sqft with one pellet stove, good luck. I would aim for two stoves if you want to use pellets for that amount of area.
We have two stoves both Breckwells running on #2 to heat 2500 sqft at 71 degrees. That is almost 3 bags a day.
What does this mean? I've had the stove set at 3 most nights. I have the trim set to the 'normal setting', and I'm burning almost 2 bags a day

Eric

Well, I'm not actually heating all 3000 square feet. We keep a couple of doors shut off, so it's probably trying to heat about 2300.

As for your question about my statement.... There's a "reset trim" function on the stove. You set the stove to 1 and push it. If the heat level shows just the 1, it's normal. A light on 1 & 3 means low and a 1 & 4 means its on high (refers to the amount of pellets per turn of the auger, I believe). I had set it to two.

My main question was whether I was burning too many pellets, and it sounds like I was just a bit off on my calculations in terms of amount of pellets I'm burning.

I sort of have another question... I've been noticing unburned pellets in my ash box. I'm wondering if this might be because the damper is open and lots of air is blowing up through the burn pot, but if I don't keep the damper open, the flame gets sort of lazy.

So, question #2: If I'm finding unburned pellets in my ash box in a regular basis, what should I be looking to fix?

Thanks for all your replies.

 

[kinsmanstoves]

Must have been a good Salesman.

As for heating 3000 sqft with one pellet stove, good luck. I would aim for two stoves if you want to use pellets for that amount of area.
We have two stoves both Breckwells running on #2 to heat 2500 sqft at 71 degrees. That is almost 3 bags a day.
What does this mean? I've had the stove set at 3 most nights. I have the trim set to the 'normal setting', and I'm burning almost 2 bags a day

Eric

Well, I'm not actually heating all 3000 square feet. We keep a couple of doors shut off, so it's probably trying to heat about 2300.

As for your question about my statement.... There's a "reset trim" function on the stove. You set the stove to 1 and push it. If the heat level shows just the 1, it's normal. A light on 1 & 3 means low and a 1 & 4 means its on high (refers to the amount of pellets per turn of the auger, I believe). I had set it to two.

My main question was whether I was burning too many pellets, and it sounds like I was just a bit off on my calculations in terms of amount of pellets I'm burning.

I sort of have another question... I've been noticing unburned pellets in my ash box. I'm wondering if this might be because the damper is open and lots of air is blowing up through the burn pot, but if I don't keep the damper open, the flame gets sort of lazy.

So, question #2: If I'm finding unburned pellets in my ash box in a regular basis, what should I be looking to fix?

Thanks for all your replies.

Please remember that the reset trim button ONLY WORKS WITH SETTING #1.

SETTING#2, #3, #4, #5 HAVE NOTHING REPEAT ***NOTHING*** TO DO WITH RESET TRIM


As for unburnt pellets in the ash pan. Do you have the collar around the top of your burn pot? Not all stoves came wit hte collar. Cal;l your dealer and they should give you one.

Eric

 

[LuckyDad]

Please remember that the reset trim button ONLY WORKS WITH SETTING #1.

SETTING#2, #3, #4, #5 HAVE NOTHING REPEAT ***NOTHING*** TO DO WITH RESET TRIM

Doh! That would explain a lot. I don't think I hardly ever put the stove on #1, has to be in the 40s, 50s, and I'll frequently just put the stove out at that point. In fact, this sounds crazy, but I swear the stove puts out more heat on #3 than on #4. Faster air flow maybe?

As for unburnt pellets in the ash pan. Do you have the collar around the top of your burn pot? Not all stoves came wit hte collar. Cal;l your dealer and they should give you one.

Eric

I've got the collar. And I think the high end goes to the back (just under the pellet chute), the low end to the front, right?

The guy who installed my stove said to go easy with the damper and only pull it out a 1/4 of the way, even on #4, just because too much air blowing through the tinder box would cause that to happen. Does that sound like it could be the cause, I have the damper open too far?

 

[kinsmanstoves]

Please remember that the reset trim button ONLY WORKS WITH SETTING #1.

SETTING#2, #3, #4, #5 HAVE NOTHING REPEAT ***NOTHING*** TO DO WITH RESET TRIM

Doh! That would explain a lot. I don't think I hardly ever put the stove on #1, has to be in the 40s, 50s, and I'll frequently just put the stove out at that point. In fact, this sounds crazy, but I swear the stove puts out more heat on #3 than on #4. Faster air flow maybe?

As for unburnt pellets in the ash pan. Do you have the collar around the top of your burn pot? Not all stoves came wit hte collar. Cal;l your dealer and they should give you one.

Eric

I've got the collar. And I think the high end goes to the back (just under the pellet chute), the low end to the front, right?

The guy who installed my stove said to go easy with the damper and only pull it out a 1/4 of the way, even on #4, just because too much air blowing through the tinder box would cause that to happen. Does that sound like it could be the cause, I have the damper open too far?

You need to work the damper as to the fire. Do not go by what one or two people say. Each stove is in a different house and location. Once the fire gets going say 15 minutes into a burn pull the damper all the way out. Watch what happens. Then push it all the way in and watch what happens. Do this a few times. Then play with the damper by moving it in and out. You will be able to determine a "good" flame as to a "bad" flame. Sometimes the damper will be all the way in sometimes more out then in. If you start seeing a clinker build up, open the damper. You should almost be able to see the grates in the ashpan when the fire is going.

The ramp on the collar goes to the back firewall.

Eric