I have been reading about people who can tell the temperature variations between bags of pellets when burning them. Is this because of an internal thermometer from the stove manufacture or are you placing your own thermometer on the inside of the stove somewhere?
Internal Temperature
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schnkp said:
I`d have to think an external therm would work too but with so many variables and inconsistancies involved it has to be difficult to determine what brand heats better than another. Even ash build up would vary with pellets used but an improperly tuned stove could affect that too.
However I`d like to hear more on this subject from more seasoned users.
John
Im no expert by along shot but I would think that there must be a safe what to determine what temperature the pellets are burning at internaly.
In my opinion most of it's in people's heads. They believe what they want to believe. Unless you are temping the actual air coming out of the blower, it's all hogwash.
Fire It Up said:
So you think that when people say "This pellets burns hotter than that brand pellet" its all hogwash?
You may be correct I just want to know of a safe way of measuring the temperature inside the stove.
schnkp said:
Yes and no. If you are not taking an actual reading you are guessing. Run a humidifier in the same room as a stove of any sort and then play the guessing game. Turn it off, then guess. I'm saying there are lots of variables. Feed rate, how the stove is drafting at that point, is the stove clean, how much clinkage is in the fire pot, how compressed was that bag of pellets, how much dust was in the bag, what was the moisture content, what was the hardwood/softwood mix, etc.
The BTU ratings are usually pretty close if I look across brands that I burn. Some days it seems like the stove it putting out tons of heat, others not, but hell it's the same pallet. Clean the stove and exchangers and it's working great.
The only way to really know is to burn a couple pounds of one brand, take an external blower temp, then shut the stove, switch pellets right then, then burn a couple pounds of another brand, and take a temp after the same time of burning to ensure consitentency. Pretty sure that people aren't doing that too much. I have, very little difference. The difference is more noticable by adding another 10% moisture into the air.
Just my opinion.
In regards to your following post, what is the value of knowing your internal fireport temp?
I was just curious in respect to some peoples post about how they measured heat fluctuations from bag to bag. Someone(s) made reference to the fact that they had an internal/? External thermometer.
One would assume that information based on the heat output from measuring it could then make a better informed decision on what brand of pellets to buy.
One would assume that information based on the heat output from measuring it could then make a better informed decision on what brand of pellets to buy.
I think that there are so many variables mentioned it’s really hard to come up with something.
I have burned a variety of brands in my stove as well as my previous stove. It’s hard to gauge fluctuations in pellet brands because there are no real constants surrounding your burn. Things change. An internal temp wouldn’t be as telling as an external blower temp. Since pellets are auger feed, you constantly have pellets being added to your burn, and that isn’t even a consistent amount. I check the external heat coming from the stove, because that is what is the most important.
If you really wanted to determine what is hotter, you should take 8 one pound piles of pellets made up from samples of all bags from a ton. You should burn those in little piles on a flat rock and take the average high of all those temps. You should then do that with another brand and see the difference. You would have to do it at the same time however to keep all things equal. Ambient air temp, wind, humidity, etc.
In my opinion the heat output is so close on pellets that I don’t worry about that. I’m more concerned about how my stove burns the pellets in regards to operation, ash, clinkers, etc.
I look for clean burning pellets first, and in that regards there are clearly differences.
I understand your question and please understand that I am not minimizing it, but the quality control around pellets isn’t to the highest standard. Some tons of great quality pellets are horrible, and some times a poor reputation brand puts our a great couple tons. It’s always changing.
Start with a clean reputable brand and then make your own assumptions by trying things to compare it to. Once you find what YOU like, and what works well in YOUR stove you will be more comfortable.
I have burned a variety of brands in my stove as well as my previous stove. It’s hard to gauge fluctuations in pellet brands because there are no real constants surrounding your burn. Things change. An internal temp wouldn’t be as telling as an external blower temp. Since pellets are auger feed, you constantly have pellets being added to your burn, and that isn’t even a consistent amount. I check the external heat coming from the stove, because that is what is the most important.
If you really wanted to determine what is hotter, you should take 8 one pound piles of pellets made up from samples of all bags from a ton. You should burn those in little piles on a flat rock and take the average high of all those temps. You should then do that with another brand and see the difference. You would have to do it at the same time however to keep all things equal. Ambient air temp, wind, humidity, etc.
In my opinion the heat output is so close on pellets that I don’t worry about that. I’m more concerned about how my stove burns the pellets in regards to operation, ash, clinkers, etc.
I look for clean burning pellets first, and in that regards there are clearly differences.
I understand your question and please understand that I am not minimizing it, but the quality control around pellets isn’t to the highest standard. Some tons of great quality pellets are horrible, and some times a poor reputation brand puts our a great couple tons. It’s always changing.
Start with a clean reputable brand and then make your own assumptions by trying things to compare it to. Once you find what YOU like, and what works well in YOUR stove you will be more comfortable.
I appreciate your informative and knowledgeable posts, although I don’t think I will be burning pellets on a rock to test temperature variations.
I have 5 tons of Natures Heat coming tomorrow from Home Depot and I might just cancel that order and get some more know brands.
Thanks again for your thoughtful replies.
I have 5 tons of Natures Heat coming tomorrow from Home Depot and I might just cancel that order and get some more know brands.
Thanks again for your thoughtful replies.
Heat output is tough to measure. You should be more concerned with ash build-up. The pellets I like the best may not necessarily burn any hotter than the competition but the ash build-up isn't nearly as bad. I would rather wait an extra few days to clean the stove than worry if I am really getting a few more btu's.
I've used an infrared thermom before, the point and shoot ones. As mentioned above, there are a lot of varibles. I would think if you used this type of thermom and targeted the same spot on the output tubes, and controled as many other varibles as possible (time running, outside temp, inside temp, etc) and had a significant change in temp that you may be able to deduce the heat change between pellets. If anything else, those point and shoot thermoms are alot of fun and pretty cheap to buy now!
I don't have any practical experience but from everything I have read it appears that the condition the stove is in (cleaning/maintenance etc...) plays a much bigger part in the performance of the stove than the pellet.
Pretty sure that people aren't doing that too much. I have, very little difference. The difference is more noticable by adding another 10% moisture into the air.
So by adding moisture to the air will that make the tempature increase or decrease ???????
So by adding moisture to the air will that make the tempature increase or decrease ???????
The more moisture in the air, the warmer it appears. By adding moisture, the water molecules hold the heat. Temp for temp, moist air "feels" warmer.
I was just implying to you will probably feel warmer by running the house at 50% humidity from 40%, then you will from switching between pellet brands that boast a few more BTU's from another brand.
I was just implying to you will probably feel warmer by running the house at 50% humidity from 40%, then you will from switching between pellet brands that boast a few more BTU's from another brand.
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