Mount Vernon AE pellet usage for the season

[gwesleyr]

Hello MVers!

Wondering the burn rate other folks experienced this winter. Here's a link to my house setup in a previous post.

By the time I get through the few remaining cold nights in April I will have used close to 3.5 tons of pellets. Over the heat season (Oct-April) I had the oil furnace set to run for a couple of hours in the AM if the MV couldn't bring the temp back up after 45 minutes, plus the odd day when I shut the stove down for cleaning and didn't get right to it. I ended up using about 300 gallons of oil, where normally I'd use closer to 900 gallons over the heat season. Electric bill went down too. With an average cost/ton of close to $300, average cost/gal of oil at $3.00, I saved around $800. The ROI model doesn't work out like it did when #2 was $5/gallon, but I like to think my usage patterns contributed to the price drop. Plus it takes the sting out of filling up the F-350 diesel too. ;-) At the end of the day ROI was only 1 of many factors for switching to pellet heat, and I'm pleased with my decision. The stove has worked great, no issues at all.

Next year I'll try to cut back the oil usage a bit more.

Thanks for all the great forum discussions, hope to meet some of the locals at the AllBasics event this spring. Enjoy the summer!

Wes

 

[teddy1971]

I used to use 800 gallons to heat 3300Sqft and kept the house cold (58-68 degrees). The pellet stove was a life saver this past season (kept the house @ 72 - 76 degrees) and just used oil to heat my basement and for hot water (used 300 gallons for season). I do enjoy the comfort of pellet heat (I also like the fact that my family doesn’t complain about being cold all the time).

 

[Rickster]

I didn't install my stove (Quadrafire AE) until January 1 (that's right, outside on the roof installing pellet vent in the dead of winter).
From January to April 1 have burned exactly 3 tons of hardwood pellets. I am heating 2800+ square ft.
Also, the stove has performed flawlessly.

 

[dsnedegar3]

My Mount Vernon AE was installed on December 29th. I heat about 1500 square feet on my first floor, and used oil for my second floor and hot water. I have used a little less that 1.5 tons and about 250 gallons of oil. Not bad considering how cold it was this winter. I only wish I had installed after 1/1 to get the tax benefits.