Newbie. Loving it and frustrated at the same time - How long should pellets last??? Harman XXV

[catmas]

Please help, I am so frustrated. I have tried several blends, fireside ultra, Maine choice and Green Supreme and for all hardwoods I have tried energex with the eagle on it (300 ton) and greene team at (274.50 a ton - but can save 12.50 with lowes card). Am I doing something wrong??? I am going through a bag of pellets every 12 -16 hours. have feed rate at 3.4-4 and keep it on the room temp at 70. Doesnt seem to matter which one I use, they are all going though at the same rate, much less ash and cleaner glass with greene team though.

So am I doing something wrong? House is 1900 sq feet 2 floor house. Windows are tight but single pane with storms, basement and attic need a little more insulation, so floors are cold. I also use the direct vent system - wondering if that makes the stove work harder since the air is cold.

I was thinking that I would only be going through a bag a day. The energex seemed to last longer but I think it was milder then. temp outside today is maybe low 40's . I have all electric heat. Also the stove is running continuously. Maybe I should put it on stove temp instead.

I thought I might be saving myself leaving it on 70. Would it be better to make it 74 during the day and turn it down at night.

HELP! and thanks in advance.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

First welcome to the forum.

Second tell us all about how warm you used to keep your house and how you heated it and where your room probe is.

You use the pellets at the rate required to overcome the heat loss of your house (no body else's) at the temperature you have the stove set for.

You are not likely to go through a bag a day at current temperatures, there is no magic about heating a house.

 

[catmas]

thanks for responding. I have the probe behind the stove up about 5 feet. I am used to being a heat miser. Always kept my house on low with my electric heat, I dont expect to walk around in shorts, but shouldnt be wearing a coat either.

Do I have my feed rate to high? Maybe at 4 I am using more pellets than I should.

Thanks for the help. I have spent hours searching threads on here!

 

[will711]

I think that once you add more insulation to basement & attic you should get longer burn times /bag. It seems like the heat you are creating is escaping. You maybe able to get a free energy check on your home from your electric company to help pin point energy loss just a thought.

 

[DexterDay]

If running 24/7, then 2 bags a day aint bad.

How many BTU's is the XXV? I thought it was around 40,000.

40,000 BTU's is 5 lbs of pellets an hour. 5 lbs x 24 hrs is 120 lbs that it will burn in 1 day (Full Bore) or 3 bags a day.

Average use for most burners is 4 ton (+ or - 1 ton).

Sounds about average to me.

Welcome to the Forum. The XXV is a beautiful stove.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

That feed rate is an upper limit to the amount of time the auger can push pellets to the fire. The ESP controls the actual feed and only feeds what is needed to do the job.

The job is to overcome the heat loss of your house at the set point you have the stove at as measured by the room probe.

If you want the house to be at 74 using only one bag a day when the outside temperature is x,y,or z you need to spend your time and money on insulation, air sealing, and window projects. 1900 square feet is about 15,200 cubic feet of air to heat and keep heated if your house is typical it also likely does a full replacement of inside air several times an hour.

 

[RKS130]

As Smokey (a very generous font of knowledge and inspiration) wisely counseled, every house is different, both in construction, layout, insulation, stove placement, etc. Then there are the variations in stoves, installation, pellets, ans so on. Having said that, and for what little it may be worth from a newbie pellet burner, here goes.

We went with the Harman Accentra, which probably has (I am assuming) comparable controls to the XXV (which I wanted but Madame Defarge vetoed). We have been running the stove 24/7 at just a hair above 70° on room temp setting, feed rate at 3 and blower at mid to low. Our 1500 sq. ft. stone and brick home has stayed a respectable 70° - 72° downstairs and 68° - 69° upstairs, varying with the outside temps. We run at about a bag a day (give or take) when the weather is mild and up to 1 1/2 bag per day when it is colder. Over the coldest nights we have had so far - about 21° outside - we burned 3/4 bag overnight.

Initially we were too cold upstairs but fixed that easily enough. The stove is placed opposite the foot of the stairs and adjacent to a double wide door to the main room on the first floor. Heavy curtains across that doorway encouraged better heat upstairs while leaving the downstairs at 67° to 68° - usually overnight.

I have only been burning pellets since the end of October and have found that a bit of tinkering, informed by the great people on this forum, goes a long way. Haven't burned a drop of oil for heat so far. Nuff said.

 

[ironpony]

my opinion is try stove temp
it will eliminate the ups and downs
when it calls for heat in room temp the flame and pellet usage goes up then it idles down
stove temp willl keep one steady stove temp and this works better for me
also your usage does not seem excessive
like was stated, about four ton a year seems normal
seems like alot but at 6 dollars a day 180 a month
thats not to bad

 

[bugize]

Yes,I too run mine in stove mode now that we have colder weather,I find I use less pellets to " maintain" than to...cycle up then down. I have my feed rate on about 5.5....that way if it calls for alittle more heat,then it will get the pellets.
A hotter brand of pellets wouldnt hurt much either...but if your stove is in the basement,then you are asking alot from it!

 

[SXIPro]

More insulation and better windows will work wonders. As well as keeping your stove clean.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

More insulation and better windows will work wonders. As well as keeping your stove clean.

Clean what's this clean thing, you just pour the pellets in here and the heat comes out here.

When you turn the stove off then a little paint brush thing here and here also empty the ash pan.

 

[flynfrfun]

As a comparison...I also have a 1900sf 2 story, but with good insulation and windows. I set my M55 at heat level 3 (out of 5) and just let it run. I ended up figuring that I would burn just over 2 bags/24hrs. I was getting about 11hrs/bag. But my downstairs was 80F where the stove is and upstairs was something like 72F. The heat doesn't make it upstairs very well due to a skylight in the stairwell. Outside temp was about 36F. If I blocked the skylight, it would be a lot warmer upstair as the warm air drifts up into the skylight chamber.

 

[catmas]

Thank you so much for all your input. I think I will try the stove temp mode and sees if it helps. So I guess I will put up with a little more ash and dirtier glass for 50 a ton less. Has ) anyone ever mixed hardwood (greene team) and a hardwood blend (green supreme). Does that even make any sense or is worth the time and energy? I think I get a few extra hours out of the greene team.

Lowes in Westborough has a sale right now on green supreme - 219 a ton. Plus the 65 dollar delivery. Can't use the lowes charge on the sale.

 

[lbcynya]

By comparison, I run with a thermostat 72 degrees 24/7, room temp, igniter on manual (fire never goes out), 1200 square feet bleeding up to 1800 square feet main floor (mainly heated by wood stove) and I'm burning a bag every 36 hours. Walls are mostly R-30 which is very well insulated. As noted above, heat load is heat load and it looks like you need lots of heat to balance the load.

Since your heat load is consistent, hopefully the savings you see will be proportional to your other heating method.

 

[jmcp]

I leave my stove run continously no shut down a bag last approx 12 hours but on a night like tonight where it is like 47 degrees outside I may turn it off at 11 o clock on going to bed.As the stove will eat another bag while I am sleeping plus the house will hold a lot of the heat from 11 oc shut down.But when temps go down into the 15-20 you will have to run 24/7 to keep even

 

[tundraSQ]

I have an xxv and use it to heat a 2500 sqft colonial. When its cold i go thru about 5 bags every 3 days...not quite 2 bags a day but close. I leave it on room mode....about 3.5 feed rate and i fuss with the temp gauge...i leave it on about 65 or so during the week when i just sleep and go to work...but on the weekends when i am home i turn it up to get the house nice and toasty. Its not realistic to expect 1 bag a day.

 

[jmcp]

I am with tundra sq 1 bag a day is not achievable in colder weather but on shoulder season like now you can leave the stove off if you are at work and light it when you get home that way you will save pellets. But remember heating with pellets is like heating oil at $1.60 a gallon so its still 1/2 the cost.

 

[subsailor]

I have a Harman P61A in a 1930 cape (approx 1000 sq. ft. main floor). I burn 5 tons + a year, temps 72-74. Better than 1000 gal. of oil.

 

[jmcp]

5 tons a year is approx $1000 one thousand gallons of oil is approx $3500.00 take the $2500.00 and go to the bahamas or Ireland or wherever your heart desires you are in control of your expenses

 

[tony58]

[quote author="catmas"
So am I doing something wrong? House is 1900 sq feet 2 floor house. Windows are tight but single pane with storms, basement and attic need a little more insulation, so floors are cold. I also use the direct vent system - wondering if that makes the stove work harder since the air is cold.

I would start with more insulation in the attic.I just added more insulation in my attic and its made all the difference in the world.I brought my attic up to R30 and its made a true 3-4 degree gain.The best $403.38 I've spent in awhile...I'm using alot less pellets and summer cooling should be a lot better...

 

[Countryboymo]

I agree that a case or two of caulk, a few cans of spray foam and some insulation can save tons of pellets for years down the line. The payback in fuel/energy savings is huge and the increase in comfort level from less drafts will make a 40k btu stove seem like your running jet fuel pelelts.

I burned a little over 2 tons last year but mainly to heat the basement and supplement the heat pump.

 

[Eatonpcat]

I agree that a case or two of caulk, a few cans of spray foam and some insulation can save tons of pellets for years down the line. The payback in fuel/energy savings is huge and the increase in comfort level from less drafts will make a 40k btu stove seem like your running jet fuel pelelts.

I burned a little over 2 tons last year but mainly to heat the basement and supplement the heat pump.

I burn somewhere around two bags a day, Doesn't bother me a bit!! Run the unit mostly on setting #2, but will put it to #3 if a chill is in the air. Hasn't been very cold yet this year, but if it gets cold, I will turn it up and add more pellets (Burn baby burn).

Other years, guests at my house would be asking for sweaters and extra socks...This year, the window had to be opened on Thanksgiving and at Christmas the family was astounded at how warm the place was. Love my stove, but I think I should turn on my furnace just to see if she still works in case of emergency!!

 

[ironpony]

...I'm using alot less pellets and summer cooling should be a lot better...[/quote]



can a pellet stove really cool your house?????????

 

[RidgeRunner56]

While it may not look pretty, if you have "leaky" windows, get those kits where you seal the windows with plastic. Made a big difference for me. Of course, I'll have to redo several windows when the Christmas decorations come down, but the cost is minimal when buying a box to do 9 windows at one time.

 

[Eatonpcat]

...I'm using alot less pellets and summer cooling should be a lot better...

can a pellet stove really cool your house?????????[/quote]

In my limited experience opinion...Only if you're burning Green Supreme's ;-P