Normal to go through a ton of pellets in 25 days?

[peacockrocks]

I'm a new pellet stove owner, had the Enviro Maxx installed 12/3. We've just gone through our first ton of pellets (Curran Renewable Energy brand, out of Massena, NY if that matters). I'm sort of freaked out by how quickly we went through pellets. Yes, its a big stove with the potential to put out a lot of heat but we keep it on setting 2 out of 5 the majority of the time. We're heating 2600 sq feet, and admittedly it has been at a comfortable 68-70 most of the time (which is a far cry better than the 62 it was with the oil boiler). I guess I just need either reassurance that this usage isn't abnormal, or thoughts on why we might be going through pellets so quickly.

Also, I'm of the opinion we should have a thermostat installed. The husband thinks I'm crazy and has some notion in his mind that its not good for the stove to kick on and off. Thoughts?

 

[Major91]

Not familiar with your stove BUT 1 ton (50 bags) in a month is not far off if your burning 24/7 but it does seem to be somewhat high imo.

 

[Trickyrick]

It happens. I know the last 28 days I'm through 30 bags. I'm heating 1880 sq feet so I would bet that is about right. You do not want to kick on and off this time of year, perhaps shoulder season but right now you need steady heat. Remember this stove can't raise the temps in your house as fast as that old oil burner could. Usually from 1st or 2nd week of Dec - Feb I just leave the stove on then in shoulder season run on thermo but never shut down just run in manual so it only feeds .75 pounds per hour.



On a side note do you just love the heat and having the house more comfortable....

 

[mtalea]

I just browsed your stove info,Do you have a fresh air kit installed for combustion? A thermostat will work for your stove and it says so in the manual, I would use one if I had your stove,and it should save a little bit of pellets. I would try some high end pellets as not all pellets are created equal.There is hard wood pellets,softwood pellets and mix of both pellets out there.I use softwood pellets personally, Its a crap shoot with stoves,you need to find what works the best for your stove/setup...i.e. best heat least amount of ash build up....and keep your stove clean. I vacuum my stoves at every fill up of hopper,perhaps I am over doing it but I like to stay on top of it all. And then 1x a week or so i do a major cleaning of ash pockets,heat exchange tubes burn pot etc;

Hope this helps,keep posting you updates if you do try other pellets,there is a wealth of educated stove people here that love to help,I am only partially educated and love to help....I burn therefore I am,and continue to learn....lol !

 

[dbjordan]

I don't know much about your stove, but other factors will play a part. Where in the house is the stove located and what is your floor plan? How old is the house, and how is your insulation? What has been the average outside temp? Are you trying to heat the whole house or just your primary living area? A thermostat may help save fuel. Most stoves have a hi/low setting with a thermostat that lets the stove go down to it's lowest setting until it gets cold enough to kick up for more heat. It does not have to go completely off. If you have ceiling fans run them in reverse to forc the warm air down toward the floor. If it is cold farther away from the stove use a box fan and blow the cold air toward the stove, it will help create a convection and help heat places farther away from the stove. Remeber, a pellet stove regardless of it's btu rating is a space heater, and will only throw heat on it's own only so far. Your stove damper, and venting could also play into it's heat out put.

 

[dbjordan]

double

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Is it normal to go through 120 gallons of heating oil in 25 days during December in Central NY?

 

[Bigjim13]

I know it seems like alot, but for that SQ footage and if it has been as cold where you are as it has been where I am, it seems plausible. Here in VT through the month of December I bet it averaged 20* with several days in the teens and several more in single digits. I woke up this morning and it was -3*.

 

[jtakeman]

Each install/stove setup and house variables will be different. There are lots of different factor's involved. The homes heat-loss is at the top of the list. Its going to take X-amount of BTU's to maintain the heat in the house. We could compare it to what you have spent in the last season, But would also need the weather variance as this has been a very cold December.

The first season with pellets is the toughest as you spoil yourself with the heat they force at you. Just like the other form of heat you were using, The only way to save is to reduce the thermostats set point. Or start with a programmable stat and reduce the temp while you are away from home and are a sleep(set back). You can also start playing with different pellets. Looking at my testing for this season you will see that some brands put out goobs of heat but don't last very long in the burn length department. While others have reduced temps and last longer. Some give you a happy medium. Size and density effect the amount of fuel used.

https://www.hearth.com/econtent/index.php/forums/viewthread/60581/

They don't call that stove the Maxx for nothing, Everything about it including the amount of fuel it eats is LARGE! But it could be worse? You could have bought a smaller stove and been marginally warm with the stove blasting on high. Would you be as comfy? I think not! If your frugal(like me) you will tinker until you find what is comfy, But still saving a bit of cash! Choose the pellets wisely and reduce the amount it is eating by dropping temps or using set back on a thermostat.

The fun has just begun!

 

[JoeS]

I can easily go through 2 bags a day when it is below 30 degrees outside. But what have you saved in heating costs when compared to your boiler?

Keep in mind you are keeping the house 6-8 degrees warmer as well.

 

[JBlank912]

I have a Lopi Yankee and live in Northern NJ mountains. Its been a cold winter so far. I don't think its gone above freezing in a month. With it this cold, I go thru 1.5 to 2 bags a day. So 1 ton in a month is in line. Although my house is smaller then yours, the main room with the pellet stove is a cathedral ceiling, and i use the stove to do most of the heating with the Oil for supplement. So I would say your in line. I also find that the pellet brands matter a lot. The first year I used Pennington,and the low heat output of them caused me to go thru more pellets. This yea I have Hammers and I am able to set the feed rate lower for the same heat output.

 

[ironpony]

we are also about 20 degrees below normal here in ohio
I burn a ton a month in these conditions, so I think you are
in the normal range.
200 bucks (give or take) a month for heat is cheap to me
and it is warmer than other heat

 

[Rooscooter]

I have 2 Bosca Spirit 500's heating around 4800SF and use about 1 to 1 1/4 bags per stove per day when it's cold. Even on the coldest days I can't remember using 2 bags a day per stove.

 

[imacman]

Heating that large a house (2600 sq. ft) just with a pellet stove, given how cold this december has been, does not seem out of line to me.

If you use 1.5 bags a day x 31 days = 47 bags. If you like the nice comfy 68-70 degree house, vs. the 62 degree house, then I think you're doing fine.

And if you bought pellets at around $200/ton, then your daily costs for pellets is $6.

Typical oil usage for a house that size is somewhere around 3-4 gal/day, x approx $2.60/gal = $9/day

Which is better? $6/day for 70 degree house, or $9/day for 62 degree house?

And yes, I would install a programmable stat on that stove....don't worry about the ignitor....their not that expensive, especially from a place like Grainger.

 

[Fsappo]

I wanna know where Imac can buy oil for $2.60 per gallon!

 

[Taperbill]

I agree ..except heating oil is over 3.30 here in Minny and with
oil to go over $ 5 in the next 2 years this will seem cheap.

We want the Vick wonder to beat the Vikes.

higher draft choice.

 

[imacman]

I wanna know where Imac can buy oil for $2.60 per gallon!

Well, I made an assumption that the OP probably bought their HHO at least 2-3 months ago, and that was the price around here then. I paid $2.32 in August.

CODoil.com has it right now for $2.99 ($2.99 x 3.5 gal/day = $10.50), and pellets right now available at around $190/ton ($3.80/bag x 1.5 =$5.70/day)

So, even if the price is higher for the HHO, that makes the pellets an even better deal!

 

[UncleAnthony]

I'm a new pellet stove owner, had the Enviro Maxx installed 12/3. We've just gone through our first ton of pellets (Curran Renewable Energy brand, out of Massena, NY if that matters). I'm sort of freaked out by how quickly we went through pellets. Yes, its a big stove with the potential to put out a lot of heat but we keep it on setting 2 out of 5 the majority of the time. We're heating 2600 sq feet, and admittedly it has been at a comfortable 68-70 most of the time (which is a far cry better than the 62 it was with the oil boiler). I guess I just need either reassurance that this usage isn't abnormal, or thoughts on why we might be going through pellets so quickly.

Also, I'm of the opinion we should have a thermostat installed. The husband thinks I'm crazy and has some notion in his mind that its not good for the stove to kick on and off. Thoughts?

Hi peacockrocks,
Yes, with my Enviromaxx I go thru about a ton/month. The usage is not abnormal, running 24/7 for a month.
At first I said yikes (!), but am much warmer than oil, at sometimes much lower price. Remembering that your
stove has those three xtra buttons ,one for trim, you could try putting trim lower to lower the temp a little.
Yes a thermostat is a good idea, so stove can idle at certain times. There are many good posts here about
thermostats.
Stay warm !

 

[richg]

One ton is 25 days of cold weather is nothig to be alarmed about. If you want to decrease pellet usage, increase your insulation. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

 

[drtnshtr]

wow I feel really good about my pellet usage now. My house is only a 1400 sq ft cape code so I dont need a bunch of BTU's to heat it. I use about 1/2 a ton/month in my US Stove 5500 XL and thats keeping it between 75-80 downstairs and 70 upstairs. I dont have a thermostat or Im sure it would be less than that. I am in central Ohio too. I burn primarily American Wood Fibers pellets although I have been getting Somersets on sale at Menards lately. No OAK kit either. I can see a huge difference this year over last year thanks to new windows I put in and some R30 insulation in the attic.

 

[mascoma]

Does not sound out of line at all.
I can run through a ton in about 3 weeks in dead of winter heating a drafty 1600Sqft cape to 77 downstairs, 68 upstairs.

 

[esuitt]

Southern Pa here and I can burn up to 2 bags a day. I use Lignetics. The cost of pellets is by far better then the cost of oil forced air.

 

[katwillny]

Heating that large a house (2600 sq. ft) just with a pellet stove, given how cold this december has been, does not seem out of line to me.

If you use 1.5 bags a day x 31 days = 47 bags. If you like the nice comfy 68-70 degree house, vs. the 62 degree house, then I think you're doing fine.

And if you bought pellets at around $200/ton, then your daily costs for pellets is $6.

Typical oil usage for a house that size is somewhere around 3-4 gal/day, x approx $2.60/gal = $9/day

Which is better? $6/day for 70 degree house, or $9/day for 62 degree house?

And yes, I would install a programmable stat on that stove....don't worry about the ignitor....their not that expensive, especially from a place like Grainger.

This kind of info is why I love this Forum. Really puts things into perspective... Thanks Pete.

 

[Cranky64]

I have the Greenfire GFi55 and my house is 3150sf. I have an 18 foot ceiling in the family room where the insert is located. I close the doors in 3 of the unused upstairs bedrooms. I’m running mine 24/7 and try to keep the house about 66 during the wake hours and 60-62 while in bed. I have only had this since the 11 of Dec but I figure I’m using about 10-12 bags a week. A few very windy cold nights the A/C I mean heat-pumps have kicked in at 59f on the first floor but only run a few times an hour instead of 55 min an hour.

The insert came with 2 tons of O’Malleys

 

[peacockrocks]

Thanks, everyone! I really appreciate all the feedback. I'm going to calm down about the pellet usage and just enjoy the heck out of being warm. It really is fantastic. I wish I had listened to my husband years ago when he tried to convince me we should get a pellet stove!

Happy New Year!!