not sure which is better

[chrisasst]

I have a thermostat and I have my stove on hi/low. I am trying to figure out which would use less pellets. I have 5 heat settings. So, is it better to set my stove higher so it takes less time to reach the desired temp but uses more pellets per dropping, or should I set my stove one lower which takes more time to heat up but uses less pellets per dropping. What do you guys do? Which do you think uses less pellets or will it equal out to about the same.

 

[imacman]

I have a thermostat and I have my stove on hi/low. I am trying to figure out which would use less pellets. I have 5 heat settings. So, is it better to set my stove higher so it takes less time to reach the desired temp but uses more pellets per dropping, or should I set my stove one lower which takes more time to heat up but uses less pellets per dropping. What do you guys do? Which do you think uses less pellets or will it equal out to about the same.

Chris, this would be a tough one for anyone to answer, even if they had the exact same stove. Differences in flue, brand of pellets, etc will affect the results.

I suggest you do a controlled test. Put a measured amount of pellets in an empty hopper, and run one way...time it until it runs out. Then change to other setting, and repeat with exact same amount of pellets.

IMO, I think it will just about even out.

On a stove like mine that has the newest Englander control board, I have the choice of on-off, or hi-lo.
While the temps outside are not too cold, I'm running on on-off. When it becomes consistently cold out, I'll switch to lo-hi.