Pellet consumption?

[Cedarjunki]

Those of you still heating with pellets alone. How much are you you using a day right now? I know its going to vary alot depending on location..
Are you on a thermostat or just running off the boards?

 

[Cory S]

Been burning between 28-33lbs/day through my P61A last few days. Maintaining 67-68* in the house. It was in the 30's yesterday and today, and a frigid 19*F this morning. Stove setting as low as it goes to heat 1900 sq/ft. Super insulated and airtight home. Auger "ON" cycle of 12.7-14.98 seconds a minute. Burning premium LG Granule softwoods.

 

[alternativeheat]

I'm not on pellets at the moment but from experience I can tell you that right now with mid 20's nights and high 30's day's, depending on wind, clouds, sun ( solar thermal warming conditions) I basically would be burning 1 to 1-1/2 bags per day in my P61 heating fully 1800 sq ft. 73deg. day and night. Moderately insulated old cape with decent windows and doors. In the steady cold weather it would be 2 bags .

 

[Cedarjunki]

So a bag a day isnt horrible i guess? Im burning up some garbage pellets i bought but just curious what others are actually going thru... in an old 700sq mobile home only half remodeled/reinsulated.. thermostat about half way from stove and bedroom set at 71 and still need to add a bit of heat in the bedroom to make the wife a little less b****y

 

[jss227]

I've burned 27 bags heating 1600 sq. ft. since the 1st. 20 degrees right now and have the little 25pdvc cranked up to 4.

 

[Cory S]

So a bag a day isnt horrible i guess? Im burning up some garbage pellets i bought but just curious what others are actually going thru... in an old 700sq mobile home only half remodeled/reinsulated.. thermostat about half way from stove and bedroom set at 71 and still need to add a bit of heat in the bedroom to make the wife a little less b****y

There are so many variables in calculating BTU's needed to maintain a certain inside temperature. Given your said 700 sq/ft heating area, I would say the air exchange is rather large if the stove output is around 13,500BTU/hour to maintain a comfortable living space. When it gets super fridgid outside (below 15* etc), I think you are going to be burning quite a bit more than a bag a day.........The coldness in the bedroom is probably just air movement/management.

 

[alternativeheat]

So a bag a day isnt horrible i guess? Im burning up some garbage pellets i bought but just curious what others are actually going thru... in an old 700sq mobile home only half remodeled/reinsulated.. thermostat about half way from stove and bedroom set at 71 and still need to add a bit of heat in the bedroom to make the wife a little less b****y

How tight the dwelling is is key. And I certainly know mine could be tighter and just better insulated. It's tough to heat the great outdoors ! The looser the house/dwelling , the more of that you are doing.

 

[Cedarjunki]

How tight the dwelling is is key.

Thats my problem... the cold bedroom is the originally built mobile home walls/ceiling.. havnt got that far yet. we all know how well they are made right? :-/

 

[johneh]

I am burning a bag a day and will be until sometime next April
Some very cold days in December through Feb I may burn 1 1/5 bags a day
It has been the same the last 14 years and I do not expect any changes
We keep the house at 70 year round

 

[Bioburner]

About a bucket of corn a day. Let the propane take up the slack so it bumps up the house early AM. Still averaging above normal outside temps which is a big difference over last year.

 

[Cory S]

Another rather large difference in fuel usage, is the desired inside comfort level. Over the years of experimenting with temperature algorithms and theory, I have found an amazing difference in what it takes in cost and fuel itself to maintain inside temperatures to higher differentials than the outside temperatures. One year, with propane, I used 100 gallons (about $329.00 at the time) LESS propane keeping the inside temperature at 67 VS 69*. Once you get used to 67*, it's really not bad. It came out to about a 15% less fuel cost per 5 month heating season for a mere 2* difference in comfort level. I am shocked that many keep their homes at 72-75*F. We both feel a tad too warm if the thermostat starts heading above 69*...

 

[Cedarjunki]

There are so many variables in calculating BTU's needed to maintain a certain inside temperature. Given your said 700 sq/ft heating area, I would say the air exchange is rather large if the stove output is around 13,500BTU/hour to maintain a comfortable living space. When it gets super fridgid outside (below 15* etc), I think you are going to be burning quite a bit more than a bag a day.........The coldness in the bedroom is probably just air movement/management.

Another rather large difference in fuel usage, is the desired inside comfort level. Over the years of experimenting with temperature algorithms and theory, I have found an amazing difference in what it takes in cost and fuel itself to maintain inside temperatures to higher differentials than the outside temperatures. One year, with propane, I used 100 gallons (about $329.00 at the time) LESS propane keeping the inside temperature at 67 VS 69*. Once you get used to 67*, it's really not bad. It came out to about a 15% less fuel cost per 5 month heating season for a mere 2* difference in comfort level. I am shocked that many keep their homes at 72-75*F. We both feel a tad too warm if the thermostat starts heading above 69*...

I temporarily mounted my thermostat where it is.. setting it at 71 keeps the stove/living room at 73 and the bedroom at a chilly 64/65ish.. perfect for me to sleep but she isnt happy

 

[Pete Zahria]

We both feel a tad too warm if the thermostat starts heading above 69*...

ditto
Starting back in the early 70's, when the oil crunch started,
we got used to setting the temp to 65°.
Raised our two kiddos that way.
Today, we splurge some compared to those days.
We go 67-69 usually.
It wasn't "all" bad going through those tough times.
We got used to cooler temps. Don't regret it today.

Dan

 

[Cory S]

I temporarily mounted my thermostat where it is.. setting it at 71 keeps the stove/living room at 73 and the bedroom at a chilly 64/65ish.. perfect for me to sleep but she isnt happy

Anyway you can move some of that air into the bedroom? Maybe a floor fan blowing near floor level from the bedroom out towards the living room area? This would bring the warm air along the ceiling and into the bedroom better under typical airflow fundamentals.

 

[Cedarjunki]

Anyway you can move some of that air into the bedroom? Maybe a floor fan blowing near floor level from the bedroom out towards the living room area? This would bring the warm air along the ceiling and into the bedroom better under typical airflow fundamentals.

I have tried just about everything with fans.. currently a doorway fan blowing towards the bedroom area and a small fan in the bedroom doorway blowing towards the living room.. it works to an extent. My problem is the heat needs to go thru my kitchen and an 8 foot hallway before getting to the bedroom.. i plan on picking up a small propane wall heater tomorrow and placing it in the hallway outside the bedroom to suppliment it.. i know the risks dangers and etc.. mid 70s mobile home... plenty of leaks for fresh air. Have 5 smoke detectors and 3 co2 alarms monitoring... Had one in the living room past 2 years no problems and leave it on just in case the pellets go out.

 

[Cory S]

Do you know where the largest heat loss is in your home? Sounds like there's a couple large ones somewhere? How about the skirting outside? Are your floors cold? Cold floors will push the warmer air out of the walls, windows and roof easily.

 

[Cedarjunki]

Do you know where the largest heat loss is in your home? Sounds like there's a couple large ones somewhere? How about the skirting outside? Are your floors cold? Cold floors will push the warmer air out of the walls, windows and roof easily.

Mainly the hallway..with the cheap azz old mobile home door. And the bedroom itself still has the original insulation and windows.. if you want to call whats in these walls insulation anyways.... i just havnt gotten that far yet.

 

[Cory S]

How about a electric space heater on the 750W setting in the bedroom? Running one @ 750W for 8 hours a day, would only cost about $26-30.00/month.

 

[Park]

40 lbs every 36 to 48 hrs for the last month, going down to -18c tonight, coldest so far.

 

[wally1234]

I have a raised ranch 1700 sqft.. Insert is down stairs in finished basement. We have the heat at 73 so we can try to feel it upstairs. Seems a lot faster than a bag a day:-(

 

[Cedarjunki]

40 lbs every 36 to 48 hrs for the last month, going down to -18c tonight, coldest so far.

I can only get about 30 hours out of a bag running it as low as it will possibly run.

How about a electric space heater on the 750W setting in the bedroom?

I have electric baseboard in the bedroom. Just trying to avoid using it.. i guess my expectations were just a little too high when i installes the 25pdv. Thinking bigger stove = no problem.. with only 700sq to heat i imagined that the stove wouldnt really need to work much at all to heat the place. Up until the other day ive only been able to run it on 1 otherwise it would get way too warm.

But having it on a thermostat is nice but also not so nice at the same time.. having the blower on 9 all the time barely blows warm air when the stove is at idle. To the point it feels cold coming out of the stove. And then as it calls for heat it takes a while before the air gets hot coming out... i may disconnect the stat and run it manually a couple days to see if it will be any better.. maybe running at a constant lower setting and the fan down to same setting so its constant hot air circulating my work better for me.

 

[Cory S]

Try running it in manual mode with a consistent burn. Start low, then turn it up slowly after each hour, and monitor the heat coming from the stove. Pick up a wood stove magnetic thermometer and put it at the hottest spot on the stove. Then monitor the surface temperatures on each heat setting.

 

[Cedarjunki]

Its a whole lot of trial and error i do understand that. This is what i heat my 3,000sq ft shop with everyday.. its a monster 4ft deep 2ft wide and 3ft tall burn chamber... so cutting the heat back and going home to 64/65 degrees just doesnt cut it. I like heat.. i must be getting old :-/

 

[TimfromMA]

We have been averaging about ½ bag per day over the past few days due to overnight temperatures dropping into the lower 20’s. My stove has 2 thermostat modes, t-stat and smartstat. T-stat will cycle the stove high when heat is needed and low when it is not but never actually shut the stove off. Smartstat works just like t-stat except the stove shuts off after an hour of running on low. The stove then turns back on when heat is needed. I typically run in smartstat mode during the day and t-stat at night. When we start getting consistant sub-freezing temperatures durning the day, I’ll run on t-stat 24/7 while only shutting the stove off for cleanings.

 

[alternativeheat]

ditto
Starting back in the early 70's, when the oil crunch started,
we got used to setting the temp to 65°.
Raised our two kiddos that way.
Today, we splurge some compared to those days.
We go 67-69 usually.
It wasn't "all" bad going through those tough times.
We got used to cooler temps. Don't regret it today.

Dan

In the early years of our marriage we got comfortable at a house temp of 64, running central heat alone. Then when I put in the coal stove I found I could heat to 69 in the main living area for less money than previously on oil alone to 64degf., combining coal and oil at night. This was a temp that allowed the heat to cycle periodically and so the upstairs bedrooms didn't get too cold on those 0deg and single digit nights. Now I'm 65 yo, take multi blood pressure meds and other meds, when I get cold, I'm staying cold LOL until I really warm up with over heating the house or I go to bed !! At this age I get like bone cold. Since those years when my now adult children were young kids the house is tighter than then, the boiler upgraded, the steady constant almost one heat setting radiant only coal stove replaced with the P61 pellet stove with variable heat output options, I have all sorts of options to keep my living space warm enough that I don't get cold to begin with.. Nope, living room, dining room, downstairs hall on pellets I run up to 73 ( thermostat is in the dining room), it just seems to end up there and that makes the rest of the place pretty nice.. If I run oil alone we keep the house at 68-69 but it's that way throughout, in fact upstairs gets a little too warm on oil alone, 67 being a better setting at night.. if I want to combine oil and pellets, I go into stove temp mode and central heat back to 69 again. It all works. Nobody knows heating this particular house like I do, almost 40 years of doing it..

conclusion: We splurge a little too, raised 5 kids here long gone from the nest. i like being comfortable. in the summer I AC the house to 73.