Pellet stove operation theory 101

[clux]

I'm a relative newb to pellet stoves, starting my third heating season after buying a house with a pellet stove as primary heat in part of the house. I joined Hearth to learn about pellet stoves and I have learned a lot here.

My stove is a Lopi Leyden with a thermostat remote kit installed. When we bought the house there was no remote with the stove, and I ran it one season just on manual.
Last year I found a remote and operated it with the thermostat, but had problems with the remote failing to turn the stove on and off at the presets at times, so this year I installed a new remote kit and it's running well, the stove so far has had no problems heating the space.

My question for you pellet stove experts: from a pellet use perspective is it better to run the stove on a feed low setting so it's burning most of the time, or on a higher setting so it kicks on, warms the space, and shuts off?
Do you have other considerations other than pellet use that determines your feed rate?

 

[johneh]

I run mine on Hi-Low it does not cycle so often and is easier on the igniter
I have never had to change my igniter but my friend with the same stove has replaced his 4 times
running on-off.

 

[Cincinnati Kid]

I'm a relative newb to pellet stoves, starting my third heating season after buying a house with a pellet stove as primary heat in part of the house. I joined Hearth to learn about pellet stoves and I have learned a lot here.

My stove is a Lopi Leyden with a thermostat remote kit installed. When we bought the house there was no remote with the stove, and I ran it one season just on manual.
Last year I found a remote and operated it with the thermostat, but had problems with the remote failing to turn the stove on and off at the presets at times, so this year I installed a new remote kit and it's running well, the stove so far has had no problems heating the space.

My question for you pellet stove experts: from a pellet use perspective is it better to run the stove on a feed low setting so it's burning most of the time, or on a higher setting so it kicks on, warms the space, and shuts off?
Do you have other considerations other than pellet use that determines your feed rate?

In my opinion, you will use less pellets if your stove is set to cycle on and off. I run both my stoves on a continuous burning mode so I use more pellets as my stoves do not cycle on and off. My stoves are 11 years old and the original igniters are still going strong.

 

[tlc1976]

I think it is far better to run the stove at the lowest setting that still burns cleanly and efficiently (doesn’t soot up quickly).

1. More steady heat
2. Less igniter wear
3. Less startup smoke and inefficiency till the stove gets up to temp (if that’s an issue)
4. Less cycling of temperature extremes. Yes the stove is designed for it but I think the constant cycling of high heat and cooldown will accelerate long term metal fatigue.

I would only cycle it if the lowest clean burning setting is too hot for the house.

 

[clux]

I think it is far better to run the stove at the lowest setting that still burns cleanly and efficiently (doesn’t soot up quickly).

1. More steady heat
2. Less igniter wear
3. Less startup smoke and inefficiency till the stove gets up to temp (if that’s an issue)
4. Less cycling of temperature extremes. Yes the stove is designed for it but I think the constant cycling of high heat and cooldown will accelerate long term metal fatigue.

I would only cycle it if the lowest clean burning setting is too hot for the house.

That's how I ran the stove the first season, basically on the lowest or next to lowest setting 24 hours a day. It was only during the coldest week or that I had to run it higher. What I found once I got the thermostat was a number of things.

Less likely to ash up the burn pot and make klinkers running it on/off with the thermostat than trying to run it continuously.
It's harder to get the draft fan just right on the lowest setting so it wasn't sooting or nearly burning out. That's easier to control at a higher setting for me.
I think I used more fuel running continuously, but I'm not 100% sure because every winter is different.

Your points are valid about wear on the igniter and heat cycling, however, to my thinking the saved wear on the igniter comes at the cost of more wear on the fans and auger motor which adds up to a lot of additional hours over the course of the winter. So any saved wear on one part comes at the expense of other parts.

As far as more steady heat, the thermostat shuts down at 2 degrees above set temperature and kicks in at 2 degrees below the set temperature, which is much less fluctuation than I was getting trying to run it continuously on low which probably led to 10*-20* or more fluctuation day/night on a lot of days.

 

[tlc1976]

That's how I ran the stove the first season, basically on the lowest or next to lowest setting 24 hours a day. It was only during the coldest week or that I had to run it higher. What I found once I got the thermostat was a number of things.

Less likely to ash up the burn pot and make klinkers running it on/off with the thermostat than trying to run it continuously.
It's harder to get the draft fan just right on the lowest setting so it wasn't sooting or nearly burning out. That's easier to control at a higher setting for me.
I think I used more fuel running continuously, but I'm not 100% sure because every winter is different.

Your points are valid about wear on the igniter and heat cycling, however, to my thinking the saved wear on the igniter comes at the cost of more wear on the fans and auger motor which adds up to a lot of additional hours over the course of the winter. So any saved wear on one part comes at the expense of other parts.

As far as more steady heat, the thermostat shuts down at 2 degrees above set temperature and kicks in at 2 degrees below the set temperature, which is much less fluctuation than I was getting trying to run it continuously on low which probably led to 10*-20* or more fluctuation day/night on a lot of days.

I started burning Kirtlands which burned like crap, would plug up the pot in 2 days, and would barely even stay lit on low. With the Pro Pellets, I run 24/7 on low for 2 weeks at a time just because that’s when the firebox starts filling up with ash so it’s cleaning time. Don’t do anything in between besides dump in pellets. And the pot is still clean with no plugged holes and very little clinkers.

My setup is very predictable and steady. Each heat range adds about 3 degrees to the house. And generally I run 1 for the 30s outside, 2 for the 20s, 3 for teens, etc. Based on that it’s more efficient for me to quick check the weather app on my phone and choose my heat range to leave it on. Or turn it off for the day.

Wow yeah if I was seeing swings of 10-20 degrees with it running steady, that would be a lot of unnecessary pellets burned. I’d be turning it off long before that.

I agree, the igniter is not a big worry, it’s cheap. And I got spare blowers if they do burn out. It’s the hard parts like the heat exchanger that I would prefer to take it easy on.

Different strokes for different folks. Everyone has a different setup and situation so it’s nice to see what works.

 

[clux]

I started burning Kirtlands which burned like crap, would plug up the pot in 2 days, and would barely even stay lit on low. With the Pro Pellets, I run 24/7 on low for 2 weeks at a time just because that’s when the firebox starts filling up with ash so it’s cleaning time. Don’t do anything in between besides dump in pellets. And the pot is still clean with no plugged holes and very little clinkers.

One of the things I think I've learned is that if I am making klinkers all I have to do is turn up the draft air a little and it will stop.

My setup is very predictable and steady. Each heat range adds about 3 degrees to the house. And generally I run 1 for the 30s outside, 2 for the 20s, 3 for teens, etc. Based on that it’s more efficient for me to quick check the weather app on my phone and choose my heat range to leave it on. Or turn it off for the day.

So there are time you manually turn it off during the day? That's the part I struggled with for constant manual running, I'd turn it off and sometimes come home to a 55* house or leave it on intentionally or by accident and sometimes come home to an 80* house.

Wow yeah if I was seeing swings of 10-20 degrees with it running steady, that would be a lot of unnecessary pellets burned. I’d be turning it off long before that.

I should have said this up front, the room that the pellet stove is in is a garden level 2 story great room with floor to gable windows on one wall and cathedral ceiling. That and it being the lowest point in the house makes cold air flow to it, so the temperature can fluctuates greatly.

 

[tlc1976]

One of the things I think I've learned is that if I am making klinkers all I have to do is turn up the draft air a little and it will stop.

So there are time you manually turn it off during the day? That's the part I struggled with for constant manual running, I'd turn it off and sometimes come home to a 55* house or leave it on intentionally or by accident and sometimes come home to an 80* house.


I should have said this up front, the room that the pellet stove is in is a garden level 2 story great room with floor to gable windows on one wall and cathedral ceiling. That and it being the lowest point in the house makes cold air flow to it, so the temperature can fluctuates greatly.

With the old pellets, I’d turn up the draft a hair and the fire would blow out. Junk pellets. Locals have learned. They’re made in the industrial park literally across the road from the local TSC, yet TSC and family farm and home won’t sell them anymore.

By now I’ve got a good feel for when I can shut it off and when I should leave it running. But I also bought a BroadLink RM4 with temperature/humidity sensor. It monitors the temperature of the house, and I have it send me alerts as the house temperature changes thru the day. And I programmed the stove remote into it. If I see that the weather got warm, I can shut it off remotely. Or if it’s colder than I planned, I can kick it on say an hour before I get home. I also have a cheap WiFi camera aimed at the stove, so I can monitor it, make sure it fully starts up, shuts down, isn’t making weird noises, or errored out, or whatever. Both peace of mind and can save pellets.

 

[mtnbiker727]

I grew up in a house with a wood stove that burned pretty much constantly from say mid-October to April. The temperature was regulated by how much wood was put in it, and how open the vents were, but basically the stove was always hot, or at least warm.

My pellet stove has a room temperature setting and I can flip the switch to disable the igniter. I run it in that way all the time, so the steel of the stove gets hot and stays hot, but when the room doesn't call for the heat, the fan is off, but the pellets keep trickling to keep it lit. When the room calls for the heat, the fan kicks on, and if it calls for more heat, the pellets will start spilling faster. This time of year I start it up when I get up in the morning and run it for about an hour to heat up the house, then I shut it down for the rest of the day.

I think that's a much more pleasant heat than the auto-ignitor function, which makes the stove (and the room) go HOT - cold - HOT - cold... basically like a forced hot air system, which I hate.