Pellet Stove Upgrade

[jcleary47]

So I've been using a Regency Greenfire GF55 in my home for about 2 seasons now, and I've been somewhat disappointed with the heating ability thus far. Last season I used maybe 3.5-4 tons, and I'm going to use over 4 tons this season. I know it's been colder than last winter, but still seems like a lot.

My home is about 2500 sq feet with a pretty open floor plan downstairs, and fortunately the stove points right at the stairs so the upstairs gets pretty good air from the stove.

But I've found the stove struggling to keep up when the temperature gets below 20. I run it on the 4th setting, one below the highest and the downstairs and upstairs are typically in the low 60's. I like it to be close to 70.

I didn't know if maybe the size of the stove is the problem or what and if it would even be worth upgrading.

 

[Clay H]

How big is your house? Maybe trying to heat more than the stove is rated for or the thermal efficiency of you home is low.

 

[Ctcarl]

I had a used enviro ef3 a year and a half ago that I traded it.Including poor heat also had issues with it.Did research and for my house 1800 split my Harman p35i is blazing.I did 6 months of research before I decided on what I wanted. Good luck

 

[Hoot23]

I'm heating a little over 2000 sq ft and burn between 4.5 to 5.5 ton a season. The downstairs stays between 72-74 and upstairs is an even 73. Not sure what your stove is rated for, but if the 55 means 55,000 btu. Then you might be pushing the limit.

 

[Hoot23]

Just looked up your stove and if you are trying to heat the whole house, it's undersized. 45,000 btu and rated for 2000sq ft. The GF60 is rated for 2500sq ft, and that still might be pushing it.

Our Harman's working great, even with this cold weather. Not struggling at all. I'm not positive, but the p61a might be the next stove in line as far as btu's go.

 

[jcleary47]

Thanks for the input...I was actually looking at the Harman P61A shortly after I made my post. I think that could be the ticket, and I believe it will fit on the hearth pad I built for my GF55 so I wouldn't have to swap that out for a bigger one.

I'll probably put the feelers out in the spring or summer and see if I can sell my GF55.

 

[chken]

So I've been using a Regency Greenfire GF55 in my home for about 2 seasons now, and I've been somewhat disappointed with the heating ability thus far. Last season I used maybe 3.5-4 tons, and I'm going to use over 4 tons this season. I know it's been colder than last winter, but still seems like a lot.

My home is about 2500 sq feet with a pretty open floor plan downstairs, and fortunately the stove points right at the stairs so the upstairs gets pretty good air from the stove.

But I've found the stove struggling to keep up when the temperature gets below 20. I run it on the 4th setting, one below the highest and the downstairs and upstairs are typically in the low 60's. I like it to be close to 70.

I didn't know if maybe the size of the stove is the problem or what and if it would even be worth upgrading.

Is there a reason you can't run it on its highest setting to get the heat you want?

 

[Ctcarl]

Thanks for the input...I was actually looking at the Harman P61A shortly after I made my post. I think that could be the ticket, and I believe it will fit on the hearth pad I built for my GF55 so I wouldn't have to swap that out for a bigger one.

I'll probably put the feelers out in the spring or summer and see if I can sell my GF55.

I got $200 for a trade in my my beat up inviro.My wife is a paralegal and there was a case wear somebody is suing a person cause there house caught in fire. So there suing the person they got it from. That's one reason I didn't put mine on Craigslist . Good luck

 

[alternativeheat]

I got $200 for a trade in my my beat up inviro.My wife is a paralegal and there was a case wear somebody is suing a person cause there house caught in fire. So there suing the person they got it from. That's one reason I didn't put mine on Craigslist . Good luck

ya, my wife said tome just yesterday, if someone in the family might want our old coal stove. I said no way, if anything goes wrong it isn't going to be on us. I built that stove, installed it when things were lenient, no UL listing etc. Nope and nope. Junk it, we got more than 30 years out of it, it owes us O.

Now for the final decision, P52i or P61a, install myself or have it done. ?I have the dough for either, just got to make up my mind.

 

[P38X2]

P61A, install it yourself.

 

[alternativeheat]

P61A, install it yourself.

I am leaning in that direction actually. Here is the thing, I'd like to vent straight out the back of the fireplace vs up the chimney. I don't think that can be done with the insert. I can do that with the P61a. Clean out would be a snap this way, Just a bit of a chore to chip out the block on install. But going up is no bargain either, the chimney runs nearly 32 ft up from ground level and it won't be me going up there for any reason what so ever, unless someone puts in an elevator !

 

[Bioburner]

Making holes in most anything these days is not hard with the right rental tool.

 

[Ctcarl]

ya, my wife said tome just yesterday, if someone in the family might want our old coal stove. I said no way, if anything goes wrong it isn't going to be on us. I built that stove, installed it when things were lenient, no UL listing etc. Nope and nope. Junk it, we got more than 30 years out of it, it owes us O.

Now for the final decision, P52i or P61a, install myself or have it done. ?I have the dough for either, just got to make up my mind.

I'm sure you will be happy with either.Me and my wife like the insert for the sitting around the fireplace feel an look.I also fell in love with the p35i black look.Good luck

 

[alternativeheat]

I'm sure you will be happy with either.Me and my wife like the insert for the sitting around the fireplace feel an look.I also fell in love with the p35i black look.Good luck

We like the P52i in black, the wife doesn't like the silver on any of the stoves.

Well I can't do anything till I shut down my coal stove and pull it off the hearth. I have a plate behind the stove that has to be removed to get measurements. i say we like the P52i but on the assumption that it will fit the darned fireplace ( I think it will with room to spare).

I am now off this subject as I'm hogging into the OP's thread here !! I may post my own though.

 

[DOLLARBILL]

if your going to buy the 61 step up to the 68 you will not be sorry look at it this way if you need extra youve got it !

 

[Mt Bob]

The stove(whichever one you buy)would have the ability for maximum output and run better the shorter the flue.If it were for looks,run up the chimney.For maximum useability,go out the back.

 

[P38X2]

I'd go right out the back. Like Bioburner said, rent or borrow the right tool. It'll be easier and MUCH neater than drilling a bunch if small holes and busting it out caveman style. Also make for a MUCH easier patch should you ever put it on the market.

ETA- This response is to any applicable party in the thread

 

[alternativeheat]

I'd go right out the back. Like Bioburner said, rent or borrow the right tool. It'll be easier and MUCH neater than drilling a bunch if small holes and busting it out caveman style. Also make for a MUCH easier patch should you ever put it on the market.

ETA- This response it to any applicable party in the thread

I was going to borrow a hammer drill from work and a big hole saw ( the inner liner of the fireplace is steel as the fireplace has a useless heatolator ). Once the whole is drilled in the steel, then it's brick and mortar the rest of the way out ( may be two courses thick, I don't know that part yet). So, say it's the P61/P68 going in with a two inch stand off from the fireplace ? Then there would be a horizontal run out the back of the fireplace and I assume a T outdoors. That has to be around a 3 ft run, the T and up another 3 ft. according to online instructions. I think this might be approaching a 4" vent. That's fine , I just want to be sure it's correct. And ya, that's better than up about 25 ft. of chimney IMO after running over a smoke shelf etc.

 

[Mt Bob]

Even though your at sea level you would never regret going with 4"

 

[alternativeheat]

Even though your at sea level you would never regret going with 4"

That's what I thought too.

 

[jcleary47]

The reason I don't simply run it on high most of the time is because I sort of feel like I shouldn't have to...I mean, if I fill it in the morning and run it on high all day, if I have to be gone for an extended period of time but want to keep the house warm, it would probably run out of pellets by the end of the day. It's only a 40lb hopper I have on there.
If I am wrong in assuming that a larger more powerful stove will throw more heat on say 3 versus running my current stove running on 4 or 5, then no, perhaps I don't need to upgrade and can just run mine on high.

 

[chken]

The reason I don't simply run it on high most of the time is because I sort of feel like I shouldn't have to...I mean, if I fill it in the morning and run it on high all day, if I have to be gone for an extended period of time but want to keep the house warm, it would probably run out of pellets by the end of the day. It's only a 40lb hopper I have on there.
If I am wrong in assuming that a larger more powerful stove will throw more heat on say 3 versus running my current stove running on 4 or 5, then no, perhaps I don't need to upgrade and can just run mine on high.

Okay, so you don't feel like your stove is putting out enough heat, but you won't turn it up because the hopper is not very large. Have you considered turning it up only when you're home? If you don't want to turn up the stove because the hopper is small, how about turning on the oil furnace to supplement the heat on cold days?

3.5 to 4 tons is about average I think for most people on this board, and probably just a tad below average for Mainers. I mean, that's 420 to 480 gallons of oil, and the average HHO user uses about 800 gallons in Maine. How much oil did you use before switching to pellets?

As for whether a larger stove puts out more heat on 3 than a smaller stove on 4 or 5? I think your stove on max is rated at 45k btus. A P61 has a feed rate of 0.75 to 7.5lbs per hr. A setting about halfway is about 4 lbs an hr, or about 32k btus. That should be about a 4 on your stove.

Personally, I think you need a bigger hopper. I wouldn't get anything less than a 60 lb hopper.

 

[jcleary47]

Yes you are certainly right, a bigger hopper would help. But do they make any sort of hopper extender or replacement for my stove? I can't seem to locate that information

 

[Krik]

Yes you are certainly right, a bigger hopper would help. But do they make any sort of hopper extender or replacement for my stove? I can't seem to locate that information

No approved hopper extension that I've been able to find. The GF55 actually has a 55 lb hopper - for me both the freestanding and the insert run around 8-10 hrs on highest setting (depending on how much the pellets "stick"). I did find a possible alternative in the Hudson River Kinderhook, which has many of the same internals w/ 120 lb hopper. But if the stove doesn't give off enough heat on high, that one wouldn't make sense either.

One thing you should check is that the middle "plate" in the firebox (the name escapes me right now) has an insulation mat behind it. Mine must have been quality-checked on beer night at the factory and didn't have one (it was one of several quality issues - and I'm still annoyed at the stupid door design that makes it impossible to pull the exchanger cleaner rod without opening the door, but I digress). This caused some amount of heat to bypass the heat exchangers. When you're cold, every BTU counts