Thermostat or Manual???

[jbooks]

I'm a newbie. We just installed a Enviro Omega and it is working great. The dealer said it is better just to use the manual setting. He said it was unecessary to install a thermostat. After reading lots of posts on this forum which is better? Does the manual setting use more pellets?

 

[eholmes]

Are you using it to heat your house or as suplemental heat? I'm heating my house with the pellet stove and I think the remote programmable t-stat is the way to go. Mine is set at 58 overnight and while at work and 68 in the morning and while we're home at night - all you have to think about is putting in pellets.

PS - running an Enviro M-55 on auto-off.

 

[ronlat]

For me, the therm mode (hi-low) works great in the fringe heating months. Now that it's cold -3F right now it's running full blast anyway. during the fringe months the thermostat saved me alot of money on pellets compared to years of running with no thermostat.

 

[jbooks]

The stove is on the ground floor and we are using it to heat that floor and the one above. We have 3 floors and 3750 sg ft.The second floor we use our heat pump set at 65. The ground floor is 72 and the first floor is 74. We have turned off the heat pump for the first floor completely. We just leave the fan on the furnace. I set the stove on 2 or 3.

 

[THE ROOSTER]

The stove is on the ground floor and we are using it to heat that floor and the one above. We have 3 floors and 3750 sg ft.The second floor we use our heat pump set at 65. The ground floor is 72 and the first floor is 74. We have turned off the heat pump for the first floor completely. We just leave the fan on the furnace. I set the stove on 2 or 3.

I don not have your brand stove, but believe you would want and use T-stat... I also would recommend setting the heat pump @ 60* instead of turning it off...

 

[jtakeman]

jbooks,

I too have the Omega. Monster of a stove and It will really crank out the heat. I have a basement install and fabed distribution system to move my heated air.(heat collecting hood with ducts to each room above. Ducts have booster fans to move the heat. Ugly but works!) Anyway my system doesn't matter. What I have found that using a programmable thermostat has saved me pellets in the long run. As long as you can raise the heat level fairly quick. May be a good option to try. Fringe weather(aka:shoulder season) I use Auto/Off and days below 36°F I go to Hi/lo setting on control board. But my setup has no problems raising my house temp with in a few hours on medium setting #3.

What I would do first is check how long it takes to recover from an idle(stove off or on low) temp. Shut your stove off or go to low for a few hours and record the temp. restart the stove and see how fast it climbs. If it takes hours(or a very long time). It probably isn't worth the going to a stat. But if the heat is raised pretty quickly. Sure add the stat. The programabble stats are the best and have timed windows for away and home settings. Easily found at HD or Lowes cheap.

We could get in a big debate about this. Some will say constant is best and Some will say Auto/Off or Hi/low. You really need to figure out whats best for you and what will be the setup that uses least amount of pellets.

Even if its just for the fringe days as ronlat states it may save pellets in the long haul. Maybe worth having even if just used in a seasonal period.

Keep us posted.
jay

 

[jbooks]

Hi Jay,

When restarting the stove when it has been off for say 2 hours, do I put it on high or just back to 3? I guess a thermostat is the way to go when I go back to work. Which one do you use?
Our furnance is in the ceiling of our ground floor. We installed two vents inthe return and the stove is directly 6 feet away and it is unbelievable that the floor above is warmer than the floor with the stove.

 

[jtakeman]

Hi Jay,

When restarting the stove when it has been off for say 2 hours, do I put it on high or just back to 3? I guess a thermostat is the way to go when I go back to work. Which one do you use?
Our furnance is in the ceiling of our ground floor. We installed two vents inthe return and the stove is directly 6 feet away and it is unbelievable that the floor above is warmer than the floor with the stove.

I have been using #3. Its all I need to recover. You settings may be different. But I would try the setting you are on now to start. But you may have to use #4 to recover quicker. As long as you don't have the stove on the highest settings for long periods of time(more than 2 hours) You should be just fine. But again if it takes a long time to recover, You may be better of just running it on#2 or #3 24/7. Maybe just a stat to control the high temp in the coolest room for the fringe days. This way you won't come home to an overly hot house.

I can believe that the floor above is warmer. Heat naturally rises. And you seem to have good air movement. That is a major plus. I have had to do a lot of hard work to get my air to move better. And I am better now, But my basement is still warmer than the floor above. The negative of a basement install.

You really have to play with what you have. You may have to make adjustments to get what is best for your install and house arrangement. What has worked for me or others. May not work for you. But the principles should be relative. It may take a lot of trial and error to get what works the best. But it sounds like you have a good start. I have been changing mine for more than 3 years and still could use an improvement here or there.

Try to have fun with it and monitor your changes to keep track. Always leave room to go back to where you where.
jay

 

[curtthegreat]

jbooks, This is my 2nd year with a pellet stove, I hooked up a t-stat the day of install. I use both man. and program. t-stat almost the same amount. When it's not real cold, or we are to be gone for awhile, the t-stat is great. Guess I'm saying is it's nice to have options.

 

[slls]

The thermostat does save pellets, on a warm day like this, 35 deg, it is off for a long while.