What size Tank for Gas Freestanding Stove

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Dataman

Minister of Fire
Sep 10, 2018
1,318
Newport, Wa
In the Future I am thinking of Upgrading our Pellet Stove (Harmon XXV From 2018) to Gas Freestanding Stove. Want to do it when we do siding on house and get rid of the two 40 gallon tanks for big tank to feed Gas Cooktop and Freestanding Stove. What size tank to last the Winter in NE Wa State. We see -20 every once in a while. Main source of heat is Cold Weather Heat Pump (Midia G3 Evox good for -20f). Right now no problem with pellets. But I am 67 and in the future I bet it will be difficult to lift 40 lb bags.

Another option is just get 20lb bag if it's difficult.

1st Season of Using Cold Weather Heat Pump is this year. Hopefully cut pellet use by 1/3 (We use 3 Tons normally).

Hoping for 500 gallon tank.

We have 8" Chimney and hope to get the same size BTU as Pellet Stove. Harmon is lacking at -20f. Has hard time keeping up. Burning 2 bags and it keeps house at 70f at most. Typically we have 74f inside hallway.

Just thinking ahead and planning for the Future!
 

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What is your annual consumption of pellets?
 
Long ago I had a heat & glo gas stove for my then 1800 sq-ft house, I would use it exclusively for heat in the fall and would use about a 100lb tank every three weeks (I had two on a combiner). There’s about 24 gallons in each 100lb, in the winter I bet that consumption would have doubled if it could have kept up.

So in my case 6 x 2 x 24 = 288 gallons probably would have been more then enough… the bigger the better in my opinion, my issue lately has been finding someone who wants to loan that big of a tank for 2 appliances (most want to sign you up for autofill).
 
In the Future I am thinking of Upgrading our Pellet Stove (Harmon XXV From 2018) to Gas Freestanding Stove. Want to do it when we do siding on house and get rid of the two 40 gallon tanks for big tank to feed Gas Cooktop and Freestanding Stove. What size tank to last the Winter in NE Wa State. We see -20 every once in a while. Main source of heat is Cold Weather Heat Pump (Midia G3 Evox good for -20f). Right now no problem with pellets. But I am 67 and in the future I bet it will be difficult to lift 40 lb bags.

Another option is just get 20lb bag if it's difficult.

1st Season of Using Cold Weather Heat Pump is this year. Hopefully cut pellet use by 1/3 (We use 3 Tons normally).

Hoping for 500 gallon tank.

We have 8" Chimney and hope to get the same size BTU as Pellet Stove. Harmon is lacking at -20f. Has hard time keeping up. Burning 2 bags and it keeps house at 70f at most. Typically we have 74f inside hallway.

Just thinking ahead and planning for the Future!
re pellets - what I do is pour the 40lb bag into two 5 gallon buckets. It's easier for me to carry down the basement stairs. Also easier to pour into the hopper. If you want to go deluxe you can buy the lids too. You only need to carry one at a time, as 1/2 a bag would last for at least 8 hours. Personally I would not rely on heat pumps only for sure. They freeze up and have to thaw themselves out. Plus if you have no power they are useless. A wide range of options is best. I have 2 heat pumps, pellet stove, and many convect heaters. I burn about 1 bag per day on average at it's in the finished basement, and hard to circulate the heat upstairs.
 
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re pellets - what I do is pour the 40lb bag into two 5 gallon buckets. It's easier for me to carry down the basement stairs. Also easier to pour into the hopper. If you want to go deluxe you can buy the lids too. You only need to carry one at a time, as 1/2 a bag would last for at least 8 hours. Personally I would not rely on heat pumps only for sure. They freeze up and have to thaw themselves out. Plus if you have no power they are useless. A wide range of options is best. I have 2 heat pumps, pellet stove, and many convect heaters. I burn about 1 bag per day on average at it's in the finished basement, and hard to circulate the heat upstairs.
No basement Pellet Stove. Just upstairs on back porch. Just thinking ahead. Thanks
 
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3 Tons without Heat Pump in Cold Weather. I hope for 2 tons this next Season.
I think a thoughtful person could have a hopper built or buy one that allows for easy filling of pail, and pay for delivery into the hopper. A vacuum system could be built as well.

When it comes to cost comparisons I like this site. https://www.efficiencymaine.com/at-home/heating-cost-comparison/


I’m all for planning ahead. And I’d just get the biggest tank I could afford. 500 gallons would be my smallest choice.

My quick googling shows a bag of pellets is about equivalent to 4 gallons of propane. So your 100 bags is about 400 gallons. Someone should check my math. 500 gallon tank is be ok with.