Why won't my stove get up to temperature?

[squidsmom]

I have a Quadra-fire Mt. Vernon pellet stove insert. It was installed in October, and today is the first really cold day we've had since installation. I was told the Mt. Vernon is rated for 3500 sq. ft. It is installed in the dining room fireplace, with the thermostat being installed in the living room. There is about 12 feet between the stove and the thermostat. The thermostat is set for 68 degrees, and its never been above 61 all day. Our house is a total of 3500 sq. ft., but I'm not really planning on the stove to heat the second and third floors.

Our first floor consists of the dining and living rooms, a foyer between, a kitchen and pantry, and half-bath. The kitchen hasn't gotten warmer than 55 degrees all day. There is a stairway off the foyer.

What gives? Was I sold a bill of goods? The thermostat in dining room (not controlling the pellet stove) won't even get above 65

It seems to be burning a lot of pellets, but not putting out much heat.

Please help. I really don't want to call the company who installed it. They were less than professional to deal with.

Thanks,
Squidsmom

 

[firewarrior820]

how many pellets buned in a day 1 bag-2?
i'd crank that thermostat to 80 degree to see if it makes a difference
i have a castile, does your insert have a low ,med.,high switch like mine does

i looked at your manual on line, your settings for your stove are all in your thermostat along with flame height
i dont know if this helps

 

[woodsman23]

3,500 sq ft i am thinking you got a huge bill of goods, unless your house is a total open floor plan it is nearly impossible to heat that much space with a pellet stove. I would do as said above and raise the thermostat to 80 and see what happens. What BTU rating is your stove

3,500 sq ft mmmmmmmmmmmm Not gonna happen.

 

[BrotherBart]

Quad clams 3,800 sq. ft. at 7 pounds of pellets per hour. 60,000 BTU.

 

[Xena]

Maybe the t'stat is junk? Crank that stove up
and see if it pumps out the heat. At the least,
you should be able to cook everyone out of
the room it's installed in.

 

[BadDad320]

Agree with Zeta...... Crank it up, you should be able to bake that first floor.....

 

[Chief Ryan]

I have a Breckwell pellet stove in my hunting cabin. I don't have a T'Stat but there are controls on the side to increase pellet feed, blower speed. There's also something called trim. It's for different pellet types. Some pellets have higher BTU's then others. I don't know if the unit will ramp up to try and reach setpoint after a certain amount of time but like the other guys said try cranking up the t'stat. Mine has 1 (coolest) to 5 (hottest) on a control panel to control heat output.

Good Luck

 

[stoveguy13]

New England that stove is good for 2200-2800 sqft what setting are you running on?

 

[hossthehermit]

I have a Quadra-fire Mt. Vernon pellet stove insert. It was installed in October, and today is the first really cold day we've had since installation. I was told the Mt. Vernon is rated for 3500 sq. ft. It is installed in the dining room fireplace, with the thermostat being installed in the living room. There is about 12 feet between the stove and the thermostat. The thermostat is set for 68 degrees, and its never been above 61 all day. Our house is a total of 3500 sq. ft., but I'm not really planning on the stove to heat the second and third floors.

Our first floor consists of the dining and living rooms, a foyer between, a kitchen and pantry, and half-bath. The kitchen hasn't gotten warmer than 55 degrees all day. There is a stairway off the foyer.

What gives? Was I sold a bill of goods? The thermostat in dining room (not controlling the pellet stove) won't even get above 65

It seems to be burning a lot of pellets, but not putting out much heat.

Please help. I really don't want to call the company who installed it. They were less than professional to deal with.

Thanks,
Squidsmom

Well, based on my experience, people that have a foyer and a pantry, and a thermostat in the dining room (that doesn't control the pellet stove, but won't get above 65 degrees), that "seem to be burning a lot of pellets", have probably been taken advantage of by some unscrupulous dealer/installer, and should immediately apply for a bail-out, disaster relief, and go into counselling while discussing appropriate compensation with their attorney for their untold pain and suffering. But, then again, that's just my opinion

 

[JoeS]

First of all let me start out by saying that I also have a Quad Mt. Vernon AE. I am sitting here typing this while my AE is heating 3,500 sq/ft. It is about 30 degrees outside and close to 71 in my house so the stove is more than capable of heating the area you have mentioned. What are you running on? What heat output? Are you running on auto or manual. Right now I have mine set at the highest heat output (5) and on manual set at 73 degrees with a flame height set at -3.

 

[woodsman23]

First of all let me start out by saying that I also have a Quad Mt. Vernon AE. I am sitting here typing this while my AE is heating 3,500 sq/ft. It is about 30 degrees outside and close to 71 in my house so the stove is more than capable of heating the area you have mentioned. What are you running on? What heat output? Are you running on auto or manual. Right now I have mine set at the highest heat output (5) and on manual set at 73 degrees with a flame height set at -3.

It may well heat your space but at what cost???, run it on high 24/7?

 

[firewarrior820]

First of all let me start out by saying that I also have a Quad Mt. Vernon AE. I am sitting here typing this while my AE is heating 3,500 sq/ft. It is about 30 degrees outside and close to 71 in my house so the stove is more than capable of heating the area you have mentioned. What are you running on? What heat output? Are you running on auto or manual. Right now I have mine set at the highest heat output (5) and on manual set at 73 degrees with a flame height set at -3.

It may well heat your space but at what cost???, run it on high 24/7?

Is this thread about what it cost to run the stove?

 

[JoeS]

First of all let me start out by saying that I also have a Quad Mt. Vernon AE. I am sitting here typing this while my AE is heating 3,500 sq/ft. It is about 30 degrees outside and close to 71 in my house so the stove is more than capable of heating the area you have mentioned. What are you running on? What heat output? Are you running on auto or manual. Right now I have mine set at the highest heat output (5) and on manual set at 73 degrees with a flame height set at -3.

It may well heat your space but at what cost???, run it on high 24/7?

No, it is only on high when the temps get down in the 30 degree or less range. When it is really cold I can go through 2 1/2 - 3 bags a day but it is much cheaper than the alternative, PROPAIN. Plus the house is much warmer with the stove. I would never heat to 71 degrees with propane. I am saving money with this stove.

 

[squidsmom]

"Well, based on my experience, people that have a foyer and a pantry, and a thermostat in the dining room (that doesn’t control the pellet stove, but won’t get above 65 degrees), that “seem to be burning a lot of pellets”, have probably been taken advantage of by some unscrupulous dealer/installer, and should immediately apply for a bail-out, disaster relief, and go into counselling while discussing appropriate compensation with their attorney for their untold pain and suffering. But, then again, that’s just my opinion"

Hey, just because I have a "foyer and a pantry, along with a thermostat in the dining room (that doesn't control the pellet stove..." (it runs the oil furnace) doesn't mean I'm stupid. It simply means we've saved a house built in 1911. And I'd apply for a bail-out, etc. but I'm responsible and I've always paid all my bills and not lived outside my means so no one would help me.

I'm just a woman who's never owned a pellet stove before, trying to get a little friendly advice.

 

[squidsmom]

First of all let me start out by saying that I also have a Quad Mt. Vernon AE. I am sitting here typing this while my AE is heating 3,500 sq/ft. It is about 30 degrees outside and close to 71 in my house so the stove is more than capable of heating the area you have mentioned. What are you running on? What heat output? Are you running on auto or manual. Right now I have mine set at the highest heat output (5) and on manual set at 73 degrees with a flame height set at -3.

Hubbie has set our stove to the specs you mention above. Hopefully, this will warm up our house. I appreciate your help, and will follow-up tomorrow.

 

[woodsman23]

First of all let me start out by saying that I also have a Quad Mt. Vernon AE. I am sitting here typing this while my AE is heating 3,500 sq/ft. It is about 30 degrees outside and close to 71 in my house so the stove is more than capable of heating the area you have mentioned. What are you running on? What heat output? Are you running on auto or manual. Right now I have mine set at the highest heat output (5) and on manual set at 73 degrees with a flame height set at -3.

It may well heat your space but at what cost???, run it on high 24/7?

Is this thread about what it cost to run the stove?

 

[mainegeek]

Two things:

The Mt. Vernon AE thermostat can be calibrated against an external thermometer (this may help a bit)

AND

Ceiling fans on low turning counter clockwise. My wife and I have been replacing can lights with ceiling fans across our entire first floor since we got the stove and have found they make a significant difference in moving the heat. You can even buy 30" fans for small hallways...

Good luck!

 

[sinnian]

I don't know your stove and set up, but if you have the flue/damper opened all the way (or too far) then all your heat is just going outside. Might be worth checking.

 

[ResOps]

First of all let me start out by saying that I also have a Quad Mt. Vernon AE. I am sitting here typing this while my AE is heating 3,500 sq/ft. It is about 30 degrees outside and close to 71 in my house so the stove is more than capable of heating the area you have mentioned. What are you running on? What heat output? Are you running on auto or manual. Right now I have mine set at the highest heat output (5) and on manual set at 73 degrees with a flame height set at -3.

Hubbie has set our stove to the specs you mention above. Hopefully, this will warm up our house. I appreciate your help, and will follow-up tomorrow.

That's the thing with the thermostats - they satisfy the area they monitor. My EF3 has just blower speed and auger speed, which is at 50% during the day when we're not home and between 80 -100% at night depending on the outdoor temp (and it gets cold up here so usually the latter).
Squidsmom all you can do is experiment with the settings and remember what someone else said in this post (they are spaceheaters) so you may be extra warm near the stove in order to satisfy the rest of the house. In time you'll have it down pat I'm sure.
Looking forward to the report.