OT: Pellet stoves in northern midwest

Gun guru · Feb 6, 2009

I have a pellet stove and it works well-- however when it is 0F outside or colder the pellet stove cannot maintain an indoor temp of 68f with the stove cranked up all the way. Does anyone here have a pellet stove and live in northern mich. central or north MN or Wisconsin or North Dakota.
There are several factors to think of like, size of home, insulation factor etc.
Thanks.

Brian Jasper co. Ia · Feb 6, 2009

Sounds like it"s time to clean the ashes out of the heat exchanger. Clean the flue too. I had a pellet stove in a drafty old trailer and on more than one occasion I managed to get it so warm inside, a stick of butter melted on the kitchen table. I"m guessing it was nearly 90 a time or two with it being 0 or colder outside. Mine had a plate above the fire pot in the back wall. Removing the plate made it real easy to clean. Also, remove the ash buildup on the walls inside. It makes a huge difference on how much heat radiates from the stove.

Gun guru · Feb 6, 2009

I clean the stove 3 times a week, with a vacuum, I cleaned the vent 2 weeks ago.

The stove is rated at 50,000 btu's. But my house is 2300 sq. feet. And with 18 windows, 3 doors it is tough. My main forced air propane furnace is 150,000 btu's I think.

Ozarker · Feb 6, 2009

You might try a different source of pellets. I'm not aware of any standards as to BTU's per bag. A stove dealer told me last week there are pellets at the big box stores made from peanut hulls. I doubt they will keep up when it is zero outside.

Bob

Walt Davies · Feb 6, 2009

I think that you pretty much answered your own question, 50k versus 150k is a lot of difference. You might want to get another stove for the back of the house and if you don't have them put in ceiling fans. My house is 1800 SQ ft. and I only heat about half of it. These stoves are basically for one room as they don't force the heated air around the house.
Walt

Larry59 · Feb 6, 2009

Interesting subject here. I am thinking of going to the pellit stove myself and not depend so much on the wood around my place as I do. Have cut down about all I really wanted to.
Find around here what some call a full cord is not a full cord and is far less. Yet the going price on split oak is $90.00. Yet it is not a cord.
This makes using the wood furnace at times very costly for a full winter. Unless using stove for only times when electrity goes out and no furnace working here.

S2710 · Feb 6, 2009

I live in west central Wi. I have a 1200 sq.ft. home and I heat it with a pellet stove and can keep it at 70 when we had the 20 to 30 below. Last winter I used 3 ton pellets and 95 gal of propane.
Bob

Larry59 · Feb 6, 2009

So if you broke this down..how many bags a day or week do you think you used? I am thinking they are like 50 lb bags? Thanks

buickddeere · Feb 6, 2009

Mix the fuel to be a blend of 2/3 pellets and 1/3 stoker anthracite coal. That stove will make heat.

SJ · Feb 7, 2009

I bought my 1800sq ft house(2 story contempt)in 1997.The only heat it had was a Harmon pellet stove.I believe at the time this was top of the line product,55,000 btus. for pellet stoves.When I first bought my house it had very few windows and doors.The stove would get the house any temp I wanted it.Im in upstate NY.It can get pretty cold here,though none of that 20-40 below stuff.Over the years Ive put in two patio doors and lots of windows.Good quality products professionaly installed.Well the old stove dont seem to put out like it used to.When it gets down to single digit or below temps,I can keep it about 65 in here.Other than that the only thing I can tell ya is that the key for peak performance of a pellet stove is to keep it clean.I dont know how old your stove is,but mine over the years got leaks in the draft system.That causes havoc in the system.Ive looked at new stoves.I think there made a lot cheaper than mine these days,but better designs have made them alot easier to clean and maintain.Also with the pellet shortage this past fall I had to burn a few off brands that I didnt think were that great either.

Gun guru · Feb 7, 2009

I use about 50-60 lbs per day, Pellets only no corn.

I only use the stove for 12 hours per day in the weekday when I am at work. All day and night on the weekends.

I may put in more insulation in the attic, we will see.

Gun guru · Feb 7, 2009

Interesting.

My house is almost double of yours in size. But, I bet you can get your house up to 80 Degrees F if you wanted to. I cant get my home up past 75F in 20F outside temps no matter how hard I try.

I would love to only use 100 gallons of propane for the winter.

Anonymous-0 · Feb 7, 2009

Just curious, but why is it that hot water heating (radiators) are not more common? You can heat the water any way you want. They even sell pellet fireplaces here that you can look at in your living room that have plumbing for heating water also. Is it cost of materials, codes, or something else?

Again, just curious.

Dave

Related to your question, we have friends that have a pellet boiler that is in a place that used to have a wood/coal boiler that heated most of the house in itself and the water took care of the areas not reached by the heat itself. They constantly were happy with the pellets that were delivered with the original setup, then bought a ton or so from our equal to HD and noticed a big difference. The temps hit lower than normal also, but not lower than 20 F.

Dave

ohiojim · Feb 7, 2009

i think you need to do some math, if you use 60 pounds in 12 hours around here pellets were going for 5.00 a bag of 40 pounds, thats 1 1/2 bags, 7.50 for half a days heat, that's pretty pricey, what you useing for the other half day,..

willie in mn · Feb 7, 2009

Guru
Am about 60 miles north of Mpls Mn. This is 6th season on pellet stove. House is part log cabin, with 4 additions over the years. Even with ceiling fans, circulation is the main problem, can't move heat around a corner & down long hallway. North wind off lake makes the gas unit in original fireplace & gas unit in bedroom kick in. Use 200 bags a season, with some natural gas help when below zero outside.
Have had best results with pellets from Marathon Wi, Marth Brand, bag label says 8000BTU/pound. Get about half a "fireplace scoop" of ash per bag. Have been stung with a couple off brands when supplier was out of the good ones. Either poor heat output or excess ash.
Shut down for cleaning every 7-10 days. There is a removeable plate to exchanger that makes it quick & easy. Roll stove outside in summer so I can really make a mess for thorough cleaning.
A lot less work & mess than regular wood. SWMBO pays the gas bill, so don't have numbers at hand, but she says saves a lot of money.
My 2 cents
Willie

Gun guru · Feb 7, 2009

I have the wife turn the main heat down to 62f when she leaves at 7am. I get home at 4:30 or so and start up the pellet stove and run the propane furnace to warm up the house to 69f.

It costs about $20/day for propane and to run the pellet stove all day costs $10-12/day. You see how it works. However if it real cold outside then the usage goes up for propane and pellets too.

I know that I will use only 700 gallons of propane this winter and if I didnt have the pellet stove I would use 1400 gallons of propane for the winter. 700 gallons of propane saved = $1600 minus the cost of pellets which is $600----Sooooooooo $1000 saved for the winter. (not bad)

Gun guru · Feb 7, 2009

I think that pellet boilers cost more due to piping and installation.

Gun guru · Feb 7, 2009

I have Maeder wood pellets, good quality. I have seen the Marth brand on the internet....most companies are good quality---I would never buy from overseas, like China. Yes China actually sells pellets.

I have a one floor ranch with great room in the middle of the house. Heat distribution is good, 74F great room, 70 in kitchen, 70 in hallway, 67 in bedrooms. 2300sq. feet no basement, or upstairs.

You may want to get another pellet stove for down the hallway, if possible.

Yes it seems much colder in your area of MN then in my area of Michigan, I am at the Lansing/Flint parallel, you are farther north then me.

Gun guru · Feb 7, 2009

Where would I buy Rice coal from.?

I looked on the net and dont see any suppliers around. I would love to get 10 bags of rice coal for extra heat, I dont know if my stove will handle coal though.......It may mess up the stove.

Anonymous-0 · Feb 7, 2009

Better stock up on that coal since our messiah wants to ban ALL coal because of mercury pollution.

Anonymous-0 · Feb 7, 2009

Lots to think of here; does the pellet stove have a circulation system or is it just radiant? Is air flow allowed thru the whole house? 50,000 Btu's is pretty low for 2300 sf unless you are super insulated. You might have a hvac contractor size a system for you since your furnace is 150,000 btu (how old?what efficiency?) Power companies used to do an energy audit, measuring air infiltration evaluating insulation,etc. Or hire a professional photographer to take infrared pics of the home

Gun guru · Feb 7, 2009

Yeah what a crock that is.......I think that when he realizes that 1/2 of all US electricity is made from coal then he will understand how many voters will say NObama in 2012, and change his ways.

RodinNS · Feb 7, 2009

INsulation and such may help you to some degree, but I think your basic problem is that you're trying to heat 2300 square feet with a 50000 BTU stove.
I'd think you need at least double that on cold days. Mabey more. Probably why you have a 150000 BTU furnace...

Rod

Gun guru · Feb 7, 2009

The pellet stove has a blower right on the unit. And it is not ducted into the main house system. It is 50K btu for sure--Mfg. says so.

My main forced air furnace may or maynot be 150k btus, I need to check that.

As far as insulation: I have 8" thick of the blown in cellulose and R-13 in the walls and vinyl windows. House is 10 years old. My forced air main furnace is 96% eff. and it is a Bryant--it sucks.

Gun guru · Feb 7, 2009

I just pulled the cover off the main forced air furnace and it is stated at 75,000 Btus, I dont know why I thought i had a 150k btu---middle age forgetfulness setting in I guess.

I do agree that 50K btus is a little small but almost all the pellet burners out there are 50k btus. Harman makes a 68k btu.
If the real cold temps stay around and propane goes up to $3/gallon then I may get an outdoor wood furnace.----Time will tell..

buickddeere · Feb 7, 2009

50,000btu should roast you out of the house on a 0F day.
I suspect the house isn't very air tight and you are doing the equivalent to trying to heat the house with a couple of windows open.
Around here they leak test building with a frame and massive fan sealed into an outside doorway. The 10HP fan is turned on and drafts show up in all sorts of places.
Ceiling pot lights tend to chimney heat right out of the house. Poorly sealed wall receptacles and switches are another surprise.

Brian Jasper co. Ia · Feb 7, 2009

My old trailer home was 1100 sq ft. I used 2 1/2 ton of pellets and used 500 gal of propane from July to July one year. Yeah, it was drafty. I did stay warm without breaking the bank...

OT: Pellet stoves in northern midwest

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