More questions on Pellet stoves.

2) Won't work.

3) No.

4) You'll save lots of money but check with your insurance company first. All of them here have dropped coverage for houses heated primarily by wood (yes, even wood pellets).

5) A simple auger.

6) Obviously depends on weather, I go through a half bag to a full bag a day if it's way below zero and windy.

Suggestion: get premium pellets, with as few "fines" as possible.

Let me see if I can help you get on the right track on how to gather the correct information.

Every structure has a heating demand expressed as Btu/hr. I won't go into detail as this is a huge list to calculate and beyond the scope of this forum, but an simple example includes items like what your home is made from, window area, heat leakage and climate area, wind shear of the exterior wall surface, etc; all determines what your Btu/hr demand will be.

You should be able to determine approx what your Btu/hr demand is from your past LP usage.

First convert all your calculations to BTU's/pound for comparring heating values of any substance. This is the only accurate way to tell the actual cost to heat/cool with a substance.

You already know your Btu/hr demand from your existing LP unit with some simple math. Look on the mfg label on your LP unit for input and ouput Btu. This will a number like 100,000btu, 120,000btu etc;

Unit effiecncy is = output Btu\ input Btu
100000\120000= 83% efficient under "lab" conditions. You can calculate unit efficiency of a installed unit using the same method (very math intensive).

Just because a mfg list a unit (doesn't matter what kind or brand) efficency as 83%, 95%, etc;, do the math from the attached label to confirm this.

If your going to install this unit yourself, the unit mfg may (most likey) not guarantee the effiecency rating to a homeowner (some contractors too) for a good reason. Example: If the unit uses forced air then if the air ducts are not design and installed correct, the unit efficiency can greatly be reduced. I've seen some 95% rated units down in the 70% effeciency range as installed by contractors.

It's not only the cost per unit measure that you need but also the heating value per pound.

Sorry but I've been retired too long for any current HVAC mfg unit info. Your going to have to rely on the guys here to fill you in on the best units made now.

Being a Energy management engineer, I could probably spend 1hr at your home and save you 30% of your current heating bill on your existing system.

With that in mind you might want to reseach how to make your existing system more efficient, ie; air leakage, clean filters, leaking duct work, damaged duct work, dirty burner, slow fan motor, and the big one HEAT/COLD air leakage, etc;

A infered thermometer is about $60. The best $60 you'll ever spend for this project!

T_Bone

I would recommend checking with your insurance agent about the costs that may increase if you install a pellet stove. Maybe, though, you can get away with it without them knowing. (hopefully).