O/T Pellet Stove

[jhilyer]

Hey All,
Bought a used pellet stove and installed it last week. First week of operation, seems to be doing well.

It's a U.S. Stoves big-hopper model similar to the ones they sell at Tractor Supply. Just a little older. I see these stoves have mixed reviews, but I also know that replacing blower motors, etc. are just part of having any pellet stove, from what I read.

I got this mostly because I'm gone a lot and wanted something easy and safe for my wife to operate. We have a wood stove, which is run mostly when I'm there, had one chimney fire when I was gone (before my wife), and just get nervous about others operating it when I'm not there. Also have an oil furnace, but with oil costing more than gasoline, in my drafty old house? Can't see using it anymore.

Any advice for the novice pellet stove owner?

 

[showcrop]

Clean the dust out of the pipe every week.

 

[Ron Anderson]

Having had corn/pellet stoves for over 10 years and had three different brands I can say ,(A clean stove is a happy stove). They all require the owner to clean them in a timely fashion. Some are more fussy then others. Make sure your exhaust pipe is clean. Start in the fall with a clean pipe and clean it in the middle of the season and in the spring when you are finished using it.
Some stoves have a pot that dumps automatically while others are manual dump. Some have a stirrer that dumps the ashes into a ash drawer. This ash drawer has to be dumped as needed.
The quality of pellets is also a factor. To many fines or to long pellets can plug the hopper holding the pellets.
You can attach a thermostat to most stoves and they will maintain the set temp for you. They are different then a wood stove and produce a constant even heat rather then the variation of a wood stove.
Some stoves can be started and run for 3 weeks before shutting off to be cleaned. These units are made so you can remove the ash bucket -dump it on the go and slide it back in while the stove is running. You can fill the hopper on the go as well.
We start our stove in the fall and except for 20 minute cleaning every 3 weeks it runs 24/7 all winter.
One hears about the dangers of a wood stove or pellet stove but I never heard of one that blew a house apart.

 

[gregger]

if you try corn in it be sure and buy some oyster shell that they give chickens a lil on top helps it burn better --

 

[Wile E]

1. Keep it clean
2. Don't forget #1.

Seriously, vacuum it every other use. I have an old vacuum right next to mine. All plugged in and ready to go.

Do NOT burn corn it it. I only burn wood pellets. Corn has a little moisture in it, wood pellets are dry and burn clean, but dusty. If you must burn corn then just mix in about 25% with the wood pellets.

 

[sflem849]

Here is a link to a fuel cost comparison worksheet.
http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/techline/fuel-value-calculator.pdf

I have a "real" furnace in my house. Those little toys seem to be a pain in the butt for some and others run trouble free for years. The "Iburncorn" forum used to be really good, but with high corn prices last winter and the forum going down for a while it isn't what it used to be.

 

[S.Crum]

I'm in my 4th year of heating my 2 story 4 bedroom house almost exclusively with an Englander PDC-25 pellet stove I bought used from a friend. I clean it every week and clean the fire daily. The oil boiler is available but very rarely used. As said pellet quality is very important! I have some "trash" pellets I'm using up during this milder weather. The good pellets generally burn 100 to 150 Degrees hotter at the same stove settings. (In hard burning 1 1/2 bags a day of the good pellets vs. 3 bags a day of the not so good pellets).I measure the output at the stove's output grate. Tractor Supply sells pellets from 4 different mills in TSC packaging, I've tried pellets from 2 of the mills, one mill I won't use from, the other is much better. TSC says there's no difference but there is a significant difference. Just keep a list of the mills in the truck for the next time you buy.

 

[showcrop]

(quoted from post at 17:40:10 12/20/13) Here is a link to a fuel cost comparison worksheet.
http://www.fpl.fs.fed.us/documnts/techline/fuel-value-calculator.pdf

I have a "real" furnace in my house. Those little toys seem to be a pain in the butt for some and others run trouble free for years. The "Iburncorn" forum used to be really good, but with high corn prices last winter and the forum going down for a while it isn't what it used to be.

Around here both firewood and pellets go for substantially more than given on the work sheet. I wonder why they don't give the cost to burn coal? coal is the cheapest other than DIY firewood, which of course really does have a significant cost.

 

[Rich_WI]

(quoted from post at 08:58:57 12/21/13)


Around here both firewood and pellets go for substantially more than given on the work sheet. I wonder why they don't give the cost to burn coal? coal is the cheapest other than DIY firewood, which of course really does have a significant cost.

There are better charts available where you can change the input prices and efficiencies to match your situation. Then, the only problem you have is inputting a accurate and realistic efficiency rating (people always overstate the efficiency of their favored heating appliance).

http://www.builditsolar.com/References/Calculators/Fuels/FuelCompare.htm

 

[showcrop]

(quoted from post at 10:14:55 12/21/13)

(quoted from post at 08:58:57 12/21/13)


Around here both firewood and pellets go for substantially more than given on the work sheet. I wonder why they don't give the cost to burn coal? coal is the cheapest other than DIY firewood, which of course really does have a significant cost.

There are better charts available where you can change the input prices and efficiencies to match your situation. Then, the only problem you have is inputting a accurate and realistic efficiency rating (people always overstate the efficiency of their favored heating appliance).

http://www.builditsolar.com/References/Calculators/Fuels/FuelCompare.htm

Thanks, That was the chart that I had seen before. It also gives the comparison with a heat pump which I have been thinking about doing.

 

[jhilyer]

Whoo-hoo! After the first week of operation, spot cleaning just about every day, I gave it a real good cleaning on Sunday, after 2 days of constant use... man, did the ash build up!

AND THEN...There were two little "doors" to either side of the combustion area, held in place by two screws each...I removed these doors and holy cow! The fine ash was packed in there tight enough to have partially solidified!

I'm guessing this was NOT just from my one week of use, but probably from the previous owner NEVER cleaning this area out.

It's cleaned out now. I also checked the pipe, not much in there, will keep an eye on it! Of course this weekend, and today, it's been pretty warm in NW PA (45-50 deg), so I haven't been running it. But tomorrow, it looks like that will change...

Thanks for all the good replies!