End of January Pellet Usage

January 2016 counts:
P68: 41 compared to 47 last year
P43: 2 compared to 14 last year

Season to date counts:
P68: 102 compared to 134 last year
P43: 4 compared to 15 last year

 

That's awesome will. We have been using mostly stove temp mode with both stoves this year. I feel like it lets me have a little bit more control over pellet consumption. On the P43, I can run that one at heat setting 1.5 - 2 and it will keep the area it's heating up to 70+ pretty much no matter how cold it gets outside. We really only run that one when it's frigid. The P68 I have been running at heat setting 3 - 4.5, depending on how cold it is outside. With those settings, the stove body is 300* - 450* and that has been keeping most of the house 67 - 69 degrees pretty well this season. We hung some thermal drapes and that does seem to be helping to keep some of the heat in too.

 

I've always been a Stove temp guy ,prolly because I'm an old wood stove burner ,like the constant flame . Tryed the room temp with the p43 , because early in the season , in stove temp on the 1 setting as low as it will go it was too F 'ing hot in the Man Cave like pushing close to 80* . Then when it got colder I couldn't get the stove to cycle on as often as I wanted and it would cool down into the 65* range before it would fire up again .

I'm sure that had to do with where the probe was placed [ I know there's a joke in there ] So when it got cold just let it run , burns a few more pellets , but it's a nice constant heat that's an OK compromise for me

 

36 For Jan. here. 2.2 tons total. I too prefer stove temp when I'm home for the same reason as ttdberg. I only use room temp at night and when I'm at work unless it's frigid, then I just leave it in stove temp..

 

Two stoves is certainly a far better way to heat.

WE used to heat with just one Quad 1000, then added an Earthstove wp50 and it would run us out unless the weather was blistering AZZ cold.

Once I had had enough of roasting one side of the house and freezing on the other, it became an obsession to fix the issue.

We added the little baby Whit P2 to help with the warmer weather, and then added the Big Whit.

They blow from opposite ends of the house towards each other.

I think it's actually synergistic (Sum of the parts is greater than the whole)

Its about 40 F out today and the big stove is handling the load.
In a few days it's supposed to get close to 50 F and we will be on the little guy and possibly even shut down for a few hours during the day.

I really like to keep an even temp if possible (Around 70 F )

Don't like it 75 F in the house or 65 F either.

70 F is comfy to sit and watch TV or surf the web and not be chilled.

Ahhh yess, trials and tribulations eh

 

1.4 tons total since May of 2015, 28 bags in January. It's been warm enough here to keep the stove running and not have to worry about pipe freeze in the crawlspace, what a difference vs. last winter.

 

Wow WW, that's a lot of coin on electric - I know, 'cause we used to pay the same +, running 3 electric space heaters in the winter months. (Girl's room, Living room, our room.)

Since power seems better in your area, have you considered picking up a used pellet insert? Hooking up to that liner insert should be one adapter / a piece of cake to do.

If that would handle the duties the electric space heaters are doing now, you could use the $$$ saved to pickup a decent generator setup, and wire in the stove circuits, refrig, well pump, etc.

Just some food for thought.

 

Will try to WW, just keep in mind I am not an electrician, but will try to explain in layman's terms.

WARNING: MAJOR thread drift ..

Household usage of electricity is supplied by the electrical service (or fuse box) to the home, that box is rated for a specific amount of power required by the household. That service is rated / measured in Amperes, (or Amps for short): the higher the Amp rating of the service, the more power it can supply to the appliances, lights, electronics, etc. in the home.

For example a (100) Amp service can supply a smaller home, if you have a larger home w/ a workshop, etc. - you would need a service with a higher Amp rating (e.g.: 200) to handle the additional electrical needs.

The rating of the service is the -maximum- usage available, it doesn't mean the service (home) would use that much electricity at one time: if you turned everything off / unplugged everything, the usage would be zero (0). If you turned -everything- on, the total usage should be under the max. Amp. rating for the service, if sized properly to the home. Hope this is making sense so far.

Each individual light, appliance, etc. draws on the service, according to need. Smaller devices ( Computers, Chargers, Lighting, etc. ) use less electricity vs. larger devices or appliances ( TVs, Microwave Oven, Toaster, Refrigerator, Pellet Stove, Washer/Dryer ).

That unit of measurement of electricity used by each device is typically expressed in Watts per Hour.

This is also the unit of measurement used by the Electric Company for billing, on our electric bill the amount charged each month is based on how many -thousands of Watts are used per hour- are used by all the electrical appliances, which is expressed as Kilowatt Hours, or kW/hr. ( The "k" means thousands. )

Service Panel / Breaker Panel / Fuse Box:

Because some devices (appliances) require more power than others, they need to be isolated to a single (1) dedicated circuit.

An example of this would be an electric stove, or electric Dryer in the home. Typically, appliances or devices that generate a lot of heat, or have a large motor (like a water Well pump) need to be on their own, dedicated circuit.

The wiring that is ran in the home can only carry a set amount of current, depending on the size of the wire. * If you run a large amount of current through a smaller wire, heat is generated - the wire has to be of sufficient diameter to carry the current needs of the circuit, without being overloaded.

We use appliances every day that intentionally 'overload' wiring to generate heat, in a controlled manner: electric heaters, toasters, etc. all do this.

* But we don't want to do this to the wiring inside our home, so that wiring is separated into different 'Branches', or circuits.

This is also a matter of convenience and protection: to allow (isolation) of one area of the home from another: you wouldn't want the entire home going dark, if you unintentionally plugged in something that overloaded the circuit. * An example of this would be the bedroom lights going dark, if you plugged in a mixer or blender in the kitchen, with a heavy electric load.

So in order to isolate the various outlets / sections of the home, and to provide proper protection to each circuit, those outlets and wiring, are connected to a Breaker Switch inside the electrical Service Panel, aka "Breaker Box", aka "Fuse Box".

* "Breaker switches" and "Fuses" provide the -exact same- function, protection of the circuit: however Breaker switches can be easily reset, without exposing anyone to live electrical current - which is why all modern home service installations use Breaker switches.

Each Breaker has a max. rating of the Amperage that can run through it before it is overloaded, which will cause the Breaker to physically break the electrical connection for that circuit, this is commonly referred to as 'tripping' a Breaker.

If you open up the front panel on electrical Service Panel of your home, you will see the various circuits, or Branches, that are run throughout your home.

Each Branch runs to, and controls, a specific area of the home: it may be to a lighting / wall outlet circuit in a specific room ("Kitchen", "Living room", "Bathroom", "Bedroom 1", etc.), or to a specific appliance that requires an (isolated) circuit, e.g. electric Dryer, electric Stove, Well water pump, Furnace, etc. from the example above.

--
All of this is important, because it will determine what type of Generator setup you may want to install.
--

Generator Transfer (Isolation) Switches:
--
In order for the Generator setup to be to code, -any- Generator setup must provide (isolation) from the main electrical Service line running into the home, to prevent back-feeding electricity into the electrical Grid.

This is to protect any line workers that may be repairing / restoring electrical service in the area.

There are (2) types of Generator Transfer switches, either Manual (Mechanical) or Automatic (Electronic).

Either type of switch can be installed to isolate the (entire) home from the electrical feed coming into the home, or they can be installed to isolate specific (Branches) of the wiring in the home from the electrical feed.

For switches that isolate the (entire) home, the switch -must be sized- to match or exceed the Amperage Rating of the electrical Service Panel.

1. An electronic automatic Transfer switch will -automatically- switch between Service line & Generator line power.

2. A manual Transfer switch will require a person to:

a) Shut off the Main Breaker to the home,
b) Throw the Transfer switch from 1) Service line Power -> to 2) No Power -> to 3) Generator Line power,
c) Start the Generator,
d) Turn on the Main Breaker to the home.

This type of switch is also commonly called a "Service Disconnect" switch.

Manual Service Transfer Panel:
--
For switches that isolate -specific Branches- in the home, the switch must be sized to handle the circuits being isolated, and the Max. output of the Generator that will be attached to the switch.

This is accomplished in -exactly- the same manner as a whole home Transfer switch, but individual Breakers / circuits are wired into the Service Transfer Panel:

This allows the homeowner to (isolate) only the needed Branches inside the home and switch between Service line <-> Generator line power. * It is a less expensive installation option vs. a (whole home) Transfer switch.

--
Generator Sizing:
--
In order to run the items you will need during an outage, you will need to calculate the total Wattage of the devices you will be using, and the types of devices you will want to run. If you want to run any device that requires 220 Volts (Electric Stove, Dryer, Well Pump), you will need a 220v output Generator. ( Most larger Wattage generators are 220 volt output. )

--
Example: your Honda eu2000i generator outputs a max. of 2,000 Watts / Hr. - this means the generator can run a 1,000 Watt coffee pot, and (10) 60 Watt light bulbs at the same time comfortably, which is about 75% of the max. load rating. Or a typical Pellet Stove, several (60) Watt lights, and a laptop computer or two. * As long as you do not exceed the 2,000 Watt rating ( 1,750 constant ), you can run any combination of things.

Important: You should -always- size the Max. wattage rating of the Generator at least 25% higher than the total load you anticipate running: devices that contain Motors require additional start-up current to run, this is why most Generators will list (2) load ratings: constant, and Surge - the Max. rating is to account for the additional startup current needed on motorized devices attached, e.g.: Well Pump, Refrigerator, etc.

In our small home here, we have a 5,200 Watt constant / 6,500 Watt surge rated generator. We have a (Manual) Service Disconnect switch installed, and can run (80%) of the devices here w/o having to turn off various Breakers, to avoid overloading the Generator.

Examples:
--
If we want to charge the electric (5,000 Watt) Hot Water Heater, we have to turn off the Well Pump, Oil Furnace, and not use the electric Dish Washer, Washing machine, or electric Dryer, while the Hot Water Heater runs.

If we want clean clothes, we have to turn off the Oil Furnace and Hot Water Heater, and not use the Dish Washer, Electric Dryer, or most other appliances in the home while it is running.

Etc., etc.
--
A properly-sized Generator for our home would be in the 1o,000 - 12,000 Watt range, but that was cost-prohibitive at the time, so we have to 'play the Breaker game' above.

We are fortunate to have the woodshed less than (10) feet from the house / the electrical Service Panel, so that is where our Generator is stored and ran when needed, with a thick Cable running from the Generator -> to the side of the house where it connects to an outlet feed box, which is wired interior to the home -> Switch -> Service Panel inside.

Mid-sized and larger Automatic generators w/ automatic Transfer switches can be placed in pretty much any location around the home, providing there is proper space / drainage / shelter for them. (Wiring costs may be a factor, depending on distance to the electrical Service location on the home.)

Smaller "wheeled" generators are usually stored and manually moved -> hooked up / placed into service by the homeowner, at time of outage.

* Budget considerations are a big factor in -what type- of generator setup you may want to install: this is really an investment, & conversation you & WWW should be discussing, and I would also highly encourage getting info. & feedback from a licensed electrician / installer in your area, if you are interested in doing this, to make sure everything is installed properly / to Code.

Hopefully the above gives you better information, so you can further investigate, and make an informed decision WW.

 

We have run the lp furnace for approx a week this year. 2 ton of corn, and 800 lbs of pellets.

The Heating Degree Days are 20% less this year than the average for this area. We have a Corn Furnace in the basement and a small pellet burner in the Living room, this has worked well for us as it is extra warm in the evenings and still nice in the rest of the house 1300 sq ft ranch.

 

burned 34 bags last year from Jan 13th to the 31st. burned 31 bags from the 12th to the 31st this year. we have gone off skiing the last few years at his time, so the dino juice kicks in for the beginning of the month. still way ahead of last year.
i heard they got 3 feet of snow in Aspen this week i'm likin that! i go back on the 24th for round two

 

This winter I am averaging 1 - 1.25 bags a day. big difference from last winter! Thats under a ton a month. I flew through pellets last winter like they were free.

 

Well, we go down to 2 F on Saturday night. That should up the pellet usage a bit, but still much better than last year.

 

Little over 3 tons cooked here...No idea on the January total!! Would be much less if the wife would turn the stove off instead of opening windows when she gets hot!!

 

i checked last years use for Feb this morning (which is real hard as it is posted on the wall in the garage) 57 bags last year! must have been one cold as&%ed month! 10 or 11 thus far this year. might have to switch back to the EB's for this cold snap coming...-2F saturday night.

 

Not sure on January count, but I am at 56 bags this season. I know most of them were consumed in January because that is when winter finally showed up!