I wouldn't think you would have to with the high quality DF's you burn. I can go a month on east coast pellets.
I used to with my outdoor pellet boiler, a central boiler Maxim 175. The hopper held 11 bags, which I could almost stretch out to 5 days of burning. Considering that I was heating my hot water and the whole house, it wasn't too bad. This was in Lebanon Maine
Yikes, I don't know luney - that sounds extreme, certainly not the norm. How many bags are you going through in a week?! Last time I emptied the P68 ash pan, it had burned 58 bags and even then it still wasn't completely full yet.
I believe its relative to what your heating as for me its a very leaky almost 3000 sq ft. farmhouse and when its windy and cold I burn through pellets like no one else with the exception of Scott whom said he burns 5 bags a day with a boiler. Yes once a week I spend an hour to an hour and a half cleaning per stove so that they can run optimal and actually keep a comfortable environment for myself and my family, it is something prior to burning pellets that was not experienced in this old house. So yes I am married to this stove and if you don't believe me just ask my wife the same person that will tell me ITS COLD !
At least 3 bags a day times 7 days we are talking 21 bags a week and more when its really really cold. With premium pellets as I have been burning this year not nearly as much ash so I would say cut that in half as far as ash production. With the average BB store pellets or lets say this years Okie Plats I can definitely dang near fill the ash pan in a week . Regardless to keep my stoves running at optimal I clean them seriously once a week from top to bottom which would be what most do maybe monthly . But they run like a champ and crank out some heat which is what this house requires until I can get some more work done on it. *Edit Just gave this some thought and yes it is possible to think while under the influence, I am thinking more of what happens with the P43 although with really chitty pellets I have done it many a times with the P68 filled the ashpan in a week. With decent pellets its at leat at 3/4 of the ash pan in a week . For instance this evening it's already 2* and windy as hell so its surely going to go into the negative and the stove is running constant with the settings of 5 feed and 6 temp on constant burn, I will burn through 2 bags by morning time easy. Crazy yeah probably but then again I work very hard get paid well so this is what I do to keep my family warm and I like doing it . Perhaps I will finally let someone else work on my house as I will be busy as heck for the next year on the new job. Hope all are well !
An outdoor pellet boiler getting 4-5 days on 11 bags while heating the house and hot water-In Lebanon Maine to boot-that's impressive Just found this Central Boiler Maxim Outdoor Corn and Wood Pellet Furnace │ Central Boiler - YouTube
Definitely a workhorse, sold it to a guy in Barre, VT, he heats a four unit apartment building with it. Still gets almost 4 days out of a hopper load, he's currently working on adding a deer feeder to the port where the 1 ton hopper could be added, should get him another 2 or three bags capacity
: same here... once a month needed or not... harman P61A..burning good softwoods..... btw: anyone here that can attest to using LESS pellets in the cold freeze while burning good douglas firs or is that a softwood myth?
OK. I knew you were burning a large volume of pellets, but I don’t think I realized how large until now. Now I know why you are out buying another ton so often! I’ve actually never burned my stove on a temp above 5 and even then it was the coldest day of the year. I’d like to see a pic of what it looks like when run at 6, that must be a sight to see. 2 small suggestions. First, I think the hopper extensions would be a HUGE benefit for you. Definitely worth looking into sooner than later, could be a real quality of life improvement and no worrying about the stove going out due to funneling or any other reason, for that matter. The other thing is considering how much volume you go through, it may be worth checking with Robbins or the dealer of your choice in the spring and see if they will give you a decent volume discount. Most will. Why not grab 12 tons or a whole trailer load at the rate you burn? Mix and match too. Grab 6 tons of 4 of your favorite brands if you want! It’s not like they will sit around forever, or go to waste. I bet you could save a lot of money by doing that. Even if they don’t give you a special volume discount, just taking advantage of early buy pricing is worth something. Every little bit helps, right?
100% myth. I’ve tested burning many, many different brands and types of pellets and DFs don’t last longer in the hopper than other pellets. Don’t be tricked into thinking a DF produces “higher BTUs” so it must mean burning less pellets. Sounds good on paper, but simply not the case in real life.
Although Ive never burned DF (havnt seen the need to pay the higher cost vs other quality fuel) I have talked with some who have. The best advice I have received has been from my supplier (who has burned them himself) who says its more about the clean burn for those that dont want to clean their stove as often than it is about more heat than other high quality pellets. The heat isnt as dramatic as the cleaner burn
