No Pellet Winter

We now have a new propane furnace and heat pump installed with all new duct work. This will be the first time since 2014 that I will not heat solely with the pellet furnace. The 50 f replaced my Oil furnace when I moved into the house and had problems with the oil system and didn't know what path I was going then.

The farenheit gave me too many small problems last winter and could not get it to start and continue to run this year waiting on the furnace guys to schedule me. It now sits in the basement disconnected and we used the chimney liner to duct the new furnace. I wasn't going to dump the cash on a control board and find out that still didn't fix the issue and still have no heat so it will be a project for over the winter to get running and probably sell off at some point.

I will see how the winter goes and see if the pellet stove was worth it or not, so far I have to say, it is so nice to not have to find, unload and stack pellets in the basement, we picked up 10 ft of space in the corner and none of the cleaning or worrying of being home to make sure there are pellets in the stove.

Did the wifi thermostat and honeywell outdoor thermometer wired into the unit, which is pretty sweet in itself too that it goes off the actual temps at the house, not the local airport temps.

So far, I am figuring if the propane/ electric bill adds up to $1200 or less for the winter, my pellet days may be over, as it isn't worth my time and energy getting 4-5 tons of pellets in the house and storing each fall- spring.

Wifey and I went to Menards Saturday, it was so nice to just glance at the pellets at $245/ ton and keep on pushing the cart, not trying to strategize how and when we needed pellets at home.

 

Fuel oil is cheap this year also, so we are using that for the main heat source. I still have two tons of pellets for our basement living area, and for crazy cold days.

 

we like the constant steady heat from the pellet stove compared to the up/down/off of hot water baseboards even though oil appears to be cheaper.
not always about price for some of us..

 

I like pellets for the localized heat and ambiance.

Back in the coal days houses had coal shoots, I wonder if pellet shoots could be a thing?

 

Our house came with an electric forced air unit.
I installed AC in the air handler back in the early spring of 1994 and we installed a Quadrafire 1000 and an Earthstove MP 50 The Quad was a Pellet only unit, but we fed the MP50 hazelnut shells.
Sadly the MP50 was not suitable for much use unless it was cold outside.

The beast would run us out.
We got tired of the cost of pellets so in 2009 and 2010 we made changes.
The Quad is a great backup...so it still has it's job.....albeit seldom run now.

Installed a Whitfield Advantage 2T where the Earth stove had been, and installed a Whitfield Prodigy 2 in the living room on the opposite end from the Quad.

The Prodigy 2 is a great "LITTLE" stove and is great when the weather is moderate...
Below about 48 F it starts to have trouble keeping this 2300 ft ranch style shack warm.
Shut off the little guy and run the big Whit..... Good by itself down into the 20's F and below that both Whits get action.

Started having control board issues a couple years ago and the price of after market or repaired boards was just off in the ozones $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Decided to design and install my own controllers to correct all the woes.

The one on the little stove is in my Avatar.
Waaaaaay industrial looking...works like a charm.
Both the whits eat nut shells really well and the cost is very low....$150 or so for the entire season.
Heating this way is a planned thing...ya gotta be on top of things for sure...

 

After the first winter in this house and hand unloading the bags, I put a hopper window in the basement. Pop the hinges on the window, lift off the tracks and it is a wide open hole in the house.

I back my truck up to the side of the house and sit an 8' x 3' painted sheet of plywood (wood panel for the side of a refrigerator in a kitchen) on my tailgate and window well and slide the bags down the ramp into the house.

We could unload a ton stacked in the basement in about 10-15 mins. Only problem was the weather outside and who was getting wet or cold in the back of the truck.

 

Make Kenis stand out in the weather!!

 

we have similar situation.. our basement windows pop out allowing 2 people outside handing in a bag at a time while 2 inside [wife and I standing] receive and re-stack on waiting pallets. it takes approx 15 minutes or less per ton. usually get a 2 ton delivery every 6 months. i buy 4 tons at my dealers early spring sale. picture is old...those are HD hardwoods i bought back when i was a newbie and had not yet discovered lot less ashy softwoods.

 

I had my wife help a couple times in bad weather and when she was done, she looked like a wet dog or cat left outside, quiet evenings after that...

Kenis and I give each other a reprieve on loading pellets. He is too anal on the stacking and I don't care how they look in the unfinished basement... So that makes for a fun times. But usually, if he comes to the house for a holiday, something around the stove is cleaner or more organized than I left it...The 1 1/2 hour drive to each others' houses don't make it too convenient to help each other either. I do like to give a dig at our prices around me compared to his on Somersets especially, stock pellet for me 20 mins away at Menards, he pays a premium for them with a bag purchase limit.

 

Another Fahrenheit owner leaving us
Enjoy your new taken path of home comfort

 

He just quit working hard enough to find a good price...Last 2 years I have been buying Sets at Menards for 200/ton and getting an 11% rebate on a Menards card. I let him know the price. He had been supporting the place Logan used to work and they got pricey. Been a long time since I have spoke to him, let him know I thought about him next time you see or talk to him.

I am also going pelletless this year, hooked up to NG this summer.

Happy Turkey Day my friend!!

 

I will pass it along to him. He has been doing the Depot for a few tons and then the place your talking about for late season stuff. When you are busy all week, the last thing you want to do is run all around to find pellets, especially if it is a wash or a losing money venture over other heating options. We aren't getting together this thanksgiving but I will be talking with him soon.

 

Quitter....

 

Hahaha...still gonna clean her up so we can sit in front of a fire every now and again!

 

just put one of these inside

 

Well,some years ago,I used only my LPG DV units,for 2 winters,because so much cheaper.This winter,have more pellets than normal(5 t,I think) and may get another ton, as i have never seen prices go down.BUT,having a 65% full LPG tank,I have been using both,because the gas was cheap back when I had it filled,and projected price for jan-feb does not look bad at all.As I turn the heat back,at night,I usually let the gas do the work,at nite.Except,cold came in,and is still cold,a very normal Montana"fall", which we have not had in 3-4 years.

 

I missed the old Fahrenheit when I moved a couple years ago. But I can’t say I miss the cleaning and pellet hauling. In the coldest months of the year my NG bills are around $120. NG is about 86 cents a therm here. I’d roast well over $200 worth of pellets in the deep of winter at the old place.

Pellets still saved me a lot of cash at the old house compared to heating oil.

 

Pellet Furnaces have not been selling so much lately and some units have been discontinued. I myself prefer the pellet stoves so heat can be place where you need it or want it.

 

They have silos that feed right into pellet boilers, seriously debating setting one up when I build.

 

In NH, propane prices are way too high to heat that way. Even with oil being under 2.00/gal, I think my 200/ton pellets will be cheaper.