November bag count ?

I had a similar situation, i had a 1.5 hour commute each way and 9 hour days when i was looking to get off oil. I wanted wood, but of course, it wouldn't last all day without a feed. So, that's how i ended up with a pellet stove. I could dump a bag and it would still be on when i got home on all but the highest setting.

Now it should also be stated that 55lbs is weight, not volume. I have a 55 lb hopper in my stove. Sometimes I can fit a bag and a half in there of some brands (60 lbs) Sometimes one is almost to the brim. it really depends on the brand, and more so the air space left from the pour. longer pellets will take more space.

I generally top off in the morning and turn down to setting 2. I come home for dinner and turn it up to 3 for the night. before bed, i top it off again. I gave up on thermostats, too much power cycling even with high-swing. Frankly, it's not needed in winter so much as it is in the fall/spring when it gets too hot, not too cold in the house.

 

Thanks guys. I had never thought or looked at pellet stoves til I read this thread. Thanks for answering my questions!

 

That's my issue... Oil heat and 10-12 hour work days with commutes from 1/2 hour to four hours. The trips to buffalo and back are always fun as there is just 8hrs in drive time. I can get 10 hour burn times now, but it depends on how early I get up to get the stove roaring and loaded up for the day ahead and the wood used. And even in long days I usually have enough coals buried in the ash to restart it fairly quickly but the house has a chill when I get home

Sounds like this could be a good alternative to 4$ a gallon oil. Price is down now, but still...

 

We are? I thought we are here because, now what was the reason again?

 

You sure? I thought it was because we .... oh darn forgot again.

Likely you are correct.

 

Yup, it works out good.

I'd suggest leaving your wood stove as is, and doing a direct vent pellet in another room/opposite side of the house/etc and plan to run both or either or depending on day/situation/coldness etc.



Now, if we could just try to convince you to ditch the mustang jp

 

Screw the free standing stove. Get a pellet furnace. Watch for a used one on craigslist, hook it up to the duct work with appropriate dampers, and off you go. The noise from the fans and the dust from pouring pellets and cleaning the stove is in your basement, not your living room.

I have a St. Croix SCF 050 in my basement that's hooked up to my duct work. It's currently burning shelled corn, and the corn cost me $125 per ton. The whole house is toasty warm. It's a bit undersized for my house, but it's nice for now. I intend to get a St. Croix Revolution as soon as I can find one. They're not common, and not being manufactured this year. I also have a Englander 10-CPM in my living area. It carried the majority of the heating load the past few years but it's the backup unit now. It's nice because it's a multifuel stove with high/low AND on/off capability. I get a lot of solar gain if the sun is out, so the CPM is in on/off mode for most of the time, unless it's really cold.

 

not everyone with oil has forced air. i have radiators.
Further, most locales won't allow solid fuel as a primary heat source for CertOc. A pellet furnace is a nice thing, and i'd want to have one myself, but only if my house was outfitting with the ducting already, and had, say, electric baseboards to qualify as primary heat source.

 

Perhaps, but i know I couldn't do it. 1 flu, 1 device. I have my oil boiler in it. the other flu is for the fireplace (that my insert sits in and doesn't go all the way to the basement anyway) Perhaps my set up is a little unique in that regard.

 

I WISH I could find one that cheap to buy.

 

In Maine it's now legal to have a oil furnace AND a woodstove/pellet stove in the same flue as long as the chimney is lined. That's what I'm doing with my second stove.

 

This was the whole reason I did an insert, because I don't have a second flue in my chimney for a wood furnace in the basement.. that would be ideal for me with a huge storm door to chuck wood down there. I'll check codes here about a pellet stove in the same chimney as the oil furnace, but I don't think it sounds kosher here.. I could be wrong, in that case that would be a fairly easy solution..