Off Topic -Pellet Stoves

[Whatswrong]

I was think back to the Open Prairies with no trees.


"Me also."

 

[whistlepig]

We have a fireplace but never use it because of dust. I would love to have a pellet insert for the fireplace because they burn so clean. I think the pellets are much cheaper if you buy them by the ton. We don't use the pellet stove enough to buy a ton of pellets. I think the pellets are going for about $189.00 a ton around here.

 

[BMod]

We got 2 pellet stoves in my Dad's house and 1 doesn't work. The other heats the whole house. However the one we are using to heat the house got bad pellets in the auger and locked it up. Eventually the fire made its way into the hopper and set 40 lbs of pellets on fire in the house. We fortunately got the fire out before any serious damage was done. The next day I spent several hours behind the stove, pulled off the motor, pulled the auger out, cleaned the auger and the shaft, and put it all back together. We learned our lesson on why you don't buy cheap pellets and it is running great again. :thumbsup: Buy a name brand, you will have a better experience vs. big box stoves. :thumbsup:

That must have been a positive pressure stove, most are negative pressure to guard against this happening. What make a model is this stove? Most positive pressure stoves, now have kits to convert them to negative pressure.

 

[soulasphil]

I had a pellet heating installed last summer and the results are very good : quite warm in the house, lots of hot water, everything controlled electronically.
The pellets are blown in from a truck in the yard and I buy several tons when it comes to keep the price down.
All I have to do is inspect the boiler room and take out a very small quantity of ashes every fortnight.
I dream of producing my own pellets in a distant future, but my first step will be to acquire a small generator because at present, when the electricity is out, so is the heating system.

 

[whistlepig]

Although it rarely happens I have had the auger jam with pellets. It quits feeding the pellets, the fire goes out, and the stove shuts itself off after it does a cool down cycle.

 

[Dmace]

We bought our house new with a pellet stove installed. It's a Harman brand P38+ (43,000 BTU's). I researched them when we first moved in and it seems to be a top of the line brand. We've used it for 6 years now and have not had a lick of trouble. I use it whenever the temps are below freezing to supplement the oil fed forced hot water heat. We go through about 2 tons a year and I found it saves around $200-$400 per year or more than half a tank of oil. So it's practically free to use plus it gives you that nice dry heat and the smell of a hardwood fire place. I give it a good cleaning once a year in the fall where I completely take it apart and clean everything from the auger to the blower motor. Also, throughout the winter I clean the inside of the stove with every other bag or so. I used cheap soft wood pellets ONCE and never again. They were tough to start, made a ton of ash and barely any heat. Now I get the Maine Wood Products pellets from Tractor Supply and LOVE them.

Here is a picture in "Turbo Mode" (43k BTU's)

 

[BMod]

I had a pellet heating installed last summer and the results are very good : quite warm in the house, lots of hot water, everything controlled electronically.
The pellets are blown in from a truck in the yard and I buy several tons when it comes to keep the price down.
All I have to do is inspect the boiler room and take out a very small quantity of ashes every fortnight.
I dream of producing my own pellets in a distant future, but my first step will be to acquire a small generator because at present, when the electricity is out, so is the heating system.

Very nice setup! Do you worry at all about moisture getting to your pellets from the concrete floor and walls?

 

[ddb123]

I have a Whitfield pellet stove that came with my house. Recently it started acting up. Instead of feeding pellets in at continuous intervals, it waits until the fire is almost out and then dumps in way too many, so that a lot spill over the sides. Then it stops and won't feed again until the fire is almost out again. It does this two or three times and then goes into fault. Any ideas? I don't know where this thing came from as it came with the house. I have a PDF owner's manual but that's it. I did clean it all out already.

 

[Luremaker]

I have a Cozy Comfort by Grain Stove in my 2400 sq ft shop. Installed it 4 years ago and its been great. I have burned corn, pellets and rye in it. I burn through 2-3 tons of fuel per season. This year I am burning wood pellets from Home Depot at a cost of $198.80 per ton. I get the most heat burning a mixture of 60% corn and 40% wood pellets. This stove is a very basic stove, no fancy circuit boards. There is an on/off switch, a feed rate knob, and a blower rate knob, thats it.

 

[Dmace]

I have a Whitfield pellet stove that came with my house. Recently it started acting up. Instead of feeding pellets in at continuous intervals, it waits until the fire is almost out and then dumps in way too many, so that a lot spill over the sides. Then it stops and won't feed again until the fire is almost out again. It does this two or three times and then goes into fault. Any ideas? I don't know where this thing came from as it came with the house. I have a PDF owner's manual but that's it. I did clean it all out already.

Sounds like the auger feed control is gone. If it's anything like my Harman then both the blower and auger are variable knobs on a circuit board and subject to fail. The replacement board with both controls for mine is about $150. It looks like yours may be a little more: Replacement parts for Whitfield Pellet Stoves