Heating with a Pellet stove.

[dragoneggs]

I typically burn 2 tons of pellets and 2 tons of shelled corn a year and I mix the corn and pellets in a 3-1 ratio, two parts pellets to one part corn. Pellets here are 215 a ton and my corn is free. I farm.

I'm a little confused. You are using 2T each per year but mixing at 3:1 ratio. Is this by volume not weight?

 

[grsthegreat]

Like any realestate agent will tell you - location, location, etc. Here, because of hydroelectric power - electricity is, far and away, the cheapest way to provide heat.

but even with my cheap electric, i heat the shop with propane heater. One of those box units 150,000 btu. Reason is because i can turn it on 5-10 minutes before i need to work in shop and thats all it takes to take the chill out. I can either leave it on while working or turn it off. Dont need it too hot in shop. Electric takes too long to bring shop up to comfortable level.

 

[oosik]

Totally agree - grsthegreat. I use a propane fired salamander heater out in my shop. Electric heat is in the house.

 

[Frankenkubota]

Like any realestate agent will tell you - location, location, etc. Here, because of hydroelectric power - electricity is, far and away, the cheapest way to provide heat.

And that痴 why the CLOUD is in eastern Oregon, relatively cheap power.

 

[Frankenkubota]

Pellet stoves were very popular in Oregon. I had 2 and loved them. For me it was so much easier than chopping and moving wood, much cleaner, probably cheaper after you factor in time and effort and it provided that warm dry heat you get from wood. Had a litttl e window for those romantic moments. My widow was dirty!

I also had 2 25 year old wood stoves. They both had to be removed before I could sell the house, environmental reasons. No problem with pellet stoves as they use forced air combustion, like a forge, burns much hotter so little emission problems, or so the realtor told me.

Question? I now live in central NC. I Should finish my house in 6 months? 6 months from when I知 not sure! Anybody in the SE use pellet stoves? When I ask around here I get blank looks!

Oh yea, in my area there were 2 kinds of pellets. 1 from soft woods and one from hard woods. Hard woods were better and of course, more expensive.

 

[5030]

Really don't matter much, hardwood or softwood. Modern pellet (biomass) stoves are adjustable for combustion parameters and can be set to combust anything that burns. The one I have is 100% adjustable for all parameters and it's adjustable digitally. Eats anything (except oilseed ((Soybeans). You don't want to run any oilseed in one, burns way too hot. I have, in the past, mixed in some oilseed, but just a tiny amount or things get out of hand quickly as in over temp and shutdown.

 

[5030]

Totally agree - grsthegreat. I use a propane fired salamander heater out in my shop. Electric heat is in the house.

I won't use a salamader in the shop because of two things, one, the stink and two oxygen depletion. Salamanders require lots of oxygen so that means leaving a door open which defeats the purpose of heating a space when it's cold outside.

 

[grsthegreat]

I won't use a salamader in the shop because of two things, one, the stink and two oxygen depletion. Salamanders require lots of oxygen so that means leaving a door open which defeats the purpose of heating a space when it's cold outside.

actually, the propane salamanders dont stink, and we used them on jobsites all the time. the kerosene ones sure do stink.

 

[coobie]

Burned wood pellets for 20 years.Wood pellets were cost affective way to heat back 15 - 20 years ago they were $100-$125 per ton now days $215-$250 per ton.I switched back to propane purchased 2 tanks 500 gallon.I fill up in august at 95 cents per gallon which will take me into to spring.

 

[coobie]

actually, the propane salamanders dont stink, and we used them on jobsites all the time. the kerosene ones sure do stink.

I agree run a 50,000 btu propane salamander in my insulated barn keeps it 65-70 degrees.