Another "New User, First Post" Question - Pellet Stove to replace LP?

[kristuphir]

I live in a 1640Sqft home in central PA. Last night our outside temp was 27, I run my 25-pdvc @ around 1-1.1 lbs/hr. Inside temp was 76. Kitchen window open, wife walking around half naked.

Here is my take...I by no means am an expert, but have been heating with pellets / corn for a good while. I soley use pellets and corn for heat between my shop (5100sqft) and my home.

This is what I have learned.
1. Forget the sqft ratings! You need to look at it more as a BTU/hr deal than anything. Figure out how many Lb's/hr you need to burn and figure out the effeciency of the unit you are going to use.
2. NEVER oversize a pellet stove. You need something that can spread the heating season from mild to cold. I would rather have a stove that was just a touch small and have to run it on high on the coldest days.
3. Insulation is your friend.
4. If you follow a quick daily routine of keeping after your burnpot (2-3mins at most when you get good at it) you will save yourself a lot of time on your weekly and monthly cleanings.
5. Keep your pellets inside if at all possible. I have yet to find a pellet manufacturer that either does not have perforated bags or knows how to seal them properly.
6. If you find a pellet manufacturer that works good for you...stick with it! Buy off season and buy way more than you ever think you will need. I hear stories of pellets going bad. I am burning pellets now that are 2 years old. Keep them dry and you will have no problems.

What kind of cars are you into? If you are a gearhead you will love the englander stove. These things are begging to be played with and modified...plus the support is incredible! For some reason England's get a bad rap from the stuffy stove sales places. My Traeger dealer who also sells Quad will tell you if you want your house to burn down you buy an Englander.... I guess his feelings are hurt by all of the business they loose to them! They are really built nice...don't let the price fool you!

Good luck and stay warm!

Sounds encouraging. I think we can make it work. Now if they truly have some in stock, like their website claims...

I can't wait til I have to figure out how to heat a nice big shop! Then the pellets can live in the silly little 1-car garage I currently have. About cars....I have a '74 F350 Supercab, a Honda Fit, and a BMW k75 motorbike, and there's always a 20-year-old BMW of some sort floating around. I like lots of stuff from American muscle to amusing European attempts to break into the US market to elderly Japanese econoboxes to old pickups to....well, let's just say it doesn't stop there. It's a good thing I can't currently afford for it to turn into as major a weakness as it's fixing to...

 

[blanc12]

I have a 1700 sq ft home in Houlton Maine that was built in 1880. New windows and doors and still quite drafty. I heat it most of the time with an englander 25-pdvc. It will keep up with the cold until it gets down below zero. Right now it is 2 degrees out and it is 76 degrees in the room with the stove, (middle of the house) 71.5 in the kitchen (room next to the stove) and 68 in my bedroom upstairs on the end of the house. England stove gives incredible support and stand behind their product. You cant go wrong with them. Next year I am going bigger so I can burn more pellets. I was looking at couple of different brands but I am now convinced that the new stove will be a 25-pdv from Lowes or who ever has the best sale on it.

Hope you keep warm

Pete

 

[kristuphir]

Well, we did it! We just unloaded our stove and 1 ton of premium pellets. Now for installation...this weekend. Can't wait!

 

[pegdot]

Congrats! Please, keep us posted on your progress. :coolsmile:

 

[tinkabranc]

Woohoo! Bet you are excited!
Can't wait to see pictures when you are up and running.