Long time reader, forgot that I had registered here years back until I tried to re-register and was told I already existed.
I've been burning pellets since late fall of 2005. My stove was a Horizon Research Eclipse insert I bought in November 2005. I bought it used (obviously) and it served me well. It was too much of a pain in the rear end for the wife to want to use on a regular basis when I was away at work. It did have some quirks, and could be a finicky beast at times, but it ran without major incidents for six seasons. I've since moved it out to the workshop so I can ditch the kerosene heater when I get the urge to do some work out there. A couple months back I purchased a US Stove 6041i. I installed the new insert about a month ago after doing the initial burn in out in the garage so I wouldn't gas the wife and kid out of the house on the first chilly day. So far I'm happy with it. It's a bit noisier than I had hoped, but no worse than the Eclipse was. I did a few minor modifications to it, thanks to the suggestions here and on the iburncorn.com forums. It's not the most attractive stove sold, OK it's borderline ugly, but for the price it does throw some heat.
In the past, I burned maybe a ton of pellets a year. I am proud to say that I am about a quarter ton away from potential pellet pig membership. I have about 2.75 tons of pellets out in the barn. The majority are Michigan Wood Pellet Fuel, with some Somersets left over from last year. The 6041 doesn't seem to mind the Michigan pellets, and the fact that they're made only a few miles down the road is a plus to me. I did haul them to the house, a half ton at a time, in my trusty 1985 S-10, which makes for an interesting drive home to say the least. I'm hoping next year to have enough to qualify as a true 'pellet pig'. There used to be a dealer a few miles down the road who sold Pinnacle Pellets, and I loved those things, but he's since gone out of business. I've been known to stop by the nearest big box store on the way home from work and grab 5 or 6 bags, which is all I can cram in the trunk of the daily driver car. I don't want to run out of pellets like I did the first year I had the stove.
While it hasn't been terribly cold here yet for any length of time, the new stove keeps the house right around 68 degrees while running on PR1. I'm heating the upstairs of a 1700 square foot ranch. My thermostat cycles the fan on the furnace once an hour to keep the air moving around the house, and that helps keep the basement from getting too cold. The bedrooms at the back are about 5 degrees cooler than the living room, but I don't mind a cooler room for sleeping anwyays. I've been running the pellet stove during the day, and at night revert back to my Vermont Castings insert which is on the other side of the house. Firewood is free from a friends property, as long as my ancient Poulan saw will start. Last year I used about 125 gallons of heating oil. I'm hoping to use next to none this winter, especially as the price starts knocking on $4/gallon.
Just wanted to say "hi" and thanks for all the tips I've picked up over the years. Hope to be able to return the favor to others in the future.
Roy
I've been burning pellets since late fall of 2005. My stove was a Horizon Research Eclipse insert I bought in November 2005. I bought it used (obviously) and it served me well. It was too much of a pain in the rear end for the wife to want to use on a regular basis when I was away at work. It did have some quirks, and could be a finicky beast at times, but it ran without major incidents for six seasons. I've since moved it out to the workshop so I can ditch the kerosene heater when I get the urge to do some work out there. A couple months back I purchased a US Stove 6041i. I installed the new insert about a month ago after doing the initial burn in out in the garage so I wouldn't gas the wife and kid out of the house on the first chilly day. So far I'm happy with it. It's a bit noisier than I had hoped, but no worse than the Eclipse was. I did a few minor modifications to it, thanks to the suggestions here and on the iburncorn.com forums. It's not the most attractive stove sold, OK it's borderline ugly, but for the price it does throw some heat.
In the past, I burned maybe a ton of pellets a year. I am proud to say that I am about a quarter ton away from potential pellet pig membership. I have about 2.75 tons of pellets out in the barn. The majority are Michigan Wood Pellet Fuel, with some Somersets left over from last year. The 6041 doesn't seem to mind the Michigan pellets, and the fact that they're made only a few miles down the road is a plus to me. I did haul them to the house, a half ton at a time, in my trusty 1985 S-10, which makes for an interesting drive home to say the least. I'm hoping next year to have enough to qualify as a true 'pellet pig'. There used to be a dealer a few miles down the road who sold Pinnacle Pellets, and I loved those things, but he's since gone out of business. I've been known to stop by the nearest big box store on the way home from work and grab 5 or 6 bags, which is all I can cram in the trunk of the daily driver car. I don't want to run out of pellets like I did the first year I had the stove.
While it hasn't been terribly cold here yet for any length of time, the new stove keeps the house right around 68 degrees while running on PR1. I'm heating the upstairs of a 1700 square foot ranch. My thermostat cycles the fan on the furnace once an hour to keep the air moving around the house, and that helps keep the basement from getting too cold. The bedrooms at the back are about 5 degrees cooler than the living room, but I don't mind a cooler room for sleeping anwyays. I've been running the pellet stove during the day, and at night revert back to my Vermont Castings insert which is on the other side of the house. Firewood is free from a friends property, as long as my ancient Poulan saw will start. Last year I used about 125 gallons of heating oil. I'm hoping to use next to none this winter, especially as the price starts knocking on $4/gallon.
Just wanted to say "hi" and thanks for all the tips I've picked up over the years. Hope to be able to return the favor to others in the future.
Roy