Looks like I picked the wrong year to buy two pellet stove oil prices keep dropping....

[mass_burner]

According to the specs in my boiler, it uses .40 / gal per hour. I imagine that's under ideal conditions when it was new. Is there any feasible way to measure it in operation?

 

[TimfromMA]

Flow gauge on the line running from the tank to the boiler?

 

[xSpecBx]

According to the specs in my boiler, it uses .40 / gal per hour. I imagine that's under ideal conditions when it was new. Is there any feasible way to measure it in operation?

I believe the flow rate is set by the nozzles in you boiler. It shouldn't change. What will change is the amount of heat you get from your boiler (i.e. the efficiency) so as the boiler ages it will run more to produce the same amount of heat.

You can hook up an hours meter and match that with you oil consumption to see how much youre actually consuming on an hourly basis.

The biggest thing I read with a boiler is that its least efficient at startup and shutdown so short cycling is bad

 

[Tonyray]

I use between 1/2 and 3/4 gallon of oil per day in the summer for hot water (I have an indirect hot water system). I suspect that number increases slightly in the winter as we take warmer showers. I have thought about switching to an electric hot water heater, but I worry, especially with the pellet stove, that leaving the oil boiler idle for so long may cause problems. I'll pay the $500 a year for hot water if it means I don't have to worry about not having the boiler when I need it.

Oil hit $2.46/gal yesterday from my distributor. This time last year I paid $3.67/gal. I'm not going to complain about the price of oil. I'll use the boiler and save the pellets for next year. Right now I'm just using the stove for a few hours when the wife and I get home from work.

I have a Wiel/McLain Gold oil furnace and for that reason I still use it for DHW for 2 reasons..
Backup for when/if the pellet stove goes down but more important my furnace is meant to run hot every day.
to shut it down for months at a time will cause the gaskets to leak eventually.... it;s the main reason I never switched to hot water tank..
I have only bought 200 gallons of oil since February for this year....100 feb and 100 in October.. still have enough till feb..

 

[sportbikerider78]

I have electric hot water. Wired it myself. Gutted the old copper system that was tied into the oil boiler. And plumbed it in about 15 hrs...all by my lonesome. Never done wire or any plumbing in my life till that moment. hahaha

Also have oil burner for getting the house up to temp and a zone for the bedrooms. The pellet stove is really the primary heat source in the winter. It is always on.

 

[JTRock]

5 ways? Oil, wood, several electric space heaters, pellet heat this year and have even used the propane cooking stove in a pinch.

Perhaps I"m obsessive.

Same here, we must be cut from the same OCD cloth then

 

[TimfromMA]

I have one of these for heating my garage whenever I want to work in there but I could use it in my house if everything else fails.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_131258-5164...l=1&currentURL=?Ntt=propane+heater&facetInfo=

 

[woodmakesheat]

Every time I see this thread pop up, I think...

 

[Doug MacIVER]

I have electric hot water. Wired it myself. Gutted the old copper system that was tied into the oil boiler. And plumbed it in about 15 hrs...all by my lonesome. Never done wire or any plumbing in my life till that moment. hahaha

Also have oil burner for getting the house up to temp and a zone for the bedrooms. The pellet stove is really the primary heat source in the winter. It is always on.

might want to check your insurance. most states(if not all) require that work to be installed by licensed plumber and electricians? just a thought.

 

[moey]

might want to check your insurance. most states(if not all) require that work to be installed by licensed plumber and electricians? just a thought.

Most states?? I think you have lived in Mass to long. Yes I lived there it was ridiculous you weren't allowed to put a new breaker in the panel in the town I lived in because I the home owner was not licensed.

While most states probably require a inspection a home owner can do most anything themselves and have it inspected. When I installed mine no electrical inspection or permit required did need a plumbing permit though.

 

[Doug MacIVER]

Most states?? I think you have lived in Mass to long. Yes I lived there it was ridiculous you weren't allowed to put a new breaker in the panel in the town I lived in because I the home owner was not licensed.

While most states probably require a inspection a home owner can do most anything themselves and have it inspected. When I installed mine no electrical inspection or permit required did need a plumbing permit though.

point being the insurance company finds out your not lic and no inspect good luck with your claim. nightmare in the making if( and that is the question IF) something goes wrong. hell in the 70's two wood stoves put in, clay liners no permit needed. today liners, permits, inspection. progress.

 

[mass_burner]

I have one of these for heating my garage whenever I want to work in there but I could use it in my house if everything else fails.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_131258-5164...l=1&currentURL=?Ntt=propane+heater&facetInfo=

Did I just read that it is not to be sold in MA?

 

[Pellet-King]

Anyone have a Adams 98% Oil Furnace?

 

[Fish On]

might want to check your insurance. most states(if not all) require that work to be installed by licensed plumber and electricians? just a thought.

In mass our wonderful state we live in u can not according to code change out really anything. Which is real stupid to some degree.
You can change out a gas water heater with no permit but you have to be license to change out a oil fed water heater..

Go figure when was the last time someone blew up a house with oil?

 

[jintoreedwine]

point being the insurance company finds out your not lic and no inspect good luck with your claim. nightmare in the making if( and that is the question IF) something goes wrong. hell in the 70's two wood stoves put in, clay liners no permit needed. today liners, permits, inspection. progress.

As someone who likes to do their own home repair, I find these sorts of things troubling. I think all of these insurance issues and local laws are actually having a negative impact in some cases. I believe people who, like me, research a job very carefully and would otherwise do everything to code because it is the right thing to do get scared by the prospect of insurance issues or the fines from the town and people who just don't care, still don't care, and go ahead and do a cruddy job.

When I do a home improvement project that is beyond something the average Joe would do, I now don't feel comfortable unless I contact my local building inspector and make sure I don't need some sort of permit before I embark on a project to work on MY house. I wish it didn't have to be that way, especially when I am stuck fixing the aftermath of someone else's failed work who didn't even bother to check building code before they started. The people who don't care and just rush through it will not be stopped by laws/codes that realistically can't be enforced, it only seems the well meaning people are impacted -- but they are the people I WANT doing these projects!

So, I try my best to encourage people who have the skills and mind for home repair to go ahead and do it, and to just make sure they file for permits/do good work/etc. If we get too afraid to work on our own houses, we'll likely lose the freedom to do so, as more and more laws get passed under the premise that "no one unlicensed or who is not a professional does these sorts of projects anyway."

Just my 2 cents on the issue anyway.

 

[Doug MacIVER]

As someone who likes to do their own home repair, I find these sorts of things troubling. I think all of these insurance issues and local laws are actually having a negative impact in some cases. I believe people who, like me, research a job very carefully and would otherwise do everything to code because it is the right thing to do get scared by the prospect of insurance issues or the fines from the town and people who just don't care, still don't care, and go ahead and do a cruddy job.

When I do a home improvement project that is beyond something the average Joe would do, I now don't feel comfortable unless I contact my local building inspector and make sure I don't need some sort of permit before I embark on a project to work on MY house. I wish it didn't have to be that way, especially when I am stuck fixing the aftermath of someone else's failed work who didn't even bother to check building code before they started. The people who don't care and just rush through it will not be stopped by laws/codes that realistically can't be enforced, it only seems the well meaning people are impacted -- but they are the people I WANT doing these projects!

So, I try my best to encourage people who have the skills and mind for home repair to go ahead and do it, and to just make sure they file for permits/do good work/etc. If we get too afraid to work on our own houses, we'll likely lose the freedom to do so, as more and more laws get passed under the premise that "no one unlicensed or who is not a professional does these sorts of projects anyway."

Just my 2 cents on the issue anyway.

respect and even envy your abilities. just that the powers that be find one minor code violation and then they have you dismantle the whole thing. ins. is a whole other story.

 

[TimfromMA]

Did I just read that it is not to be sold in MA?

Bought it in RI

 

[jintoreedwine]

respect and even envy your abilities. just that the powers that be find one minor code violation and then they have you dismantle the whole thing. ins. is a whole other story.

I'm sure this sort of thing does happen, but I would hope it is not the norm. I have found that if you are respectful and show an interest in doing the job correctly, the local building inspector will be more than happy to help you make sure your project is to code (that is part of their job, after all!)

Building code may sound scary, but it isn't a mysterious thing. You can read the code, and when you are doing the project, you just have to make sure what you are doing meets or exceeds (my preference) the requirements of the building code . If you do that, you should not have to lose any sleep at night about the powers that be coming in and telling you that you have to tear your house apart .

Since I have started doing home repair and reading the building code for myself I have been stunned at how many houses have lots of things that don't meet code, even things that were most likely done by a professional. So, if you are worried about things not being insured because of the slightest infraction, don't look too closely at things in your house . Also, determining whether something is "to code" can be a strange thing. When my house was built in the 60s things were different building code wise and lots of things in my house have been grandfathered in. So, even if my house was perfectly to code when it was built, it no longer is by modern standards. So, again, I don't think this is worth losing too much sleep over. It is good that we have standards, but it is not nearly as cut and dry as it might seem on the surface.

 

[mass_burner]

Bought it in RI

How long does 1 canister look last? These are the green propane canisters you see in the camping isle?

 

[TimfromMA]

I bought the hose to connect to a 20lb propane tank like the ones used on a gas grill.

How long does 1 canister look last? These are the green propane canisters you see in the camping isle?

 

[mass_burner]

I bought the hose to connect to a 20lb propane tank like the ones used on a gas grill.

And you can use that inside the house safely?

 

[Bioburner]

Bulk propane containers are not allowed in living structures!? I seen what a pressure valve going off in a home does first hand.

 

[TimfromMA]

This thing has a 20' hose with clear instructions that the tank remains outside

 

[F4jock]

Every time I see this thread pop up, I think...

Heh! My reaction exactly!

 

[Bioburner]

Gasoline around $2.25 but diesel is still $3.50