New pellet stove...got some questions.

[michael]

Well, I finally talked my parents into a renewable resource stove of sorts. A pellet stove anyway. They got a super deal on it at Lowes, $500 which was half off. Not the make or the model I suggested, but they didn't want a pretty one, just something that would heat and save them money on propane. If repairs come their way, they can still say they saved mightily on the initial investment.

Long story short, they put it into their workshop pole barn that has an apartment upstairs occupied by my brother (not where I suggested they put it). The building is pretty huge, and the downstairs is uninsulated. Needless to say, the new stove is not really heating as they expected, and the greater concern is the fact that it is running through a bag and a half a day of pellets. This is running it on a medium-high setting during the day, and a med-low setting at night. We were all under the assumption that this stove would only consume a bag a day max. I'm beginning to think that the BTU output problem, and the consumption rate can be tied to the quality of pellets they purchased.

Now to the questions:

1) Is there a pellet ranking somewhere on this site? I've searched everywhere here and found nothing. Pellet owners chime in. Which pellet is the best, and where can we buy them? How much?

2) What can break on a pellet stove, and what to look for? Their stove was made by Englander BTW.

3) Is there a pellet maker in Ohio that would give discounts for local pick-ups?

Thanks. As always Craig, you're doing our hobby a great service by hosting this site.

 

[begreen]

Well, you did all right. The Englander just happens to have great support. You got a great deal on a decent stove.

The best pellet is the one in your area that is the cheapest, yet burns well in your stove. To get going, some folks have had luck with Walmart. What did the local Home Cheapo have for pellets? No break in with a pellet stove, just fire it up and get it going.

This thread should help a bit with fuel manufacturers:
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/4644/

But ya know, if you're trying to heat a sieve, it ain't gonna work. A bag and a half of pellets a day is not out of the ordinary. There isn't a massive difference in the btu output from one pellet brand to another, not so as you can tell at least. The difference is often with how cleanly they burn and how much ash they produce. Sounds like the best investment would be to tighten up that barn. Is there any insulation in it at all?

 

[michael]

The ground floor workshop has no insulation, just the exterior barn siding. The upstairs is fully insulated. Carrying the bags upstairs was going to be too much of a hassle.

We're thinking of insulating the downstairs with some "blue foam" sheet insulation to better insulate the barn. As far as pellets, I'm not sure the brand name, but it's sold by Lowes for $4.89 a bag. We've found a different type at a local home improvement store selling for $3.99 a bag and will be trying it this weekend.

The one thing I'm worried about is that they may give up on the stove too quickly and revert back to propane. If the stove is going to require this much fuel, it would almost be cheaper to heat with the propane. Add in the fact that pellets require extra work + gas and time to purchase them, and pellets look like something of a false economy to me.

I thought the pellet shortage of last winter was supposedly over? New manufacturers coming in to fill the void?

 

[restorer]

The ground floor workshop has no insulation, just the exterior barn :cheese: siding. The upstairs is fully insulated. Carrying the bags upstairs was going to be too much of a hassle.

We're thinking of insulating the downstairs with some "blue foam" sheet insulation to better insulate the barn. As far as pellets, I'm not sure the brand name, but it's sold by Lowes for $4.89 a bag. We've found a different type at a local home improvement store selling for $3.99 a bag and will be trying it this weekend.

The one thing I'm worried about is that they may give up on the stove too quickly and revert back to propane. If the stove is going to require this much fuel, it would almost be cheaper to heat with the propane. Add in the fact that pellets require extra work + gas and time to purchase them, and pellets look like something of a false economy to me.

I thought the pellet shortage of last winter was supposedly over? New manufacturers coming in to fill the void?

Michael:
Don't give up. First ask for a pallet discount. You may be able to get 50 bags from Lowe's for around $200. If you are trying to heat the apartment from below, you need to get heat directly to the apt. Door open, vent open, some way to channel heat to the upper space. Better if you want the apt heated to put the stove upstairs. Would do your brother good to haul a few bags :cheese: Insulating the wall downstairs and closing off drafts will make a world of difference.

Lean on your folks, this forum will get you through this. Remind your folks pellets are made from normally waste material from the forestry industry.

 

[begreen]

If they are heating the barn to heat the apt. this is the wrong stove and in my opinion the wrong approach. All they are currently doing is heating the outdoors, no matter what fuel is used. Either move the stove to the apt. or really get moving on insulating the barn. That may be a sysiphean task though. Barns were never built for tightness.

 

[michael]

My brother has heart problems, and my parents are in their 70's, so putting the stove upstairs is just not going to happen. Hell, I wouldn't want to carry 40 lb bags up those stairs everyday either. Major PITA! We have a forested farm to cut wood from, which is where I get all my wood, but firewood is really too laborious for either of them. The pellet stove idea was the least intrusive heating option besides simply using propane. Realistically, an outdoor wood furnace would have been the best option if time and money were infinite. I have a feeling that I would be responsible for most of the cutting to feed that beast if they were to install one, and I barely have enough time for my own wood.

The barn is only about 10 years old and is fairly tight. This is not a 150 year old sheep barn with animals running in and out of massive doorways. I feel that if it were fully insulated, the results would be much more impressive.

 

[begreen]

No doubt you can improve things, and I appreciate your concerns. From what you've outlined so far, it seems that a propane stove in the apt. would be the fastest and perhaps most cost effective method to heat the apt. However, if the goal is to heat the barn anyway, then go for it. However, before going to the expense and hassle, give some basic measurements of the barn and apt. size. You should at least do a heat loss calculation to determine if the insulation effort is going to achieve the desired result. I'm guessing that a large barrel stove, perhaps with a lot of thermal mass surrounding it, safely installed in the barn might give better results.