thinking about getting a pellet stove

[GTX_SlotCar]

I’m sorry to resurrect a 2 month old thread, but my plans are the same as the original poster’s here. I only used about 450 gallons of oil last year, but I think it’s usually closer to about 575. I’m thinking about installing a refurbished Englander 55-TRPAH with the 120 lb hopper in my basement. My floor isn’t insulated but my sills are. The walls aren’t, but I plan to do that at some point. The basement never gets really cold. Even on -15° days it’s probably 45 down there. Our sodas, beer and bottled water never freezes and there’s never any frost anywhere. I don’t mind leaving the basement door open and I’d put in some kind of floor vents if I felt I had to; maybe even with some kind of short duct work. That would cut down the fire danger a little, but I’m not really too concerned with that. If the stove catches on fire I’d rather have it in the basement than the living room. I have room for a stove in my living room and may want to add a small one there some day, but I’m getting too old to lug a 40 lb bag up from the basement every day. My basement is the easiest place to unload and store the pellets and it would be convenient to have the stove there, too.

So, I have a couple questions. Do the stoves have to be cleaned every day? If so, do you have to let them cool down for a couple hours to do that? As supplemental heat, I’m thinking I should get 3 to 4 days out of the 120 lb hopper and cleaning the ashes when I load the hopper would be more convenient. Also, are there any problems I’m not thinking of with running the stove pipe out through the sill?



Gary

 

[jtakeman]

I’m sorry to resurrect a 2 month old thread, but my plans are the same as the original poster’s here. I only used about 450 gallons of oil last year, but I think it’s usually closer to about 575. I’m thinking about installing a refurbished Englander 55-TRPAH with the 120 lb hopper in my basement. My floor isn’t insulated but my sills are. The walls aren’t, but I plan to do that at some point. The basement never gets really cold. Even on -15° days it’s probably 45 down there. Our sodas, beer and bottled water never freezes and there’s never any frost anywhere. I don’t mind leaving the basement door open and I’d put in some kind of floor vents if I felt I had to; maybe even with some kind of short duct work. That would cut down the fire danger a little, but I’m not really too concerned with that. If the stove catches on fire I’d rather have it in the basement than the living room. I have room for a stove in my living room and may want to add a small one there some day, but I’m getting too old to lug a 40 lb bag up from the basement every day. My basement is the easiest place to unload and store the pellets and it would be convenient to have the stove there, too.

So, I have a couple questions. Do the stoves have to be cleaned every day? If so, do you have to let them cool down for a couple hours to do that? As supplemental heat, I’m thinking I should get 3 to 4 days out of the 120 lb hopper and cleaning the ashes when I load the hopper would be more convenient. Also, are there any problems I’m not thinking of with running the stove pipe out through the sill?

Gary

Welcome Gary,

You should get a lot of replies and most won't be what you want to hear. Putting the stove in the basement is a challenge! Many of us have stoves in the basement, But it took some effort to make it work. The area where the stove will be the warmest. You'll need to get some air moving to get any heat upstairs. I won't recommend vents/ducting as in most case's its against code. Its much simpler to move the stove to where you "really need the heat". If you absolutely must have the stove in the basement, Look closer at the pellet furnaces that sisters into the present furnace. IMHO its much easier in the long run! 2 stoves is also an option, But more work in cleaning and keeping them properly maintained.

Normal winter days(not counting shoulders) I get more in the 3 day range from 120's of fuel(about a bag a day). As it gets colder I get more like 2 bags per day. Extreme cold I have used close to 3 bags per day. If I had to estimate the cleaning routine on the 55-TRPAH, I say every couple days to scrape the burnpot liner. Full cleaning once a week(depending on ash pan size). As you use more you''ll need to clean more, So in the dead of winter you cold be scraping the burnpot once a day. This is where a pellet furnace is a plus, They usually have self cleaning burnpots. They do the scraping for you and you only need to do the weekly full clean.

You can go out the sill as long as you use the proper thimble and maintain the proper pipe clearance to combustibles. Just remember to check the local code for proper ground clearance on the vent outlet. It has to be a certain height off the ground(example: I have to be 4 feet off the ground in my town). If the sill is low, You'll need to go up-out and then up again. These requires more than the recommended 2 90º elbows and will kill your EVL. Most likely you'll need to use 4" venting. Something to check before you even get started.

 

[Don2222]

Hello

I think you can get by cleaning it once every 2 - 3 days.

Here is a video on it

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[SmokeyTheBear]

Cleaning is driven by the amount of ash, the size of the ash pan if any,and how well the stove ejects the ash from the burn pot (in a top feeder it is the combustion air that does the ash ejection).

As jtakeman mentions a basement install presents several issues, one being the ventilation of the stove and the other the moving of the heat into other areas of the house.

Basement installs frequently result in unhappy stove owners. But they also can work, you have to size the stove correctly first and it has to heat more space than the original heating system does in most cases.

 

[DexterDay]

X3 on basement installs. If uninsulated, the floor and block can and will take 30%-40% of your heat... Then the remainder has to try and find its way upstairs. Most vents in the floor are against code...

A pellet furnace is a good investment that wil heat the entire home evenly and more effectively. Do you have a Hot air furnace now? Or boiler set-up?

As for the cleaning... Some stoves need daily cleaning... Some can go a month (if needed)

I would say its best to start your own thread with a lay-out of your home (size, insulation, etc) and some pictures of the proposed places you have picked out. That way people will see a nee thread. Some seasoned vets may not click on a old thread (although a lot have ).

Welcome to the Forums.

 

[Countryboymo]

I burned maybe 10 bags last year at most because winter was so mild that my heat pump was a lot cheaper to run. I have a basement install and have close to half of my basement insulated but only one room is finished. I purchased the unit for a toasty basement whenever it is finished and for emergency generator powered heat in an outage along with ability to help to keep the heat strips from running when the heat pump cannot keep up. I haven't tried to heat the entire house with it because it would not keep the house comfortable but it would keep the basement pretty comfortable even though it needs more insulation and the upstairs at least decent in a power outage which is better than frozen family and frozen pipes.

The reason for this post is last winter was the mildest on record and I only burned 10 bags and let the heat pump do it all.
Winter before last was colder than average (to me VERY COLD) and also above average snowfall. I burned 2 tons of pellets and in comparison had similar electrical usage. The usage is so close you cannot read into any 'real' different weather conditions by looking at the usage. In the mild winter days last winter the stove could probably heat all of it but it heat pump was still cheaper.

I run the stove on and off through winter depending on my mood and outside temps and if I am in the basement. If it is down in the teens or below it is on high non stop. I can pretty much keep the heat strips off unless it needs a defrost cycle or is really windy and snowing. I never physically turn the strips off other than above 35 degrees the thermostat will not let them activate.

I also only have a 38,000 btu stove also which hampers heating the whole house but it still does an awesome job compared to the strips running and if there is an extended power outage we can have a toasty area to congregate which is the best peace of mind of anything.