pellet stoves?? love them/hate them??

barnyardgal · #1 01/09/14, 03:54 AM

I bought a used pellet stove to use inside the mobile home-only less than a year old..had trouble getting a certain kid of pellets to burn...changed pellets from another co. and the stove seems to burn some better-still not burning up all the pellets-was wondering the good/bad on them...is there a trick to use the stove correctly??

The pellet stove is 'Golden Eagle' made by U.S. stove co.and also "Breckwell' is on the book of instructions...

Also am thinking of putting some kind of pellet stove in the new house but if they don't work any better than this one does-am thinking it would be a waste...it is suppose to heat up to 2200 sq.ft, but won't even heat the 980 sq.ft, mobile home..i had a guy to come look install the stove & look at it & he said it seems to be working better since i changed the pellets...

I know it has been cold here but i would think the pellet stove would at least heat the 980 sq. ft...

So-would like the good/bad on pellet stoves and what kind is best to get??

Thanks in advance!!!

moeh1 · #2 01/09/14, 06:14 AM

Never seen your brand, so only generic advice.
Many of the stoves have some adjustments for fuel settings or to balance airflow to optimize the burn, did you get a manual with it? Also, the blower that runs the exhaust needs to be cleaned regularly on many stoves. This stove definitely sounds like it should heat the place if its running right. Pellet brands run quite different in mine.

BigHenTinyBrain · #3 01/09/14, 06:40 AM

A lot of people love them but I have worked with a few who had similar problems, and hated theirs. I don't really like the fact that they don't work when the power is out, that's why we've never bought one. Do you know anyone who owns one, that you can visit and inspect and consider getting the same kind? Or ask your local stove dealer and installer to set you up with some happy customers who wouldn't mind showing off their stoves.

I know people say they are very efficient, but it seems to me that the process- cutting the wood, trucking it to a mill, manufacturing pellets and then trucking it to your home to burn it- probably eliminates the "efficiency" you get from the actual fire. Just my two cents, a regular woodstove appeals to me more.

Rustaholic · #4 01/09/14, 06:53 AM

I would never use a pellet stove unless it was given to with five or six tons of pellets plus a pellet maker machine..

Rustaholic · #5 01/09/14, 06:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigHenTinyBrain

I don't really like the fact that they don't work when the power is out, that's why we've never bought one.

Right there is another great reason to hate them.
There is nothing as great as an 80 F house during a Michigan winter three day power outage.
Been there / done that

MDKatie · #6 01/09/14, 07:07 AM

Wasn't there another thread about this? I swear I replied...

sherry in Maine · #7 01/09/14, 07:28 AM

I have a pellet stove, bought it couple winters ago. I also have a furnace that uses oil.... Oil costs thousands during Maine winters....

You must do general maintenance on a regular basis, for example, clean the 'chimney' out I thnk once or twice monthly. Of course, also wire brush the augur about once a week (it feeds the pellets into the igniter) so it isn't built up with carbon....

I bought the 2nd size up. I mean, not the smallest for a room, but the next one up. It is supposed to heat up to 1500 feet. I am happy with it; it requires less maintenance than a woodstove, and you can dump pellets in and that will keep it going for up to 12 hours. During way below zero, of course it might just be for 11 hours. Warmer winter days, over 12 hours.
Compared to buying oil, I love it.
Those who have a wood stove know about cold floors, same as a pellet stove.
You must wear socks and slippers - dont go barefoot! (because of cold floors!)

Also, the pellets are made from sawdust, dont know if they cut down trees specifically for that purpose of making pellets. Perhaps now they do, since money is made from it.

Yes, it does run on electricity. That's the down side. I have a generator that is hooked up to my house. Even in this bitter weather we are having, and the ice storm, and blowing winds, and everything else, we've been lucky, no long outages.
Once or twice in another year, it ran on the generator. Not for hours, so I cant tell you if it wastes lots of generator fuel or not.
Like someone else recommended, go to someone's house, talk to them aobut it.

Go to Lowe's or Home Depot, and there will be someone there to give advice, too.
They dont get a commision, so perhaps they'll be truthful. The guys I talked to (wnt to a couple different places to talk and also discussed with people who had one)

It's worth investigating!! Mine holds 2/3 a bag of pellets (or 3/4 a bag, not sure) per 12 hours. Oil comes on sometimes, if I am not home when pellets burn out.

In my house, the furnace is also run by electricity.

davel745 · #8 01/09/14, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barnyardgal

I bought a used pellet stove to use inside the mobile home-only less than a year old..had trouble getting a certain kid of pellets to burn...changed pellets from another co. and the stove seems to burn some better-still not burning up all the pellets-was wondering the good/bad on them...is there a trick to use the stove correctly??

The pellet stove is 'Golden Eagle' made by U.S. stove co.and also "Breckwell' is on the book of instructions...

Also am thinking of putting some kind of pellet stove in the new house but if they don't work any better than this one does-am thinking it would be a waste...it is suppose to heat up to 2200 sq.ft, but won't even heat the 980 sq.ft, mobile home..i had a guy to come look install the stove & look at it & he said it seems to be working better since i changed the pellets...

I know it has been cold here but i would think the pellet stove would at least heat the 980 sq. ft...

So-would like the good/bad on pellet stoves and what kind is best to get??

Thanks in advance!!!

there is a reason it was resold. some are better than others. maybe look at Pelpro Pellet Stove — 50,000 BTU, Model# HHPP2BDD-M on northern equipment they also have 40 pound bags of pellets for around $5.99 good reviews.

Vosey · #9 01/09/14, 09:32 AM

We have a Lenox pellet stove (one of the finickier brands supposedly). It took us awhile to figure it out. We do a daily cleaning routine and a big clean twice a year. There is an "eye" that needs to be cleaned to work well. Dampers need to be adjusted depending on the pellets. We do not have it hooked up to any thermostat or automatic starter. It heats the main living space of our house well on low, 900 sq feet upstairs. The downstairs (utility room and garage) is cold. When it dips in the teens or below we just turn it up.

The key is the pellets you buy. In talking with people, every stove seems to have pellets it runs better on. There are some really crappy pellets out there. They should not have too much dust and no plastics. We're lucky, there's a pellet company in Redmond, Oregon that makes great quality pellets.

I don't like that they rely on electricity, but a wood stove would not work well in this upside down house.

Vosey · #10 01/09/14, 09:34 AM

I'll throw out there that we don't put quite the whole bag in. The bottom of the bag is where the dust is. You can sieve the bottom and remove the dust or do as we do and use it for kitty litter. It also works well in the brooder box.

Bret · #11 01/09/14, 09:49 AM

Do these stoves also burn corn? I do not have one but I have looked at them.

moeh1 · #12 01/09/14, 11:50 AM

I found a manual online it may be your exact stove or similar?
http://www.ruralking.com/media/blfa_...520_Manual.pdf
There is a trim setting to help adjust the stove to particular brand of pellets. There is a fan setting - are you in high to circulate the air well? There is a heat level setting to account for colder temperatures, it should prduce more flame as you go higher. The manual I looked at had a combustion air adjustment lever on the side also to adjust input air. It also has an optional thermostat connection, make sure that is off if you aren't using one. Finally the combustion fan does need to be cleaned at least annually. Its supposed to generate 48000 BTUs. That is a good deal of continuous heat and should be driving you out of the house....

ronbre · #13 01/09/14, 02:56 PM

quality pellets are not always available..I would suggest using a regular wood furnace or wood stove rather than a pellet..yes you have to tend it more, but you can burn a lot of varities of wood in it..we have 3 wood burning items here now, a circulator in our garage, a fireplace in the house and an outdoor wood burning furnace for our house, our sons and garage..all 3 buildings..soon to be 4..

Vosey · #14 01/09/14, 05:27 PM

Some other hints I thought of. The fire should burn bright and clear. If it looks cloudy or gasseous in the fire box something needs to be cleaned or the damper isn't set right. We did just buy an ash vacuum as DH can then clean areas without having to take the whole stove apart. If the grate the pellets burn in is caked with crud on the bottom then you have crappy pellets. There will always be some caking, but we burnt some pellets that left a very nasty build up and smothered the fire quickly. DH takes a tool and cleans between the grates daily.

When we bought this house the neighbor said, "the guy who lived there bought this expensive pellet stove, it has never worked right, he complained all the time, it's not vented right" and on and on. Well, it was just really, really dirty! And looking at how he trashed the land with garbage, we're still finding beer cans years later, I'll bet he never cleaned it!

I think the regular cleaning is well worth the super warm, consistent heat. We go through a bag of pellets over 1/2 to 2 days in the winter except when we hit single digits, then it was a bag a day. Still much, much less expensive than heating with oil or propane as we have in other houses.

MDKatie · #15 01/09/14, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vosey

If the grate the pellets burn in is caked with crud on the bottom then you have crappy pellets.

Or like with ours, if the ash pan below piles up, it'll block the ash from falling through and cake up the grate. I've found if I go down and shake the ash tray so there's never a "hill" of ash, it burns much longer!

Billie in MO · #16 01/09/14, 06:11 PM

We had a pellet stove in our house in CO and we loved it. Never had a problem with it, it heated our entire house (@1000 sq ft) with it. Wish we still had it. Pellets are not all the same, first ones we had came out of NM and burned really hot. Then they quit making them and we had to go a different brand. We always bought our pellets from the company we bought the stove from. People we knew always seemed to have problems with pellets bought from WalMart, Lowes, Home Depot, etc.......

LisaInN.Idaho · #17 01/09/14, 06:22 PM

We have a big pellet stove in our shop/garage and it's wonderful. Our pellets are made right here locally from the sawdust left over at the lumber mills and we buy them by the ton. No problem with power going out...we're grid-tied solar and wind powered and have generator back up if all else fails.

MichaelZ · #18 01/09/14, 06:26 PM

They burn cleaner and have far less mess than wood, but if you run out of fuel, you can not just tramp out into the back woods and take down the nearest dead tree you see. Also, if your power goes out, your stove does not work. One of the big reasons we have a wood stove as a back up is for heat in case of a power outage. If we have an extended hour outage in zero temps, things can get very cold very quickly, leading to burst water lines and cracked walls. A lot of damage! Our free standing fire place is nice to look at and it also will heat our house by itself down to about 15 degrees. Even at zero, the stove can keep the place in the high 50's by itself. Maybe for you this is less of a factor, but for us up in N.WI, wood heat as a backup is the only way for us.

Peggy · #19 01/09/14, 06:28 PM

my MIL and FIL had a pellet stove. the one winter there was a shortage of pellets and they could not find them anywhere. I prefer a wood stove.

am1too · #20 01/09/14, 06:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barnyardgal

I bought a used pellet stove to use inside the mobile home-only less than a year old..had trouble getting a certain kid of pellets to burn...changed pellets from another co. and the stove seems to burn some better-still not burning up all the pellets-was wondering the good/bad on them...is there a trick to use the stove correctly??

The pellet stove is 'Golden Eagle' made by U.S. stove co.and also "Breckwell' is on the book of instructions...

Also am thinking of putting some kind of pellet stove in the new house but if they don't work any better than this one does-am thinking it would be a waste...it is suppose to heat up to 2200 sq.ft, but won't even heat the 980 sq.ft, mobile home..i had a guy to come look install the stove & look at it & he said it seems to be working better since i changed the pellets...

I know it has been cold here but i would think the pellet stove would at least heat the 980 sq. ft...

So-would like the good/bad on pellet stoves and what kind is best to get??

Thanks in advance!!!

If it were my only choice I'd move south.