Biomass / Pellet / Corn stoves, who heats with them?

[5030]

Besides me that is. Been using one for at least 20 years now for supplemental heat up here in the frozen north of Michigan. Burn pellets only through mid November and corn and pellets, November 15th (about) through March (about), depending on the weather, with propane as the backup (central furnace).

Even with cheap propane ($1.20 a gallon) we still like the bio mass stove and my corn is free anyway so I burn it.

Running right now and the cats are enjoying it. 38 out, 71 in.

 

[i7win7]

Used old Siegler oil stove for 50 years, couldn't find replacement oil burner. Switched over to wood pellet stove. Pellets about 40% cheaper than using oil.

Pellets are a PITA,
1st oil is delivered - pellets you got to fetch them yourself. Use 5 ton/year, have trailer and ford tractor that can lift 1 ton pallet.
2nd dry storage, had garage space, bought hand pallet jack to move units around garage.
3rd transfer to house, use Kabota to haul 6 bags at a time, raise bucket to shoulder level, ease bag onto shoulder and carry inside.
4th daily cleaning, have to shut it daily and use an ash vacuum to clean bed ash.
5th additional cleaning around 25 bags burnt, baffles need to be removed and cleaned, exhaust pipe needs cleaned as well.

The old oil burner was gravity feed and would still heat without AC. Pellet stove needs 5 amps of AC. A computer UPS system beeps on power loss and gives 6 min or so of additional run time. Power feed had to be run from stove to exterior of house for small Honda inverter generator. It runs about 6 hrs per tank.

Had everything except pallet jack and the UPS. Would have been major PITA if all support equipment had to be obtained with stove.

 

[Peter 315]

I also use wood pellets about 12 ton a year I burn 5 or 6 and the rest for horse bedding. I pick up 6 ton at a time and unload them into the barn with the L47 . Clean out the stove every ton its an Enviro m55 stove. I'm nice and warm.....

 

[oosik]

I have a Wollenco Pelletmaster. It's a multi-fuel pellet stove. I've run it on wood pellets, wheat, cellulose pellets, olive pits, et, etc. It also runs on coal - never tried that. I thought wheat would be the ideal fuel - since we have so much in this area. Wheat worked OK but consumption was almost massive. Works the very best on Lignetics. A hard, resinous wood pellet produced in Sandpoint, Idaho.

This stove is the next thing to maintenance free. A tool is used - once a week - to knock down clinkers and clean out the auger pot. If you are quick - the stove doesn't even need to be shut down. Once a month - scoop out ash. I've given up on keeping the glass windows clean. I run this stove at such a low setting - windows "fog" up pretty quickly.

 

[repete]

I use a 30K BTU pellet stove in the basement of my 5400SF two story house. It takes the edge off the cold and basement stays reasonably warm with it running. I use (2) 92% propane furnaces for primary.

It is a pain if the power goes out for sure and starting it can be a smoky issues if I do not take steps to positively pressurize the house. I have the two furnaces with fans to take outside air into the home (codes) and I turn them both on manually to pressurize the house when starting and that helps with forcing the smoke out the vent.

I do have a question for other burners of pellets: What do you pay per ton? I pay $235.52 including the sales tax of 8.1%.

 

[Peter 315]

I use a 30K BTU pellet stove in the basement of my 5400SF two story house. It takes the edge off the cold and basement stays reasonably warm with it running. I use (2) 92% propane furnaces for primary.

It is a pain if the power goes out for sure and starting it can be a smoky issues if I do not take steps to positively pressurize the house. I have the two furnaces with fans to take outside air into the home (codes) and I turn them both on manually to pressurize the house when starting and that helps with forcing the smoke out the vent.

I do have a question for other burners of pellets: What do you pay per ton? I pay $235.52 including the sales tax of 8.1%.

I paid 219.00 a ton at HD you have to buy 6 tons at a time. NO SALES TAX in NH....

 

[Oaktree]

Is firewood considered "biomass"? That's how I heat, and have ever since I bought my first house in the mid 70s. Backup is oil, but we only use that in the late spring or early fall.

 

[BlackOps]

i do not mess with all of that - i use a beautiful woodstock soapstone fireview to heat our 2100 sq ft house.

yes i ike the big heat mass woodstoves but ouch the price and around here no one competent to do it or help me do it.

the outside bulk burners are also pricey and then to hook it up to my systems.

then you reoky on electricity to drive fans. with the woodstove; i am fine.

 

[crashz]

I have QuadraFire pellet stove insert in the living room. Our chimney liner was cracked, so the pellet stove and new liner plus install made sense. Keeps the house warm and without as much work as wood. Our primary heat is oil. Without the pellet stove, we could be filling the tank every 2 -4 weeks in the winter.

We burn about 4-5 ton of pellets a year, but the house is poorly insulated and as I fix that issue, its been getting easier to heat.

I do have a big wood stove in the basement, but its hooked up to the same flue as the oil furnace, a big no-no. So I'd like to get that out of the basement and into my garage. It would be wonderful to have heat out there.

 

[reb]

I use a pellet stove to heat my uninsulated workshop. It uses only about a dozen bags a season, at about $5.50 per bag. For my purposes, that is cheaper than insulating the building.