Monday, November 24th, 2008
As I mentioned earlier in the season, we had a St. Croix Prescott EXL pellet stove installed in the basement.
Before the Winter season really began, I had my doubts on whether or not the pellet stove would heat the entire house. I was worried that it’s location would hinder the airflow to all the rooms upstairs. Well, I am happy to inform you that the stove does heat the entire house. I mean, if we keep the master bedroom door shut, it does. The master bedroom is over the garage and the furthest room from the stove. It’s also the coldest room, which is why we keep the door shut. When the time hits 10:30PM, the new digital thermostat cranks the heat in that room up to 65 degrees. That’s good enough for me.
We have had some nights already where the temperature has been in the 20s. I think that’s Winter and enough to tell me that the heating situation is going to be okay. I did try burning a fire in the regular fireplace a few times while running the pellet stove. The fireplace actually made things worse. It sucked so much air out of the house, all the rooms dropped a few degrees. Fireplaces are remarkably inefficient and really shouldn’t be used, in my humble opinion. If you want to run something in your fireplace, run a free standing wood stove or a wood stove insert. Even burning a fireplace for aesthetics on a cold day will freeze out the rest of your house. Nuff said.
Okay, we are having a little issue with the pellet stove.
A few nights ago, I tried to start it up. The start up procedure really isn’t very difficult on the Prescott. It basically consists of pushing the “on” button. Once the “on” button is pushed, the room blower turns on for about 10 seconds and the auger turns until the burn pot is approximately half way full of pellets. As the auger is turning, the ignitor kicks on and the pellets light up. It’s fun to watch and I sit there almost every time I light the stove doing just that. I smile when I see that flame dancing around inside that pellet stove.
Back to a few nights ago…when I tried to light the stove this particular time, I pushed the button. The fan turned on for about 10 seconds and then the stove just shut off. I am not sure if the auger ever turned to drop pellets into the burn pot.
I tried to light the stove a few more times when I noticed the #2 light blinking on the control board. I thought this was a little strange, since I had never seen that light blink before. I pulled out the owner’s manual and looked up that error code. Apparently, a lack of negative pressure causes the stove not to light and the #2 light to blink.
What can cause a lack of negative pressure? Well, a really windy day can do it, an open pellet stove door, a fireplace burning upstairs perhaps, a clogged air feed pipe or a clogged exhaust vent pipe. I am sure there are others, but these are the ones I remember.
Since I had a fire already going upstairs in the fireplace, I chalked the whole thing up to that. I got the pellet stove going in this instance by pulling the rubber tube off the vacuum switch and lightly sucking on it. When I heard a little “click,” I pushed the on button again. From here, things were fine. I held the crimped hose for a few minutes and then I hooked it back up the proper way.
Well, I tried to light the stove again the next night. The same thing happened. Since we had no fire going in the fireplace, I thought perhaps there was a clogged area in the stove somewhere that is causing the lack of vacuum, or negative pressure.
Let’s make a really long and boring story a bit shorter and to the point.
I cleaned out the entire stove about 10 times and nothing has changed. Every night, I suck on that hose to get the stove up and running. I have been reading the owner’s manual as well as some websites that deal with this kind of situation, but nothing has helped. One website said that a clogged exhaust vent is the sure-fire problem. I got excited and took off the clean-out cap. A little pile of ashed dropped out, but nothing changed.
This afternoon, I called the pellet stove dealer. I told them that I had pretty much narrowed the problem down to a faulty pellet stove vacuum switch and that I would need the tech to come out and take a look. Before we swap out the switch, I want him to hook up a vacuum gauge to see if there is proper negative pressure. If there is, we can replace the switch…if not, we have to do a bit more digging.
I keep going downstairs to investigate this issue. It is in my blood that I try to diagnose this problem myself. The only things I don’t have are a vacuum gauge or a new vacuum switch. I guess I need those things to solve the problem.
If you have ever experienced something like this with your pellet stove, please let me know. I am racing against time here. I want to beat the repair guy and figure this out myself.
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Wednesday, September 24th, 2008
The pellets were delivered yesterday, all four tons of them. That’s 8,000 pounds.
What did I do with all 8,000 pounds of pellets? I moved all 8,000 pounds of pellets downstairs, alone. I did that all by myself in about an hour and a half. I don’t mean to brag about my feats of strength, I really don’t.
This feat was really nothing for me, moving all 8,000 pounds of pellets, I mean. It was annoying, because the wheelbarrow had a tire that was half flat and it was dark outside, but otherwise, everything was OK. I also had to navigate through the little doggy land mines, but I mostly made it.
I put between 7 and 8 bags of pellets in each wheelbarrow load. At times, things got a little hairy going down the slight hill into the backyard, but again, this was but a minor challenge. When you have as much training in this type of thing as I do, it’s really simple.
Can someone please pat me on the back?
Of course I had to get a fire going in the pellet stove last night. The stove works really great, but I have to seal up the pipes again, just like the old stove. They leak slightly, which kind of stinks. I’ll get it.
The cool part is that when I am standing on the stairs between the basement and the main floor, I can feel a breeze going down, when I put my hand down towards the stairs and a breeze going up, when I put my hand up near the ceiling.
I think it’s going to work out just fine.
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Monday, September 22nd, 2008
First of all, let me just tell you how much I hate the word “obsolete.” I hate it almost as much as I hate the words “green” and “organic.” Gee, how much can we overuse these words? I didn’t use one of my lights today, therefore I am running a “green” company. Hmmm.
Basically, everything is obsolete these days. I mean, is my car obsolete just because there is something better out there? Is my telephone obsolete just because there is a new model? Ok, I’m sorry. I don’t want this blog post to sound like a rant, even though I can rant with the best of ‘em.
I was in the pellet stove place the other day waiting to talk to someone about when my pellets can be delivered. Remember, they aren’t answering their phones? By the way, the delivery was scheduled for today, but no one showed up. Basically, the day was spent working and looking out the window. I might stop by to visit them again tomorrow to see what they have to say about this.
Anyway, while I was there pretending to look at some stoves, I noticed a sales guy walking by. He asked if he could help me when I said yes. I asked him what the little door in the floor of the fireplace is and what it is used for. He replied, “Well fireplaces are basically obsolete…everyone is getting inserts.” I felt like saying, “Look you little pissant, I didn’t ask you whether or not fireplaces are obsolete. I asked what the little door was.” But, me being me, I didn’t way that. I just kept my charming smile and got an answer after he tried to sell me an insert.
Just in case you wanted to know what the little door in the floor of a fireplace is, it’s a clean out. Instead of shoveling the ashes out of the fireplace, you can just open the door and push them down into the hole. Then, you can go downstairs and shovel the ashes out down there.
I think the word obsolete is obsolete. So there.
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Sunday, September 21st, 2008
I keep trying to tell anyone who will listen that they should get into the wood pellet selling business. I mean it. If you want to get into a “carbon-neutral” business, start selling wood pellets.
The demand for wood pellets has been rising like absolute craziness. There are no licenses and no classes to take. All you need to do is get a truck, find a vendor, put an ad in the Yellow Pages, get a garage and start making money. It’s pretty much a year round business now. You’re crazy…CRAZY if you don’t listen to me on this one.
I visited a website the other day checking out all different brands of wood pellets. This place sold and delivered to the entire state of Connecticut. They prided themselves on having the most diverse and best quality wood pellets in the state. Well, when I got to the order page, guess what? Every single brand of wood pellet was sold out. Even the pellet stove store I bought this pellet stove from stopped answering their phone. Now, you have to leave a message and they will get back to you. I had to stop by in person yesterday just to speak with them.
I am not sure about the margins for selling woods pellets, but I would guess they are flexible. You could probably make up for a lot in delivery charges, but I would expect the rest is pretty easy. Just think about it…if there were blogs back when people started delivering heating oil, you might have seen a similar post.
I swear, if someone doesn’t start doing this, I will.
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Saturday, September 20th, 2008
I know it’s hard to believe, but sometimes, I sit here and think of stuff to write and come up short.
I hear this a lot with blogs…writer’s block. I never thought I would have it. I’m not sure I do, I am really just not in the mood sometimes. I don’t think life is any more boring right now, but it just doesn’t seem like there is anything to talk about. I guess I will just talk about current events.
Ok, I have been playing a lot of tennis. I went to another clinic today and had a good time. The last clinic I went to didn’t go over so well. I think I was hitting too softly. Today, I really nailed the ball good and had a good time. I don’t know what I like more, the game of tennis or striking something really hard. Either way, it’s good exercise and my body is ripped and buff. My aches and pains are even going away. All my strokes are coming along nicely. All I have to do is get my serve semi-consistent and I think I am going to get more involved with playing real matches.
I did win a game today. I lost two right before it, but I did win.
The weather is changing in the Northeast. It has been getting chilly at night and I haven’t been sweating bullets during the day. I even mowed the lawn today and didn’t sweat a drop. I won’t mention that I was on the ride-on lawnmower. I won’t mention that. I am going to start taking the camera out more to get some nice Autumn shots. Also, we can drive places again now that the humidity is gone. See, there are some photo opportunities right there.
The neighbor from up the road stopped by today to introduce herself and give us a big bouquet of Mums. I thought this was very nice. It was a really classy thing to do.
I have had the fireplace going for the past three nights. It doesn’t really do anything, besides look good. To get any heat out of it, I think I really have to pile the logs on. That might happen further in the season when the weather is cold during the day, but not yet.
I tried the pellet stove out today just for kicks. It works great. I went to the top of the basement stairs to see if I would feel the heat rising, and I felt a breeze. I actually felt a breeze, which means that the air was moving all by itself and I don’t need a fan to do it. That’s a good thing. I am curious how the pellet stove is going to heat the house. I am not expecting to have the whole house heated, but a few big rooms would be nice.
Also, after I finished playing tennis this morning, I went over to the pellet stove store and scheduled the delivery of pellets. They are going to drop off all four tons on Monday. Anyone want to come over and help me move four tons of pellets? Yeah, that should be a riot. Ah, it’s only 200 bags. That’s nothing. You bet I am going to be taking pictures of that one.
Still using the Bowflex and am stronger than ever. I think my stomach had gotten flatter. I like that because sitting in a computer chair all day doesn’t work wonders for the body.
Ummm, what else? I don’t know. September just seems kind of slow, doesn’t it? I mean, there is a lot of stuff going on, but the wheels of commerce don’t seem to be turning as fast this month. I wonder if this is the way it’s going to be until December. I keep trying to think back to the way it was last year. I thought things picked up in September, but maybe not.
I have been working a lot, trying to get things to launch in a big way. I have a little goal that is, well, not so little. I am laying the groundwork for the whole thing right now. It’s a bit difficult because there are so many options for things and so much to learn. If I could just get past a few hurdles, I could really move things forward. We’ll see what happens.
Ok, enough of this “not writing.” I guess I did have something to write about after all. The only problem is that there were no pictures. Sorry Mom.
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Wednesday, August 27th, 2008
The town inspector came by today to inspect the freshly installed pellet stove. It passed, but with a little story.
When the inspector was reading through the manufacturer’s installation manual, he couldn’t find the part that said exhaust vent clearances only need to be 9″ from windows and doors if a fresh air vent is used. The reason he couldn’t find it is because it wasn’t in there. When I realized this, I began to sweat. Then, I remembered that the updated version of the installation manual was online…that’s where I got those clearances from. I quickly went upstairs to print out the pages I kept telling him about. I ran back downstairs and gave him the paperwork. He approved the install with no more issues.
I really like this installation because we don’t need a protective layer between the stove and the floor, since it’s on the new basement tile. That’s pretty cool, as well as a money saver. Also, we used hardly any exhaust pipe. That’s another money saver.
After the inspection, I called the pellet stove place to complete the order for four tons of pellets. I wanted to make sure the stove would be operable before finishing and paying for the order. They will get delivered in mid September.
I also called the insurance company to inform them of the new appliance. They liked this and added $11 to the homeowner’s policy. Not bad…
On the way home from Home Depot today, I saw a sign that offered a cord of wood for $200. Boy, prices have gone up. Even pellets were about $2.50 a bag a few years ago. Now, they are averaging about $5 per bag. If you were ever thinking about getting into a new business, alternative energy is it. This stuff is HOT right now.
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Tuesday, August 26th, 2008
Well, the guys came over yesterday to install the new St. Croix Prescott EXL pellet stove. As you might recall, our previous pellet stove was a Harman P38. I was a little nervous about switching brands because I had gotten used to Harman. Also, Harman has very good reviews. The reason I couldn’t get a Harman this time is because they are all backed up and we may not have even gotten one this season.
It took the installers about 3 hours to finish the installation. When everything was in, they fired it up to make sure everything was working properly. One of the installers noticed one issue…the auger wasn’t turning, so no pellets were falling into the burn pot. the auger motor was working fine, just not the auger itself. We made an appointment for the service guy to come out today. By the way, I could have fixed this. It was easy. I actually was almost done fixing it when the doorbell rang. That’s me beating my chest.
Today, the repair guy came out and fixed the auger issue. The small set screw on the auger shaft wasn’t tightened properly, so it wasn’t catching on the auger motor.
I must say, this unit is very nice. It has auto-light, which was very important. I am going to hook up a thermostat, so the pellet stove can shut down and start up on its own. Also, the auger and fan is much quieter than the Harman. The whole system just seems to be more elegant. For a few hundred bucks more, I am happy that I went with this model.
Here are some photos…
What’s nice is that the outside venting is under the porch. The necessary clearances are 24″ away from the porch and 12″ off the ground. Also, since we used the fresh air kit, the clearances from windows and doors is only 9″. I would say that’s one of the huge benefits of pellet stoves.
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Saturday, August 23rd, 2008
Last Saturday, the pellet stove installer came out for a site visit. He checked out the location of the installation and took a few pictures for the file. It’s good to have a site visit, just to make sure everything will be OK for the installation.
He gave me some papers to bring down to the town office for the permit application. Things are a little different here in CT than in NY. Here, you have to fill out the permit information and then, the project needs to be approved by the inspector. This took a few days, because I am sure this fellow is out inspecting all these new pellet stoves people are putting in. In NY, I think I remember just handing the guy the paperwork and him looking at it and giving me the green light. Back in the old town, you could pretty much put up a housing project on your front lawn and get it approved.
Oh yeah, permits here go by the cost of the project. The more expensive the project, the more you are going to pay for a permit. It might be that way in NY…I don’t remember.
By Thursday, the permit was approved by the inspector. I gave the pellet stove company a call to set up an install date. We settled on this Monday coming up, which isn’t bad. I just want this thing in so I can stop thinking about it. I also ordered four tons of pellets. Boy, those pictures are going to be fun.
This blog post is over. At this point, I have nothing else to add.
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Saturday, July 26th, 2008
I know it’s only July, but believe it or not, that’s about two months too late when someone is trying to get a pellet stove installed.
I stopped by the local pellet stove store the other day to pick out my new Harman P68 Pellet Stove. This is top of the line and has everything I want in a stove. There is a thermostat and auto light and everything else I can think of. You can understand my excitement about this after I received a “price lock-in” at $4.85 a gallon from our heating oil company. As it turns out, a lot of other people are excited about Harman stoves as well.
I walked into the store and told the sales guy that I wanted a…He said, “If you are going to say Harman, you aren’t going to see it for a while.” He explained that all the Harman stove models are way back ordered and I wouldn’t see it until way into the season. While this annoyed me, it also gave me a chance to look at some other stoves.
I looked around and picked out a St. Croix Prescott EXL. This has the thermostat option as well as auto-light. When it gets too hot, the fire goes out. When it gets too cold, the stove automatically fires up again and cooks until the whole thing happens again. I am telling you, these things have come a long way.
I put a deposit down on that stove and they are going to come do a site visit, just to make sure the whole thing is going to work out, permit-wise. I think it will.
I also looked at some wood stove inserts for the fireplace upstairs. They look really good. I told the guy that I really wasn’t all too attracted to bringing wood inside again, since my childhood was filled with that. Then, he showed me the bio-brick. A bio-brick is a two pound brick made out of compressed saw dust. Basically, it is a big wood pellet. You can order them by the ton, just like pellets. I though this was wicked cool and now plan on getting a regular wood stove insert for the fireplace next season.
I will let you know what happens with the site visit.
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Wednesday, November 14th, 2007
I am a little hot. I just finished bringing the remaining two tons of wood pellets downstairs to the basement. There were one hundred forty pound bags. I don’t even know how many trips I made with the wheelbarrow. I brought down six bags per trip. I am sure if I did a little math, I could figure it out. Nah, that’s asking too much.
So there we have it…three tons of wood pellets for the season. I am guessing that we already went through about fifteen bags, give or take.
Things with the pellet stove have been going pretty smoothly, except for that one small hiccup. It’s half way through November, so that’s not too bad. I say this every year and then it hits minus twenty in January. That’s when most of the pellets get used up.
Big props to you and your family.
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