Pilot Light

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pk47
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Re: Pilot Light

Post by pk47 »

Fyrfightr wrote:New furnaces with electronic ignition usually have stainless steel heat exchangers. Older standing pilot furnaces have carbon steel heat exchangers. We see those rusted out and putting CO into the house on the fire dept. I run on.
I would have your heat exchanger tested/inspected. I replaced my standing pilot furnace with a new 95% efficient furnace several years agomand it paid for it self in 2 years.
I have a CO detector in place (actually two) for monitoring.

I did the calculations several years ago - a furnace of my type is about 65% efficient. It would take not two years but over a decade to pay off the difference, and most modern furnaces have heat exchangers with a lifetime MTBF of 18 years. Those 8 years of savings after paying itself off would fall short of purchasing a new heat exchanger or furnace (usually most people replace the furnace).

The payback for adding insulation was far better, so I put the money there. Once I get close to retirement, I will replace the furnace and ride it out until I leave the house. Twenty years should cover it.
pk47
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Re: Pilot Light

Post by pk47 »

Bruenor wrote:
pk47 wrote:
(Yes, my furnace is old - nearly 60 years - but runs fine and is mainly used for supplemental heating. A wood pellet stove handles most of the heating duty.)
Wow my attempt at using a pellet stove instead of the oil furnace was a bust. Bought a Harmon, tried it for one year and determined it didn't put out anywhere near the BTU's they claimed. Burned a ton of pellets for seemingly net zero effect on oil consumption.
Sold the Harmon at a loss, and put in a coal furnace from Tractor supply which cost far less. no pilot light on the coal furnace, but it keeps the house nice and toasty warm.
Glad to hear a pellet stove is actually working for someone though.
Depends on which Harmon you bought and how much energy you needed. Mine is capable of going to 50k BTUs/hr and my furnace is 80k. But the stove runs all the time so it's enough unless the temperature dips below zero.

The tough part was setting up the house. I logged everything - fuel usage, fans on/off around the house, each room temp, all outdoor conditions, all stove settings - for two years. I ended up with one fan moving air from the main living room down the hallway, and putting my furnace fan on a timer to stir the air and move it around. The system works well now and I don't have to think about it, just load fuel.

I actually mostly burn corn, not wood pellets, as my stove is able to do either. Corn is much cheaper per ton.

Coal is great though. I had a coal stove for one year in a house we lived in, and it was comfy :) But I hate moving rock around and found corn or wood pellets nicer. And a lot less dust!
Brian D.
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Re: Pilot Light

Post by Brian D. »

curmudgeon3 wrote:Evan, by any chance did you ever work on the Manhattan Project ?
Yes. He was their bartender/ custodian. He created the now-famous cocktail, but was too modest to name it after himself. :mrgreen:
Quit worrying, hide your gun well, shut up, and CARRY that handgun!

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1911 and Browning Hi Power Enthusianado.
curmudgeon3
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Re: Pilot Light

Post by curmudgeon3 »

Brian D. wrote:
curmudgeon3 wrote:Evan, by any chance did you ever work on the Manhattan Project ?
Yes. He was their bartender/ custodian. He created the now-famous cocktail, but was too modest to name it after himself. :mrgreen:
Rusty Nail ...... m-m-m
EChryst
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Re: Pilot Light

Post by EChryst »

You'd be a lot more disappointed if you turned off your pilot and a spider nested in the orifice, requiring a service call to clean/clear or to do yourself. I think we calculated that a pilot won't cost more than 3-5 bucks a month, tops.
-Erik
WeinerDog
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Re: Pilot Light

Post by WeinerDog »

Thanks for all the info. Guess I'll leave it alone.
Gramps
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Re: Pilot Light

Post by Gramps »

EChryst wrote:You'd be a lot more disappointed if you turned off your pilot and a spider nested in the orifice, requiring a service call to clean/clear or to do yourself. I think we calculated that a pilot won't cost more than 3-5 bucks a month, tops.
Doubt a spider could nest in the orifice but with the lack of pressure from gas. moisture from the basement the aluminum pilot tube will scale, fall off and easily plug the orifice when trying to light again.
PITA to clear and yes, an expensive service call.
Gramps

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