How To Run A Pellet Stove During A Power Outage

How To Run A Pellet Stove Without Electricity

Do you want to know how to run a pellet stove during a power outage? If you have a pellet stove and rely on it for your heat, then pay attention to this article. I’ll show you how I measured my own pellet stove for watts / power consumption, and how I can run it during a power-outage for awhile.

Without electricity during the winter (severe storm, snow/ice, high winds), your home or cabin will get cold quick!

It’s really not that complicated to set this system up. I will first run through the calculations to exemplify typical power consumption of a pellet stove. Then we’ll see what we can do to keep it running during a power outage / blackout.

How Much Electricity Does A Pellet Stove Use?

First, as with all typical pellet stoves that I’m aware of, they require a 120 volt AC power source (typical in-home electricity). This runs the auger and fans.

Second, we need to discover the operational power consumption (watts) or the AC current (amps) before we can figure out what we will need to run our pellet stove during a power outage.

I am going to use my own pellet stove as an example, which is a Harman brand. This will likely be typical for most pellet stoves with fans and motorized auger.

The electrical requirements listed in their spec sheet are as follows, however I will give you real world measurements afterwards:

Specifications:
Start up: 4.0 amps (460 watts)
Run: 3.0 amps (345 watts)

My Real World measurements:
Start up: 3.0 amps (360 watts)
Run: 0.7 amps (80 watts averaged over time)

Note: I am certain that these specs are for everything full-on, (all fans, auger speed, etc.) on highest settings, plus a margin…

My real world measurements are less than that during normal operation. When the ignitor initially fires up there is a brief condition (several minutes) of higher power consumption (the ignitor coil).

How many watts does a pellet stove use?

For a few minutes during the ignition period, my Harman ‘Absolute 43’ pellet stove draws almost 400 watts. Though once lit and running, the average consumption was 80-100 watts, averaged over time.

How did I measure how many watts / amps? Answer: I use the ‘KILL A WATT’ meter…

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I explain more about it in the following article:
[ Read: How To Measure Energy Consumption Of Appliances ]

12 Volt Battery & DC-AC Inverter For Pellet Stove

Make your own emergency backup power source to run a pellet stove during a power outage. You will need at least one deep cycle 12-volt battery and an inverter to convert 12 volts DC to 120 volts AC.

DC to AC Power Inverter Wattage for Pellet Stove

The inverter that you choose will have to produce at least the maximum load of your pellet stove. In my case that would be 460 watts based on the Harman spec sheet, or 360 watts based on my real world measurements. It’s always wise to look at a worst case scenario when specifying a system, so lets look for a 500 watt inverter.

The only time when the inverter will be loaded down will be the few minutes when the ignitor is on. Otherwise it will be cruising well below it’s rated maximum during normal operation.

I personally tested this 600 watt Samlex (because I already had it for other purposes). It worked great. However it is somewhat expensive.

A good cost effective power inverter are the following choices from BESTEK (a reputable company). You might also consider their 1,000 watt model which may benefit in other uses too.

BESTEK Pure Sine Wave Power Inverter DC 12V to 110V AC

Think of it this way: Having a 12-volt DC to 120-volt AC inverter can also be used to power other devices too. Great for an emergency situation, or simply being able to power something from your vehicle battery, etc..

12 Volt Battery to DC-AC Power Inverter Cables

You might make up your own cables to connect from the battery to the inverter, or you might simply purchase one that’s already made. Some DC to AC inverters may come with cables.

How many 12-volt DC Amps to run a Pellet Stove

My real world measurements of my Harman pellet stove pulled nearly 400 watts during the ignition phase. The 400 watt amperage conversion for a 12-volt battery may range from 32-34 amps depending on battery condition/voltage.

Bear in mind that you will need a cable-set that can carry the full amp rating of the inverter. For a 500 watt inverter, 8AWG cable is generally sufficient.

You might use the following 8AWG jumper cables. Simply cut the cable set in half and strip the non-clamp ends to bare wire. This will insert into the DC input connectors of the inverter.

If you are serious about using the BESTEK 1000 watt inverter near it’s rated capacity, I recommend the following 4AWG cable set (note the different lengths) instead of the factory-included cables.

Battery For Pellet Stove During A Power Outage

Now that you have an inverter, you will need a battery! Here’s the important thing to remember: The battery must have enough capacity to run your pellet stove for a reasonable period of time.

What does that translate to? A typical 12 volt “deep cycle” marine type battery will be rated for about 100 AH (Amp Hours). This will be displayed on the battery itself. And this will be your limiting factor as to how long you can run your pellet stove.

Let me explain…

If you are using a 100AH 12VDC deep cycle battery, and if your pellet stove draws 100 watts on average, this battery will be 50% discharged in 6 hours.

Formula:
100 watts = 8.3 amps (100 W / 12 VDC)
100 watts / 8.3 amps = 12 hours (fully discharged)
12/2 = 6 hours (50% discharged)

Important: Never fully discharge a lead acid battery. It will damage the battery. Rule of thumb not to discharge beyond 50% before recharging so to prolong the life of the battery.

Note: If you connect two batteries in parallel (plus to plus and minus to minus) you will double the capacity and run time.

Use Your Car Battery To Run Pellet Stove Through an Inverter

Another alternative would be to connect your inverter to your car battery. Run an extension cord into your house to operate the pellet stove. You could start your vehicle up now and again to charge the battery to keep your pellet stove running.

[ Read: Best Extension Cord ]

SUMMARY
All you need is an inverter and battery (or batteries) to run your pellet stove during a power outage.

Although I indicated that a single typical 100 AH battery may run a pellet stove for about 6 hours (50% discharge), in reality the stove may be cycling on and off. This would lengthen the run time of the battery.

Hopefully this article has helped some of you who may have been concerned about losing the heating ability of your pellet stove during a power outage.

Also, a wood stove won’t have this problem during a power outage :=)