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 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).

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 model. 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)

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 MUCH LESS during normal run time. When the ignitor initially fires up there is a brief condition (a few minutes) of higher power consumption.

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

How many watts does a pellet stove use?

So, for a few minutes during the ignition period, my Harman consumes almost 400 watts. Though once lit and running, the average consumption was almost 100 watts, averaged over time.

How did I measure how many watts / amps?

KILL A WATT™ meter
(view on amzn)

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

Battery & Inverter

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 Inverter 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 have chosen the following inverter, Made in the USA. They manufacture several different wattages. The 600 watt will certainly be enough for the pellet stove during ignition. Plus, I can use it for other things too…

Samlex America PST-600-12 Pure Sine Wave Inverter (600 watts)
(view on amzn)

I have several Samlex America products and although a bit more expensive they are commercial grade. They’re professionally designed and built to safely operate electrical & electronics without damaging them. The “pure sine wave” output is the cleanest you can get, especially good and safe for electronic devices.

Think of it this way: This inverter can also be used for other duties to operated other 120 volt devices during an emergency, not just your pellet stove. Lights, a TV, etc..

Battery to Inverter Cables

You might either make up your own cables to connect from the battery to inverter, or you might simply purchase one ready made.

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

Bear in mind that you will need a cable-set that can carry the full amp rating of the inverter. In my example, 600 watts, which is 50 amps (@ 12 volts DC).

The following 8 gauge jumper cables will do it. 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.

8 Gauge Booster Cable
(amzn)

A Cheaper Inverter

A less expensive inverter may still get the job done, and I have selected one for your consideration. It comes with alligator clip extension for battery connection.

BESTEK 500W Power Inverter
(amzn)

Note that I have no experience with the BESTEK brand. I selected it due to its mostly favorable reviews. It is however a “modified sine wave” inverter (one reason why it costs less, plus made overseas) and not as “clean” as a pure sine wave inverter. That said, in many circumstances this will probably be okay for a pellet stove. Pure sine is better for electronic devices.

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 amount 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 100 AH rated 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

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.

[ Read: Best Extension Cord ]

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

Although I indicated that a single typical 100 AH battery may run a typical pellet stove for 6 hours, in reality you might not have it running all of the time. This would lengthen your run time.

Also, your own stove may have different energy demands. Here is an excellent and inexpensive electrical meter that I use to measure the power consumption of appliances. I have a solar powered off-grid system and this has been invaluable while calculating energy needs.

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.

And before some of you say it, I’ll say it first… A wood stove won’t have this problem.