Magnum Heat 

Electricity is measured in kilowatts (kw) and a kilowatt is 1,000 watts and usually costs between six and tens cents per hour. In some areas like California the rates will be higher and in areas with hydroelectric power the rates can be lower, but the average is eight cents per hour per kw in the corn belt.

Electrical Usage for Magnum & Country Flame Pellet Stoves

The igniter for a MagnuM Baby Countryside stove uses 175 watts and it normally takes three to five minutes to light wood pellets in a stove (it may take longer in some cases) and the igniter runs for ten minutes. The igniter takes .175kw x .08 = 1.4 cents. If the igniter is on for ten minutes it would take only ten out of sixty minutes in an hour so 1/6 x 1.4 cents = .233 cents per lighting cycle. The use of the igniter on a Magnum Pellet stove will vary with individual usage, but if it went through a relight cycle twenty times in a day it would take .233 cents x 20 = 4.66 cents or less than a nickel a day (with wet or poor fuel it may take 2-3 cycles for the unit to light properly).

The fan motors, auger motor and stirrer motor (if standard) take approximately 2.5 amps to 3.0 amps to operate. Voltage x amps = watts, so 110v x 2.75 amps = 303 watts of usage per hour. With the average price of a kilowatt at $0.08, the average electrical cost to run a stove would be .303kw x .08 = 2.42 cents per hour. If a stove ran for 24 hours in a day it would use approximately 58 cents per day (2.42 cents x 24 hours =58.176 cents). Many times a stove is not needed or used 24 per day, so the actual cost would be based on the actual hours a stove is used by a homeowner—if it was used 12 hours per day the electrical cost would be about 29 cents per day.

It should be noted that the fan for the heater exchanger on a Magnum stove does a good job of pushing the heat into the room and helps to circulate heat in a house—especially in a lower level or a basement where hot air rises throughout a structure. Magnum Pellet stoves also give off radiant heat (like the hot heat of the sun) in addition to convection heat. Compared to wood stoves or heating appliances without a blower, you get better heat circulation with a corn stove (in many cases higher thermal efficiencies with a corn stove). A forced air furnace and some other forms of heating also need a blower to move the hot air around a structure and will take as much or more electricity than a corn stove. Although electric baseboard heat does not need a blower, the average electrical usage will be much higher than a corn stove to heat a comparable area.

Note: These calculations do not include meter fees and other charges from an electric company. Voltage will vary from 110 volts to 120 volts and at start up there is a slightly higher electrical draw. For more information on electrical usage for appliances you can visit or “Google” various websites or contact your electric company.

Do you have a question you’d like answered? Maybe you have a tip to share with other pellet stove owners, please share!

photo credit: fontplaydotcom

Question: Should I buy a stove with lots of automatic features like auto ignition?  What are the
benefits?

You might have heard this recently; “my stove is better than the other guys because ours lights automatically”. Is this really true and is this what I should look for? The answer to this burning question is really quite simple. If you would rather pay to have the electrical company light your appliance go for it. They really enjoy getting a check at the end of the month. Honestly, there are so many great features available today that will make your life easier, and you need to decide if they are right for you.

Do not, however, get led into thinking that these features mean that the appliance is better.

Do you want an appliance that does not meet your needs,  but starts itself ?  Not where you want to be I am sure.

Manually lighting a corn or pellet stove takes about 3-5 minutes. Automatically lighting a corn or pellet stove takes about 3-5 minutes. The difference is manually you use a match and automatically you are replacing the match with a form of an electronic match. Sometimes the difference is simply your preference. To weigh the benefits you need to decide if it is important to have the appliance light while you are away from home or if you would rather be there to light the appliance.

The MagnuM and Country Flame product line come in both styles.

We feel that if you are trying to conserve our natural resources, you should light the appliance manually to save electricity. If you don’t worry about that sort of thing we have optional auto ignition systems to allow automatic lighting of the appliance. The economical and efficient method is to manually light your appliance, use the manual or thermostatic operation mode to evenly balance your heating needs and enjoy long burn times between lighting your appliance. Most auto ignition systems on the market today incorporate a full shut down feature and should your home require frequent lighting of the appliance (sometimes 15-20 times per day), you will experience premature failure of the auto system.

The difference with MagnumHeat.com company and products is that we care about your needs and taking the time to help you make the best choice for your situation.

photo credit: blumenbiene