Nasty rumor about Atlas pellets

[Griny]

Is it true that Atlas pellets went belly up?
I hope to god that this rumor is false though...
One thing is for sure that the phone number I tried calling is not working and I tried emails to several addresses but they all got sent right back as mailer deamons.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Is it true that Atlas pellets went belly up?
I hope to god that this rumor is false though...
One thing is for sure that the phone number I tried calling is not working and I tried emails to several addresses but they all got sent right back as mailer deamons.

Atlas did indeed go belly up.

ETA More here: https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/66531/

 

[Griny]

You know I did do a search on the forum here "Atlas Pellets" only came back with one topic about Costco Atlas pellets
Hoping not to look stupid lol guess that FAILED!
And DAMN that really sucks great company gone... its a shame.

 

[Rooscooter]

It is my understanding the the "Atlas" name was purchased by West Oregon Wood Products (the makers of Blazers and others). I used to buy directly from their Houser Plant which was closed around Christmas this year.

Their pellets were not very consistent IMO...at lest the last 2 years or so. I got a number of bags with a lot of dirt etc. They did replace about 20 bags for me last year so they always stood behind their product.

If you can find them in the Seattle area....look for North Idaho Energy Pellets. These are the best I've found and they do show retailers in Western Washington.

 

[flynfrfun]

I'll have to try some of the North Idaho Energy pellets. My stove dealer has them for $220/ton. Are they better than Bear Mtns? Those are the hottest and cleanest I have found, but pricey at about $285+ per ton.
Flynfrfun

 

[Rooscooter]

I'll have to try some of the North Idaho Energy pellets. My stove dealer has them for $220/ton. Are they better than Bear Mtns? Those are the hottest and cleanest I have found, but pricey at about $285+ per ton.
Flynfrfun

I've only burned one hotter pellet and that's Okanagan's or Westwoods as their called around here. The North Idaho Energy Pellets are the cleanest I've burned over the last few years.

Haven't seen Bear Mountain in this area....If I do I will try a few bags and let you know.

I regularly burn Westwood Premium, Atlas Ultra Premium Red Fir (until now), Rocky Canyon Red Fir (local around here only) Armstrong SPF, Blazers and the North Idaho Energy. For the last two years I have used the North Idaho pellets more than the others because they burn cleanest and less cleaning is always good.

I do some tests for heat each year using a probe style thermometer and for heat I would rank them as follows:
Westwood Premiums
North Idaho Energy and Rocky Canyon and Atlas
Armstrong and Blazers

The cleanest are:
North Idaho Energy (by a good margin)
Blazers and Rocky Canyon
Armstrong and Atlas
Westwoods

The price of $220 is a little more than the lowest I can get over here which is around $199/Ton delivered (2 ton minimum). With that said I have seen them for $250 as well at some places. Try a few bags and let me know what you think.

 

[flynfrfun]

I've only had my stove since last Nov. In that time frame, I've tried Cleanburn, Blazers and Bear Mtn. Best value for the heat output so far has been the Blazers. But they don't burn as clean as the Cleanburn or Bear Mtn. I got them at HD for $187/ton. I have two tons of them and a ton of Cleanburns. Cleanburns are real common around here, but I haven't been able to figure out if they really do have salt in them still or not. My dealer says salt was a problem like 8yrs ago, but is not at this time. Yet, I read a post from a guy in Tacoma that says they still float the logs in from Puget Sound to the mill as he can see it from his house. The Cleanburn's are about as clean burning as the Bear Mtn, but not near as hot. They are about equal to the Blazers in heat output. I have to turn my stove down one heat level when burning the Bear Mtns they are so hot. I suspect it has something to do with the fact that the pellets are smaller dia. and shorter than the other pellets I'm using. The stove probably feeds more during each feed cycle. The nice thing about the M55 is that it doesn't really care what pellet I put in it. The agitator keeps the burn pot clean, it's just a matter of how much ash I have to empty during my weekly cleanings.

How do you get pellets delivered for $190/ton? Most places around here want anywhere from $20 up to $80 for delivery. Sometimes it's a per ton fee, sometimes it's a bigger fee, but unlimited tons delivered. I went and got the 2 tons of Blazers myself since my HD is only about 1.5mi up the street. But the guy that had the Bear Mtn for $285/ton wanted something like $85 to deliver...yikes!
Flynfrfun

 

[Rooscooter]

How do you get pellets delivered for $190/ton? Most places around here want anywhere from $20 up to $80 for delivery. Sometimes it's a per ton fee, sometimes it's a bigger fee, but unlimited tons delivered. I went and got the 2 tons of Blazers myself since my HD is only about 1.5mi up the street. But the guy that had the Bear Mtn for $285/ton wanted something like $85 to deliver...yikes!
Flynfrfun

We have a building materials wholesaler (Parr Lumber) that sells pellets by the ton. They charge $25 for delivery within 5 miles and $35 for up to 15 miles and $50 for up to 30 miles from their yard. If you buy 2 or more tons they waive $25 of the delivery fee. I live about 5 miles from the yard so I got "free" delivery. They had an early bird special last year in September where they had North Idaho Energy Pellets for $199.00 a ton with a two ton minimum. Their "regular" price for these is $209/ton.

There are a couple of other outlets around there that will deliver for anywhere between $10 and $50 depending on how much you buy.

I would guess the average cost per ton of premium pellets in the greater Spokane area is around $225/ton. This has stayed pretty steady for the last few years.

As for your prices being higher.....everything is more expensive on your side of the mountains......I was just over there last week and paid $40 to park my car for 6 hours. That would get me a nice spot in a central downtown lot for a half a month over here...... :lol:

 

[Griny]

Cleanburns are real common around here, but I haven't been able to figure out if they really do have salt in them still or not. My dealer says salt was a problem like 8yrs ago, but is not at this time. Yet, I read a post from a guy in Tacoma that says they still float the logs in from Puget Sound to the mill as he can see it from his house.

I work on the Tacoma tide flats at Nordlund boat and our boat launch dock faces the Hylebos waterway and acros from J&G Marine store is the pellet mil and on the left from that is the head office of Manke Lumber and Cleanburn pellets
Now I see a lot of logs floating in the water there and I do know they process a lot of logs to create lumber and by doing so you get sawdust that they use for they're pellet production you can see in that link there is a huge pile of sawdust. So I'm pretty sure by having these logs float in the water they will pick up some salt right?
That's one big reason for me not to buy they're pellets

 

[flynfrfun]

Thanks Griny,
I've burned a ton of Cleanburns so far. I have one ton left. I did notice the fire grate (part that sits on top of the burn pot liner) was getting rusty on the inside. But, I don't know if this is normal or not for my stove. Nothing else seems to be getting any rust on it. I see you like Bear Mtn pellets. Where have you been getting them and for what price?
Flynfrfun

 

[Griny]

Thanks Griny,
I've burned a ton of Cleanburns so far. I have one ton left. I did notice the fire grate (part that sits on top of the burn pot liner) was getting rusty on the inside. But, I don't know if this is normal or not for my stove. Nothing else seems to be getting any rust on it. I see you like Bear Mtn pellets. Where have you been getting them and for what price?
Flynfrfun

I used to get them from a local feed store in Silverdale but the last time I bought them was fall of 2009 and if I'm correct it cost me about $230 and burned 2 tons.
This year I almost burned 2 tons of Atlas. The Atlas pellets came from Costco for $187 ton