My Okie Douglas Fir thread

[Branson4720]

Damn you guys are killing me ! Makes me start thinking of getting some of these in if possible for next year. At 285/ton it would be a no brainer for at least 1-2 ton, maybe more if they are all that you are saying about heat and ash.

I wee that we have another Harman with a feed rate of 2. Seems that any super duper pellet is getting the feed rates turned down. I know mine does when burning certain pellets. So much for the set it at 3.5-4 and leave it there mentality. Maybe that was true back when there were not as many variance in the pellet quality as there is today. Back then, maybe a pellet was a pellet and most all were similar; but that is not true any longer.

I'm actually running the feed rate on 1 right now as we speak.The smaller, uniform size of these things demands it.

 

[Branson4720]

Nothin new here, We'll be talking brewski's before long!

Good......cuz I just cracked my first IPA of the day

 

[gbreda]

Playing with the feed rate? Shame on you!

Playing with the feed rate and looking at Douglas Fur. True pellet porn...

 

[gbreda]

I'm actually running the feed rate on 1 right now as we speak.The smaller, uniform size of these things demands it.

Not surprised at that. Friend of mine turns their XXV rate to 1 for Vermonts and North Country. Mine doesn't usually go below 2 due to the basement factor.

 

[IHATEPROPANE]

Good......cuz I just cracked my first IPA of the day

Mmmmm IPA.....

 

[StihlHead]

Temps. dropped into the lower 20's last night, so the DF's ran for the evening. First off....VERY hot fuel! Probably the hottest I have ever seen. Second, I am in dis-belief at how little ash there is. It's almost like the ash combusts and vaporizes out the vent. No exaggeration at all. These are different than last year's stash of Okie DF's, very different. I ran the Accentra in Stove temp mode with a lower feed rate and was amazed this morning to see the burnpot holes completely clear, with just a few tiny specks of super fine ash. the glass is clean as a whistle too This fuel will be a very welcome addition to my stockpile of super cold weather pellets! I may even have to get a few more tons

My guess would be that they are cleaner, drier or denser than before. Moisture makes a big difference. The wood in the pellets is always going to be different from batch to batch, as they make their pellets from sawdust that they buy from various mills. They claim that they only buy sawdust from mills that remove all the bark, but my bet is that the bark content (low as it is) will vary. Also there will be a difference between the density of sawdust from wood sourced from older growth logs and younger ones, and between heartwood and knotwood vs. sapwood, etc. The drier and denser the wood in the pellets, the hotter it will burn.

To find the nearest Oakie dealer, call Doug Middleton at 480.419.6792 or email him at [email protected]. No, I am not involved with pellets pressed in any way, shape or form, I just got this from their web site.

 

[jtakeman]

To find the nearest Oakie dealer, call Doug Middleton at 480.419.6792 or email him at [email protected]. No, I am not involved with pellets pressed in any way, shape or form, I just got this from their web site.

You mean Mr Warm? I got to meet him last week.

 

[Eatonpcat]

Nice pellets...But when did a Toyota Tacoma become classified as a truck?? LOL

 

[jtakeman]

Branson4720, You weren't kiddin. Man these puppies are smoking hot!

 

[Branson4720]

Branson4720, You weren't kiddin. Man these puppies are smoking hot!

Oh Ya! It's been chillier than normal......so I have run 5 bags through the Accentra so far. Feed rate WAY lower than a normal pellet. Top of the stove so hot you can't touch it! Definitely a cold weather fuel. Super low ash and cleaner glass are a bonus. Hope to hear some more feed back from other users.

 

[friedd7576]

I have two tons of Okanagan Douglas Fir. They burn wicked hot, and I am afraid I have not figured out the adjustments to make my stove run these pellets smoothly (I'm not a pellet stove expert yet, for sure). I have a 3 year old Harman Accentra Insert, and I keep it very very clean. I turned the feed rate down to 2-3.... maybe I need to go further down. Here's what I'm seeing: For the first ~24 hours, they burn great... Almost no ash at all, and great heat. After that, the minimal amount of ash starts to build up, and it forms a solid crust at the front of the cup. Once the crust forms, I basically get a pellet pile-up behind the crust and the the entire cup is burning (not just in front of the pile like usual). I need to shut down the stove, wait till it cools, crack the crust out, clean the cup and start it over. Any expert advice is much appreciated!

 

[MacP]

I've been burning the ODF pellets for the first time the last couple of hours. They're burning real hot and clean so far.

 

[Phil Do's fire.]

Worked a half day today. Came home to find my pellet dealer delivering 2 tons of Okie DF's. Here is a little bit of "pellet porn" to satisfy the curious crowd! The Accentra got a springtime super cleaning last weekend in anticipation of the DF's arrival.......it will be lit-off this evening to test these puppies out
Too warm right now. First impressions....... super strong Okanagan bag, almost zero fines ( Upton definitely got their act together), they smell fantastic! More to come............View attachment 98791View attachment 98791View attachment 98793View attachment 98794View attachment 98795View attachment 98796View attachment 98797View attachment 98798

WOW!! No snow on the ground?? Are you sure you really need those premium pellets?

 

[Branson4720]

I have two tons of Okanagan Douglas Fir. They burn wicked hot, and I am afraid I have not figured out the adjustments to make my stove run these pellets smoothly (I'm not a pellet stove expert yet, for sure). I have a 3 year old Harman Accentra Insert, and I keep it very very clean. I turned the feed rate down to 2-3.... maybe I need to go further down. Here's what I'm seeing: For the first ~24 hours, they burn great... Almost no ash at all, and great heat. After that, the minimal amount of ash starts to build up, and it forms a solid crust at the front of the cup. Once the crust forms, I basically get a pellet pile-up behind the crust and the the entire cup is burning (not just in front of the pile like usual). I need to shut down the stove, wait till it cools, crack the crust out, clean the cup and start it over. Any expert advice is much appreciated!

With this super cold weather I have been running the Okie DF's with my Accentra in stove temp mode with the feed rate set at 2-2.5. I have noticed the same burning characteristics that you describe also. No need to shut down the stove.......just open the door and wipe the ash buildup off the front of the burnpot with the Harman scraper tool. It doesn't matter what type of pellet I burn, I scrape off the burnpot at least once per day. And yes, they do burn wicked hot and clean!

 

[Branson4720]

WOW!! No snow on the ground?? Are you sure you really need those premium pellets?

Oh.....there's plenty of snow on the ground now, and the temps are in the negatives! Glad I purchased these for days like this.

 

[BadDad320]

I'm burning the Oakies too..... Hot and clean....... Just waiting on a new auger motor due in on Monday and I will be cranking out some serious heat again.....

 

[MacP]

How long did your auger motor last before needing to replace it? How did you know you needed to replace it?

 

[Ejectr]

I wonder how they would work in the PF100 furnace?

 

[BadDad320]

How long did your auger motor last before needing to replace it? How did you know you needed to replace it?

Motor lasted about 2 years..... I knew it was bad when pellets stopped coming down the chute..... Tapped it a little and got it going again but it keeps stopping..... Buzzkill !

 

[inspectorjjw]

Jealous, wish I could get my hands on some Douglas fir here in Western NY!! Ggetting ready to brace for this weeks storm. Oink! Oink!