Need advice about Pellets

[Greg M]

I don't have much choice at all for pellets where I am. I've been burning Hammer's. They've produced a lot of ash and after about 12 hours the burn pot is full of pellets that haven't been fully burned (turned to ash), they're like hot glowing ambers, and the glass would be black. I'd also get a build up of a hard black crust in the burn pot (a little), inside the front of the feed tube (had to scrap it daily otherwise it would impede the auger) and on the end of the auger (chipped off good sized chunks daily). They put out a lot of heat. Many times I've had to keep my feed setting on 1 or maybe 2 even when the temp got into the low 20's and 2 or 3 when it got into the teens. They cost me $229 plus tax ($247 after tax) and no delivery.

I've got a chance this spring or early summer to purchase as much of a local pellet (120 miles from here) as I want. Going on last year's summer price I could get them for about $175 per ton after tax and shipping if I bought 10 tons. I've got someone that wants 2 tons and I can find room to store the other 8 tons which should last me probably 5 years.

I drove up there last week and bought 1 ton to try first. They don't put off nearly as much heat as the Hammers but that might be a good thing given that I'd be able to adjust the heat down when I don't need as much heat. The Hammers would get too hot sometimes. After burning just 2 bags of the new pellets it seems like it takes a setting of 3 to approximate a setting of 1 for the hammers. The new pellets also produce a lot of flying ash, looks like fire flies dancing around in there. They leave much less ash in the pot and don't turn the glass black although they do turn the baffle plate black.

The new pellets are softwood. They are smaller in length and don't seem to need much pressure to break them. There is very little if any dust in the bags. One thing the people at the mill said when I was talking to them was that they have been using a larger screen lately, I forget why. Isn't it better to use smaller size material (dust) then to use larger flakes of wood to make pellets? What they're using is still small but definitely larger then saw dust. What would make the pellets give off a flake or two when I break them? Is it because they aren't dense enough?

They have 2 different colored pellets. The darker ones are cheaper (only slightly darker then the hammers) and a light colored pellet (almost blond in color). The lighter ones are sold for $30 more per ton. Both are sold for horse bedding. Some people like the lighter color for their horses. The darker ones were tested in 2009 for use as fuel and the numbers look acceptable from what I can tell but I think they started using the larger material since then. I think it's the same raw material just not ground down as much.

Density 46.8
Diameter .2526
fines 1.3%
durability 99.7%
moisture 5.16%
ash .48%
BTU 8223

My stove is a Summers Heat 55-SHP22

My concern is the flying ash building up in the heat exchanger, blower and vent. Is it a valid concern? I like the lower ash content in the pot, cleaner glass, and having to turn up the heat setting a little because I now have room to turn it down when the room gets too hot without having to shut the stove off. I can turn down a setting of 3 but can't go lower then a 1 which is where I usually kept the hammers. I also like the much lower price of the pellets even if I have to burn at a little higher rate. I figure even if I use more pellets it still doesn't come close to the difference in price. I vacuum ash and scrap the crust everyday. I recently bought a leaf blower and will suck out the vent at least monthly which should be at about a half a ton or so of burning. Would that be enough to keep the heat exchanger relatively clean?

I'm new to this so please correct my terminology.

 

[littlesmokey]

The first thought I had was you are starving the fire. Not enough air results in poor burning, lots of ash, blackened windows and clinkers (the crusty's in the burn pot). The second sounds like a pellet your stove likes. Maybe not as intense output, but more controllable. That's the one I would go with. You should have an active fire with the ash airborne. One of the purposes of the baffles is to extract the heat and help the ash settle. You will have to regularly vacuum the stove and pull the baffles and get the hidden ash, but with practice you can do a weekly maintenance in about 15 minutes. I timed myself today (my regular day) and it took me 11 minutes. I cheated a little because the cheetah was already set up and ready to go, but it doesn't take long.

Beware of the pellets for bedding. They are usually not as compressed and contain more bark and do not burn as clean. Some swear by them, but they would be sold at the greater price if they met the standards for premium grading. A few pennies saved may cost dearly later on.

 

[Greg M]

The first thought I had was you are starving the fire. Not enough air results in poor burning, lots of ash, blackened windows and clinkers (the crusty's in the burn pot). The second sounds like a pellet your stove likes. Maybe not as intense output, but more controllable. That's the one I would go with. You should have an active fire with the ash airborne. One of the purposes of the baffles is to extract the heat and help the ash settle. You will have to regularly vacuum the stove and pull the baffles and get the hidden ash, but with practice you can do a weekly maintenance in about 15 minutes. I timed myself today (my regular day) and it took me 11 minutes. I cheated a little because the cheetah was already set up and ready to go, but it doesn't take long.

Beware of the pellets for bedding. They are usually not as compressed and contain more bark and do not burn as clean. Some swear by them, but they would be sold at the greater price if they met the standards for premium grading. A few pennies saved may cost dearly later on.

Thank you for taking the time to respond. Your post was helpful because it confirmed what I thought and gave me some information that I didn't know to help me make a better decision.

 

[Doocrew]

I would strongly advise you NOT to purchase a bulk order of a questionable quality pellet. Pellets produced and marketed for horse bedding are traditionally a lesser quality pellet, although as the previous poster pointed out, some people swear by. How often do you purchase a cheap product only to find out later the real reason it is cheaper? I am a firm believer that you get what you pay for...........within reason. Each and every stove reacts differently to different types of pellets and a purchase of that many tons of pellets would be like playing the lottery.....you will win or you will lose.

 

[Greg M]

I would strongly advise you NOT to purchase a bulk order of a questionable quality pellet. Pellets produced and marketed for horse bedding are traditionally a lesser quality pellet, although as the previous poster pointed out, some people swear by. How often do you purchase a cheap product only to find out later the real reason it is cheaper? I am a firm believer that you get what you pay for...........within reason. Each and every stove reacts differently to different types of pellets and a purchase of that many tons of pellets would be like playing the lottery.....you will win or you will lose.

I'm burning the pellets right now and the pellets I'm buying have been tested for use as fuel. These pellets are sold for horse bedding and for fuel but they are made to fuel standards. It just happens that horse bedding is more expensive then fuel pellets in this area as well as being a bigger market so that's why they also market them as horse bedding. I'm purchasing directly from the manufacturer so that's one of the reasons that I'm getting a better price. Another reason for the better price in the summer is that they can keep the mill running so that their employees can stay working through the summer. I'll get 10 tons delivered from 122 miles away for about $175 per ton which is far cheaper then picking them up at a dealer 15 miles from me on their pre-buy.

 

[Doocrew]

I would strongly advise you NOT to purchase a bulk order of a questionable quality pellet. Pellets produced and marketed for horse bedding are traditionally a lesser quality pellet, although as the previous poster pointed out, some people swear by. How often do you purchase a cheap product only to find out later the real reason it is cheaper? I am a firm believer that you get what you pay for...........within reason. Each and every stove reacts differently to different types of pellets and a purchase of that many tons of pellets would be like playing the lottery.....you will win or you will lose.

I'm burning the pellets right now and the pellets I'm buying have been tested for use as fuel. These pellets are sold for horse bedding and for fuel but they are made to fuel standards. It just happens that horse bedding is more expensive then fuel pellets in this area as well as being a bigger market so that's why they also market them as horse bedding. I'm purchasing directly from the manufacturer so that's one of the reasons that I'm getting a better price. Another reason for the better price in the summer is that they can keep the mill running so that their employees can stay working through the summer. I'll get 10 tons delivered from 122 miles away for about $175 per ton which is far cheaper then picking them up at a dealer 15 miles from me on their pre-buy.

In your original post, you mentioned that in order to obtain the same heat as the Hammer's you have been burning you have to turn your stove up to level 3. I am not sure what the feed rate is on your stove, but obviously you will burn more pellets at the higher setting than the lower. I am no englander stove expert, and I am sure others will chime in. With that said, common sense dictates that if you have to burn more pellets to obtain the heat level you desire, your so-called deal is not such a great deal. For argument sake, if you burn 1 lb. per hour with a pellet costing you $300 per ton, it is the same cost as burning 2 lbs. per hour with a pellet that costs $150 a ton. Figure out what the burn rate is at setting 3 and compare it to the rate of setting 1. If it turns out to be double, your actual cost to burn these pellets would be $350 per ton when compared to the Hammer's you have been burning.

 

[Greg M]

I would strongly advise you NOT to purchase a bulk order of a questionable quality pellet. Pellets produced and marketed for horse bedding are traditionally a lesser quality pellet, although as the previous poster pointed out, some people swear by. How often do you purchase a cheap product only to find out later the real reason it is cheaper? I am a firm believer that you get what you pay for...........within reason. Each and every stove reacts differently to different types of pellets and a purchase of that many tons of pellets would be like playing the lottery.....you will win or you will lose.

I'm burning the pellets right now and the pellets I'm buying have been tested for use as fuel. These pellets are sold for horse bedding and for fuel but they are made to fuel standards. It just happens that horse bedding is more expensive then fuel pellets in this area as well as being a bigger market so that's why they also market them as horse bedding. I'm purchasing directly from the manufacturer so that's one of the reasons that I'm getting a better price. Another reason for the better price in the summer is that they can keep the mill running so that their employees can stay working through the summer. I'll get 10 tons delivered from 122 miles away for about $175 per ton which is far cheaper then picking them up at a dealer 15 miles from me on their pre-buy.

In your original post, you mentioned that in order to obtain the same heat as the Hammer's you have been burning you have to turn your stove up to level 3. I am not sure what the feed rate is on your stove, but obviously you will burn more pellets at the higher setting than the lower. I am no englander stove expert, and I am sure others will chime in. With that said, common sense dictates that if you have to burn more pellets to obtain the heat level you desire, your so-called deal is not such a great deal. For argument sake, if you burn 1 lb. per hour with a pellet costing you $300 per ton, it is the same cost as burning 2 lbs. per hour with a pellet that costs $150 a ton. Figure out what the burn rate is at setting 3 and compare it to the rate of setting 1. If it turns out to be double, your actual cost to burn these pellets would be $350 per ton when compared to the Hammer's you have been burning.

There seems to be very little difference between setting 1 and 3. The hammers would last maybe 20 hours and these last about 18 or so. There seems to be 10% to 12% difference but I'm paying 29% less, with delivery versus pickup and I've got the additional benefit of having more control over the heat output.

I've gone through 5 bags now and I like them. In addition to the above reasons these have almost no dust at all. The hammers had a good bit of dust in the bags.