New Turmans

[boosted3g]

After hearing the response from CT-Pellet i feel a little proud to have a wall of Turman in the garage. Its nice to see a company that does what it needs to do to keep everyone working.

 

[jtakeman]

Scott, Welcome to the group and Thanks for passing the info on to us.

I wonder why they don't also use the red oak for pellets? Should also make a very similar pellet besides the color of the material. Never seen an ash pellet, So I also wonder if that would be worth a venture. Just curious!

 

[slvrblkk]

Scott, Welcome to the group and Thanks for passing the info on to us.

I wonder why they don't also use the red oak for pellets? Should also make a very similar pellet besides the color of the material. Never seen an ash pellet, So I also wonder if that would be worth a venture. Just curious!

I'd be curious too...isn't ash the only wood that doesn't really need "seasoning" to burn in a fireplace or stove?

 

[Justin M]

I'd be curious too...isn't ash the only wood that doesn't really need "seasoning" to burn in a fireplace or stove?

Ash still needs to be seasoned, it just doesn't take as long due to a lower moisture content.

 

[tsmith]

I really like my Turmans and will continue to purchase them. I have gotten hard ash deposits as well from them in my Quad AE, I just started burning them in my Harman so can't tell yet. I think that being they are a pure Oak pellet,meaning a much denser pellet, you will get hard deposits. I had a similar problem with Hamers. Worth it I think for the heat they put out.

 

[CT Pellet]

I wonder why they don't also use the red oak for pellets? Should also make a very similar pellet besides the color of the material

LOL...You never stop

Right now, Jay, the last thing that I want is to see them start using the red oak in conjunction with the white oak. You and I both know that the pellet would still be stellar and the quality would not diminish. Their red oak fiber is just as clean and "low moisture" as their white oak. So why do I not want to see Turman start using the red oak as well as the white?...Because it will look different. And if history is to teach us anything, it is that when people see something that is different, they look for a problem. And when people look for a problem, they will probably find one. If it’s not broke, don't start beating it with a hammer.

 

[jtakeman]

LOL...You never stop

These guys won't let me!

We'll if they run out of white oak fiber and they have some red oak or ash leftover, Tell em to runs some samples and I'll gladdly burn some for them.

 

[iron stove]

See your out of Turmans. You getting more in ?

 

[IHATEPROPANE]

So my last few bags of Turmans have been burning perfectly......now I wonder if its the pellets or if my burnpot wasn't seated correctly......anyway just figured I would share my observation.

 

[jtakeman]

So my last few bags of Turmans have been burning perfectly......now I wonder if its the pellets or if my burnpot wasn't seated correctly......anyway just figured I would share my observation.

Ahh, Its gotta be the pellets. I'll be by in a little bit to take em off you hands!

 

[slvrblkk]

Hey guys and gals- Long time listener- first time caller here!

Seriously though, I felt compelled to join in here and offer you some concise explanations regarding some comments here of what I feel are some of the absolute best wood pellets in North America. My name is Scott and I own and operate the largest indoor retail pellet facility here in Connecticut.

Back in 2006, I began selling Turman Wood Pellets. Long story short, these pellets were some of the best damn pellets that I had ever burned or sold. The bag back then, believe it or not, was actually labeled as 100% Appalachian Hardwood, not Oak! (Although they always have been an ALL OAK pellet) I pushed and pushed for the Turman Company to change the label on the bags to "100% oak" as opposed to just "hardwood" for no other reason than I wanted to use that as a marketing tool. In 2007, they agreed to do so. But this same year, they also went from a solid white bag to a clear bag because they wanted customers to see the low fines count that were in each bag as well. Basically, because the bags were going from solid white to clear, they decided to change and get their plastic bags from a completely different vendor. Beginning in June 2007, all of the Turman bags that I sold said "100% Appalachian Oak" and I was lovin' it! From a marketing standpoint this was great.

Fast-forward to circa 2010, and all of the sudden, the bags began saying "100% Appalachian Hardwood" instead of "Oak." So, I call Turman and got the answer. What happened was they ended up going back to their original vendor for the plastic bags and no one ever thought to mention to them that they had made this slight change to the label. By the time I had brought it to their attention, the bags were already made. So, for the past two years, all of the bags have said "hardwood" instead of "Oak." but the pellet has not changed a bit. In fact, if you have a moment, keep on reading this...it's actually pretty awesome!

Turman is a hardwood flooring manufacturer that makes pellets with their own sawdust from the flooring mill. They make three types of floors; red oak, white oak and ash. All of the white oak sawdust gets turned into pellets. All of the red oak and ash sawdust is collected and used as fuel to run the large kilns which dry all of the lumber at the flooring facility. Its a great setup....and I have actually been to Virginia to see it! But here is where it gets great. Because of the downturn in the housing market, there is not a big demand for new floors, yet the demand for their pellets is unprecedented- so here is what the Turman Company has done. They are now running the flooring facility at full speed, making as much flooring as they can. They sell off the flooring with just enough of a margin to cover the expenses of manufacturing the floors and therefore have not had to lay off any employees- Sweet! But even sweeter, there is much more of the same, high quality, kiln dried, white oak sawdust that they have always used. So there you have it...same great pellet, just a slightly different bag. Why the bag has not gone back to saying "100% oak" over the past 2 years is still a mystery, but I will have an answer for all of us by the end of Monday and I look forward to interacting with you guys an a regular basis. Stay warm!

Scott

Scott....any update on this?

 

[IHATEPROPANE]

Ahh, Its gotta be the pellets. I'll be by in a little bit to take em off you hands!

You may be right .....but to be sure I will have to run a few more bags....usually 10 bags gives me a real good idea.....shame I only have 9 left

 

[CT Pellet]

Scott....any update on this?

I do.....
I was somewhat remiss in my original explanation saying that the pellet is 100% white oak. After further inquiring, I learned that the pellet is in fact made of 100% oak, but that it is a blend of red and white oaks. As for why they never went back to the vendor and changed the label on the bags to say 100%oak rather than 100% hardwood.......Honestly, nobody really knows for sure. There has been talk at the Turman company about the label saying "hardwood" because it is a hardwood pellet (vs a softwood pellet) and
they want it categorized as such. I offered my sentiments that I would like to see the label read 100% oak and was emphatically reassured the pellet is absolutely all oak. I would like to see the label say oak because I feel it would seperate them from most other pellets in the industry.....but in reality, there are many, many, many factors that seperate this pellet from most others in the industry already Currently, I am more concerned with being able to bring more Turman in to sell than I am about the label......and so are about 65 customers I have on a waiting list for Turman right now!

 

[slvrblkk]

I 100% agree....if they are all oak (which they said they were) I would definitely be putting that back on the bag. Maybe they feel it just doesn't matter to the "general" pellet burner but to us "pigs"...............that is major selling point for me to see that on the bag!

 

[CT Pellet]

that is major selling point for me to see that on the bag!

Maybe they feel it just doesn't matter to the "general" pellet burner but to us "pigs"..............

If this is what they feel, then they are right....To John Q. Public, it really doesn't matter. At least a majority of my customers. Understand that many people who come to us for the first time are looking for answers. And many new stove owners do not come to us until a year or two of burning under their belt because we are more expensive than Lowes or HD. But after a year or two, many of those new stove owners, (not all!)are frustrated with the cheaper lower-end pellets and are looking for something to make their pellet-burning a more enjoyable experience. At this point, they are not reading a label, they are listening to what we have to say. And if a customer is having problems with heat and ash, what we say to them is to try some bags of Barefoot, Turman, Hamer and Okanagan. If I have them do this, then in all likelyhood, they will come back and now they are ordering tons! Most of our new customers will buy based on our reccomendations, not what is printed on a bag. It is not unheard of for myself or anyone else in my office to have a 30 minute conversation with a potential new customer, (In fact, it is encouraged) and rarely, if ever, do we discuss what is printed on a bag.

 

[Lousyweather]

If this is what they feel, then they are right....To John Q. Public, it really doesn't matter. At least a majority of my customers. Understand that many people who come to us for the first time are looking for answers. And many new stove owners do not come to us until a year or two of burning under their belt because we are more expensive than Lowes or HD. But after a year or two, many of those new stove owners, (not all!)are frustrated with the cheaper lower-end pellets and are looking for something to make their pellet-burning a more enjoyable experience. At this point, they are not reading a label, they are listening to what we have to say. And if a customer is having problems with heat and ash, what we say to them is to try some bags of Barefoot, Turman, Hamer and Okanagan. If I have them do this, then in all likelyhood, they will come back and now they are ordering tons! Most of our new customers will buy based on our reccomendations, not what is printed on a bag. It is not unheard of for myself or anyone else in my office to have a 30 minute conversation with a potential new customer, (In fact, it is encouraged) and rarely, if ever, do we discuss what is printed on a bag.

x2.....they can be long conversations. We rarely talk about quantitiative analyses, as folks often just dont comprehend it. The sticky point is, pellet quality is often an opinion. One guy will come in and say "we love those NEWP's......been burning em for years...etc", they guy right behind him will extol the virtues of Turman, and in the next breath deride the NEWPs for how bad he/she feels they are.....its why we have 7 different brands.....

 

[86 toy]

I purchased 2 ton of Turmans from my local dealer in October. first off let me say that i love the turman pellets but these 2 tons are terible compaired to what i have had before.. the problem i have is the fines in the bags. these pellets are all broken up into little pieces and full of dust. I have never seen this problem before with these pellets. my bags are all dated 3/12. one other thing to add is when i called my dealer for turmans he said that he didnt have any in stock because they had some problem at the plant and they were on at least a 2 week wait to get more..

 

[sculptor]

When I first got turmans I was thrilled! My TS was only selling Freedom Fuel and I hated them. The turmans burned good but I thought there was a lot of fines as well. I went to the TS today and they had Greenway. I bought a few bags and love them even better than turmans!!

 

[imacman]

The Greenways were the "sleeper" pellet a few winters ago.....I loved them and wish I could find them again.