Should I get a better stove?

[IHATEPROPANE]

The ash is very fine. As fine as that in the ash pan but I was figuring it's building up in the burnpot because I have the old burnpot before they made the bottom more open. It's solid-ish but it's very fine. View attachment 147327

We wanted to switch to NG because it's about half the cost of propane but the utility wanted $15,000 to run the line because the main is a mile away.
I hope to be under 4k for propane this year. Prices are cooperating and so far the weather is nowhere near as brutal. Last year was insane.

We own 5 acres, there are a few 5acre lots around us but it's mostly still farmland. The house was never abandoned and was a working 1000 acre farm up until 1999. We have two barns that are between 1835 and 1870 and two newer steel building. I use one to store cars, one is my shop, one barn is storage and the other is our "fitness" barn, treadmills and Rock walls etc.

Is the ash not falling through? Or not getting blown out? Depending on pellets, I may get a little bit of an ash cake when I shut my stove down.

 

[Sqf1]

I guess it would be not blowing out. The pellets I have right now are from tractor supply. Distributed by "angrirecycle" all the label says is premium pellets. We've used four or five different brands depending on what's available and have never noticed a change.

 

[IHATEPROPANE]

I guess it would be not blowing out. The pellets I have right now are from tractor supply. Distributed by "angrirecycle" all the label says is premium pellets. We've used four or five different brands depending on what's available and have never noticed a change.

Yeah, not sure who makes the pellets for that Tractor Supply. I only had that original pot for a short time. It was destroyed by some serious Clinkers and replaced under warranty. This was before I fixed the air bypass.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

If he's chasing air leaks within the stove would placing the smoke pen in the oak and running the exhaust blower perhaps show other leaks?

These air leaks are in the combustion system and are always into it. They can come in through an air wash system in which case placing a smoke pen in the oak and turning on the exhaust fan will not highlight them, as the smoke will exit the flue. Some of them are actually known as burn pot bypasses where the combustion air comes through the receptacle and up between it and the burn pot without going through the pellet pile.

The air flow inside these critters is fairly well balanced to properly burn the pellets in the pile as they are fed into the burn pot. We don't need extra air coming in because the exhaust blower is only going to take a certain amount out and the excess will mess up the burn and ash ejection.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

Yeah, not sure who makes the pellets for that Tractor Supply. I only had that original pot for a short time. It was destroyed by some serious Clinkers and replaced under warranty. This was before I fixed the air bypass.

Didn't you just love those clinkers, my burn pot warped and twisted inside the rim that was welded to it. Nothing quite like a blacksmith's forge inside your stove.

 

[Lake Girl]

I guess it would be not blowing out. The pellets I have right now are from tractor supply. Distributed by "angrirecycle" all the label says is premium pellets. We've used four or five different brands depending on what's available and have never noticed a change.

Tractor supply pellets can usually be traced by UPC code. There is a thread up on the top of the main pellet page that covers this...

 

[Sqf1]

I just went through the UPC thread. Mine is one of the undetermined ones that haven't been tracked yet.

 

[Lake Girl]

I just went through the UPC thread. Mine is one of the undetermined ones that haven't been tracked yet.

Guess they'll just have to remain anonymous - worth a try though!

 

[IHATEPROPANE]

Didn't you just love those clinkers, my burn pot warped and twisted inside the rim that was welded to it. Nothing quite like a blacksmith's forge inside your stove.

Lol, yup. With the right conditions (or is it wrong conditions?) Those burn pots do not stand a chance.

 

[SmokeyTheBear]

I just went through the UPC thread. Mine is one of the undetermined ones that haven't been tracked yet.

I'd PM jtakeman with the code he might know of another place to check with. He usually is quite helpful with things pellet related.